We tried flagging a few busses down and, sure enough, none would stop. We think it's because it's a high-speed highway. So we trudged up to the Oxxo in the blazing sun. As soon as we got there, a young couple pulled up and offered us a lift to the town we needed to get to. They were a lovely couple and took us all the way to the bus station. It was interesting to talk to them.
We found out later that only one month earlier, there had been some gang shootings near that road. Maybe that's why people were so concerned! Or maybe it was just because it's a motorway. Who knows?
We caught our next bus and arrived at our destination, Alamos. (Please forgive the title of this post. This place is Alamos, not Alamo!) Our accommodation was on top of a long hill so we slogged up there in the heat. Much to our amazement, our accommodation was the entire top floor of a huge house. It had three balconies, one of which had great views over the town. The gardens were sensational and there was a pool! We had struck a real gem!
We quickly discovered a local delicacy - tiny oranges. These are only the size of apricots and are eaten skin and all. They're very sour. They came in my cocktail........
....and were covered in spices to accompany John's tequila. In the rest of Mexico they use normal oranges for this.
At the bar we met an American guy who lived in Alamos for half of each year. It turns out that there are about 200 Americans living there. They're nicknamed 'snowbirds' for the way they all return to the USA when it gets too hot in summer. Many Americans have renovated beautiful old colonial houses which is a big part of why the town looks so lovely.
There is a hill beside the town and we climbed to the top a couple of times for the views and the exercise.
Gary, we found some interesting birds! I think this is a cardinal.
And I think this is an oriole.
Some of our neighbours were quite rural and one day this guy rode his donkey out onto the street. He told us the donkey's name was Jasper. He was quite proud of it and loved posing for photos.
We had a sensational dinner one night at a great restaurant and we started talking to the people at the next table. They were Jeff and Paul and they were good value. They took us under their wing, introducing us to their friends and inviting us to their gorgeous house for drinks one night. It was great to see inside one of these stunning old mansions that had been beautifully restored.
The next night was the monthly get-together of the local expats, and we were invited along. We all received name stickers. Everyone was so welcoming. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant with Paul, Jeff and some friends of theirs. Jeff was creative about where to wear his sticker!
We repeated it all again the next night!
We did a walking tour one day and got to see inside more beautiful old buildings. There are some very talented local artists who do painstaking work on some of these renovations.
We spent a lot of time here in our lovely apartment doing some planning. It's surprising how much time we spend on our travels just planning the next stages and catching up on things at home. We changed our minds about where to go and had to dump some flights. We were told they were exchangable for travel credit but it turns out that that meant that we could only change dates, not destinations. It was a hard pill to swallow.
It really was sad to say goodbye to Jeff and Paul. They had been great hosts. When they leave Mexico each summer they go to far north Canada where they have a cabin. This place is very isolated. To get there they have to fly in by seaplane and they have to grow, catch or harvest all their food. What a change from Alamos!
As we waited for our bus out of town in the morning, we had the local version of gorditas for breakfast. Specially-shaped tortillas were topped with beans, meat and cheese then we filled them up with salads, sauces and vegetables from bowls lined up along a long table.
As usual, huge old trees sheltered the town square.
We travelled most of the day in busses to reach El Fuerte, the beginning of our special train trip up the Copper Canyon. Unfortunately, we found that the timetables had recently changed and there was no train on the day we needed it! We had to change a few bookings and got to stay an extra day in El Fuerte. It was a lovely town so this was no drama.
El Fuerte is famous as being the town where Zorro was born. He was actually born in an old house which was incorporated into the hotel we stayed at. In fact, our bedroom was part of his house! Of course, there was Zorro this and Zorro that. A statue of Zorro stood in the garden.
There was even Zorro tequila!
Best of all though, there was a real live Zorro! Most nights, he turns up at the hotel at 8.30pm. He prances around and carries on with his sword. When I asked for a photo, he put his arm around me and exclaimed "Ah Chihuahua!" This is a common saying in Mexico. He then looked at me and said, "I am your Antonio Banderas!" It was all so silly and terribly funny! (Note from John - Heather was quite moved by this.)
One of the great things about our hotel is that they have feeders out to attract hummingbirds. Up to a dozen hummingbirds at a time would hover there, feeding. It was great to see these tiny birds up close at last!
There seemed to be three different types - the larger blue and white one above, a smaller grey one and the most common one was the small irridescent blue and green one. They're so tiny! Finally got some photos of these for you, Gary!
We did another walking tour, which was largely based in our hotel. It had so much history! Check out the way they have paved around the tree roots.
The hotel was made up of a group of grand old houses. One was Zorro's family's house and another belonged to a very wealthy family. There were murals, carriage entrances, old storage areas and bells to ring for servants.
An American couple, John and Debbie, joined us on the tour and we ended up spending some time with them later.
Strangely, the town sign was in front of the church one day and in front of the town hall the second day! We didn't even know they could be moved.
One of the downfalls of El Fuerte though was the flying critters. There were plenty of mosquitoes but the hoardes of midgies were a bigger problem. Their bites left nasty welts. There were also bats everywhere. After an experience on a bat-riddled island in Africa decades ago, I'm very aware of the smell of bats and they stink!
We walked into a restaurant for lunch one day and a group of older men were sitting at a nearby table. They had two guitars between them and they were playing music and singing. This wasn't something put on for tourists or even for some sort of local performance. These were just a group of guys, singing and playing for the fun of it. It was the best music I heard in Mexico!
I'll be back soon with our Copper Canyon adventures!
Heather
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