You might remember I was a week behind in getting to my Mexico pictures because the fan on my computer went out. I had previously made a three night reservation for after the tour when I was going to hang out in Guadalajara, catch up on pictures, and enjoy the museums, architecture, and The Scene in Guadalajara’s Centro Historico.
But it was not to be. I couldn’t find anyone to fix the computer Right Now because they had to order a new fan and then there was the risk of voiding the warranty, so I decided to come home early which had the added benefit of starting the cancer meds a few days earlier too.
I took an uber to the place below, the best place according to the hotel, which was a huge city block of phone cases, and a second floor of repair businesses.
I strolled back to the hotel through some of Centro Historico:
Here’s Rosy and Carlos, our hosts on this delightful tour to Copper Canyon and owners of Charter Club Tours.
Tour itinerary:
7:00 am Breakfast at the Hotel included Leave your luggage outside your room before breakfast. The bellboys will pick it up and load it onto the bus. Hotel check-out after breakfast. Deliver your room key to the front desk Please close your accounts the night before we leave to avoid crowds and delays 9:00 am Departure to the train station. 9:55 am The train departs from Divisadero bound for Los Mochis, taking us on a breathtaking journey as we descend from 8000 feet to 295 feet above sea level Lunch on board the train on your own 4:40 pm Arrival in Los Mochis, transfer to the Airport in Los Mochis 9:16 pm Flight Volaris Y4 1321 Los Mochis- Guadalajara 11:50 pm Arrives at Guadalajara airport, Transfer to Ajijic
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We actually left the hotel at 8:30am and arrived at the Guadalajara airport well after midnight. It was a very long day! I put all the train pictures on the first train day called El Chepe. We did have a break for an hour or so in Los Mochis where Michi and I had a walk to the Plaza to find the main church and also…
…and also we found Churros! So it’s ok, I can leave Mexico now because I had FABulous churros, crispy and fresh right out of the hot oil.
7:00 am Breakfast at the Hotel included 9:00 am Today, we will visit Creel a former logging town and the last stop of the Kansas City-Mexico, and Orient Railway. Since the Chepe train arrived in 1961, it has become a popular tourist destination at 7,700 feet above sea level. We will explore the San Ignacio de Arareco area, managed by the Rarámuri community, and take in stunning landscapes. We will also visit the Valley of the Mushrooms and Valley of the Frogs, known for their unique rock formations, and stop at the historic San Ignacio Mission, still used by the Rarámuri on Sundays. Lunch in downtown Creel on your own Return to the hotel 7:00 pm Dinner at the hotel included (drinks are not included)
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BUT FIRST we got to make a visit to a local woman who is developing opportunities for her small community. She has opened her home to visitors and everyone was amazed and appreciative that we had this chance.
The electricity is from some solar panels.
The view out the window.
It took some climbing to get down here, it was all built into what seemed a ledge in the mountain, and I failed to get a photo of the scene or of our host. There was shopping of course, baskets, carvings, etc. and it was a little crowded with us and the local people but what followed was a highlight for me.
Janice shared this picture of our host and it even includes my shiny red cane.
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I thought to start early going back up so I could take my time (No Falling!) and this young girl could see I was being super-cautious making my way slowly over the rocks and oddly spaced steps. She took my hand and led me up to the top, so gentle and sweet and firm and decisive. Oh lordy. And when we got to the top I asked if we could walk to her house and she led me through the trees to a nice place with folks doing chores in the yard, and then she let go of my hand. Look at her little finger looped around my bag. SIGH!
Now we continued on our journey to Creel.
El Museo Tarahumara de Arte Popular
Notice the walking sticks with the bird heads. Many in the group bought walking sticks and at the airport they combined them all in one wrapped package to get checked and the airline didn’t charge them anything. Clever!
Just a little corner of a town that looked very appealing, spiffy, with personality, and ambition.
Across from the museum and the train tracks were two churches, this one that I couldn’t get into and…
…this one, that I could get into.
This was unexpected and charming.
I took this picture to remind me of the Mennonite community being of Dutch and Prussian ancestry, settling in West Prussia, then moving to Canada in the 1800s, and then in the 1920s, coming to Mexico. Mestiza are the people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. Tarahumara seems to be a controversial name since the people call themselves Rarámuri.
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Here we are arriving at the Valley of the Mushrooms and Valley of the Frogs.
I get it. My Mushroom pictures are too weird though.
One of us. We could hear his drumming from a mile away, and the clarion call of shopping too.
A local church, the historic San Ignacio Mission, still used every Sunday…
…where the congregants stand.
Scene from a Western movie.
This day had two surprises from our hosts not on the itinerary, the stop at the local home, and this event of dancing and foot races.
Notice the rattles around the dancers legs, and notice the sandals on the violin player’s feet, made of leather strips and tire treads. They can run hundreds and hundreds of miles for years and years on one pair. All the footwear is made in exactly the same way.
This is an example of a training game for the Rarámuri. They run back and forth like this for hours. We broke up into the red team and the white team so we knew who to root for. The men are chasing after wooden balls that they flip up with their toes and hit with the sticks and the women are chasing after rope circles that they fling with their sticks.
Copper Canyon is a group of six interconnected canyons: Batopilas, Urique, Sinforosa, Candamena, Oteros, and Copper. These canyons are carved by rivers that eventually flow into the Rio Fuerte and then into the Gulf of California. They like to point out in all the literature that combined the six are bigger than the Grand Canyon.
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Tour itinerary:
7:00 am Breakfast at the Hotel included 9:00 am Departure to Divisadero and the Copper Canyon Adventure Park where you can enjoy a variety of activities while taking in stunning views. For a more relaxed experience, you can ride the Aerial Tramway, offering beautiful panoramic views of the canyon without the need for hiking. For a real thrill, consider the Zip Rider, one of the world’s longest and highest zip lines, though it’s completely optional. The park also offers easy walking trails, allowing you to explore the stunning landscape at your own pace. The park provides a perfect balance of nature, culture, and relaxation. The operation of the aerial tramway and the zip line is conditioned to different factors, such as the weather conditions or the need for unforeseen maintenance Lunch at the Adventure Park restaurant on your own After lunch, we will enjoy a walking tour from Adventure Park to Divisadero train station admiring the different canyons from the lookouts located along the way 3:30 pm Return to the hotel 7:00 pm Dinner at the hotel included (drinks are not included)
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We went up to the Adventure Park pretty early and it was Freezing Cold. Not what we expected since no one was prepared for temperatures in the 40s. It was so cold and windy too that many members of our group stopped off at the Park store to buy jackets and vests.
Several of us took the big Zip Rider and the rest cheered them on.
After we watched the Zip Riders take off those left rode the Aerial Tramway to a spot on top of one of the canyons.
What’s fun about buying things is it gives you a chance to interact with the seller.
These were different, crochet I think?
Here are a few pictures from around the hotel. Notice the two dogs. There were dogs everywhere silently waiting to be fed, and fed they were!
I must have gone for a little nap because this is the last picture of the day from after dinner.
A summary introduction from Wiki: “The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico (Chihuahua-Pacific Railway), also known as El Chepe from its reporting mark CHP, is a major rail line in northwest Mexico, linking the city of Chihuahua to Los Mochis, and its port, Topolobampo. It crosses part of the range that in the United States is called the Rocky Mountains. There is no road covering the trajectory.
“It runs 673 km (418 mi), traversing the Copper Canyon, a rugged series of canyons that have led some to call this the most scenic railroad trip on the continent. It is both an important transportation system for locals and a draw for tourists.
“The tracks pass over 37 bridges and through 86 tunnels, rising as high as 2,400 m (7,900 ft) above sea level near Divisadero (the continental divide), a popular lookout spot over the canyons. Each one-way trip takes roughly 16 hours. The track also crosses over itself to gain elevation.”
We rode from El Fuerte to Divisadero, about 7 hours, and on the way back from Divisadero to Los Mochis, about 9 hours. I couldn’t capture any of the drama of the train itself from inside so these first three pictures are from the internet.
