Day 6 Dolores HIdalgo and San MIguel de Allende

Breakfast at the hotel doesn’t start until 8:30 and we want an earlier start than that for the day so we pile into the van with the promise of breakfast in Dolores.  The drive to Dolores is beautiful and hilly, curvy.  Maybe it is just as well that we haven’t eaten yet. 

After about an hour, we arrive in Dolores.  There is a small river that runs through the town. 

Dolores is where  priest Miguel Hidalgo rang the bells which called people to fight for Independence on September 16, 1810.  The town has a nice square with a church on one side.  We have a leisurely breakfast at a restaurant on the square.  In the restaurant, there is a Day of the Dead alter to  Jose Alfredo Jimenez, who is a popular singer in Mexico and was born in Dolores. 

We have an hour to wander around the square and the church.  People watching is good.  One side of the square is closed to traffic for Day of the dead design.  Wish I could go into the house and go out on the balcony to see it from above to get the whole view. 

Next stop is a funky little place that is a UNESCO heritage site and pilgrimage spot, Santuario de Atotonilco.  The church was built in the 19th century and is an excellent example of Mexican Baroque architecture.  We have seen bloody Jesus this trip but here it is even more over the top. 

 These figures are all 3-D!

We head to San Miguel de Allende which is about an hour drive.  I’ve been in touch with my friend, Lori, who is living in San Miguel now.  We setup a time and restaurant to meet.  I thought it was a place on the square but actually, it was about 6 blocks off the square.  With the help of Switch’s phone, we find the place.  But on the way we lose Helen! Juan goes back a few blocks and we all get together again.  Relieved!  We are at a high altitude and with Helen’s asthma she sometimes needs to take a break.  It’s great to catch up with Lori! 

After  lunch we go our separate ways to poke around the stores and market.  San Miguel is a big ex-pat place and is a favorite place for many artists and craftsmen.  It is a Sunday which brings many visitors from the surrounding area.  Lori says that it is much quieter Monday through Thursday.  Lori and  I wander through a cute residential area.  When we get back to the shopping area, we run into some of our group and poke around a few shops with them on the way to the market.  I recently lost an earring that I had gotten the last time I was in San Miguel.  At the very end of the market area, is the stand where I bought them.  They have some that are similar so I buy another pair.  We head back to the square where we meet up with the others who are there eating ice cream and holding bags of purchases. I"m so busy catching up with Lori that I don't take pictures.....

Back to Guanjuanto. I get directions to a restaurant that is closer to the hotel. The directions were more complicated than they needed to be but we found it.  Tonight is the last night of the Cervantes Festival but it seems that the crowds have thinned a lot.  The restaurant is small and very local.  Head back up the hill to the hotel.  Shortly thereafter, the fireworks start for the closing of the festival.  Juan and I go out to see them.  They are exploding right over our heads!  Found out the next day that Suga and Switch were on the roof to see them.  A nice show!

Day 5 Guanajuato

This morning we have breakfast at the restaurant in the nun’s house.  What a treat!  We felt so plush eating in the fancy dinning room.  Lace curtains, heavy tapestry table cloths.  It really reminded me a lot of Dutch decor. I thought I had a picture to insert here.........

After breakfast, we head for our next city, Guanajuato.  We want to get there early as the Cervantes Festival is going on and Juan tells us that as the day goes on, the streets will get more and more crowded.  He was right!!!  We got there about 11 and dropped our bags at the hotel  Later in the day, it would have been very difficult for the van to get close to the hotel.   The hotel is definitely the weak link in the hotels of the tour.  But, with the festival, it was slim pickens.  

We set off walking.  We see that one of the many stages for the festival is a block from our hotel.  Nothing is happening there now but we learn that the closing festivities will be held here on Sunday night.  We walk about another block to the house where Diego Rivera was born.  There are several temporary exhibits that are quite interesting.  One is very playful and then at the other extreme is one on the hardship of migration.  Diego’s family moved from Guanajuato to Mexico City when he was a child. From the house, it was clear that the family was quite wealthy. 

 We walk down to the center of the city.  The number of people on the streets is increasing by the hour.  On the steps of the university, it appears that they are preparing for a show.  We enjoy a lunch outside on the square.

 We continued to the main triangle park where we enjoyed lunch.  Guanajuato is nestled in the hills so lots of up and down and twisting streets.  There isn’t room for any one big central park so there are several charming smaller ones.

 

 The theater next to the main plaza.
Several students wanted to interview us for a school project.  One would video while the other did the interviewing. 

After lunch, we take the funicular to  an overview place.  At the top there are food stands, a statue of  El Pipila, the hero of the city whose brave actions achieved the first vicotry of the Mexican independence. 

