La Sierra Gorda was insane. It was a lot further away than we originally thought, as we were initially informed that it was a 4-hour bus ride. (Try 7). So the first day was mostly getting there, although we did stop up in the mountains and hiked up to a waterfall and went swimming for a little bit. A few hours later, we arrived in Xilitla where our hotel was. The hotel was so beautiful! We had our own little private casa in back and down the hill from the main part of the hotel. The owners lived there and were great. They had a dog, Chucho, that Madelynn absolutely adored. She followed that dog around everywhere and gave him lots of pats and hugs, and he did great when she kept poking him in the eye. She loves the dogs, but we have to be careful, because she'll go off chasing the diseased street dogs if we let her.
The next day, we spent most of the day a few miles away in the Edward James park. It was like Alice in Wonderland come to life in the jungle. Crazy, and horribly dangerous with a toddler, but we strapped her in to her carrier and hiked up and up and up and climbed all over the strange structures, eventually coming to the top where we had a great time swimming in the river.
We all went back to Queretaro the next day, but stopped along the way to visit a few missions (And it was soooo hot we just wanted to stay on the bus and keep going) but we did have fun stopping at a hotel in Conca and swimming before we had lunch there. That day was also the 4th of July, and it was sad not being able to bbq and eat watermelon and light off fireworks! If we had been back in Oregon, we would have gone to Washington and bought a bunch of fireworks there. But, how many 4th of Julys do you get to spend in Mexico?
The next weekend (July 10-11) was Nate's 26th birthday (on the 10th of July). We were going to go to Parque Bicentennario (an amusement/waterpark) but he wasn't feeling very well (he had and is still recovering from a bacterial infection in his lungs- probably pneumonia or bronchitis). So we went to a park near the University (Cerro de las campanas) and had a picnic there. That is supposedly where Maximillian is buried, and at the top of the park is a ginormous statue of Benito Juarez. Later that evening, we went to a Greek restaurant. Mmmm- it was so good! The chef was from Greece, so everything was totally authentic, and everything was organic, too. It was a nice change from the usual fare we've been eating. Mexican food is good, but a month straight of it gets a bit tiring.
Last Friday, we went to Parque Bicentennario just outside of Queretaro. It was great, and super cheap! Only $35 pesos per adult, which is a little less than $3 per person, and that included all of the rides and the waterpark. I was so impressed with how clean it was, and it wasn't crowded at all- you didn't have to wait in line for any of the rides! Madelynn loved the carousel.
The next day, we hopped on a bus to the city ofGuanajuato, which is an old colonial city further up in the mountains in the state of Guanajuato, northwest of Queretaro. It was an absolutely beautiful city, and I wish we had more time there. We visited the mummy museum, which was really disturbing and made me cry, because they dug up babies and put them on display. One still had a diaper on, one still had shoes on its feet, and one was holding the doll that she was buried with. Typing this makes me want to cry again. I just think it's horrible that they dug up those bodies and put them on display. The reason they were dug up is that a long time ago, there used to be a tax to keep your dead buried, but since the poor couldn't afford to pay it, they would just dig up the bodies. After they were dug up, they realized that they had been mummified. The reason they became mummified was because of all the minerals in the soil that had preserved them. So, they thought, hey, let's put the bodies on display and charge $. It really bothered me that they put the bodies of the babies and children on display, too, and were even selling postcards of them in the gift shop. They were all around 200+ years old, and surprisingly well preserved, but it was really disturbing. What if you went there and saw your grandmother's body on display?
Anyway, aside from that, the city was really neat. The architecture is amazing! So intricate and so beautiful. I bought a tablecloth and some table runners there along with a few other things from street vendors. Madelynn had a blast running around in a big gazebo in the central historal area.
We only have a few days left here, then back to Oregon! We get into Portland Saturday at 6:45 pm. We are really looking forward to being home. This place has been quite the amazing adventure, but also quite the difficult experience as well.
Madelynn swimming with Daddy at Parque Bicentennario
A Church in Guanajuato
"Kissing Alley" in Guanajuato
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