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Teenagers heading to school in a little town outside of Guanajuato. |
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Welcome to Guanajuato! |
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Oh wow, look at that huge tunnel, looks plenty big enough to get the motorhome in... What beautiful
rockwork at the entrance!
As you will learn, this is a city of tunnels... |
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Hmmm... Who is this fellow you ask? Well, even though we never
ever pick up hitch hikers, we sure were glad we picked up this guide. Many
tried to stop us as we were entering Guanajuato but we ignored them as usual
and bravely pressed on. Then, as we approached the central part
of the city, this fellow frantically tried to stop us. Ok, ok.. lets find
out what's up... It turns out that we would NEED a guide to get us
through Guanajuato, which is full of tunnels, narrow roads and twists and
turns. For a few dollars and a cab fare back to his post, this friendly and kind
Mexican guide helped us safely reach the other side of Guanajuato. |
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We're going to drive the motorhome in there? Ok... |
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Whew, we made it!! Now we just need to find a place to stay with the
coach, so that we can get back down there on foot and on our scooters!! |
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We are now just north of town...
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We drove a few miles north of Guanajuato, looking for even a place to
turn around! Eventually, we could turn around and as we
headed back towards town, we found a hotel that was willing to let us boondock on
the side of their driveway. Wait 'till you see our view!! |
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Barry's new friend. He was asking her for a deal on the gas for our
scooters. |
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This is our view that night! We are up on a mountainside looking down into a
valley... Look at those city lights! |
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Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico Just a bit of history here. Guanajuato was settled
and built on either side of a river in a steep valley. They needed more room
for the city, so
they built right over the river, with the river running under the
buildings. As the cities population grew, they dammed the river and used
it as their water supply. They were using ALL the water, so there
was nothing left in the riverbed. Then, they built huge tunnels with
roads where the river used to be. Over time, the city became more congested with people and
traffic so they expanded this wonderful maze of tunnels to move traffic around
and UNDER the city. Brilliant!! |
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Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
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Before we go into this tunnel, take note of the colours of the homes and
buildings above the tunnel. Guanajuato was one of the cleanest,
prettiest & most colourful cities we had ever seen. From our vantage
point up at the hotel driveway, we could see every colour of the rainbow! |
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There were well used sidewalks on either side of the roadway in all of the
tunnels. |
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Tunnels are complete with intersections, yield lanes, signs and lights. |
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Click on the movie link above to see a short clip of these 'terrific tunnels'. After watching the movie clip in the new window that opens, just close that window to return here... \ |
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This hotel was built right over the riverbed, now, the entrance to this
tunnel... |
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Pedestrian entrance to one of the tunnels under the downtown area... |
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There is a huge university here and these were art students, sitting on the
sidewalk, sketching the Cathedral. |
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High above the city is the statue of El Pipila, honoring his efforts on
September 28th, 1810 which led to Hidalgo's forces winning their first
victory of the independence movement. |
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Guanajuato has an absolutely stunning theater, the 'Teatro Juarez'. |
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Always on the lookout for a photo opportunity, we found this spiral staircase going up the side of the theater. |
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Now that looks like fun! This is the 'Funicular', an inclined
railway that leads up to the 'Monumento a El Pipila', mentioned earlier... |
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Up up and away... |
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Wow, the view is just getting better and better. |
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Looking way down, you see the back of the theater. |
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And here he is, El Pipila. You can see this monument from almost everywhere in Guanajuato.
We could even see it, far in the distance, from the hotel where we have the
motorhome parked. Sure glad we came up here and we're sure glad we didn't
have to walk up :) But when we are done up here, we'll walk down... |
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Narrow alleyways lead all the way downhill, back to the downtown area... |
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Walking down was such a treat, winding our way down through narrow
passageways and buildings. We just loved it! |
| Are you starting to get a sense of why we like Guanajuato
so much? Well, you 'aint seen nothin yet'!! The next update promises
to leave you feeling... well, we'll
leave the feelings up to you. Come and join us for more of our
wonderful travels in Guanajuato.
Click here to read the next segment of
this Travel Log Series |
