me gusta guanajuato.

another long weekend, another trip!

you may think that we had a long weekend in honour of canadian thanksgiving, but i was fooled. really it was for colombus day? or some similar US holiday. no turkey for me this weekend.

INSTEAD, though, i had the loveliest, most fun (and funny!) long weekend yet. things keep getting better and better. just when i think i have found the most beautiful place in mexico, i am amazed once again. or maybe everything really is wonderful.

we did not leave until saturday morning, which gave me the evening to myself on friday. my good friend raymundo (aka my english speaking taxi driver) came and picked us up at 7 in the morning. it is great having a personal taxi driver who you can call at any time of day! our viva aerobus flight was slightly less sketchy, and thankfully, there were no emergency stops on the runway this time. driving in to guanajuato was a really interesting experience, because the roads entering the city are all subterranean. when traffic became a problem a long time ago on their narrow roads, they dammed up an old river and turned the riverbeds into subterranean roads. strange, but effective.

we couldn't drive up to our hotel, because it was actually located in an alleyway on a hill. when we got dropped of and vaguely directed, i thought we would never find it! luckily, casa bertha was on the ball, and hand-painted signs directed us through the maze of alleys. good thing i hadn't brought a lot of luggage, because after walking up the hill, our hotel room was on the top floor of the hotel! casa bertha was a potpourri melange of twists and turns, strange staircases, but when we reached the top floor and looked out at the view of the city, i fell in love. our room literally looked out onto a HUGE patio which overlooked the entire city. we definitely scored one of the most beautiful views. we could see all the roofs, the coloured houses, and the mountains beyond. it took ALL of our breaths away.

after drooling for quite sometime, damon decided our first mission should be for food. a friendly local directed us to a hole in the wall mexican restaurant, where the food was surprisingly delicious! we ordered beer before noon (for real) and gave her quite the laugh. next, we explored the main square (called jardin principal), the beautiful main theatre (teatro juarez) and wandered down some adorable pedestrianized streets. luckily, our visit coincided with the cervantes festival, a huge arts and cultural festival that takes over the city. street performers, mimes, musicians were abundant throughout the city on both days. we found the most AMAZING silver shop (which to my disappointed was closed when we returned to make our purchases!!), stumbled upon dozens of little squares and even found a wall of lips. a very unique city!

guanajuato has a distinctly european feel, and i often had to blink twice to remember that i wasn't in spain. we meandered along the streets, stopping in shops, to sample street food and to take in some performances. even though we didn't understand very much, there was a great vibe in the city. we eventually made it to our goal, which was the childhood home of mexican artist diego rivera. the city had initial scorned his communist ways and rejected him, but they have now turned his house into a museum with a collection of his artwork. most famous for his murals, his work was actually very varied and diverse.

the day seemed to last forever! we had (too many) margaritas at a little outdoor patio while being 'harassed' by the street vendors. once you buy something, you're toast. plus, with a little bit of tequila in us, no one could say no to the beautiful peacock scarves and woolen carpets! (i was good and didn't buy a thing!!!) i imagine they were talking about the crazy gringas at table 2, and sending their buddies over to sell us more unnecessary goodies. hilarious.

in the evening, we decided to have a romantic group dinner in a quiet plaza and then find some classic salsa bars. i have been in mexico for almost three months, and still had not had a proper dance! we followed the music and ended up in this local haunt where men ask you to dance and have no expectation of ANYTHING other then a dance. very refreshing. we made some new friends who directed us to an even better dance bar called 'cuba mia', where we could really get a sense of the guanajuato salsa scene. and ohh boy. when we entered that bar, we were forever out of my league. i felt soo awkward stepping on people's toes, not knowing which direction to turn. it was also the most fun i've had in ages! the music was live, the dancers were almost professionals (at least in my eyes) and i actually got better as the evening went on! now i just need to get a permanent instructor. ha.

on sunday we slept in, wandered the streets some more, bought extremely inexpensive pottery, ate muy delicioso crepes for desayuno and hiked all the way out to the infamous mummy museum. now this may have been the most disgusting theme for a museum, but accurately reflects mexico's strange infatuation with death. it was literally the world's largest collection of dead people, mummified. these included (i'll leave the gorry details out): a pregnant mummy, the world's smallest mummy, the world's first mummy and other lovely additions. sunday we also managed to fit in a trip to the local university, some shopping, a visit to the covered market and a trip up to the highest point of the city.

sunday night, when the four of us lay in our beds and chatted until 1 in the morning, i literally felt like was at camp. everything about the weekend had been perfect. we truly bonded, couldn't stop laughing and discovered one of the most charming cities in mexico.

what more could we ever ask for?