Mexico and Guanajuato
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| Guanajuato |
April 5, 2008
We were both so tired yesterday evening from a long day of difficult driving, that we had to drive back and forth across Zacatecas City several times to find our RV park. Our major concern was that there are clear warnings that “heavy vehicles” (those having dual rear wheels) are not allowed in the “centro” and we did not know how close we were to the centro. We have not yet been stopped by a city cop on this trip, but I thought the risk was high in Zacatecas. We had driven much of this city in our car on a previous trip, but this time we were entering from another direction and the maps were confusing.
After stopping at the WalMart and asking directions from a cab driver, we were finally oriented and found our way OK. When we pulled into the five-star Hotel Hacienda del Bosque -- which has 30 amp electrical hookups, good water pressure and a solid WiFi signal in our motorhome -- we were almost totally exhausted, but happy to have a comfortable place to rest for a day or so.
The difficult day started in the historic town of Guanajuato. It is a very beautiful, old colonial city that was once a very important silver mining town and the capital of Mexico. The downtown area is located in a narrow valley with ridges running in various directions. This downtown is connected to neighboring barrios on the other side of these ridges with tunnels that sometimes look like subways for autos. Apparently, many of these tunnels were constructed back in the colonial times when this city enjoyed great wealth and have not been improved upon since. As a consequence, some were built to carry horse-drawn wagons and carriages – not modern autos and trucks. The major tunnels entering the outskirts of the city are usually about 3.5 meters clearance (about 10.5 feet deep) and our motorhome is 10 feet tall, so we were very careful not to drive too close to the side of the tunnel, where the clearance is reduced by the rounded roof of the tunnel.
We stayed in Guanajuato for two nights to give us plenty of time to visit the Basilica, museums, cafes, restaurants, universities, and parks. When we first entered the town, we found our way to a large RV park several miles from the town center. It proved to be located in a large, dusty field and my voltage meter registered only 90 volts – very weak. The temperatures were hovering around F 95 so we needed air conditioning, but the electricity was too weak. Our Mexican Camping guide suggested that there was another RV park in town within walking distance of downtown. But, finding this campground and maneuvering the traffic and tunnels would be challenging. Our choice was to walk ½ mile to the highway to catch a bus into town or to move to the other park and walk into town. We decided on the latter.
As we approached the outskirts of downtown, we spied a tourist booth. A young man advised that we should not attempt to find our own way to the campground. There are too many tunnels and the way is very complicated. But for only 110 pesos, he would guide us. Armed with a couple of city maps, I decided that I could find my own way – with Pat in navigator’s seat. We navigated a couple of tunnels OK, then a couple of circles, a steep climb to the Panoramica road, then a sharp downhill, cobblestone street. We stopped at the top of the street to figure out the best way to navigate. It was a narrow, one-way street and we were going the wrong direction. A fellow along the street offered to stop traffic so we could travel the 100 yards to the entrance to the RV Park. It worked! When we drove into the park, our blood pressure surely dropped considerably. However, the park entrance was especially steep and I wondered if our motorhome had enough power to make it back out.
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| Guanajuato Tunnel |
Our location on a high hillside gave us a commanding view of parts of the lower city, but the 30-minute walk into the downtown area was steeply downhill. At an elevation of 7,500 feet, the air was a little thin for heavy exercise, so we were advised to take a cab back up the hill after our explorations.
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| Morril RV Park |
After walking downhill and through a tunnel, we reached the Plaza de Paz (peace plaza) --immediately in front of the dominating Basilica -- where we found peace and happiness. We enjoyed coffee in a sidewalk café, a visit to the Plaza of Gardens and a ride up the funicular to the El Pipila monument – a tribute to one of the heroes of the revolution. We spent two days taking in Mexican history at the various museums and just goofing off. It was great!
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| Plaza de la Paz |
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| Funicular |
One of the popular events in Guanajuato is the celebration of Cervantes, who wrote about old Don Quixote. So, you find a Don Quixote museum and statues of both Quixote and Cervantes. It’s all a fairly big deal here.
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| Sancho Panza and Don Quixote |
On the morning when we were due to leave, the tension started mounting again. We planned to drive the 10-mile panoramic highway which circles high above the city. We knew this would be a difficult drive through the various barrios and assorted tunnels, but it was early morning, we had a good night’s sleep and we seemed prepared. The first couple of miles provided excellent views of the city, a visit to an old silver mine and the traffic was light. After that, the view was less scenic, the traffic became heavier, the tunnels more numerous and the driving difficult. The drive required almost 2 hours. But at the end was a sparkling new mall with a large grocery store, where we stocked up on stuff for our trip north. As we were leaving town, a fellow on a motorcycle offered to lead us out of town. We could see our quota (toll) road a couple of blocks ahead, so we declined his kind offer. But by now we were late in starting our trip to Zacatecas and it would be a hard drive to reach it by late afternoon.
The drive on the quota road was fairly easy, but the drive of the Panoramica road had taken it’s toll so that a couple of “power” naps were required along the way.
It is on days like these that we sometimes wonder whether the benefits of travel in Mexico are worth the costs to our physical and mental well-being. But, usually, after a little rest, we are ready to explore the next part of Mexico. However, we also realize that someday we will reach a point where travel and explorations will no longer be worth the costs – and we will stop. It makes us wonder about the future. This trip has covered some of the areas of Mexico missed on previous trips, so could this be our last major trip to Mexico? Maybe!
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