Zacatecas

• Itsgotime's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Zacatecas

Trip Start Nov 05, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Jan 14, 2008 Next
Entry

  Zacatecas, Mexico
Friday, December 1, 2006

We arrived in Zacatecas and immediately were pleased with the different atmosphere and architecture the city had to offer. Most of our stops prior were in more industrial towns which while friendly have problems with pollution. In contrast, Zacatecas is situated in the mountains with a beautiful city center, with clean streets and clean air. We made our way to a hostel that had a great write up in both of our guide books. This was by far the NICEST accommodation yet! Situated on the third floor, our room had two balconies looking out over the city, a view of the Cathedral and a separate patio for dining and reading. The hosts of the establishment were friendly and English speaking (which was nice since we were getting tire of fumbling our way with our Spanish). The hostel, complete with two kitchens also gave us a welcome chance to make our own meals and control the "food and water cleanliness."

Zacatecas has a museum like most of the towns, the difference being that the bulk of its' collection was the private collection of one guy (Pedro Coronel)

A - The Cathedral at Night

. Pedro really liked his art and historic artifacts. His collection rivaled any we have seen yet, with a great collection of ceremonial masks from multiple cultures. It would be safe to say that there wasn't a continent that wasn't represented in this museum. He also had some original Picassos, Miros and Rouaults.

Zacatecas also has a unique night life. Each night at approximately eight o'clock, we'd hear a brass band start playing from the downtown plaza. The band, made up of local musicians, would set off along the streets picking up willing participants who would march and drink their way through the down town and up into a neighborhood. We thought this was from the university at first, but it turns out they just do this for fun. Thursday, we toured a four hundred year old Silver mine, which now has an underground nightclub. Also on Thursday, we found a local wine shop (woo hoo!) and purchased our first "hecho in Mexico" Petite Syrah. Not wanting to sound too critical of our host country's wine making ability - let's just say we decided to stay away from Mexican wines from here on out.

Friday morning, I (Paul) set out to the local's market to get some groceries for dinner. After an hour of wandering and frequent references to the dictionary, I managed to walk away with a couple days worth of food for about $7

B - Masks from the museum

. I did have one experience with the "gringo pricing" when a guy tried to charge 300% of the normal price for potatoes. Our hosts at the hotel confirmed this when I returned and were surprised that he didn't lower the price to normal when I walked away. Friday afternoon we hiked to the top of the town and took a gondola across the valley to "La Blufa."

This town has been our best experience so far. We are optimistic for similar experiences as we head south further into the colonial heartland. I should note that I have huge bruises on my head as the designers of most door jams did not have me in mind. It reminds me of an apartment I once had in Chico. The should just put a sticker on them that says "hit head here". Also, we are pleased to report the stomach issues are slowly subsiding. What a relief!

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

C - Paul's favorite mask	D - The Church Santo Domingo	E - View of Zacatecas from the Mine	F - View of entire city
G - Hildago Ave.	H - The view from our room	I - The Placio de Gobierno	J - A Prehispanic figure from the museum

Slideshow Print this entry Share Zacatecas hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry