Mexico Ride 2008 Pics

 

Gameplan

 

Day Three (Monday May 19, 2008)
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Stan pictured above in the local market where our day began
Lots of color in the local market. We got there too early to see anything other than food. This picture was taken around 9:30. The art booths weren't open yet.
Plenty of flowers available
you could get spices by the scoopful
Bo, Don and Steve hanging out on the streets of San Miquel
The Main Church
Inside the Main Church
Some local architecture in San Miquel
After leaving San Miquel we went down to El Pueblito to see a pyramid that had been recently found. The pyramid was right on the edge of town. However, it had appeared to look just like a small hill until they started chipping away. I don't have a picture, because it just wasn't exciting enough to move me. We did make time to find a shade tree and do some maintenance on Don's bike. (Just maintenance, BMW's don't break down?)
Stopped for lunch in an open-air restaurante and made my way back in the kitchen for some pictures
This nice lady is displaying a sampling of her carnecita (whatever that is) out of this large pot. The pot next to it looked like it had some sort of stomach in it. Stan had that (let Mikey try it)
Sitting at our table near and dear to our bikes
We arrived downtown Guanajuato and was overwhelmed with the whole area. I had an idea of what to expect, but it was still much more than I had thought. As soon as Stan stopped so I could go in and check out the hotel, these girls jumped on his bike and were pretending to be motorcycle riders
Inside the very tight parking area. They initially told us we could not park at the hotel. The parking was so tight, they had to be able to rotate our vehicles as necessary to facilitate the customers coming and going. After some negotiation, we had to purchase four separate rooms to justify the parking. There is definitely not much extra space in El Centro. The room was $870 pesos ($87 US, per night). Hotel Posado Santa Fe
On the street, just outside of our hotel, The theater is at the end of the street. There is a tram above the theater (Teatro)
Another street just outside of the hotel. These trees were neatly groomed.
They had many of the downtown streets blocked off from automobiles.
The main theater. One of the reasons I was so adamant about coming to Guanajuato is because this is where my young spanish teacher's parents are from. The mother was so excited about her city, I wanted to at least stop by. I had no idea how nice it would be and now I know why she is so proud of it. It is truly a neat spot and I encourage you to make it part of your travels.
From the steps of the theater back toward the hotel area
These streets went on for a while
This is a view toward the hotel parking lot. The garage door at the end of the street is our parking lot and the back of the hotel is above that
The entrance from the tunnel system. See the statue on top of the hill
Downtown Guanajuato is above an elaborate tunnel system. We were overwhelmed with it while riding throughout the system to arrive downtown. Stan went down later to shoot this photo
Steve was being his usual cheerful self. He ordered up a few songs from the Marachi band to welcome us to Mexico. It was definitely "very" Mexico.

Note to self for future reference:

  • San Miquel is definitely worthy of an overnight stay if not a day or two
  • The pyramid at El Pueblito (near Querataro) is not worth a stop. The traffic going to and from was terrible. The construction obstructions were everywhere
  • The lake outside of San Miquel was underwhelming, but the road south of there on the way to Guanajuato was good (although, it would be more fun with a little less traffic)
  • Guanajuato was "much" more than I expected and it deserves a night or two every time I'm in this area. It is definitely suited for a week's stay with Joy sometime.
  • I felt that Guanajuato was much more authenic than San Miquel. Both towns have tremendous history, but the first reaction that I received from the others when we arrived at San Miquel was, why are we coming to a town with an "office depot"? San Miquel is much more 'Americanized" which is something I am "not" looking for when I travel elsewhere. There again, it still has "lots" of history and great architecture. It is a still a good experienc. I (nor did anyone else) get the "office depot" feeling when we arrived in Guanajuato.
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