WeAreTraveling.com, April, Part 2

After leaving the Pemex at Navojoa, we headed east towards the interior of Mexico to a place called Alamo. We had heard that it was a beautifully restored, colonial town and a 'must see'. Well, it was absolutely charming and the restorations were really well done. We drove the coach into town as far as we could, parked and then walked around gawking and taking pictures. We really enjoyed our visit there! From there, we headed west, back towards the coast to Navojoa. Then from Navojoa we decided to travel south on the 'libre' or 'free' road (as opposed to the 'cuota' or toll road). We should mention that quite often there are toll highways that run more or less parallel to the major highways. Most of the time we try to take the free roads that take us along some of the back roads and through the smaller towns. Anyway, usually it works great, but this time we got quite a bit off the beaten path and headed west off the main highway and then south. We stopped for the night at another Pemex before heading east again and back to Mex 15, the main highway. As mentioned, the free road usually runs more or less parallel to the toll road, but not this time! Oh well, we had a great evening in Huatabampo as you will see in the pictures...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

As mentioned above, we took a side road off the main highway and headed into a little town called Alamos. We are so glad we did, it is one of the prettiest colonial towns we have seen in all of Mexico and Baja! Enjoy the pictures of all of the restorations done to this quaint and friendly little town...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

In Mexican cities and towns they often have traffic circles. They actually work really well, as long as you start out heading the right way :)

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Take note of the restored buildings, the cobble stone streets, and the elevated side walks, all very charming...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

In amongst the restorations, there were still buildings that were in ruins, with walls and roofs missing. But somehow, that made everything even more beautiful!

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

This is the town square and the Mission... just gorgeous!!

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

This is the Municipal Hall in Alamos, another beautiful building...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Inside of the Municipal Hall, there were offices upstairs and downstairs on each side. The centre was open to the sky, with only the huge draping fabric up above. Up front, there was a stage with a meeting in progress when we stepped inside to take this picture. Just beautiful with pillars, archways and a very ornate design...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Look at the side walk in front of this place as well as at the age of the door and the hardware on the door... just gorgeous!

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos had a very pretty and beautifully landscaped town square...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

As we approached the Mission we found that it was closed for restorations at the time. However, we did get to meet this elderly gentleman selling his wares. He had a small cloth laid out with quartz crystals and other colourful minerals from the area. In addition he also was selling 'finger pullers', woven out of grasses. We are not sure what they were for, but he was pretty proud of them! He put one of them on his finger, to show it could not be pulled off, unless he wanted it to... funny... He loved chatting in Spanish to us and loved getting his picture taken. We didn't buy anything from him, but gave him a few pesos to take his picture... He seemed very pleased and did not want us to leave :)

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Most cities and towns also have these absolutely incredible markets, with fresh produce, all kinds of groceries, and necessities, clothes, small restaurants, etc... We just loved them. We would shop for some of our foods there and just looking around was a real treat. In addition, the 'people watching' was priceless...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

This was one of the back streets of Alamos, look at the rock work in the road... just incredible!

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

While we were walking around, a man called to us in English and approached us. His English was really quite good and he struck up a conversation wanting to know all about how we were doing and to tell us all about himself. We had a great chat with him. He asked us what we thought of "His" town and we told him how beautiful it was. When he was done, he offered us some 'Peanut Butter & Honey Fudge'... well what could we say... we broke down and bought some. It was delicious!! He told us that it was an old family recipe from his grandmother, who passed it on to his mother, who passed it on to him...

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico

As we were heading out of Alamos, we noticed these workers, hanging out in the shade at the new Pemex station that was not quite open yet. It was a hot day and the overhead canopy provided a lot of shade...what the heck...they happily waved 'hello' as we drove by :) The Mexican's are so easy going and laid back. We have really enjoyed adjusting our pace and attitude to match theirs, we just 'go with the flow' whenever possible... ahhhhh....