We had the privilege yesterday of travelling to Guanajuato (pronounced, approximately like "wanawhato") with Justo and his wife Elia, and their infant son, Luca. He had mentioned that it was one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico, and they would be willing to go with us on a Saturday, to show us the place.



What an amazing place!!! Full of history, the Spanish were here by the mid-1500s, and the native tribes had been there long before - how do you explain to people with such history around them that our country is only almost 140 years old, and our province barely more than 100? That there are no buildings 500 years old, and 500 years ago there were no buildings at all in Manitoba??

Well, back to Guanajuato - it is nestled in some hills/mountains, and the range of elevation from one section of the city to another is very broad - however, no problemo - the streets simply rise and fall with the angles of elevation - some streets seemed to climb at incredibly sharp angles - and turn with any degree to the next street - the Suburban did admirably, but Herb had to navigate some corners with multiple moves (causing some irritation to the locals - which we were quick to hear).



Guanajuato is also famed for its narrow streets - yes, we had to pull in the rear-view mirrors to get through a few tight places, and watch for the front steps of some homes, as they were right up near the tires - the speed at which you navigate under these conditions is fairly "carefully". Our guides said we had a few more inches of room than the orphanages' vans do, so that was plenty of room. How some of these incredibly narrow, winding streets could be open for two-way traffic was highly questionable to us!



The city also has a mining history, and many of the underground tunnels have been converted to traffic thoroughfares, and so we spent some time driving through this maze - complete with merging traffic, from any direction, and parking areas underground. There are numerous access points, both for traffic and pedestrians, and so if you are new to the area, getting lost is pretty much a given. We were ever so appreciative to have local guides for navigating - and still had to back-track once or twice.



Tourism is a major industry here, and there were many, many shops and stalls to see. There's a great picture of the Street of the Kissing Balcony, where, in fact, the second floor balcony from one side of the street is close enough to the balcony across the street that you could, theoretically, kiss across the street. Only one balcony was open to tourists, so we were unable to test the theory.



The city is also important in their quest for independence, and there is a large fort in the centre of the city bearing gun-shot marks from a battle when the peasants tried to throw off the Spaniards (in the early 1800s?) - while the peasants did gain independence for Guanajuato for a time, they were not successful in that attempt to gain freedom for the whole country - this did come later. With the Spaniards locked securely within the fort, Pipila, the hero of the battle, immortalized in a statue overlooking the city, gained hero status by strapping a rock to his back so that he could not be shot and carrying a torch with which he burned the gates to the fort thereby sealing the Spaniard's fate.



A large church in the centre was hosting weddings, as it was a Saturday, so we witnessed a bride arriving with her family, for the 2:00 wedding.



The city has a delightfully colorful amount of houses, and the view from the statute to Pepila (the hero of the battle mentioned above) you can see marvelous vistas of colour throughout the city, interspersed with the beautiful green of the trees in the plazas. We enjoyed a wonderful snack of "fresas con crema" which is strawberries with a rich cream and sugar - we shared one for $1. A truly delightful adventure.