All Aboard! (First Class All The Way)
Oh man this was awesome to stand there in the last car, all the windows open clickety-clackin’ along. I didn’t have it mostly to myself for too long, but long enough that I can still imagine the feeling.
The next two pictures show the most dramatic bridge, part of the switchbacks that move the train top to bottom and bottom to top.
We ate lunch in the First Class Dining Room. There was so much lurching and swaying going on up there that we passed on eating lunch in the Dining Room on the way back.
Our first introduction to a scene repeated often, local folk selling handmade baskets of this particular type made using needles from the Apache Pine Tree and the split leaves of the Sotol Cactus. While sometimes referred to as Tarahumara after the region, the Rarámuri is their own name for themselves, meaning “those who run fast”. There’s a 2009 NY Times bestseller by Christopher McDougall about their extraordinary running called Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen which I am tempted to read.
Everyone was buying baskets and continued throughout the trip. Maybe Michi will send me a picture of all the baskets she bought!
The view from my room.
Tour itinerary:
7:00 am Breakfast at the Hotel included. Leave your luggage outside your room before breakfast. The bellboys will pick it up and load it onto the bus. 8:00 am Hotel check-out deliver your room key at the front desk 8:15 am Departure to the train station 9:20 am The train departs from El Fuerte heading to Divisadero on a spectacular journey through Copper Canyon. This engineering marvel named the most dramatic train ride in the Northern Hemisphere by Reader’s Digest, climbs from sea level to nearly 8,000 feet, crossing 86 tunnels and 40 bridges. Lunch on board the train on your own 4:15 pm Arrival in Divisadero then transfer to Hotel Mirador Barrancas. Located in one of the most scenic spots in the canyon, the hotel offers amazing views of the Tararecua, Copper, and Urique Canyons right from your room balcony. The stunning views make the journey truly special. The hotel has a calm and relaxing atmosphere, perfect for enjoying the beautiful surroundings. You can watch local Tarahumara women weaving their traditional Sotol leaves and Apache Pine baskets at the hotel entrance. 5:30 pm Lecture about the origin of the Copper Canyon and the Raramuri Culture 7:00 pm Dinner at the hotel included (drinks are not included)
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Part of our introduction was this woman showing us how to start a basket. It was interesting to see and fun because it was the boy’s birthday and they both seemed to get a kick out of all the Happy Birthdays! coming their way.
They are selling handmade baskets at every corner but I got attracted to the cat below, made by the husband of the woman above!
AND last night’s most remarkable encounter with blinding clouds of mosquitos, the little no-see’ums that at first we thought were just annoying gnats but turned out to be blood-thirsty monsters. And I learned recently that two of the guys made a study of these fiends and decided they were sand flies, so I’ll change my future references.
Here are a few pictures from around the lovely hotel:
And below is the corner of the dining room where Michi and I ate dinner the first night, home to the invading army of sand flies.
Covering every surface of my body, ev-ree-where, and here it is days later, and I’m still really mad at those sand flies, but I can go 10-15 minutes without noticing so that’s better. I have a disgusting picture of one ravaged arm which I put here and then took out because YUCK.
Tour itinerary:
7:00 am Breakfast at the Hotel included 8:00 am El Fuerte tour: we will walk through the streets of El Fuerte, visitng the El Fuerte museum and the historic Municipal Palace, once the government seat of Sinaloa. Along the way, we will learn about the great Fuerte River, a vital source of life and development for the community. Free afternoon Lunch and dinner on your own
The group gathered for our first outing together.
This is a recreation on the same site as the original fort with a museum inside and many interesting artifacts.
A view from the fort of the Fuerte River, key to the agricultural prosperity of the area.
A view of downtown from the fort.
You can see a bit of this mural in the picture above. Represented here are many of the cultural icons of the local people, the Yoreme.
The handkerchiefs and belts you see hanging on the wires are part of the traditional costumes of the local people here for decoration.
Also not the original church but on the same site where the Jesuits set up shop. I stopped off inside.. where is the picture?
Lunch and dinner on your own, and both meals were YUM.
I spent most of the free afternoon back and forth to the pharmacy hoping to find Just The Thing to relieve my misery but without success. Then I had a FABULOUS massage and the woman who did the massage anointed my 1000 bites with some cooling liquid that was lovely going on and even lasted for a little while.
We gathered at 4am Monday at a corner in Ajijic to board a bus to the Guadalajara airport. From there we flew to Tijuana, and from there on to Los Moches, followed by another bus to today’s destination in El Fuerte. I made the map to show both Guadalajara and Mexico City so you can get a feel for the location of these places and of Copper Canyon. It was a long day and I have no pictures which turned out to be ok since I also have no internet in my room.
As I write on Tuesday night by the pool, I can report that we had a busy day and I hope to get to the pictures tomorrow but that might not happen either since tomorrow is one of the highlight days, the train ride through the canyon.
COPPER CANYON TOUR www.CharterClubTours.com April 1 -6, 2025 Day 1 Tuesday, April 1 4:15 am Gather at Departure Place: Centro Laguna Mall on the Libramiento Side 4:30 am Airport Transfer 7:09 am Flight Volaris Y4 1000 Guadalajara- Tijuana 7:09 am – 9:12 am 11:33 am Flight Volaris Y4 3260 Tijuana – Los Mochis 1:20 pm Arrives at Los Mochis airport Baggage allowed per person: 1 carry-on 22 Lbs (10 kg) and 1 personal item Transfer to El Fuerte Sinaloa Check-in at Hotel Posada del Hidalgo Free afternoon Dinner on your own Bring your swimming suit there is a nice pool at the hotel
Dona’s Donuts, a must for me when visiting the Lake Chapala area.
Neither of us were much for the jelly filled, and there was something wrong with the pecans. But oh my oh my the old-fashioned/buttermilks were a joy sublime.
Notice the rock roads. This is the default surfacing for roads and sidewalks. Wear your good shoes.
We went home to do a little of getting ready to go, watch some videos, do my pictures, take a little nap, and then it was time to EAT so we walked a couple blocks for some splendid take-away.
We went out first thing in the morning, around 9:30… for breakfast here at Punto Verde, Michi’s favorite breakfast spot. I got a flat white which made me happy and then some perfectly delicious food.
The mural on the back wall.
As we all know, my efforts to take a picture of food are always met with certain disappointment. I always do Something wrong. But here it is anyway because it was a real treat, the carefully placed flowers and seeds, the scrumptious green sauce, and the arepas with an especially tasty chicken salad.
Up on Michi’s roof getting rid of the fallen leaves before they clog the drains.
That’s Lake Chapala out there, the lowest line of blue.
From the neighbor’s tree.
Peeking around the corner.
We decided to go into Ajijic for dinner and a stroll on the Malecón. The whole place was packed with families enjoying a Sunday picnic in the park. We loved them all.
The building at the end of the pier is a primo place for meat in the Argentine style and we went there for a treat, and a treat it was.
They were really very good including many experienced adults and young people too. Based on the attendance at this concert and the density of ex-pats in Ajijic, it feels like there’s a significant cultural divide between the mostly grey-haired English-speaking ex-pats and the Spanish-speaking local community.
My favorite piece was by a guy I’d never heard of, Arturo Marquez, Danzon No.2.
At La Cucharita comida Hawaiana.
After the show we went to have a meal at this Hawaiian place where Michi had been helping them with the recipes, service details, etc. and they were very glad for it, that was clear. We ate at the family table set-up behind where we were all standing.
Cecilia, Michi, Ricardo, me
We were stopped in the street waiting for some traffic situation to resolve, so I asked these guys if they were up for a picture. Sure, they said! What were they doing? Where were they going? I don’t know.
Back at Michi’s, this is the living room. There’s a dining area, a kitchen, a large office, and a bathroom on this floor. The second floor has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a good sized lounge, with a ton of storage everywhere. Then more stairs take you to the roof. I’ll get up there tomorrow for a few pictures.