           It looks like it could start to rain so I stand in line for the cable car going down as I figure when it starts to rain, the line will suddenly get really long.  Clap of thunder, clouds open up and our group joins me at the front of the line.  That worked well!   At the bottom, we rush to where we had lunch for a drink while we wait for the rain to stop.  The waiter put several tables together inside for us.  Glad I left such a generous tip……The hot chocolate was wonderful!  I hear the mezcal was too. 

The rain stops and we continue our exploring the little streets.  One of them is famous as the kissing street. It is so narrow that you can be on balconies on different sides, lean over and kiss. Glad that Juan knows his way around.  I really don’t know how to get back to the hotel from where we are and there is no going around the block in Guanajuato.  The streets are quite crowded now this merry makers.  We made our way through one street where they were playing Greek folk music and doing chain dancing.  OK, not dancing but jumping, hopping.  Not the Syrtos that we did to the music in folk dancing.  But it was fun. 

We go back to the hotel and check in.  Oh, this is definitely the weak point of the trip on hotels.  Location is nice but not nearly as nice as the other hotels we’ve been staying in AND, they only have rooms with one bed!  I give the few rooms with a king bed to the single women.  Because of the festival, I was lucky to even get this hotel.  Reservations are made a year in advance during the 2 weeks of the festival.  Everyone is a good sport and I promise that the hotels in Morelia and Patzcuaro are nice and have elevators. 

Time for dinner.  Because of the Festival, none of the restaurants are taking reservations.  We decide to have a little bit of an early dinner to try to beat the biggest of the dinner crowd.  We head towards the center of town.  On the way we go through a small plaza where there is performance of traditional dancing. 

We stay to watch for a few minutes and then continue on.  It gets more and more crowded.  Somehow, we stay together and eat at the closer of the 2 restaurants that were recommended.  We were happy to eat inside rather than on the sidewalk.  The music was about the right volume inside.  We were all having a bit of sensory overload.  We were probably older than the crowd by about 40 years.  Lots of university students from Mexico City.  The energy was fun and happy.  By the time we finished  dinner, the crowd had thinned somewhat and we didn’t feel like we needed a rope in order to stay together. 

Bed time!

Day 4 - Archaeological site of Tula and colonial city of Queretero

 As we leave our hotel in the morning, we are rewarded with a view of a hot air balloon over the pyramid of the Sun.

Tula is a new site for me.  It was the center of the Toltec civilization which heavily influenced the people far to the south.  Chichen Itza in Yucatan clearly has Toltec influence with Chacmul and feathered serpents.   A nice walk from the parking lot to the ruins has many native plants.

The main structure is the temple with the Atlantans. There is also a ball court and columns that supported a market type of area.   

 Several school groups were there on a field trip.  They swarmed over the ruins but by timing where we went when, we were able to see everything.  Some of the students wanted to interview us and take pictures with us. Probably for extra credit.  It is always fun to have that interaction.  The students all gathered in the open area below the main temple with the Atlantan statues. 

One of the students played the traditional drum while the others danced to it. Nice to see how they are keeping the traditions alive. 

For lunch we stopped at a roadside buffet.  Not gourmet cooking but tasty and convenient.  The ice cream place was popular!

The city of Queretaro has a new modern section that helps support a vibrant economy.   One of the most recognizable parts of Queretaro is the long aqueduct that was built in the 1800’s by a rich man who wanted to marry a nun.  She only agreed to marry him if he built the aqueduct to provide water for the convent and the city.  Our first stop was an overlook of the city.

  Then on a little further to tour the old convent, actually a monastery.  At the time it was built, there were about 200 monks but now there are only about 30.  Maximillian retreated to Queretaro and expected to be protected.  He was protected in the monastery for several days but then was taken and shot a few kilometers away.  His family built a chapel and nice park at the location. 

Our hotel is on a pedestrian walkway in the center of the historical district which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Very enjoyable to walk around in the area.  

The house that was built for the nun after she married the benefactor is ½ block from our hotel.  It is now a hotel and restaurant.  Beautiful!

Of course, there are more churches to see. Each one is a little different.  The one made for the nuns to worship in was extremely ornate which seems counter to what I think about with nuns 

I had looked on Trip Advisor for restaurant recommendations.  There was one with rave reviews just a couple blocks from the hotel.  When we entered, we had our doubts.  Then we found out they didn’t serve beer.  We came close to leaving but the people who were coming out when we were going in said it was really good and we were ready to eat so we stayed.  Boy, were we glad we did!!!!  They did have a special drink that was a mix of several citrus juices, pieces of fruit, mezcal and a mixture of salt and spice around the rim.  We all ordered one and when he brought them in large gourd bowls, all of our spirits rose.  The chef brought specialties of the house for us all to share.  Everything was delicious.  The chef had such a great smile as he saw us enjoying what he had made.  We all agreed it was the best food we have had yet on the trip and we’ve been eating quite well. 

Another full, delightful day!