Zacatecas

The view from the top of The Bufa

The last stop on this year’s Mexican adventure was Zacatecas, the capital city of the state with the same name. It’s a huge sprawling city divided by several hilltops at a high altitude. Like the other colonial cities on our tour, this one was built by gold & silver money. 

Zacatecas Theatre

Pancho Villa spent time here with his revolutionary gang. 

A ruin, now housing an art museum

Today it is a modern city with a beautiful center where we have lodged, venturing out twice to visit the nearby suburb of Guadalupe & out into the countryside to Jerez.

One of many plazas in Zacatecas

Our first night’s lodging was disappointing. Hostel Villa Colonial is written up as a ‘dream hostel’, however they have recently changed owners and, sadly, it has gone downhill. Our room had a little kitchen, but nothing worked. The Internet was down &, not only was the hot water none existent, the shower leaked all over the bathroom floor into the bedroom. It’s sad because the room was very large & nice, beds comfy (once I requisitioned several extra blankets) and perfectly located. 

Hotel Reyna Soledad, notice the Dona in the upper corner

After the first evening we changed locations, we were the only guests in a sweet hotel right in the center located in a restored colonial mansion. The widow who owns the building took great pride in showing us around, opening several of the 18 rooms to demonstrate how each is different. It is special with original wood & ironwork, which took teams of men five years to bring back to life from ruins. Though the warm water only lasts for a few minutes, we feel like a king & queen here!

 

Zacatecas is built on hills though the main sights can be reached without too much strain. 

Yippee!

Our first afternoon we choose to go to the top, climbing many steps to reach the Swiss made tram, which whisks you quickly to the city’s rocky mountaintop, the Bufa. 

Looking down on the center where we stayed

After snapping a couple of pictures of the center of town we choose to walk down the steep trail, passing the Signs of the Cross along the way.

The church atop The Bufa

A group of young men were sitting on the steps and one engaged us in conversation. He was interested in speaking English, though he knew very few words.  

Our first evening in Zacatecas we enjoyed watching locals & Mexican tourists ice-skate around a makeshift rink in the town’s main plaza. A huge screen showed a Mana concert, our favorite Mexican rock band. We own the CD of this concert and Keith sang along, loud & clear. Fake snow showered the skaters and a little train took the wee ones in tight circles around the rink. It was a happy event.

Church & Convent in Guadalupe

A side chapel of the Guadalupe Church

Guadalupe is a nearby town, almost a suburb of Zacatecas, home to one of Mexico’s most important churches & convents. 

The inside of the Guadalupe Church, the most Mexican of all!!

Taking a city bus it was an easy excursion and the architecture very much worth the trip. On the way we bought some fresh pineapple and then some coconut, cut to order. I’m not sure which, if either, of the fruits was a bit contaminated, but poor Keith had tummy trouble, which ruined dinner for him, which was a shame because the restaurant was not only most interesting, but also the food delicious.

La Villa de Dorado, a super restaurant!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in an antique store. Keith immediately found a mask that he loved & another, a devil face with real goat horns that he wished he had enough pesos on hand to purchase.

Luckily, Friday, Keith’s belly was much quieter! We took a long bus ride to Jerez, a ‘Pueblo Magico’ about 40 KM from Zacatecas. 

The bus driver drove about 20 miles an hour so the journey took way too long! 

Jerez is dusty, a cowboy town that would be a great place to shoot old-time movies.

 

Jerez has a wonderful, green park in the center 

and beautiful ancient churches. 

We spent a couple of hours walking around the compact center of this frontier style town before heading back to the bus station for a much quicker ride back to Zacatecas.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we will spend most of the day on a bus to Guadalajara from where we will fly home on Sunday. We have loved spending some quality time together here in magical Mexico. We are pretty tired of Mexican food & long for a hot shower & the warmth of a furnace. Keith’s only pair of jeans needs a good washing and I’ll be happy to return to my daily grind. Isn’t that what a great vacation does, make us so very grateful for the incredibly blessed lives we are so privileged to live!!

San Luis Potosi

View from our hotel room

On Monday we traveled four hours north to San Luis Potosi where the weather is dramatically cooler. The altitude, not latitude, makes the difference.

Church of Santa Martha, a local favorite

San Francisco Church & Convent

So many churches in such a small center

It rained the first evening while we ate dinner & when we returned the internet was down & the water barely warm. It’s obvious we are no longer in deluxe San Miguel. 

This is however a beautiful colonial center of this town built by silver & gold money in the 16^th & 17^th centuries. 