Michi was devoted to her mom who in turn was devoted to Hello Kitty!
Welcome to Michi’s house in the village of San Antonio Tlayacapan on the shores of Lake Chapala. We’re going to kick around here for a few days before joining a tour to Copper Canyon. Michi has organized a delightful itinerary that I will share as we go along. It was a long day today even though it’s a short flight from LA to Guadalajara. So I took a few pictures, Michi made us a yummy dinner, and then I lay me down to sleep.
The front door.
Looking toward the back. There are 5-6 units in this lovely compound currently carpeted in jacaranda blooms.
Michi is the first to note that she really likes things and having recently discovered Temu… well, you can imagine. But her newest prize is the cat below from World Market when she was in Santa Barbara last month. I might need one of those.
My first picture ever of Michi when we met in Guanajuato in 2007, a cutie then and a cutie now.
Cynthia booked us a private tour of Puebla for today but she wasn’t feeling well so it was just me and the guide. Cholula is a neighbor town to the larger Puebla, about 25 minutes away by car. I spent three weeks in Puebla in 2018 and I’m a big fan so it was great to be there again.
Here’s the main church in the main square with our gorgeous bride and groom.
Earthquake! We were up here on the roof of the Museo Amparo when a 5.6 earthquake hit very near by. They made us stand around for 10-15 minutes while they inspected the building. I didn’t even feel it although everyone else had big eyes. I told the guide I live in LA and don’t get out of bed for less than 6.
Views from the roof. Churches!
Back at Cynthia’s, views from her balcony. WOW!
Heading out in the morning for what proved to be a perfectly lovely ride home. I might not have mentioned I had an empty middle seat both ways, both flights on time, and I was happy!
Below is a map showing 1) San Cristóbal de las Casas where Cynthia had lived happily for 2 years. 2) The Mérida area when we spent our Thanksgiving week vacation. 3) Cholula where Cynthia has relocated, to check out another part of Mexico for a while.
We enjoyed a walk around the Zona Arqueológica de Cholula. The tunnels inside the Great Pyramid were closed, and I didn’t want to walk/hike/slog all the way up to the church, but it was good fun anyway!
Below is a view of a model of the Great Pyramid of Cholula in the museum and what it looks like at the site. All the white steps of the pyramid in the model are still covered and also below ground level now. I hope you can see it in the pictures and get an idea of how huge it is.
After this interesting walk-about we went home for a rest, and then out in the evening to see the lights and have some food.
The view from Cynthia’s living room, the main volcanoes of Cholula: Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl. Wow, what a view!
On the way, walking into town, we got an excellent view of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios sitting atop the Great Pyramid of Cholula, largest pyramid by volume in the world, most of the structure now hidden below ground.
We walked into town for lunch at a nice restaurant and a stroll with plans to come back tomorrow at night to catch the holiday displays.
(I of course talked to them before taking these pictures.)
This has been going on ever since we hit the road back on November 29. The pilgrims need to be at one of the churches dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe by December 12, the most important pilgrimage date in Mexico. The National Catholic Register reported that 12.5 million arrived in Mexico City last year. I didn’t see numbers on the other churches. It can be a days or weeks long journey. Pilgrims are traveling by foot often with support vehicles creeping along behind, on bicycles carrying huge statues on their backs, in trucks, and in cars.
It seems that how you go and what you wear is regional. It’s quite amazing to find these lines of walkers and bike riders sharing the highway with huge barreling trucks and speeding cars trying to pass the trucks, or the other way, trucks trying to pass the cars.
Notice the guy with the torch. People traveling in these trucks would, from time to time, dispatch a barefoot runner with a torch. Here’s a small story about the Torch Runners.
Here are some internet examples of pilgrims traveling to their destinations. We saw all this but I didn’t get a decent shot off.
We were stopped at a gas station/OXXO and the parking lot was full of these kids milling around. I called out “anyone want to be in a picture?” and this is what happened.
On the road again…
Earlier in the day we were hungry and Cynthia caught sight of a restaurant sign, so we turned around and came upon this place that was wonderful.
If we knew then what we know now we might not have added the time, but still, it was fun just to walk around.
Eyipantla Falls, the inset is a view from the long walk down that we didn’t take.
The viewing deck.
And the last sighting.
Here’s something from the drive. We got off the highway at a 1 hour security delay and ate a chicken.
It happens.
We rode over a few bridges built like this.
Arriving in San Andrés Tuxtla we checked into one of the most unique airbnbs either of us had ever experienced. And when the people are sweet, and they’ve worked hard, you might as well enjoy yourself. The quirky collection of.. what.. and the hand-made construction was not represented on airbnb. There was a nice restaurant just around the corner and we had a lovely evening.
Here’s the Family Band.
I already messed up this dish as usual, and it was so nicely composed when it came. Then it turned out to be really good so I took its picture.
We decided to let someone else drive us around today because it was going to be another long slog. We really wanted to see Palenque, it was the main reason for stopping in Villahermosa. The internet advice forums thinks it’s two hours under perfect conditions but it took us closer to three each way.
Here’s a map of the excavations.
WIKIPEDIA! “The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees but has since been excavated and restored.”
“Palenque is a medium-sized site, smaller than Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán ((wow I’ve been to all three..)), but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments. …By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km2 (1sq mi), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle. Palenque received 920,470 visitors in 2017.”
A too-long telephoto of the top of one of the structures where you can see the reliefs and inscriptions.
Can you see those people climbing up the structure in about the center of the picture. We all thought climbing was against the rules, but apparently not.
While we were in this place the howler monkeys were going nuts and their cries were echoing in this clearing.
Plenty of shopping opportunities along the way.
We were there near closing with a setting sun.
Cynthia took this pano.
Some aerials from the internet.
Our driver who spoke no English but was always there with an extra hand when the paths got slippery. No Falling. I was snug and safe with two hands between Cynthia and the driver. Cynthia bought him a ticket to come in with us and at that point, much to our surprise, we learned he was born in Villahermosa, lived there his entire life, and never visited the Zona Arqueológica. He was thrilled, taking pictures and texting with his wife.
We were stalled here for a long time, road work maybe I forget, but I took this picture as a reminder.
Our driver pointed out several of these monkey crossings. You can see the rope ladder there on the right.
(self-portrait)
After a long day we had to drive for over an hour in the dark and we were especially glad to have someone else do it!
We came here because of its proximity to Palenque and didn’t have the time to really look around so basically all we experienced was traffic. That said, I did admire this tanque elevado, adorned with the image of the sacred ceiba tree. We took a taxi to the bank rather than get the car out again and the driver told us there were several of these old water towers no longer in use but similarly decorated with other images.
The one above is a view from our building, and the one below is from the internet.
Also from the internet, a picture of one of the buildings in our complex. Ours was bright pink and there was at least an orange one and maybe a yellow one too. This picture was better…
After leaving Campeche we stopped for lunch in Cuidad del Carmen. It was a long drive through country roads made up mostly of speed bumps and pot holes but the landscape was so lovely we both decided it was worth it, even to the driver who had to navigate all the hazards. The highways had their challenges too, long waits at toll booths, overturned trucks, and multiple security slowdowns. If google says 5 hours, and you have to stop for food and gas, count on 7-8! Cynthia drove and I was just lolling in my seat, enjoying the views, and took not one photo.
Another thing that was super-evident in every town – you never paint your house the same color as your neighbor’s. It just isn’t done. There are some exceptions I’m thinking of when white is a popular choice, but watch out for your trim – it better be different.
Campeche arrival above, but first we stopped off in Mérida for a little look around and especially to check out the main square because I wanted to see it, having been there 15-20 years before. I remembered nearly nothing, but that’s ok because it was cool again.
The oldest cathedral in Latin America.
La Casa de Montejo, built between 1542 and 1549, before the cathedral, and also on the main square.
Close-up of a government building on the square. And we ate on the square, and visited the roof of another building on the square. I got my square.
