Zacatecas Courts Motel

... next to the cathedral, but a bit cosy for the popular acts. I didn't get there early enough & they'd closed the gates, so had to sweet talk one of the security guys to let me in! Wanted to see what all the fuss is about re. Semana Santa so went to check out Palm Sunday activities, blessing of palms, singing, procession, etc. Evening saw some jazz - The Sicilian Project. Mon I saw a local group called Huayrapamuska as a warm up to Benny Ibarra - heard of him but hadn't ...

... t hungry as it was 3pm and I had only had breakfast to eat. Well maybe it's mind over matter but thats when I began to feel crook. I beetled back down to the trailer and had a quick swim with the kids as they had been hanging out all day for something to do. Then I went to bed, and got up again several times to visit the "Restroom" in which I had no rest! Haley had felt a bit quezy but had not been sick. I wondered if it was just Haleys ability to ...

... hotel located near the aqueduct. It turned out to be the "Quinta Real" which is built around the old bullring. Can there be a more majestic setting for a beautiful hotel? This must have been an architect's dream - design a 5-star hotel around a bullring. The opportunity was not flubbed as the award winning architecture features rooms and facilities that look right into the former bullring. We happened to be there during an ...

... columns. Built between 1731 and 1752, it is one of the most beautiful examples of Spanish - Mexican baroque architecture in Mexico. The carvings cover the beautiful two towers as well. The inside is rather disappointing as it was looted during the civil wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. We enjoyed the beauty of the cathedral by day and by night when it was beautifully illuminated. It is visible from many areas of the town, especially from ...

... at the bottom. I think the road itself was only a few kms long but the bus ride took 6 hours to account for the curved roads down the mountain. For most of the journey the public bus had three wheels on the narrow one way dirt road, and one wheel dangling over the edges of what was a sheer drop into the canyon, a few hundred feet above anything remotely flat looking. After spending the rest ...

... with (okay - so it was me doing most of the drinking with him... but HE'S the one who bought the tequila, it wasn´t my idea...). One day we took a trip to some ruins that are close to Zacatecas called La Quemada. Becky, Joerg and I all went together and there was another girl on the trip from France, Celine. I had never been to any ruins before, so to me they were pretty impressive, although my understanding is that they´re just "okay ...

After waking up at 12:30, we had some home cooked meal courtesy of Aurora. We are really treated well here. What i also notice here is that people are way laid back and just enjoying life. I haven't run into a person that's struggling or asking for money. The border cities of the US seem to have painted a different picture of Mexico. Here in Zacatecas, people are not struggling as depected in Tijuana. There is probably not a lot of people with deep pockets ...

... The resumption of high-tempo Country and Western signalled that it was time for the rodeo to begin. First up was a novice, a young man who'd been looking forward to getting his first ride for months. The guy looked a bundle of nerves as he clambered up onto the rails above his mount, which was writhing and bucking in its pen. After a couple of minutes he seemed in place and the gates flew open. The bull exploded into the arena, rider less, and thrashed its way across ...

... my head hurt and my lungs struggled for air. The altitude had taken it's toll and the packet of Golden Virginia I'd smoked in the week prior to setting out from Durango hadn't helped matters. Much of northern Mexico consists of a high plateau varying between two and two and a half thousand metres. Interspersed by mountain chains, it's dry unforgiving country populated by cattle, cowboys and cacti. The city of Durango sits on the plain at some nineteen hundred metres ...

From Monterrey I have come to Zacateacs. It is an old mining city, in the mountains and is a Unesco world heritage site. It is lovely. The buildings are art deco (or nouveau I can never remember), in soft pink stone, with great churches, narrow twisting streets and great evening entertainment. Here I am staying in my first hostel. And I am not just staying in a hostel, I am in a dorm (albeit a small one of four - two bunk beds). I have the top of one of the ...