Our trip wrapped up with a visit to this beautiful ex-hacienda on our way out of town. The family that owned the hacienda was descended from those that discovered the La Valenciana silver vein in 1558, a mine that for 250 years produced 20% of the world’s silver. So as you can see, the beautiful furnishings and gardens probably still amounted to chump change considering the wealth that was coming from this particular silver mine.
Mexican culture really has a fascination with death and the macabre. So it only seems reasonable that if it was discovered, while cemeteries were being expanded during a cholera outbreak in the 1800s, that the soil and climate in Guanajuato was a bit conducive to the mummification process, that those corpses should be displayed in a museum, right? Right?
Well, that’s what you get with El Museo De Las Momias. I was interested in checking things out and when Francisca also wanted to go, the two of us grabbed a taxi along with DiploBoy and headed to the tourist attraction. It was all quite surreal and a bit disturbing, but I’m glad we paid the museum a visit.
There are several theaters in Guanajuato, with the Juarez Theater being one of the most impressive. Were were able to have a look inside on Sunday morning.
One way to manage a weekend away with the kids is to always have plenty of “incentives” ready when mom and dad want to keep touring around the city. The possibility of ice cream always works well, or the possibility of some small little gift, which was the “incentive” we offered up to make our way to the Hidalgo Market. We figured there would be some kind of little purse that would keep DiploTot motivated.
This was a market where the locals go, so it was filled with people selling trinkets and gifts, but also plenty of meat, ready to be chopped and weighed, as well as fruits and vegetables and other dining options.
There’s that purse that was promised.
Here are some more photos from our wanderings around the city.
We really enjoyed our trip to Guanajuato over the Memorial Day weekend. It is only about a 3 hour drive from Guadalajara via the toll roads, and every minute counts with two kids along for the ride. We found a great little apartment on VRBO that was located in the central part of the city were most of the sights are located. It also featured a nice rooftop patio with nice views of town and the mountains.
Having DiploBoy sleeping in our room in the pack-and-play meant we didn’t get the greatest sleep over the two nights. Despite the frustrations felt in the wee hours of the morning, we are always glad that we make the effort to get out on these road trips with young kids. Here is an initial run of some photos and I’ll be posting more in the coming days.
So, in looking at my last post, I see it has been just over three months since I’ve posted any news. I think that is potentially my longest stretch of radio silence. Things have been pretty quiet since we made it to the beach, just all that regular, everyday life stuff, just in a foreign country.
With the Memorial Day holiday, we finally ventured out again to the town of Guanajuato and it felt great to be out and about, seeing some new sights. I’m working through my photos and plan to finally get some new posts up soon. In the meantime, enjoy this view of the city (click for a larger view).
