What do you get when you mix 26 women, multitudes of silver jewelry shops, a bustling silver tianguis (open air market), great food, great spirits (heavenly and liquid) and throw them together for 4 days and 3 nights in a new and exotic location south of Mexico City? You get new friends, new stories to tell other friends and kids, added calories, new laugh lines, and your Christmas shopping is done for the year.
Prior to boarding a chartered bus early one morning, we observed two trucks downloading cases of water, tequila, wine, champagne, mixers, and boxes of colorful woven bags which would prove to be the greatest home-made lunches. Just as I was thinking I must be getting on the wrong bus at the wrong time, I saw some of the girls I knew kissing their husbands goodby. I followed suit and sent Jim packing before he decided I needed a chaperone. As it turned out, he was the one who may have needed the chaperone as the guys got together for a huge barbecue the next night which carried on into the wee hours of the morning. A vote was taken among the men on whether the girls were missed. The vote came back 20 “no” to 6 “yes”, but their lips were glued shut about who the 6 were.
The journey on the bus took almost 8 hours but with all the great snacks, lunch, and generous quantities of drink, we had a whooping good time. We passed over 20 miles of flower fields, winding our way up into pine trees. The pines provided camouflage for hundreds of huge greenhouses.
Miles of flower fields all being readied for Dia de los Muertas
Neat and tidy flower fields as far as one can see
Cresting the mountains at 8000 feet, we headed down through the pines until suddenly Taxco was perched along the mountainside across from us. Reminiscent of many European villages, the streets of cobblestone wind up very steep streets accessed by little white VW taxi bugs with the front passenger seat removed, allowing for only 2 passengers in the rear. Attached to the passenger door was a rope for the driver to yank the door shut. In true Mexican fashion, I did see 3 adults (clearly not my size) and 3 children and pile into one.
Taxis are either little white VW bugs or an occasional VW van with side sliding door removed. Walk these streets a few days and your legs will look like a million bucks!
Arriving at our hotel, Pueblo Lindo, we were delighted with both the accommodations as well as the view of the city. A stampede occurred shortly after we checked in as everyone wanted a spa massage. Those of us that were trampled and denied appointments raced to the rooftop and started our cocktail party with amazing empañadas, Mexican quiches, guacamole and assorted other delectable hors d’ oeuvres, while we watched the sun go down over this glamorous town. Although during the entire month of October Uranus accommodated us with a brilliant showing, in this crystal clear town in the mountains, it seemed larger and brighter, often glowing bright red.
Taxco, clearly one of Mexico's hidden jewels. View from our terrace.
Pueblo Lindo
Rooftop of Pueblo Lindo.
After a rooftop breakfast the next day, we scattered like las cucarachas heading for Los Arcos de Noe (Noah’s Ark) which is a wholesale silver jewelry manufacturing center. Passing store after store of silver jewelry which each needed exploration, we finally made it to Los Arcos where most of the morning and early afternoon was spent. Turquoise, agate, jasper, coral, and other gemstones are hugely in vogue now and we were able to select components and have them made while we waited. After a late lunch, we headed back to Pueblo Lindo to ready ourselves to model our new possessions during cocktail hour.
Intending to just make sure nothing was overlooked, we flew out the door early the next day with the promise that we’d all grab taxis mid-day to take us down the hill to our bus for our trip to Las Grutas de Cacahuamilpa. Another hour’s drive toward Cuernavaca, we arrived at a lush area in the mountains for our hike down into the Grutas. This underground grotto was discovered by a British man who chased his dog down a hole between the rocks many years ago. The caverns are so large that they apparently lost their way and perished. A monument in their honor rests at the end of the caverns. The grotto is well-lit and tended by the Mexican National Park Service. The tour through these gigantic formations takes 2 hours and has concrete paths plus 880 steps. When we reached the end of the tour, we tipped the guide and headed out. As we passed the Brit and the pooch’s monument, we realized that he’d taken us to the end of the caverns all right, but this also meant we had to hike all the way back. I decided to go home and post my Stairmaster for sale on Ebay!
Las Grutas de Cacahuamilpa
Kathy & Jim's 2011 san Miguel de Allende Odyssey 