9/6/15,
“More Old Churches”
Quaretaro,
Quaretaro, Mexico
A couple of
weeks ago, when I was in Cuba, I sat down in the famous, historic city of Trinidad,
much as I am now, wearing the exact same outfit, same shirt even, and wrote an
entry called “Old Churches.” The title
of the entry referred to the famous, historic cities we were visiting that day
and their famous, historic churches. Today
is a very a similar day, hence the title of today’s entry. We will be visiting four famous, historic
cities today, each with their own famous, historic churches. Four plaques and four keychains is the goal
for today. I am now halfway there.
Breakfast was extremely disappointing, but I
got enough to fill me up, and the souvenir shop was open by the time I was done
eating, so I packed, dressed, and got my keychain before lighting up my
Montecristo Open Eagle. I then started
to take my ceremonial pictures with the plaque and the church. Reader, this was Sunday morning, so there was
beautiful music playing from the church.
I stopped to listen for a few minutes before heading back to the
van.
It was a long and winding mountain
roud that left me feeling quite nauseated for the three hours we drove. I spent most of the drive futzing with my
phone, trying to get my photos to upload with the spotty cell service in the
mountains. I was far too nauseated for a
cigar, but we soon made it to the famous, historic city of Quaretaro, also
called Santiago de Quaretaro. Enrique
parked the car and I found the tourist stand.
I found out where the inscription photo was, along with the main plaza,
where I assumed the plaque to be.
Everything was a short walk apart, so we headed to the plaza, Plaza de
la Independica. Enrique asked a police officer
where the plaque was, and he pointed it out to us, on a stand outside the
tourist office, right next to the plaza.
I was starving, so we went to get lunch first. I ordered tacos and a quesadilla. While the fillings were delicious, the shell
left much to be desired, and, eventually, I just emptied them out and ate it
with a fork.
After lunch, I lit up a
Partagas, and we headed to the plaque, where I took my ceremonial pictures. We then walked towards Templo de Santa Clara,
where the inscription photo was taken, picking up a keychain on the way. I also saw a Royal Route (Camino Real de
Tierra Adentro) plaque. I recreated the
inscription photo and asked Enrique to meet me here in thirty minutes. I found a nice place to sit with a good view
of the church, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so
that we can get back on the road.
Guanajuato,
Guanajuato, Mexico
Twilight
comes to an end over the famous, historic city of Guanajuato, and, I have no
less than two famous, historic churches in view as I smoke my favorite pipe on
my hotel’s terrace. It has been an epic
day of sightseeing, visiting the famous, historic churches in no less than four
famous, historic towns. It was just one
of those days where everything went right, and we somehow managed to get to our
hotel at 7:30 PM, unlike 1 AM like last night.
Guanajuato is a city unlike any I have ever seen, or so I had thought
when we first got here. It is city that
has been built up for over five hundred years, the old city buried underneath
newer ones. I then remembered that I had
been to a similar city: Akko/Acre in Israel.
This is more impressive, though.
Much more impressive.
After I
closed in Queretaro, I got my Sunday paper, remembering for once, and I soon
found Enrique. We made our way to San
Miguel de Allende, which was a protective town along the Royal Route. Enrique took me to the vista where the
viewpoint picture was taken, and I lit up a Cohiba, figuring this would be a
quick site, just the inscription photo, a keychain, and a plaque, and the
Cohiba was my smallest cigar. I
miscalculated, severely. I took my
ceremonial pictures and bought a keychain before we headed down to the plaza where
the plaque should have been. Of course,
no plaque. My new friend told me the
plaque was actually in the associated site, the Sanctuary of Jesus Nazareno de
Atotonilco.
It was 20 klicks away, and
there was bad traffic getting out of town.
To add to that, Enrique wanted to stop for gas. I did not think I had enough cigar left to
get the plaque. We were soon at the
sanctuary, and I got to the plaque before the cigar was finished. I took my ceremonial pictures and got a
sandwich and a taco filled with pork. I
gave her a banknote, and I was shocked how much change I got back. This was a full meal, and it cost less than a
medium coffee (not latte, coffee) at Starbucks.
Gotta love the new strong dollar.
Across the board, the dollar has gained 30-40% against global
currencies. For someone who travels
internationally as much as I do, it is a very good thing.
It was now 5 PM, and it was over an hour to
Guanajuato. I was concerned the souvenir
shops would close at 6 PM. Enrique
ensured me they’d stay open late. I lit
up an Aroma de Cuba, and we made our way to the city. We got to the viewpoint, where the
inscription photos was clearly taken, and it was swarming with vendors and
tourists. Excelente! I lit up a Churchill and took my ceremonial
pictures before getting my keychain and t-shirt. We then headed down into the city, through
the tunnels, to La Plaza de Paz, where my new friend told me the plaque would
be.
My phone was almost dead, so I knew
I’d be limited how many photos I could take.
There was also the Baroque church nearby called Compañia, which was
named in the short description on the inscription page. I found my plaque, took my ceremonial
pictures, and then headed to the Baroque church, which was under restoration. There was a joke that was too good not to make. One of the funniest lines from “Beauty and
the Beast” is a joke that Cogsworth makes about the castle. “If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it.” Well, here I was standing next to a Baroque
church that was in the process of being fixed.
I then headed back to the van, and we went to the hotel.
Enrique went to park the car, and I checked
in. I got settled to the hotel, my phone
slowly dying and the charger not working.
Enrique soon came back and lent me his charger. I then went up to the terrace, where I found
a nice view of the city, lit up my Ardor, and proceeded to write this
entry. By the time my phone got back up
to 6% (the minimum needed to take a picture), it was dark out, but the famous,
historic churches were lit up. I will
now close so that I can publish and head out to dinner.
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