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And now on to Campeche. We arrived late and right away decided to find the main square.
We went for dinner at a nice place with a balcony overlooking the church and the square.
We took a short stroll through the old town…
…to enjoy the Malecon, and then we grabbed a taxi home.
I got to swim in a cenote! Cynthia took the photos – that’s me treading water and me floating on my back trying to take a picture with my malfunctioning underwater camera. Ahhh, it was fantastic despite the camera hassle. The water is circulating from an underground reserve, not salty like the sea, not sulfuric like a hot spring, more like cool, fresh, and crazy-refreshing well water.
This cenote, as are many in Yucatan, is part of a cave. Others are open to the sky. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
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We got to the cenote by taking a tour of the sisal operation at the Hacienda Sotuta de Peón. I enjoyed the tour and thought that we learned a lot about a not-so-long-ago time and of a huge once-essential industry now gone. The guide said many times “thank you for being here, we keep äll this alive for you, our tourists.”
How it works.
The House. So much information!
We got to the cenote on these donkey-drawn carts on the tracts previously used to move the raw materials, agave leaves, into the processing areas, and then took the finished products to trains bound for the coast and then out to the world. The mules rigging is made from the sisal processed here. They also sell bits and bobs, toys, washing pads, fans, decorative hangings, etc.
Our most dramatic guide who with great flourish told us the story in Spanish and English. Thanks for the photo Cynthia.
After the tour we ate there at the Hacienda, a four course meal of local foods served banquet style that was really quite tasty and the venue was exceptionally comfortable.
We got back just as it was getting dark, in time to pack up in readiness to leave in the morning for our 1,000+ mile Road Trip to Cholula.
We walked down to the pier to catch the big waves and the stormy sky. This family was out for a walk too.
Dinner!
Our front gate. They call the property Las Palomas.
The street outside the gate, very representative of this whole area except for along the main road.
The next block over. It is common here for construction to happen on a pay-as-you-go basis which we think might be why there appear to be so many abandoned projects. Decorations and style are always evident.
Waiting for phase 2?
Our place is outlined there in red. You can see C. 9 in the far lower right. It’s the only paved road on this part of the isthmus. Is it isthmus or some other name? I haven’t been able to figure it out. There’s a map back there on day two or you can just google Chaburná.
We were driving down the main road outside town leading from Chaburná to Chelem and noticed a couple dozen parked cars. What’s that? Let’s find out. Only open on Mondays, it was a place selling things to white people! In the last many days we saw two white people eating in a restaurant and that was it. And then this, they’re all here, more ex-pat than tourist it seemed. A few of the vendors were local but mostly not.
The tables in the back entirely populated by white people. Notice the woman in the moon-shaped highlight, the one with the two adorable dogs…
..here she is featuring her tattoo.
In the back there was also a coffee cart cut from an old VW bus. And there are so many white people patronizing this place they even have a flat white, the order of coffee that the guy in at the Mexico City airport told me they don’t have in Mexico.
We were on our way to the vets to pick up something for Kai. It was delightful there at the vets, Kai is perfectly fine btw, and then we came home to eat leftovers and me to look at pictures, Cynthia to work.
1) We were on our way somewhere else and noticed a scattering of people dressed up for an occasion making their way down a dirt road to the beach. Let’s go see! So we parked and joined at the end of the line of people walking. Wow did we come across something great. Everyone was happy to chat, happy to let me take their picture, and happy to be there.
I’m going to ask Cynthia to type up what it says on this banner, telling about the events of today and tomorrow:
And now the whole group is off, walking to the church. At the far right you can see the altar that the guys are carrying, featured in the first picture.
We followed the band out, and back to our car.
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2) And then we were off to our intended destination – Pig Beach.
Los Tres Cochinitos – The Three Little Pigs
From the beverage stand above Cynthia got one of her favorites, chamoyada. Tasty and refreshing!
Plenty of family friendly fun.
And yes there were pigs! There were a couple pens with an attendant permanently stationed to sweep up the poo and water down the pee. They let the pigs out for 30 minutes or so every few hours. The beach, made up almost entirely of small shells, was spotless. And except that we parked in a pay lot, it was free. But how was Pig Beach Progreso created?
FROM A SPANISH LANGUAGE WEBSITE: “The story of the Pig Beach pigs begins a little sad. They were found on an empty lot and rescued by the Progreso Ecological Police, who were unable to save their mother. The orphaned pigs were adopted by this police force, who took them one day to the beach and noticed that they enjoyed being there. From these visits, the idea arose of creating a tourist attraction that had an educational and environmental element.”
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3) Our last stop was La Iglesia de San Ignacio where we enjoyed the company of this lovely couple. The man, who was closing up the church, showed us around instead and told us the history of the church and the nearby buildings.
We enjoyed the morning, took Kai for a swim, I read my book, it was lovely. Then around 2 we started making Thanksgiving Dinner! You can tell easily enough which plate is Cynthia’s (above) and which is mine (below).
From the front yard.
This was an adventure. No can opener here. Cynthia says every single canned good in Mexico has a pop-top but since this was imported “we” (she) had to improvise!
Veg for the salad, potatoes and gravy, Cynthia’s entirely homemade green bean casserole which includes a homemade cream of mushroom soup. It was delicious. It was all delicious!
We did a lot of tidying along the way. There was another small prep area by the sink on the right. It turned out perfectly that we didn’t have to cook the turkey since the oven’s max temperature was so low it could barely cook the green beans.
Dessert! Cookies from Mérida and pecan tart from the bakery in Progreso.
Kai enjoying the fan.
From this morning when, instead of my camera being fogged up, the day was fogged up.
At a busy intersection in Progreso, this mural is pretty cool. Notice how they painted the power pole to fit in, and how, below, they added a top to the lighthouse, to match the actual lighthouse behind it.
We went to a bakery in Progreso, the largest town on this spit of land. Both the pecan tart and the tres leches cake were delicious. They also had a big, air-conditioned market where we picked up a few more things. Oh we are not going to go hungry.
We drove to the ‘other’ end. I call this picture Birds of a Feather. You can’t actually see the two flocks but you get the idea.
It was just Too Hot to walk out there where there might be turtles.
At this marina you could take a fishing tour or a ride through the mangroves for bird watching.
We’re having a Thankful day too but not Thanksgiving yet because the turkey is still defrosting. It was the only turkey left in the biggest grocery store in Mérida, the capital city of Yucatan, where turkey is ‘a thing’. We didn’t discover until we got home that it’s smoked and already fully cooked!
Here are a couple more pictures of Kai relishing the sand in the back yard.
Early(ish) morning reflectos. I knew better and did it anyway. The bedrooms are air-conditioned, outside the bedrooms it has been hot and muggy so I had the camera in the oh-so-cool and dry atmosphere of the bedroom and took it straight outside. Bam, Fog. The camera lens fogged up like crazy and this was the only picture I could rescue.
Later, after the camera recovered, I went back outside again and who can resist a morning moon. Not me.
We have many coconut palms with plenty of coconuts. Watch out!
I had a super-fun time going to the local shops in this village of Chuburná. Which reminds me to make a map.
OK, back to the shops! We went to four places, I got to say a few things in Spanish, and everyone smiled and did their very best to understand me. Cynthia’s Spanish is excellent and she could always help me out. It was so fun, the shopkeepers didn’t need to speak English at all although I’m quite sure their English would have been better than my Spanish…
First we went to a little mini-mart where I realized how fun this was going to be. They didn’t have much in the area of fruits and vegetables so the guy there sent us to a fruits and veg place a few blocks away. Across the street from the fruits and veg place was another small store selling chicken feet (attached to the chicken – chicken feet are a special treat for Kai that you can buy dried out and oh boy does he love chicken feet). We were looking for more raw food disinfectant and the woman at the chicken feet place sent us around the corner to a pharmacy. Mission Accomplished!
The fruit place and the pharmacy.
