Zacatecas - The Surprise of the Central Highlands
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2008
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Trip End
Ongoing
Zacatecas, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico
Saturday, December 27, 2008
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Zacatecas
No. 5 of 23 Destinations (this is not a ranking)
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Zacatecas - The Surprise of the Central Plains
Part 1 of 3
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Population: 115,000
Location: the Mexican Central Highlands, 610 km northwest of Mexico City
Altitude: 8,000 feet
Hotel: Hostal San Francisco - Calle del Angel # 415, Col
- Our ride from San Luis Potosi to Zacatecas
. Centro, 375 pesos per nightComments: nice hotel room, small and modern but once again noise from next room compromised the stay. No maid service for 2 days and teenage curfew of 10:00 p.m. that was a pity in this beautiful town.
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OK, I might as well come right out and say it.
"Of all the 23 destinations we visited in Mexico, this city was one of our favourite places." The challenge in this blog will be get that idea across in word and photo .
One of the mysteries of Zacatecas was that right down to the name it was totally unknown to us. This made finding such a jewel of a city in the Central Highlands all the more remarkable.
Speaking about the name of the city, it comes from "Zacatecas" - the Náhuatl name for the indigenous people that lived here at the time of the Spanish arrival.
- Quite the wheels
Zacatecas is the provincial capital of the state that bears the same name, and is recognized for its cultural excellence, impressionist architecture and the warmth of its people. It sits in a majestic setting surrounded by high hills the most dominant being the Cerro de la Bufa, a rocky peak which reaches 8,748 feet. This made Zacatecas the most northerly city on our itinerary as well as the highest in altitude. As a basis of comparison, as I mentioned in Blog no. ------ Mona Loa, the highest mountain on Big Island is 12,000 feet.
We arrived at the bus station in the early afternoon of a sunny Saturday. Our taxi driver drove us across the downtown area of the city past shops, local shoppers, Christmas visitors and lovely old architecture and left us at the entrance of the Hotel San Francisco with a sense of excited anticipation.
Right from the moment of our arrival we were in awe of this city. We thought it might be interesting to write down the various phrases that were our first reaction to Zacatecas.
I know we get enthusiastic about scenery and there might be a bit of hyperbole but here goes:
- when was the last time we were in a town like this?
- jaw dropping
- this is place is gorgeous
- pretty
- classy place
- amazing
Our hotel lay at 8038 feet above sea level from which we had to descend to the Avenida Hidalgo, the main street of the city situated at 7950 feet
- first sightings of Zacatecas
. We discovered right away that you don't need to go to the gym in this town. Just walk a lot and you'll get plenty of exercise going up and down hills. The huge beautiful Zacatecas Cathedral on Plaza Hidalgo was directly down the street from our hotel, just to the left of the trendy Mercado Zacatecano.
The front of the cathedral has elaborate carvings in its red-stone exterior and Churrigueresque 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 Cerro de la Bufa, high above the city.
Near the "catedral" is also the city's largest plaza - Plaza de Armas that is graced by such important buildings as the Palacio de Gobierno and the Hotel Emporo.
The beautiful Old Spanish architecture is not only confined to the cathedral but is evident throughout the "centro historico"
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. Most of the buildings date from the nineteenth century or even older. Zacatecas is after all one of the best preserved historical cities in Mexico and as such has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The streets are narrow and irregular due to the terrain and traffic tends to be heavy because of the limited streets in the centro. Many smaller streets or "callejons" are impassible to traffic and often are interrupted by stairs that are needed in the sometimes-steep terrain of the city.
Walking is by far the best means of getting around in the "centro" for the reasons mentioned above as well as the good state of the sidewalks that are relatively wide, unlike San Miguel de Allende for instance. The sidewalks are also well maintained and are built with smooth flat stones which is not as common as one might think in most Mexican cities. On the other hand, compared with San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas has few pedestrian malls (I can't remember any!) which was somewhat of a disappointment.
It was a leisurely stroll along the main street in the centro - Avenida Hidalgo that brought us to the Mercado Gonzales Ortega.
Remember in Mexico, if in doubt, head for the nearest "mercado" - good things are going to happen
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. Firstly, in the process of getting there you will automatically discover more of the "centro" as the markets are always located near the middle of the town. Secondly you will end up in a hub of interesting market activity that I described in detail in the previous blog - "San Luis Potosi - An Interesting City". Thirdly, it is the place where you will find the delicious fresh fruits for sale ready to eat in a plastic cup for about 10 pesos. That was a delight we enjoyed all over Mexico. It became our standard lunch.Beside the market there is a beautiful little plaza - the Plazuela Genaro Codiana -where the benches provide a moment of rest and a place to enjoy the fruit. There is also a little bakery located on the plaza selling great "crusty buns" and a good "Nescafe" from a vending machine for 7 pesos. The "Nescafes" are almost as good as the more expensive "café americanos" sold at coffee shops and restaurants. The plaza is also a great place for people watching, observing buskers and of course dodging the hordes of pigeons that are eager to get the crumbs of the "crusty buns".