State Theater

Museum across from the Theater

Waiting in the bus station for a 2 ½ hour ride to Zacatecas we took time to look at our San Luis Potosi pictures and reflect on what we have seen here. 

Cathedral, marble statues replicas of those in St. Peter's Square

The historical center is ‘preciosa’ as we expected. We walked each street in the center snapping  photos of colonial buildings, some as old as 500 years. 

Crest of San Luis

Our view from the hotel was a direct vista of the main square and cathedral. During the day, pleasant music blared from a protest encampment in front of the state building right outside our window, but by 8 pm, everything was shut down for the night and it was quiet. 

We toured a museum where the burros brought carts of ore to be shipped to Spain for processing. The university is located in the center and the various campuses are impressive, beautiful buildings.

Nativity in San Luis University's courtyard

We didn’t meet many people here. One Canadian traveling solo talked our ears off for an hour or so during our strolling. A group of college-aged students from Virginia Tech had driven down to explore the caves nearby, deeper than any found in any in the states. When we live in San Miguel we will take time to explore the wilderness in the state of San Luis, which we have heard is incredible.

One Nativity Scene had Mary holding the Baby Jesus, unusual

Life-sized nativity in State Cultural Hall

An Extra Day In San Miguel

San Miguel de Allende is a dream Mexican city. With great places to eat, more little shops full of colorful arts & crafts than you can visit in a week, many other travelers to meet, beautiful views everywhere you walk, warm sunny, spring-like temperatures and a comfortable room with hot water to call home, WHY did we ever leave? We will return, next time for a winter season in a rented house for less than $800. per month, we will call SMA ‘home away from home’!

On Sunday, January 5^th, we had brunch with our hosts, Wilka & David, and the other guest Bridget, a Canadian currently living on the Mexican Pacific beach. Wilka is a wonderful cook who prepares gourmet brunches on the weekend for guests. The first morning she prepared a homemade hollandaise sauce which topped a poached egg atop grilled beets & sweet potatoes garnished with fresh basil…very yummy. On Sunday she tried out a new recipe for soufflé, light & fluffy. Served with grilled vegetables, it was elegant. We enjoyed her fiancé David’s company very much. An Israeli he had traveled South America extensively after serving his 3 years in the army. He is a successful businessman exporting iron & onyx lamps to the states. His confidence was a bit overwhelming, but his intelligence and memory for history and places he has visited impressive. Wilka is more reserved, but very accommodating and sweet. 

Not Wilka & David, one of many weddings on Saturday

They are to be married this coming year in Israel, we wish them the very best. The large home they rent makes a perfect B & B with the rented rooms separate from their living space, close to the center in a working class Mexican neighborhood with upscale homes belonging to ex-pat Americans at the end of the street. We will stay there when we return to look for our own home.

 

After Sunday’s brunch we went on a colonial homes tour sponsored each week by the local library, which serves as a cultural center for ex-pat residents of San Miguel. Live music awaited our arrival and while we waited for our group to leave the library I chatted with a woman who has lived in San Miguel for many years and encouraged us to join the community.

View from the 2nd home on the tour

 The two homes we were able to tour were impressive, filled with art & color. Each had a rooftop garden with great views. 

Rooftop cactus garden

The second also had a Mask Museum attached in which the owner/curator was proud to show off his gigantic collection. 

A great Mexican kitchen in one of the homes on the tour

While we walked through the homes and from one to the other we met other travelers and a couple from Austin, Suzane & Rick, who had recently purchased a property in San Miguel. 

Rick & Suzane chatting with Keith

We were invited over to see their new acquisition and hear the remodeling plans they have for the coming year.

Casa Rosa

Keith & I are not your average travelers once the real estate bug bites! The past few days we have had our eyes on a new home in a very Mexican neighborhood right by the main Mercado in San Miguel. It is within walking distance of the historic center. 

The top floor

Triangular in shape it has three floors connected with a freestanding spiral staircase. The rooms are odd shapes, filled with windows & built-in cabinets. 

Beautiful homes across the street with Canadian, German & American owners

The top floor has a terrace with nice views. We saw it the first full day we were in town, and visited it a couple of times before making a very lowball offer which the owner countered.  

On the Terrace of Casa Rosa

We went a few thousand higher and when that offer was rejected we came to our senses. It was fun to call the bright pink house ours for a couple of days, planning how we would come down at Easter to furnish it for a vacation rental. We both were relieved when we decided that buying a home in San Miguel at this point is craziness and that we would rent someone else’s investment when the time comes we can spend a winter in sunny, beautiful SMA.

Sharing a beer with the very friendly Casa Rosa neighbors