Time to eat! We walked over to a nearby fish place and again, fun. Not as delicious as we might have hoped but fun nonetheless. The seating was really comfortable and the staff were lovely. And if you are eating there, you are welcome to use their pool!
All of this just came to the table. Yikes…
We asked for guacamole and got this. It was the best part of the meal. We also got a fish dish and a shrimp dish – a feast.
Later we took a nice nap and then cooked a dinner of pasta and meatballs and sauteed vegetables. It was delicious!
I’ve had such good experiences with AeroMexico that I’m happy to use them again and lucky dog me, an empty seat.
I decided to overnight in Mexico City so that I could arrive to meet Cynthia in Mérida in the middle of the day, and anyway I’d been wondering what those capsule hotels were like, so I did it. And it was an adventure! I’m not saying you need to do it, but you definitely Can do it should it be a convenient choice.
That person is not me, but how it looked, with bathrooms, showers, and lockers outside the sleeping area.
First I enjoyed dinner in a nice restaurant after which, a good night’s sleep.
In the morning I rolled out of bed, walked to my flight, and flew to Mérida. Cynthia picked me up at the airport. Before we made the 40 minute drive to our little village on the Gulf of Mexico called Chuburná, we decided to do an extensive grocery shopping in a really big Super Mercado that specializes in imported and gringo-familiar goods. We filled the cart with tasty treats including not only the hoped for turkey but also the unexpected but wonderful whole cranberry sauce. WOW.
Downside, the turkey was frozen but No Problem because OUR Yummy and Safely defrosted Thanksgiving is going to be on SUNDAY!
Here are a few pictures from the back of our vrbo but it got to raining hard so I went in. More pictures coming for sure!
What with my ankle and Michi’s cold our last couple days have been pretty quiet. We went into Chapala to get Michi’s car serviced and to get Falin to give my ankle another welcome physio-treatment.
The main street in Chapala is totally torn up and this was as close to the church as I could get.We stopped off at another one of Michi’s places for a morning snack with Felipe.
Walking back from lunch on the way to get the car: CATS! There were 20 of them in one small alley.
Sunrise on my last morning in San Antonio.
Below the view from Michi’s front door and the street around the corner where you will find, among other things, the fish restaurant, a drinking club for ex-pats, and a welcoming coffee spot.
Above is the main street and the very long bike/walk path beside it. The path runs for miles which is excellent considering the situation with the sidewalks. This is the road that runs mostly around the lake and the only ‘main’ road. Michi’s place is across the street from the picture on the left the left and one block from the picture on the right.
Closing off with the opening map of this journey. And next stop Home-Sweet-Home.
The Dog Mural(!) so deep in shadows, all known to be local dogs.
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But first Michi went to exercise and I hung out at THE donut place, Dona’s Donuts. I dream about Dona’s Donuts.
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We did some driving and walking around town to scout out the murals.
Called ‘El Muro de los Muertos’ (‘The Wall of the Dead’), these are the corner walls of a primary school that showcase a Mexican version of memento mori, made by local artist Efrén González in 2016. During the Day of the Dead celebrations each skull holds a candle. I looked at some pictures online and it’s a very cool thing to see.
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Wow, some colors.
A well-known corner in Ajijic.
A couple from the plaza walk street.
Thumbs up on the tiles around the doorway.Ajijic, where English IS Spoken!More on the theme of Día de los Muertos.Along the Malecón.A view walking out to the Argentine restaurant where we ate a feast....but mostly admired the view!
We had a busy day today with activities and meeting some of Michi’s friends.
Sidni is preparing for a show of her work and there’s much to be done. The top picture is some of her paper mache pieces that are already finished and below we find Sidni in her workshop.
(Sidni Monroe sidnimonroe@gmail.com Sid says feel free to write to her about her work.)
And more on the way.
After our lovely visit with Sidni we went to the old railway station where they often hold Sunday concerts.This is the concert hall. Today’s concert featured a quartet, three strings plus piano, who played music from video games and movie sound tracks arranged by the first violin, and it was delightful.
Peeking through the crowd…
And an after-the-show grab shot of the piano player and the first violin who did the arrangements.
Then we went to lunch next door and met up with Kathleen and Falin for a very good lunch in the garden..
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And then we went home to rest! There are eight units in this complex all of them very big and with the mirador on the roof and a view of the lake.
You’ll remember I spent Christmas and New Year’s with Cynthia in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and I am now in San Antonio, Lake Chapala, Jalisco with Michi. The Holiday Season rages on. This is a good web page telling about a ton of Christmas traditions in Mexico from December 12 – February 2 with good pictures of food, decorations, etc.
Yesterday we decided to celebrate January 6th, the day when the children in Mexico traditionally get their gifts from the three Magi (because I wanted to see what that cake was like!). There’s a 3 Kings Cake reminiscent of the Mardi Gras King Cake with a baby Jesus baked in. Michi hit the baby on her first cut! We ate a little of the cake and gave the rest away…
Boxes of 3 Kings Cake available in San Cris and the one Michi bought for us here in San Antonio.
So you can get a feel for the size of Lake Chapala in comparison to the very large city of Guadalajara.That little bit of the shore from Ajijic to Chapala is where most of the US and Canadian ex-pats live, and there are plenty of them. We are in San Antonio.I decided to walk to the San Antonio church, the plaza, and then to the lake. Not my best idea considering my twisted ankle. At some point both sidewalks disappeared and I turned back. At least I could oh-so-carefully and oh-so-slowly make it across those driveways.The central plaza..
..and the church that looks a lot like a California mission.
Decorations and the required water delivery since no one, not even locals, drinks the water.100s of designs along the way.
In a prior life Michi was a private chef for hoity-toity parties in Aspen and Vail. Now she cooks for her friends. YUM!
Kai in the window for every arrival and departure. Hi Kai! Bye Kai!
Below is a drone picture of San Cris that Cynthia found online. She’s contacted the owner hoping to buy a print. The detail is amazing. You can orientate yourself by the Cathedral and Plaza Central in the foreground and the Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe directly up the hill.
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El Jardin La Reserva Real de Guadalupe where we had lunch with..
..Alison (I forgot to take a picture and she kindly sent a selfie…) and Jennifer (who hasn’t sent a picture yet…). Jennifer is Michi’s friend Jill’s friend and Alison is Jennifer’s friend, with both Jennifer and Alison permanently settled in San Cris, Jennifer for a couple years and Alison for many years.
We had such a good time!
We had so many delicious meals at home, here’s just a sample.
The cat who lives here says ‘see you later .. and welcome home’.Thank you Cynthia SO MUCH for such a Wonderful visit!
Cynthia designed an art walk for us that stuck pretty close to home so my ankle would make the distance and we got to see a wonderful selection of the oh so many galleries and museums on offer in San Cristóbal de las Casas. I’m writing this on the 6th and don’t remember so well what’s what…but here are a few pictures.
One of the galleries offered a mescal tasting opportunity and this lovely woman above told us all about it.
A really interesting museum with a particularly excellent photography exhibit.
A wall in one of the galleries.Many of the galleries have cafés too.Let’s look at this church from here.
Copied from the tour website: “Leave the tourist track behind on this visit to the indigenous communities of the Tzotzil ethnic group of Mexico. The tour includes a visit to the town of San Juan Chamula to see the fusion of contemporary and ancient Mayan traditions, and a tour of Zinacantan to see locals working pre-Columbian waist looms and to sample handmade tortillas and regional drinks.”
I wanted to do this tour on a Sunday because I heard the church was most amazing then. Amazing is not strong enough to express how AMAZING it was to see. There’s a wikipedia article that talks about San Juan Chamula and the church – I’m having a problem figuring out how to summarize it and include some of the guide’s stories too.
One important thing to mention is that absolutely no photos are allowed inside the church and taking pictures of people without asking is highly discouraged. The next two pictures are not mine.
