Stunning Guanajuato

I wanted to tell you more about my trip to Leon and Guanajuato. As you can see from the photos I uploaded to Flickr,( http://www.flickr.com/photos/20264995@N07/ )
Guanajuato is a gorgeous place. It’s a cultural heritage city of Mexico and, like Queretaro, is remarkable for its Spanish colonial architecture. The basilica, theater and other buildings rival those in Europe. None of us expected the sight we encountered when we drove up to the lookout point, and were stunned by the beauty of the place.

We stayed at the Hotel de San Diego, which is in the heart of the city center and next to Jardin de la Union – a beautiful garden surrounded by outdoor restaurants and shops. Tunas, a fraternity of musicians dating back 800 years (no connection to the finned variety) roam the streets in troubadour costumes, along with the ubiquitous street vendors who urge you to buy their rugs, fabrics, handicrafts and Chiclets gum. As I was eating dinner at an outdoor restaurant I watched a rug salesman demonstrate to two prospective buyers that a rug was real wool: he burned the edge with a lighter, then blew the acrid smoke in their faces. They were convinced, but didn't buy the rug. (Maybe that's why "smellavision" never caught on in the U.S.)

The museums, gardens, churches and shops are all within walking distance of the hotel. We visited the museum and home of the Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, who was born in the late 1800s. His work is remarkable and spans a broad range of techniques, from his early works that were cartoonish, to impressionistic, realistic and surreal. The trip to Guanajuato would have been worthwhile for that visit alone.

Leon was less remarkable – more modern than Guanajuato and not what I would describe as beautiful, except for occasional churches. Leon is famous for its leather goods and exports them worldwide. We stopped at an indoor mall that sells only shoes, bags and other items at wonderful prices. I bought a leather overnight bag for a fraction of what it would cost in the U.S.

I passed my first Spanish test! Hooray!!! We have all noticed that as we learn Spanish it’s getting harder to find English words. As one woman put it, “I’m not learning Spanish, I’m losing English.” We are all changing teachers and classes on Monday to shake things up a bit.

We went to dinner at the home of the country director Friday night. They rent a beautiful house in the center of town with an interior courtyard and a killer view of the city from the rooftop terrace.

Last night I attended a fiesta at a fellow volunteer’s host family. It was her 50^th birthday and she invited all the volunteers to come and help celebrate. I learned how to make tortillas on the grill. They buy the tortilla dough at the market already prepared (arena maize, or corn flour, and water), then make a small ball the size of a golf ball, press it into a tortilla with a hand press, then grill it on a flat, ungreased griddle over the coals. They also served guacamole, grilled churizo (sp?), nopales con papas (cactus and potatoes), grilled hanger steak, and, yes, margaritas. There was also a light, rose-colored drink made from hibiscus flowers. I danced the Polka in their back yard to Mexican music and during a brief, out-of-body experience wondered, “Where the hell am I, and is it time to wake up yet?”

Off to the market now and to enjoy Sunday in the town square.