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Published: June 16th 2011
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Breakfast in Guanajato
Brunch in the Zocalo known as the Jardin de Union, sunny, warm and tranquil Travel Bug!!! Friday afternoon, and we feel that it is once again time to travel and explore this fascinating country. It is one thing to travel to tourist sun destinations, however, we have enjoyed the opportunity to travel and see so many parts of Central Mexico. One of the differences we find between Mexico and the US or Canada is that every city here has a very distinct and unique flavour to it.
On this week-end, we chose to visit Guanajuato, a silver mining city which Mexicans refer to as small, only a million people or so, set in the Sierra Gordas, about 4 and a half hours north of DF. Once again we met under the clock at the Juanacatlin metro station at 3PM, and continued on to the Centro de Autobus Norte ( the north bus station). This time, we bought our bus tickets online. We arrived just in time to buy our return tickets for Sunday, board the bus and settle in. We were pleased to be on one of the fancier buses, the ones with the recliner type seats with leg rests and so we enjoyed the ride, reading, watching Spanish movies a little and trying
Teatro Juarez
Guanajato is a university city, so there was a lot of young vibrant university students about to figure out the story.
Once in Guanajuato, we took a taxi downtown through various tunnels, hoping to get to the Hoteria de las Fraynes, a hotel recommended to us by friends. The taxi driver dropped us off, and told us the hotel was at the end of "that street, turn right and go about 50 meters". Guanajuato lies in a long narrow winding valley and so has similar streets, many of them too narrow to allow for vehicular traffic. The existence of a dried up underground river, and the fact that is a mining town, there are many underground streets winding through tunnels many kilometers in length. They have tunnel parking, many tunnel intersections, and even a tunnel bus stop where you can transfer from one line to another. Anyway, we tried to walk to the hotel, however, the street was blocked off because of the singing and dance competition going on if front of the Teatro Juarez. Turns out that Guanajuato is also home to the Universidad de Guanajuato which encompasses a main downtown campus as well as other outlying colleges throughout the city and serves 30,000 students. So many of these students were singing, dancing, and
Jardin de Union
one of two main squares, the garden is well manicured, heavily treed, and of course surrounded by restaurants watching productions on the outdoor stage, that we had to ask and detour around to get to the Hoteria de las Fraynes. Once settled in, we wandered around the area, relishing in the music, the sounds of laughter surrounding us, the young and beautiful students frolicking about, and the warm summer breezes. What a glorious experience! We continuously find ourselves marveling throughout our excursions in this country at the joys we encounter!! Saturday morning, we found a little outdoor patio just outside our room, and while I went to fetch coffee, and then read, Linda was able to get some homework done in a warm and relaxing spot. About 11 or so, we decided to head out for "brunch" and wandered about until we found a restaurant with an appealing menu and a sunny interesting sidewalk setting. Of course, soon the peddlers appeared, respectfully displaying their wares, and while watching and feeding the birds, eating our breakfast, listening to live music, we even managed to do some birthday shopping too.
After lunch, we followed a walking tour indicated on a little map that took us around the neighborhood. We visited the home where Diego Riviera, a famous Mexican painter, was
The other square
Beautiful colonial buildings surround the statue in the center of the park born. It is now a museum that shares his life history and displays many of his works. We then wanted to find the famous (in Guanajuato anyway) Callejon del Beso, Kissing Alley, the narrowest street in Guanajuato. It is only a few feet wide, and the legend tells the story of a young girl who loved a young man who did not meet the approval of her father. The boy convinced the owner of the house across the alley to allow him on his balcony, the young people were kissing, and her father discovered them, angrily stabbed his daughter in the back, and she died holding the hand of her young lover. Today, a photographer waits in the alley to take your picture kissing and sells you the picture for 50 pesos. How can you refuse that? Then we met our guide for a 3 to 4 hour tour of Guanajuato all in Spanish. Off we went, 15 passenger van neatly full, first stop? Museo de Las Momias de Guanajuato, what is that? Mummies, of course. The Mummies of Guanajuato are a number of naturally mummified bodies interred during a cholera outbreak around Guanajuato, Mexico in 1833. These mummies were
Garden Paths
Colonial buildings, music in the air, manicured lawns and shrubs, and best of all, many young students, all enjoying themselves disinterred (dug up) between 1865 and 1958, when the law required relatives to pay a tax in order to keep the bodies in the cemetery. Ninety percent of the bodies in the cemetery were disinterred because their relatives did not pay the tax. However, only 2% of them were naturally mummified. The mummified bodies were stored in a building and in the 1900s the mummies began attracting tourists. Cemetery workers began charging people a few pesos to enter the building where bones and mummies were stored and eventually, the museum was erected. Then, to the top of one of the mountains, another church, built by the owner of Valencia mine. Though beautiful inside, the church is in need of repair and is very busy, there were weddings lined up one after another. We then walked to the mouth of the Valencia Silver mine, one of the world's most prolific silver producers. We descended 60 meters to get a feel of what life was like for 17th century miners. Back into the van, next stop, a large multi-floored casa that was used exclusively as a prison and torture chambers. Need candies and sweets, we must, because next on the list was
Another Church
Every zocalo must have one of these, an ornate church the candy store, very pretty, with taste testing, including various tequila flavors, and we left with a bag full of course. As it was getting dark, the wind came up as we visited a scenic point at the top of the funicular overlooking the city.
We finally got back to the zocalo and ran into the annual "Frogs and Bugs Car Show 2011", and what a display of customized cars. Many had huge sound systems installed, complete with up to 4 DVD displays playing music videos. They had blocked off 3 or 4 streets, lots of lights, cameras, action and people! We found a restaurant and had supper, by then it was late and time to call it a day.
Sunday morning, breakfast at another spot, don't want to get habitual, and then went up the funicular, visited another museum there, and then walked back down the mountain, winding through narrow streets and landing up just beside our hotel. Time for a beer, pack up and head back to the bus station and a very comfortable ride home.
Since then, we have been winding down our first year out of Canada, making all the arrangements necessary and preparing
University of Guanajato
Having an emphasis on the arts, the main campus buildings are old and huge. They have other outlying campuses as well for our trip home on Friday, June 17th. What an educational year, full of discovery, excitement, new friends and many wonderful experiences in this vast and varied country!
We'll be back next August, meanwhile our maid Eylia, and our landlady will keep our apartment neat, tidy, and cared for, as well as water the plants we enjoy so much!!
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Joan Hanson
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Wonderful
Looking forward to getting together when you get back--to hear more of your wonderful experience, and to just gab!!