Not My Photo: the city has it’s own police, the men in white. The men in red and black are religious celebrants. We did see them gathered but I didn’t take a picture.Not My Photo: a picture someone posted from inside the church. When we were there it looked like this only more crowded and the church is much larger than it seems here.
And here’s an abridged version of sweet Kiki’s essay of her experience (thanks Cynthia!)
MY INITIATION IN CHIAPAS 1977 – Michaela and I arrived in San Cristobal after suffering 14 hours on a third class bus from Oaxaca. I had a sore throat, and worse debilitating diarrhea. Leaving the bus and entering the terminal full, we were greeted by many vendors calling for their hostels. We went with the first one—a bed for three US dollars a night! The room was dark and cold and looked as old as the city, but it had two beds. We fall over them. The next morning, we went to the only coffee shop, right in the town square, Cafe Central. During breakfast, my friend fell in love with a young Mexican who invited us to his home during our stay, and we immediately happily accepted. This man was an artist who worked with hardwood, turning them into pots and bowls. Her house was filled with these wooden treasures and all Holy Day people knocked on her door to see the latest job of the day. They also came to drink tequila and smoke marijuana.
This artist had promised to take us to an indigenous people. “Wow” we thought. “ a real indigenous people. Incredibly exciting! “
The daily share of tequila and marijuana, however, led us to postpone our excursions many times. It was always tomorrow. Finally, the morning has come. The three set sail accompanied by Gabriel, the artist’s friend and neighbor – the man who would become my husband. We are driving to chamula promised land. —an indigenous Mayan town, just six kilometers from San Cristobal.
Today, Chamula is unrecognisable from that town I first visited in 1977. Now there are concrete houses and photocopy shops, but thirty years ago, it was still a straw-roofed adobe shack town. It looked exactly like I had imagined an indigenous people. In its center was a large market place in front of a small white church. This church has maintained so much of what it was back then. It was and still is decorated around the entrance and with windows in every Mexican color possible. With the bright morning sun, it shone like a precious jewel—one I wish I had hidden in my pocket.
From the bright light of day, we entered the darkness of the church vessel, lit alone by hundreds of candles all over the floor. Imagining purgatory for the first time in my life, I thought, “If that exists, this is what it looks like.”
There is no altar but a priest that celebrates the holy mass. The last priest of the church was run decades ago, by the chamulas. Since then, they have organized their own rituals and parties in the way they like themselves.
There aren’t even benches. Instead, one has to stand or sit on the floor. The Chamulas consider it an audacity that one sits on comfortable benches in front of God.
Beautifully crafted wooden boxes are seen all over the walls, with glass fronts and sides. Each of them protects a saint who is carefully and colorfully dressed in Mayan weaves and decorated with an enormous number of silk ribbons. I am told that every Catholic saint is considered parallel to an ancestral Mayan God.. There’s a little mirror hanging from the neck of every saint. An anthropologist once explained to me that the mirror is to remember the supplication it is actually taking for itself.
Behind the rows of many different colored candles, the faithful recital of the speakers that sounds a lot like the chanting of Tibetan monks—monotonous and enchanting. On both sides of the ship, witches perform their healing ceremonies with basil crumbs, coca-cola, raw eggs and, sometimes, a live chicken. The church smells intensely of copal (a common resin burned like blessed incense)
The Chamulas tolerate tourists because they want to sell them their folk art, but it’s not that they like it. This is especially true when men have been drinking pox (a strong, home-made liquor). In fact, they can become downright hostile. Many of the men who pray in churches are drunk; it is a local belief that one must be drunk to communicate with God. A tourist wearing a camera can trigger an assault. I once had to rescue an elderly French tourist from Chamula prison. Ignoring the procedures Chamulas, he had committed the mortal sin of photographing the interior of the church. Thankfully, money usually and quickly cleanses these kinds of sins. The French man paid a fine and was allowed out—without his camera, though.
Few months later I got married and pregnant with my first child.
Since that first visit, I have been to Chamula countless times. Seems to me like no place like they do parties like the ones they do over there.
The cemetery in San Juan Chamula, oh yes, there is a story here too.Our guide.From the tour’s website, the top three in Chamula and the bottom three in Zinacantan.The first two garments represent the clothing of the village ‘before’. Once Zinacantan became a flower-growing center they began wearing clothing heavily embroidered with flowers, the second two garments. Around this room were examples of the clothing from the surrounding villages. You hear often how among the indigenous people everyone can recognize another’s home village by their clothes. We visited two indigenous villages and now I recognize people from there too.A nice touch – samples of the local liquor.
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On another topic, this is Sunday New Year’s Morning on the Andador. Perfectly cleaned up from the night before.
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Left foot OK, right foot not so OK, but still I’m moving along.
..we went to the dog friendly El Encuentro: “Biodiversidad Parque Natural Encuentro. This park is private property, but open to the public as a voluntary conservation area located to the east of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in the lower middle part of the Jovel Valley Basin, on the banks of the Fogótico River. It comprises a wide range of environmental conditions that include pine-oak forest, scrub, riparian vegetation, and open areas of induced grasslands. Historically it has been known as a place for family recreation and recreation.” from naturalista.mx.Kai having the best time……running to join all the people who might give him pets. I waved, they waved back.
Below is me resting while Cynthia checked out more of the grounds including the gardens above.
YES, a taxi to take us home……for an afternoon rest. Kai, in his spot.Next stop was the trolley tour around San Cris featuring, no surprise here, churches.So many churches…
The adults in this group where taking various pictures of this kid and that one and various selfies so I asked the woman holding the baby if she’d like a picture with everyone. Oh yes, she would like that very much, and handed me her phone. Gather ’round, Click Click. Then she said wait wait you, patted a spot on the bench, and gave Cynthia her phone. Wellll, I had to have that picture too!
This group was gathered in the plaza of yet another church. I was so taken with all the fun that I forgot about the church and we had to hurry back to the trolley as this was a 10 minute stop amazingly without a vendor in sight.Our tour ends with another view of the central plaza in front of the cathedral.This restaurant on the plaza was having a big Prix Fixe dinner but we ate at home – a pile of fabulous tamales and one of Cynthia’s yummy salads, and then came here for a late night hang on the balcony…and then home sweet home by 11. Right up my alley!
This is some detail from the facade of the Temple of Santo Domingo.
It’s so dramatic, I need to find some information… There’s a very large market in front.
An inside view.
Below, from the front door, and from the back.
Google street view of a normal street in the historic center where behind these doors you will find the massage place, a few restaurants, shops, a hair cutting place, etc. and Instituto de Lenguas Jovel…Cynthia’s school where she has been going in every day but I’ve done zoom for the sake of my twisted ankle. Today, Friday, I went in!The front door and behind that door check it out!
Here are my teachers again because they are so adorable.
The textile museum was just closing but they let us have a few minutes convincing us to come back another time.We had a roaming buffet for dinner at a couple of Cynthia’s favorite places beginning at this most delicious tacos al pastor con piña place (notice the pineapple above the meat – each taco gets a sliver of pineapple too)....then, check out that door. You go up to the door, tell the woman there how many you want and what toppings you want and she produces a type of taquito so delicious, really one of the most memorable tastes so far. We are eating them on a park bench across the street.
Then we went to a nearby bakery and selected among so many delicious-looking treats, and then we took a cab home. Another great day in San Cris!
There is one exact shape of clay palomas in 100s of sizes and ornmentations and 100s of jaguars with a specific attitude all around town made in the neighboring village of Amatenango del Valle. We’ve learned the historical reason for the jaguars and are still looking for an explanation on the palomas (which translated by google, a paloma is both a pigeon and a dove).
Our first outing of the day took us to the museum Na Bolom, coming from the Tzotzil Mayan language and means ‘House of the Jaguar’, and home to an excellent collection of artifacts from the the home of the Danish archaeologist Frans Blom (1893-1963) and his wife, the anthropologist and photographer Gertrude Duby de Blom (1901-1993) .
Here is a not-too-long but very academic report of the Jaguar, God of the Underworld.It’s very beautiful and interesting too containing art galleries, historic objects, and a very well known research library.Representing the research area of the Bloms.Taking a taxi to our next destination, note the objects on the dashboard. We got to talk about them with the driver and when I picked up my camera to catch a picture of the mural which just happened to have the dashboard in it…the driver stopped dead in the street so I could get the shot. Thanks for that!We were making plans here for NYEve and this guy was in the window. It’s the place where the first picture was painted on the wall.Cynthia caught this precious child from the back seat of our next taxi.It goes by many names, all of them deserved: The Main Market, The Central Market, The Big Market!
It’s an amazing place and overwhelming as the Main Central Big Markets can be. We ate a popular street snack containing corn from the cobs boiling in front of you, shredded carrots, cucumbers, salsa, and beets all crushed up in a bag of something like tortilla chips. YUM!
I had a lot of fun in the market because everyone was chatty and seemingly happy to engage. One of the things I learned was that in this picture on the right are all the ingredients you need to make an important beverage, ponche, and there are a lot of ingredients involved!
The neighborhood street dog. Cynthia says she runs into her everywhere and everyone knows her and gives her pets.We had to make a reservation two days in advance to be able to eat at this well-known Italian place where the owner and his wife run the six table establishment by themselves. It was totally fun and pretty darn tasty too.The type of arcade that is in every Plaza Central I’ve ever visited in Mexico.
This might be some part of the back of the Cathedral, it’s the same color anyway.
Batman roaring around the Plaza Central on a Wednesday night.
Cynthia has so many fun things in mind for us to do and here I am, able to hobble a few blocks. We’ve been using taxis often to get around and it’s quite something because when you want one, there one is. I’m grateful!
This is the main church located in the central plaza, the Catedral de San Cristóbal de las Casas. (The inset is from expedia.) It’s been under renovation for some time but now it is possible to visit on Sundays.Lovely!Every night the huge plaza facing the cathedral is packed with food and craft vendors, and even a small amusement park for the kids.We had a deeelightful massage! This is Cynthia’s picture from the window. You can see the Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe up on the hill above the trees.
Cynthia asked me if I wanted to take classes at her school for a week and I was so excited to say Yes Please! Because of my ankle I haven’t gone into the school yet but I’m still hopehopehoping to make it tomorrow. We’ve been doing zoom, one teacher for the first hour and a half and another for the second hour and half. So much learning, so much fun! And just how adorable are mis maestras?!
Sunset from the balcony and the downstairs window.
One of the many dining options where multiple restaurants share a space. I’m going to tell about the places we’ve had a chance to enjoy so far.
Cynthia looked up all our restaurants so I could remember. Good job Cynthia!
Friday arriving from Mexico City: Cocoliche – Asian/Latin fusion
That’s right, all day I just lay around in bed with my foot up on pillows, Cynthia and Kai attending to my every need. This was Monday. Tuesday, among other things, we went to the doctor who was a delight and offered excellent news of my early recovery. There’s more to tell, coming soon.
What a cutie. The entire visit including 30+ minutes with the doctor, medications, a wrapping bandage, cost $30. Although you can easily spend $30+ on a restaurant meal, you can also easily spend $5 on a three course prix-fixe.
Santa brought a pile of treats to San Cristóbal de las Casas for us to enjoy!
Even Kai enjoyed unwrapping his own gift. He so enjoys his toys, it’s a joy to watch him play.
After admiring all our gifts we decided to walk to the most prominent church here, you’ve seen it glowing on the horizon a few times already. Here are some scenes from the walk. Maybe 1/20th of the places were open and that still offered endless entertainment.
Shops, restaurants, cozy hotels, and yes, it’s one entertaining wall after another.
Corn is often featured in indigenous designs.
This guy had a lot of “HEY, look at ME” energy going on. And “No one is illegal.”
This artist is fully engaged.
We went into one of those doors you’ve been seeing along a plain street and inside was a huge garden and work space as well as a restaurant and a hostel. Every surface was a delight.
Here’s an opportunity to extol the variety and quality of the food available in San Cris. There are expats here from every part of the world and many of them open restaurants so indeed the world is at your doorstep. I’ve had pictures of a few restaurants and maybe you get the idea. And more to come!
The street that leads to the main church, Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.
There she is at the top of the stairs, where I walked(!) and this is the view from the top. We’ve been seeing the red, white, and green flags all along the street but I didn’t put together that they were the colors of the flag of Mexico.
Flying over the patio of the church, the flag of peace.Inside the church, continuing the theme of peace.From the back of the church looking over fields of vegetables.A police station at the bottom of the church.Hola you guys.Across the street from where we ate dinner.Inside … It’s a beautiful place with an eclectic international menu including for example Spanish paella and the two dishes we got, an Italian seafood pasta and a lentil dish with Indian flavors.
After dinner we were headed to a theater that shows independent and local films. Everything was entirely normal. I was walking as I had for several days, very carefully over the rocky, slippery, narrow, sidewalks that command your attention to be careful. This time I was crossing a very steep driveway with water running over it’s ridges, as I had so many times before, but this time, YIKES, the water was soapy. So Soapy. UH OH, and I’m down.
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I didn’t want to go to the doctor I just wanted to go home and lie down and think about it later. Cynthia got us a taxi and then she went full-on Florence Nightingale. She went out for a compression bandage and fixed me right up including ice (off-on-off-on ETC!), and provided the entire RICE treatment = Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. She’s done it all. This happened Sunday night.
I believed it wasn’t too serious because I could move all my joints and I could stand on two feet. It’s Tuesday morning now and I’m better but still sore and I can’t walk so well. We might swing by the clinic today just to confirm I’m not going to make myself worse by trying to walk.
San Cristóbal de las Casas, locally referred to as San Cris, is a haven of arts and crafts shopping. So many wonderful locally produced items of clothing, decor, accessories, and more.
There are two large streets that cross each other that are pedestrianized and chock-o-block with shops and restaurants. The street below is an example of one of the regular streets. Behind every door is some new delight.
For example, this is the patio entrance to a restaurant.Here’s another one with a restaurant and an art gallery.Santa bought me one of these shirts in blue.Oh look, James Ellroy, an acquaintance from jr and senior high school, translated into Spanish.Where we had lunch.A funny chef pitching his Christmas mole dinner. These are the mole ingredients and it’s all you can eat. We might have considered it but already had reservations for a Gala Menú Especial de Navidad.
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And here it is. We got every item on the menu as there were two selections for each category. As is often the case the appetizers were delicious, the best part of the meal. It was great fun!
Pictures from the restaurant’s website.
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A holiday decoration and a sneak peek of the Christmas Tree.
Following are street scenes on our arrival day from Mexico City, a late afternoon walk-about. Looking back I see they mostly/entirely feature churches. There are a lot of churches here. Also churches always stand out in a landscape and apparently I find them interesting.
This is a quick hello, more tomorrow.
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Here’s a reminder of where you can find San Cristóbal de las Casas.
This is from the living room window I’ve looked out of for days and this is the first time I’ve noticed this huge flag off in the distance.
Looking in another direction from the fire escape.Out our front door facing Fuente de Cibeles..…and around the corner……and down the road.
We totally appreciated everything about our stay in Roma Norte and would gladly stay again but since we missed all of the glorious sites of Chapultepec Park we might stay even closer to the park than we were in Roma Norte.
In the vicinity of the splendid Plaza Río de Janeiro centered by this statue of David, “cast in bronze, not much more is known about it. It was placed here in 1976, presumably by the park architect, Juan Alvarez Ordoñez. The project was lead by the Mexico City government to reshape the neighborhood.”
This church is just down the block from the park and the story goes the priests were aghast at having the naked David within sight but the city prevailed and the David didn’t get covered up. They’ve got some nice windows in there.Notice all the greenery on the apartments around the park.One more of the grand buildings around Plaza Rio de Janeiro.
