Guanajuato

I was so excited to travel over independence holiday, or down here called "puente." Three friends and bought a series of bus tickets and booked nights at hostels in three different cities, doing a trip through the heart of Mexico. Our first stop was Guanajuato, about 12 hours south of Monterrey. We arrived there in the morning and from the beginning it was a incredible. We signed up for a tour in the bus station, dropped off our packs at the hostel and immediately started in on our adventure through the city of ancient frogs...don't ask me why its named that, it just is. Our tourguide was a bit crazy, he drove down the narrow cobblestone alleys going faster than most people do on the freeway. The road system is incredible in Guanajuato, all major roads are underground in a huge network of extensive tunnels. It was impressive. Above, there are cobblestone streets but they are more like oneway alleyways, quite European. All the houses and buildings are stacked together and are skinny and tall, very beautiful. Our tour took us to the museum of the mummies, the mountain viewpoint that looks over the city, museum of the inquisition, where we learned about all the horrible things us Europeans did in the name of Christianity, the historic mines of San Marcos, a famous candy flavored liquor store (wierd?), city center, and other cool sights. Everything was cheap. I found my favorite coffee place downtown, called Cafe Tal, had the best cappuccino since I left Bellingham and made me feel at home. We also found some incredible restaurants to dine at, and then some that were not so great. Lots of live music for independence day and witnessed a great concert downtown hosted by students from the University of Guanajuato. The picture of the large cement building is the famous alhondiga, something you would read about in Latin American history class. This is the preserved building from the famous Amerindian and criollo revolution lead by Padre Hidalgo against the Spanish Peninsulares and gov't. The Mexicans held off the Spaniards in this alhondiga until some of them surrendered, and then overthrew them. Beautiful cathedrals, an insane weekend market, rich culture, I recommend this city to anyone who wants to experience the real Mexico!