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Published: March 1st 2007
Cerro de las Campanas
Teresa's Mom and Step-father in the park in Queretaro.This past week has been great. It has also been a week of reflection. I have come to a couple of conclusions.
The first, people are people. Whether you are in Mexico or the United States, people are good, bad and in between. Fortunately, the vast majority of people choose to be good. I am constantly amazed at just how much good there is in Mexico. This week, I spent several days driving outside of Queretaro. Much of the time I was hopelessly lost. I must have asked for help (directions) 15 times last week. Without exception, the people I spoke to were kind and earnestly wanted to help. In fact one person jumped in the back seat and really saved the day. He directed us to our location and then jumped out! Yes, I gave him a tip. But it was clear that he expected nothing.
The second, no matter how wonderful your current living conditions are - there is nothing as important, or as good as being able to be with family. This is so important for true happiness and well-being, you must take the time to enjoy the moments - too often they are too few
Fresh Strawberries
The berries were picked that morning. There were numerous fruits stands along the road near Guanajuato selling the berries. The basket weighted 6 pounds and cost me $4.50 (including the basket). They were wonderful and because they had just been picked that morning there was almost no waste! and far between. Teresa’s mom and step-dad, Brenda and Paul, visited us this week. It made for a wonderful week. We think they really enjoyed central Mexico and were able to see how many misconceptions there are about Mexico. It was so nice to have them here and so sad to say good-bye. My Uncle died this week. The funeral was today - I did not attend and that makes me sad. Chosing to live outside your country has consequences.
Ok, here comes the week in review! More Comida Corrida, and assorted Mexican foods. Yes, I think I added another pound this week. The best highlights occurred in two blocks of time:
Bernal, Cadereyta, and Tequisquiapan all in one day. On Wednesday we set sail at 8:00 a.m. After a quick stop for a traditional Mexican breakfast, we were off to Bernal. If you are following the blog, you may realize this is our second trip to Bernal. Bernal is the city with the BIG ROCK. In fact the 3rd biggest in the world (or so they claim). We arrived at 10:00 a.m. and the city was just waking-up. Most of the businesses were just starting to
Bernal Rock
The big Rock of Bernal open, yet the business owners were clearly out in the streets. They were cleaning their store fronts, cleaning the streets, sweeping in front of their stores and just preparing for the day. It was fun to sit back and observe. We walked around until about 11:00 when all the stores began to open their doors. We did a little shopping and Brenda and Paul brought a really cool hand-carved wood statue (I have included a few new pictures - it really is a beautiful city).
Cadereyta By 11:30 a.m. we were off to Cadereyta. This is a small village about 45 minutes due east of Bernal. We had a few minor problems in route (stopped to ask for directions twice). Actually the drive is pretty easy but I missed a turn and ended up a little confused (some would say that I am perpetually confused). On the way, we passed through the town of Ezequiel Montes. Ezequiel looked to be a fairly large city. It was interesting because we hit the town just as school was letting out so there were lots and lots of kids in their school uniforms - yes, the public schools only go to 12:00
Bernal
Street in Bernal or 12:30 p.m. We also drove through the local market area so we saw all kinds of shops selling everything from fruits and vegetables to hardware.
Cadereyta was founded in the 1640s and the village’s primary role was as a way station on the route leading east toward the Sierra Gorda mountain range. It later developed into a mining town. A student in my class had encouraged me to visit the city and indicated that the Jardín Botánico Regional de Cadereyta was truly unique. Here you can see about 4,000 cactus species and other flora while learning about the efforts being made to conserve these species. The Jardín is designed to save and re-introduce endangered cactus. Its primary funding is from the State of Queretaro. Oddly, just down the road is the largest private “for profit” cactus farm in Mexico, "Quinta Federico Schmoll", which sends its products all over the world. The Director of the Jardín gave us a delightful tour of the Jardín and green houses. I asked about the Quinta and while he was very kind, he was obviously less then pleased to have a “cactus exporter” for a neighbor. The Central area in Cadereyta was just
Bernal Church
This door was not made for a gringo! delightful. We stopped in the square and had ice cream while we enjoyed the beauty of this small village. I was telling everyone that this is a city where you would find no tourists and almost no English. The words had barely escaped my mouth when we heard someone shout “where are you from?” I replied, in Spanish, “from the United States.” He looked at me with a smile and said, “I know that, but where?” As it turned out, he was a Mexican that now had U.S. Citizenship. He lived 10 months of the year in the U.S. and the other 2 months (January and February) in Cadereyta, Mexico. He seemed like a really nice person. I am sorry that I have no pictures of the Village. My camera has decided to go on the fritz. It is making me crazy!! I have located a camera repair shop in Queretaro, so hopefully I will back in business soon. In the meantime, I will beg and borrow Haley’s camera.