Exploring the northern end of the "centro historico" we were in search of Plaza Miguel Auza to find an old church and a museum. Like other parts of this town, it was a pleasure just walking to get there and enjoying the warm intimate feeling that this town projects
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. It was thus that we came upon the massive ruins of the former church - Ex Templo de San Augustin - now roofless and overrun with shrubbery but beautiful nonetheless. Right next to it is the Ex Convento de San Francisco which now houses the Museo Rafael Coronel. "It is a collection of 4,500 masks from all over Mexico. They are so exotic and dissimilar that you would think they came from all over the world. Fascinating!" - in Barbara's words.
Seeing the state of Ex Templo de San Augustine was an epiphany for me. It made me realize that without restoration many of the beautiful buildings that one takes for granted in Zacatecas and in other parts of Mexico for that matter would be in the same condition as the "Templo". It is the restoration process which maintains the beautiful architectural legacy of Spain that was extended to this part of New Spain. The Spaniards arrived in this area in 1548 attracted by the silver which has been mined in the area ever since. To explore this legacy one can still visit the nearby abandoned silver mine - Mina el Edén.
In the evening, the city took on a wonderful glow under streetlights and Christmas decorations
- new construction on the hillside
. Walking to the southwest part of the "centro" we came upon the majestic Jardin Enrique Estrada with its multi-colored fountains whose waters dance to the sound of beautiful modern music. It is truly a place to linger and take in the visual and sonar delights of this interesting park. It is a site which provides the photographic background for local "Quince Años" ceremonies which are so popular and fun to observe all over Mexico.It would be easy to be reminded of Spanish towns like Segovia when walking around Zacatecas. Not only is there a similarity of architecture and beauty but the towns also share the presence of aqueducts in their historical centers. The "Aqueducto du Cubo" in Zacatecas located right beside the Jardin Enrique Estrada is an awesome sight by day or by night just based on its sheer size. Its construction dates to the end of the 18th century and was functional until 1910. How many cities are there in the Americas that have an aqueduct as well preserved as this?
Aqueducts bring to mind the achievements of the Romans and that is particularly the case in Segovia with its spectacular double arched aqueduct. As great as the Roman empire was, it did not extend into Mexico but it did certainly extended into present day Spain.
Our vocabulary of superlatives already got a good workout at the Jardin Enrique Estrada and the nearby aqueduct but there was more to come
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. Our search for "banos" caused us to stumbled upon a five star 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 outstanding moment in the evening when the former bullring arena was used as a photographic setting for a 50th wedding anniversary for a family of about 100 relatives coming from as far away as Riverside, California. The photographer illuminated the bullring in a manner that is not normally seen and gave us a chance to take some beautiful photos.
I said earlier that previous to our planning of our discovery tour "MEXICO: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months" we had never heard of Zacatecas. It seems not too many expats have gotten the word about Zacatecas, as we heard almost no English spoken in this town.
We therefore considered ourselves to have been fortunate to have met Dr
- cookie cutter new homes
. John Sullivan, (Ph.D.) in a coffee shop. John is the Director of the Instituto de Docencia E Inventigación Etnológica de Zacatecas, A.C. He has been living here for 20 years and confirmed the fact that there are very few ex-pats living in the area. He described Zacatecas as a relatively safe community, conservative and a place where change comes slowly. Most amazing is that John teaches the Náhuatl language spoken by the indigenous people of the same name. In the process, his department won the Guggenheim award for native language study, in association with Yale University.http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=136853
Additional notes:
We have to give the Acropolis Restaurant located right next to the cathedral a plug. On our first evening in town we wanted to eat there. The "maitre d'" took my family name on the waiting list. Realizing that the lineup was too long, we left and ate elsewhere. The next evening we decided to go back and try again. This time there was no lineup and when the maitre d' saw me he addressed me by my name. I must say I was flabbergasted! This was obviously "un hombre muy intelligente"
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. Besides that, the service and the food are quite good.On our last day we also discovered a nice coffee shop that met our criteria of a good café americano and baked goods at a reasonable price. It is called the Panificadora Santa Cruz located beside the cathedral next to Luigi's Pizza.
I also have to give credit where credit is due.
If you still aren't convinced about Zacatecas, I see there is someone - TQ Long - who has better photos than on my website - they are gorgeous, but then he is a professional photographer.
http://www.terragalleria.com/north-america/mexico/zacatecas/zacatecas.html
But wait, I have more great photos in Zacatecas - Part 2
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Feeedback/Questions: travelswithlobo@yahoo.com
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Coming soon: Zacatecas - La Bufa - The View from Above
