Tuesday, 28 February 2006
Colima Centro to main bus terminal (4p each)
DEP Colima 9:05 AM (La Linea Plus, 142p each)
ARR Guadalajara 12:05 PM
DEP Guadalajara 12:25 PM (Primera Plus, 234p each)
ARR Guanajuato 4:30 PM
Local bus to Centro (4p each)
We sat on the left side of the bus out of Colima and got a good view of the volcanos in the clear skies. No snow on them this late in the winter, so it would be more scenic to make the trip in December or January (although then you would have very cold nights).
Note the 20 minute turn around time in Guadalajara. We didn't plan it, had no reservations and basically walked off the bus from Colima into the terminal and just started looking for the next first class bus to Guanajuato. Primera Plus had a bus leaving in 15 minutes so we bought our tickets and boarded the bus. Try that with an airline :-)
In Guanajuato we checked in to Casa Kloster (Calle de Alonso 32) for our first (and probably last) attempt at hostel style accommodations (with communal bathrooms). We had our own room (240p/night) and the place was clean and attractive with a pretty courtyard, but we wouldn't stay there again. It was very noisy with 20-something backpackers coming in at all hours of the night, and bath towels so thin that I accidentally ripped mine while drying my back!
We absolutely loved Guanajuato which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Zone in 1988. The bus ride through tunnels into town was reminiscent of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and when we stepped off the bus I felt as if we were in Europe. The city was absolutely charming everywhere we turned. It was hard to keep walking because there were so many beautiful things to look at. The streets were narrow and winding; there were lots of visitors but it wasn't touristy at all. There were shady squares all over, and lots of road improvement projects in progress using small cubes of granite. The University students keep things lively and are probably the reason for the inexpensive (6p/hour) and plentiful internet cafes. Surprisingly, the pace of life was very hectic; people seemed in a big hurry to get wherever they were going which made walking on the narrow sidewalks difficult. But it was always easy to duck off into a shady square for a respite.
We had a simple meal at Pinguis (NE corner - at Allende - of Jardin de la Union, across from the top end of the row of expensive restaurants) that night. We asked for the specialty of the house and thought their "miner's enchiladas" were delicious and hearty (110p).
Wednesday, 1 March 2006
After the noisy night John woke up at 5 AM and went out to take pictures of the city while the streets were still dark and empty. We ate breakfast at Truco 7 (Truco 7, 80p), explored the Mercado, and wrapped up the morning with a very worthwhile visit to the Diego Rivera House/Museum/Gallery (15p each).
After lunch we moved to the Hostel Cantarranas (Cantarranas 50, almost hidden behind a small tree-shaded square half a block from the Teatro Principal; Room #104, 400p/night). This seemed like a splurge (large room, king size bed, TV, phone, two small sofas), but it was still noisy with Cal-Poly architecture/engineering students working on a project next door and getting in late at night. Maybe a room on the top floor would have been quieter, but we had to take what was available. There was a large roof top terrace with lounge chairs, and photos of all the rooms in the reception office.
John napped while I Skyped and did internet, then we climbed up to Pipilal for the view of the city just before sunset. We walked around the center of town grazing on street food. At 8:30 PM we accidentally hooked up with one of the student musician walking tours on the steps of the Teatro Juarez (we were attracted by the cheers of the young student group which had bought tickets). We followed them to their first stop for more music and story telling in Spanish, but it was all lost on us and we were beat so we gave up and called it a day.
Thursday, 2 March 2006
We returned to Pinguis for breakfast (91p), shopped, spent about an hour at the Alhondiga museum (if you've already seen plenty of pre-Columbian artifacts elsewhere, and aren't too interested in Colonial portraits and misc. items, you could give this a pass - although the building itself is interesting; 30p each), and took a local bus (4p each) to the Templo de San Cayetano de Valenciana church. This was very impressive, though as with most of the buildings, it's in serious need of restoration/cleaning. An alternative to these sights might have been a visit to the Ex-Hacienda de San Gabriel de Barrera 2 km outside of town. This former colonial home turned museum, with its extensive restored gardens, sounds like a nice excursion. It was very hard to decide how to spend our limited time.
We went back to the Centro and ate a delicious, large cup of strawberries (17p) and some sort of empanada filled with cheese (28p for four) which we ate in nearby squares for our lunch. Did some internet, napped, and shopped. Had drinks and guacamole at La Tasca de la Paz (Plaza de la Paz 28, 110p) and ate a simple meal of soup for me and enchiladas for John at Truco 7 (77p) We were very curious about elaborate stages being set up in the city but they turned out to be for some World Road Rally. Unfortunately the sight lines at the main stage near the Jardin de la Union were blocked by the low trimmed trees making it hard to see the entertainment. By the time things finally got started it was late and we were tired from our long day so we never even saw any of the cars! Later we heard fireworks from our room and managed to run up to the rooftop in time to see a few of them fired off from up at the Pipila.