Tequisquiapan The drive from Cadereyta to Tequisquiapan is only about 30 minutes. I really like this little town. I have already given a full report, so not much more to
Guanajuato Street/ Tunnel
The streets here are amazing! say except, “we went again!” Oh, yeah, one additional comment: If you go to Tequisquiapan, be certain and buy a lot of cheese. We love the Jalapeño Cheese. It is kind of like “hot pepper cheese,” except with less bite and a lot more flavor. The area around Tequisquiapan is known for cheese and wine. In fact, once a year they have a wine and cheese festival (which just happens to occur while we are here yippee!).
Guanajuato On Friday, we took a road trip to Guanajuato, whose name is translated as "the place of the frogs' hills." I love this city. The city was declared a UNESCO protected city in 1988 due to the value of its architecture. Obviously, it is another one of the colonial cities of Mexico. In this case it owes its prosperity to the gold and silver mines of the area. To fully appreciate the city, we chose a hotel in the center of town. The Hotel Casa Del Agua (Hotel - House of the Water). www.hotelcasadelagua.com . The Hotel was the “Author’s Choice” in the Lonely Planet Guide. We were not disappointed. It is located in an old colonial building near the “Jardín
Guanajuato Street/ Tunnel
The streets here are amazing! de la Union” (actually a block and a half off the Jardín which is just far enough away to escape most of the noise. The wedge-shaped 'Jardín de la Unión' was the city's first public garden, laid out in 1861, and is the popular focal point of the city - particularly in the evenings. Musicians serenade the area with traditional mariachi tunes. People mingle among the vendors who gather to sell everything from art to corn on the cob.
In the central area, you cannot help but notice the absence of heavy traffic in the narrow streets. This is because many vehicles are routed through the system of underground tunnels beneath the city. Many years ago the river passed through these passages and, after many years of routine flooding, was diverted away from the town. The old river bed then became an ideal subterranean roadway. The underground roads are really unique. Guanajuato is already a city with a maze of twisting curving roads. Add to this mixture that many of the roads are underground and you have major problems navigating the city! You can get lost easily and we did (this where we picked up a backseat navigator). But
Guanajuato Street/ Tunnel
The streets here are amazing! it isn't hard to find yourself again. You'll turn a corner and recognize a place you've been before -- even though you didn't realize you were anywhere near it! The best thing to do is park your car as the city is designed for walkers. Much of the downtown area is pedestrian-only, as are many of the little walkways that go uphill.
Guanajuato is also famous for the natural mummification that happens to those buried in its cemetery, and the macabre exhibition of the mummified corpses of the "Guanajuato Mummy Museum". Story has it that if your family did not pay the annual fee to preserve your burial site, you were, well, moved out of the cemetery into a community grave. If you were preserved well enough, you were moved to the museum. Ugh…. The museum is both disturbing and amazing. I will let you decide if it is right or wrong after you look at the photos.
All good things must come to an end. Sunday morning we took Brenda and Paul to the airport and they were gone just as quick as they arrived. It seemed like they were here for a day or two, but
Guanajuato Narrow Street
We took a wrong turn and ended up on a street just wide enough to fit the car while descending down a steep hill! no way for a whole week. We are really missing them.
Same time, same place, next week for an update!
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kendall
non-member comment
hey peeps
guess what my birhtday party will be on May 5 on a mexiaco day its going to be awesome!!! so how are you doing out there we are good hereits been rainy day !see ya kendall