Friday, Nov 4 Cañada la Virgen and on to Guanajuato

 Friday, Nov 4, Cañada de la Virgen and on to Guanajuato

We were very efficient this morning and got our bags loaded in the van and were on the road before 9AM.  We're headed North towards Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende.  We go through  a fertile area with lots of agriculture going on.  Just before we leave the state of Michoacán and enter the state of Guanajuato, we cross over Lago de Cuitzeo. 

We stop for lunch and continue on to the archaeological site of Cañada de la Virgen.  The site is actually on a private ranch so it is managed differently than most other sites.  It is necessary to take their van transportation to the site and it is strictly controlled.  The van drops us off about a kilometer from the entrance to the site.  You gotta work for this one.  

The site was a major trading and ceremonial city for the Otomi people from around 600AD to 900AD.  Rain water was collected in large stucco basins. There are 3 main structures that we can visit.  The first structure we see is round and was dedicated to the wind god. The next one has a large sunken courtyard and has evidence of burials.  The third one also has evidence of burials.  There are steps up about 20 feet and then one sees into an inner courtyard area with a taller pyramid on the opposite side.  There were palace rooms on the sides.  In the past we were able to climb the pyramid but it is prohibited to do so now.  In the very center of the courtyard there was a small offering indicating that the area is still used for ceremonial purposes by some of the local people.  

The round structure to the wind.

By the time we get to Guanajuato, it is dusk.  Guanajuato is in a long valley that was heavily mined for silver and gold.  Some of the tunnels used in mining are now used as roads.  The streets are narrow, curvy and steep.  This is not a place where one can go around the block.  When we get to our hotel, we have to unload quickly as we're blocking traffic.  We get our rooms quickly, The bell boys help us with the luggage and finding our rooms.  The hotel is built on a hill and is quite the rabbit warren of curving halls, nooks and crannies.  Much like the city itself.  We go just up the hill to a very nice restaurant where we have dinner.