Day 2: Tequila to Guanajuato
The second day
we traveled directly to Guanajuato with traffic delays on the highway
through Guadalajara. We missed the exit for the by-pass and ended up going into the city. An accident snarled traffic on this route and we got delayed for about 15 to 20 minutes. We came out on the eastern side of the city unscathed and finally on our way to Guanajuato.
We had been warned about the narrow streets and
tunnels, many one way only, in Guanajuato so we stopped on the outskirts to hire a guide to
lead us to our hotel since it was on the main square in town. We followed this guy with a red helmet driving a scooter. He was very patient, ensuring that we made every turn correctly until we got the the hotel entrance. It turned
out that the guide was free but we tipped him generously.
Beautiful Guanajuato city centre nestled in the valley...no straight streets, all well kept buildings, lots of colour
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samples of the many tunnels
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| a street near our hotel |
The
Posada Santa Fe was a lovely hotel with 45 rooms and secure parking (high on our priority list).
The hotel first opened in 1892. We booked in under a special package
deal which offered 3 days for the price of 2. The price included a hot
breakfast every morning (eggs, bacon, ham, hot cakes, etc), a free city
tour by bus (5 1/2 hrs), a free evening walking musical tour (2 1/2 hrs) plus a
ticket for the bar for 2 free drinks when you purchased 2 drinks.
We were parked, checked in, and settled before 3 o'clock so we set out to see some of the local sites and scout out a place for dinner. Guanajuato is a truly unique place in the world and is a World Heritage Site. It is truly a place to put on your bucket list.
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| view of one side of the Jardin Union in front of our hotel |
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| Jardin Union |
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| A street lamp in front of Juarez Theatre |
We had a chance to explore the area after booking into the hotel.
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| view from the roof top of our hotel - big white building is University |
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| looking up the hill towards Monumento al Pipila |
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| mime entertainment on the street in front of Teatro Juarez - lots of laughs |
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| Dale and Bev studying the map for the name of the historic building |
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| Templo de San Diego |
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| a Callejoneada statue between the Templo San Diego and Teatro Juarez |
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| funicular (inclined railway) up to Monumento al Pipila at the top of the hill for a view of the city |
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| girl posing with the "live" statue |
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| see! ...he's moved in the second photo |
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| a view of the Peace Plaza in front of the Basilica -- the white building straight ahead is the Palacio Legislativo |
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| Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato |
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| January 17th is St Anthony's Day (Blessing of the Animals) in Mexico - this was the scene at Templo de la Compania de Jesus |
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| priest blessing the animals |
Tomorrow we taking our free tour of the city and surrounding area!
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