Guanajuato

The International Newcomers Club planned a trip to Guanajuato this past Saturday. It was a small group of us, but we had a good time. James and I agree that this is our favorite city so far. It is so unique and beautiful.


Guanajuato is built on the side of a mountain, so the streets are very slanted in some parts of the city, but the coolest part (and what the kids liked the best) is the network of underground tunnels that serve as roads. Getting into the city, we went through a half a dozen tunnels and Lydia kept saying, "whoa, cooo." There are even intersections and different roads you can turn down within the tunnels. It's worth the 2 hour drive just to see the underground road system!


A few pictures of the entrances and in between the tunnels while we were driving. Next time I'm going to try to get a good picture of the inside...

Going into the mountain

Buildings across and on the sides of the street in between
the tunnels...they built them everywhere!

We were amazed by these houses that were built over

the edge of the mountain, over the streets, and

held up by, basically, pieces of plywood

Once we parked, we took the finicular (cable car) up to the top of a mountain to get a view of the city and see a statue of an important figure in Mexican history. The kids liked riding the finicular of the very steep hill.

Two views from the finicular


At the top of the finicular, looking down

The kids looking down the tracks of the finicular

A family picture at the top of the hill

El Pipila - the 28 meter statue of the independence

hero who wore a stone slab on his back to protect

himself while burning the Spanish troops holed

up in an old grainery in the city in September 1810

**2010 is a big year in all of Mexico. In September, they will be celebrating 200 years of independence. Queretaro and the surrounding areas (including Guanajuato) were a huge part of this history.**

Walking around the city...beautiful buildings and

well-manicured gardens!

Charlotte (our new friend from England) and

Ethan sitting on the steps in front of a statue

A beautiful church in the city

Callejon del Beso (the back alley of the kiss). Two balconies that are separated by only 69 centimeters is home to an old love legend. The story goes that there was a woman (who lived in the house n the right) with a violent dad that forbid her from seeing the man she fell in love with. The man spent a fortune on the house on the left, so that he could talk to her and make a plan. The father caught them on the balconies and killed his daughter. As she was dying, the couple shared a kiss. Supposedly (I don't know why), it is good luck to share a kiss under the balconies, in the alley, so that's what James and I did...

The steps up to the University of Guanajuato (beautiful building)

and the inside of one of the churches with a very European feel.

Colorful houses up the mountainside

Okay, your Mexican history lesson is over for today...