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We spent a couple hours with a street artist who took us around Roma Norte pointing out pieces and telling us about the artists, the interests of the street artists of Mexico City, and some of the themes to watch for. We enjoyed it very much
Cynthia will remember about these two above because it was interesting…
A pre-hispanic interpretation of Our Lady of Guadalupe.The guide took us to this handsome building that housed a number of galleries each featuring a different artist.
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There are a few square blocks in the middle of Roma Norte nicknamed La Romita. It’s the original square in the area.
The front of the church.Around the back of the church.Around the plaza of La Romita. We watched a dog snag one of those chickens, gone in the blink of an eye.
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Some more in the ‘hood.
“The Secret Donuts Society”Walking home.This wasn’t meant as art but is red-paint-blood from a recent demonstration. The guide didn’t remember the topic.
This is the plaza outside our front door. The fountain is called Fuente de Cibeles and is a replica of one in Madrid. The traffic circle, Plaza Villa de Madrid, is where Oaxaca, Durango, Medellín and El Oro streets converge in Colonia Roma. It’s never congested, no one honks, it’s clean and lovely and surrounded by culinary delights.
We had a most excellent tour today, really, the guide was wonderful and we both went away feeling we had learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it.
The tour met in front of the cathedral but since it was covered in scaffolding and fenced off from the square, I got an inset off the internet to give some idea of the vast scale of the plaza. The other building surrounding the plaza were decorated to the nines.One exit from the plaza.Here’s our Guillermo, a perfect guide.What was once the principal pyramid, the Templo Mayor, of the Mexica people. The temple was added to, one layer on top of another, seven times over the course of 200+ years. We heard a Lot about human sacrifices, oh yes Guillermo assured us, human sacrifice was for sure a thing.Plaza de Santo Domingo. There’s a lot here including this first church of the Dominicans who were in charge of the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico, called the Mexican Inquisition here. The building on the right was the headquarters of the Inquisition for nearly 300 years and then became the central focus of all commerce in Mexico.During a short break in the tour Cynthia got a super-fancy chamoyada – blended ice with chamoy syrup, lime, and sugar. You can most commonly get them with fruit blended in too, and some chili for a kick.
Another long and apocryphal story involving this building lavishly covered inside and out with talavera tile from Puebla.The main post office, still in service, glorious from the outside, and according to Guillermo legendarily inefficient.Filming out on the street. That’s our Guillermo in green raising his shades for a better look.We ate a very late lunch at a local café offering traditional dishes which was quite fun. In the evening Cynthia went to the small market across the street and brought back plenty of tasty treats for the next few days. Back at the condo looking down from one of the windows you can see the tree-lined streets below. It’s quite amazing how many trees there are in this dense city.
This is Cynthia’s picture from the Mexico City airport where every Spanish speaker was glued to the World Cup rooting for Argentina. We did run into one uber driver who said Viva France but that guy was a real outlier.
Here’s an introduction to our condo in the Roma Norte part of Mexico City bordering the La Condesa neighborhood (that says the the Countess..Oh well), not too far from the Anthropology Museum, and through pretty brutal traffic to reach the central historic district.
Our VIEW from the living room.
And the view From My Bed.
I see now, as I write this, that our first afternoon and evening in Mexico City was taken up with three dining opportunities. First we strolled around our neighborhood and came to an open air market with one whole street of food stalls offering all my favorites – street food!
I settled on this offering and it was delicious. Ok, of course this picture doesn’t speak ‘delicious’ and you will see again this day why I don’t take pictures of food.We went back home for a little rest and to think about dinner. We chose this place across the street from the condo, Contramar. We ordered four dishes and we both agreed they were all wonderful. Well, maybe not the uni. I ate that whole thing myself.
More reasons why I don’t take pictures of food, the potato-chorizo tostada and green juice are out of focus, the uni is broken because I already dug in, and everything else was gone before a picture came to mind.
Churros! We walked to La Condesa to find this highly regarded churrería BUT....this is the line down the street..
..and this is the crowd in front..
..and this is the crowd inside the store.
So we went across the street and enjoyed delightful treats from a bakery there, and then ubered home to relax from the travel day and to go to bed early.
I took the bus from Chapala this morning into Guadalajara to catch a few sights I was sorry to have missed the first day at the beginning of the week.
Here’s how my day went: walk to the Chapala bus station for the 1 hour ride into Guadalajara.
A) walk from the bus station to the largest market I have ever ever seen. I do say that every time I’m in a gigantic market because I can’t see from one end to the other so who knows.
B) visit the Hospicio Cabañas | Instituto Cultural Cabañas which was indeed all that and a bag of chips.
C) walk over to the heart of the Centro Historico again to catch the Christmas displays.
D) stroll down to the hotel I stayed at before and enjoyed so well to catch an uber for a ride…
E) to the town of Tlaquepaque (pronounced Tla-ke-Pa-ke), once a town standing on its own but now surrounded by Guadalajara.
…to the three square blocks of covered market stalls. It was mind-bending in there. I circled in and out one little corner because I started to lose my breath.
‘The complex was founded in 1791 by the Bishop of Guadalajara in order to combine the functions of a workhouse, hospital, orphanage, and almshouse. It owes its name to Juan Ruiz de Cabañas who was appointed to the Holy See of Guadalajara in 1796 and engaged Manuel Tolsá, a renowned architect from Mexico City, to design the structure.’
There are maybe 20 of these courtyards throughout the complex each with its own decorations and personality.
The big gun. It was huge and very disarming and totally awesome, and not pleasant At All.
‘Following the death of Cabañas in 1823, construction continued until 1829. Although it served for a time as barracks in the mid-19th century, the hospital lasted well into the 20th century and continued to function until 1980, when the Cabañas Cultural Institute, with affiliated schools for arts and crafts, moved in.
‘The highlight of the interior decoration is a series of monumental frescoes by José Clemente Orozco, including one of his most famed creations, the allegory of The Man of Fire (1936–39).’
The nativity scene in the Plaza de Armas, containing camels and elephants and goats. All the nativity scenes I’ve seen so far look like this without a baby Jesus. They must put the baby in the cradle on Christmas Day.
I ate here at Chata on my first day because it was a well reviewed local joint and because there was a line. I didn’t use a picture before but look, there’s still a line.
I walked this way to stop off at the Hotel Morales to use their wifi to call for an uber.
It all went smoothly although the traffic was as insanely bad as anywhere in a congested big city.
I just looked it up – Tlaquepaque is now totally absorbed into Guadalajara but it still has its own borders with a population of 600,000 in 2010. I’m shocked. In 2017 Santa Monica had a population less than 100,000.
Here we have a model taking pictures for donations.
So obviously I saw only the tiniest corner of Tlaquepaque which included the tourist streets of SHOPPING. You cannot believe all the high-end arty-stuff there. Here’s an example.
There were several of these vegetable carts around. Wow. You could get a huge bowl of steamed vegetables, a rare treat. I had it with salt, chili, and lime. The local people filled the bowl with a mixture of mayo and cream until it was a vegetable soup. Everyone was happy.
Here comes many pictures of the church in Chapala, a small church for a small town, decked out in preparation for the Guadalupe Day celebrations.
There she is, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, other names for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Patron Saint of Mexico.
In the end it was so crowded all these folks were standing outside. Then the singing began. They had no choir, no organ even, but everyone knew all the words. I think there are special songs for this day that are as much patriotic as religious.
…and the Lake Chapala Society, the Lake Chapala Gringo Gulch. In this town it is not necessary at all to speak Spanish. Every shopkeeper, restaurant worker, everyone around town speaks English, and it’s a little odd.
It was Sunday and I went into so many churches but services were always on so I didn’t take pictures. I guess this was late in the afternoon.
This is the image of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, other names for the Blessed Virgin Mary and the most important religious symbol in Mexico. Her big day is Wednesday so I’m excited to see how that looks.
I came in to Guadalajara on the late side and went right to bed but not before admiring the lovely Hotel Morales in the heart of the Centro Histórico. I would gladly stay here again.
