Chihuahua, la segunda parte

TUESDAY

On my second day in Chihuahua, Roxsana met me at my hotel for another hearty breakfast before heading back down to the old city center. We stopped first at the tourist office to check out our options for different upcoming day tours - we decided on an all-day Cañón del Pegüis tour for Thursday and a trip to the local caves for that afternoon.

In the meantime, we had a few hours to continue exploring the city.

Our first stop was Quinta Gameras, the haunted house-looking art-nouveau mansion that we tried to see the day before (but it was closed on Mondays!). We were finally able to get in and tour the museum. The mansion was built in the early 1900's by businessman Manuel Gameros, who had traveled throughout Europe and loved the French mansion he saw on his travels. He sent his architect out to France to see it and build a replica in Chihuahua.

The home was finished in 1910, coincidentally in the same month as the start of the Mexican Revolution. Too bad for Mr. Gameros, who only enjoyed the mansion for a few years before going into exile in the US.

Inside Quinta Gamera

The restorers

The house now is furnished with furniture from a wealthy family from Mexico City, the Requenas. It's elaborate and beautiful, and fits surprisingly well with the house. We even got to see the daughter's room, whose Red Riding Hood theme is currently being restored by a mother-daughter team.







The next stop was the Museo Casa de Juarez, where I got a quick lesson in Mexican history. I'd heard of Benito Juarez (and mainly know his name because of the city of Juarez near El Paso), but I never knew much about who he was and what he did.

Banana trees in the
courtyard of Casa de Juarez

In the mid 1800's, Mexico was going through civil unrest as they were establishing the country as a republic. Juarez, born to indigenous parents, became President of Mexico in 1857. During this era, a nearly bankrupt Mexico suspended their debt payments to foreign governments with the promise to repay after their government became more stable. This was not acceptable to France, who decided to invade Mexico in a show of imperialism (This was the framework that lead to the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1861, where Mexico defeated a much stronger French army and is the excuse for America's Cinco de Mayo celebrations.)

Fleeing the French invasion, President Juarez left Mexico City and took refuge in Chihuahua, setting up the Republican administration headquarters in the house where he was staying.  He and the government was off-and-on in the house until 1866, when they returned to Mexico City. The house is now a museum with artifacts and reproductions of the time.

My new book!

From Casa de Juarez, we walked through Plaza Mayor de Chihuahua, where large bas-relief panels depict the life and death of Pancho Villa. We walked from there up to a bookstore where I bought several Spanish versions of children's books (in the hopes that I can read them and practice my Spanish!) From there we went to lunch (and shared a huge T-bone - Chihuahuans really know how to do their meat!!)

Scary monsters inside the cave...

We rushed back to the tourist office so that we could make it in time for the cave tour to Grutas Nombre de Dios, just a 15 minute shuttle ride outside the city. i had seen the grutas the last time I had been in Chihuahua but didn't really remember it - and Roxsana thinks they may have changed around the route inside the cave.

The caves run below the Sacramento River, and it took about an hour to go around 1,300 meters through the route. The interesting thing about these caves is that the average temperature inside was over 80° F and extremely humid. I had never been in a hot cave before; while the hike wasn't hard, we were all hot and sweaty by the end of the trip.

On the tour, we met a lovely Chilean couple who are in Chihuahua for a conference at the same hotel I'm staying in. The husband, Miguel, is a professor in Health Sciences at Universidad Catolica Silva Henriquez in Santiago, and the wife, Paz, is a middle school science teacher and counselor. Roxsana told them about several places to visit in the city, and they ended up accompanying us to the artisan handicrafts store that Roxsana wanted to show me. We walked through the city center to get there, chatting with Miguel (who speaks English) and Paz (who speaks none). It was fun practicing my Spanish, and learning a bit about what to expect in Chile (namely, that they have slang for everything and speak a mile a minute, so good luck to me when I go and try to understand anyone!)

We went to the craft store, where the shopkeeper gave us a taste of the local alcohol that Roxsana had been telling us about - sotol - an alcohol made from a wild agave found only in the Chihuahuan desert. It's different from but in the same family as tequila or mezcal - not that I'd be able to tell the difference. We tried two different versions of crema de sotol (one that tasted a bit like Bailey's, the other that was way too strong for me), and a straight version that burned like the fiery pits of hell. At least I can say I tried it!

Miguel and Paz had seen our bags of books and also wanted to see the bookstore, so we walked them back to the same bookstore and both bought more books (and I found a trilingual version of The Little Prince - in English, Spanish, and an indigenous language found in Southern Mexico called Otomi.) We invited Paz to join us on our day tour on Thursday, so hopefully she'll join!

That evening, we went to Roxsana's brother Rogelio's house to join in the celebration of his daughter Ruth's 15th birthday. Instead of a traditional quinceañera, Ruth was having a house party, and the family is going on vacation during the summer. When I arrived, it was slightly overwhelming being introduced to this aunt, that cousin, another aunt, another cousin, and another, and another. 
We met several of Ruth's friends from school, then went into the backyard to sit in a quiet corner. Immediately, Ruth's friends came over and whispered to Roxsana - they wanted to talk to me and wondered if they were allowed. They ended up sitting and chatting all night - Alejandra, Daniela, Camila, and Esmeralda, (who love Shawn Mendes and the Korean boy group BTS) - and are now whatsapp friends of mine so we can practice our English/Spanish exchange.
Alejandra gave a tear-jerking, heartfelt speech to Ruth for her birthday, and other speeches were given by Rogelio and others. 

Mexicans, and especially Chihuahuans, are known for their hospitality and generosity. I had my requisite shot of tequila (only about a tablespoon's worth, but potent all the same - and I must report - sucking the lime after the shot really does make it go down smoother!! WHO KNEW?!?  (well, other than everyone else on the planet)...

Tacos, being shaved off a hunk of
meat just like gyros. 

Rogelio had arranged for a taco-maker to come cater the party, and it was delicious. There was also a candy bar, and plenty of cake and other desserts. 

Towards the end of the night, Roxsana and I moved inside and chatted with of her relatives. Roxsana showed them my blog and made me translate it into Spanish for them - which was really really hard but was pretty good practice! 

WEDNESDAY

Roxsana and I both slept in, which was a nice way to start a more relaxing day. We had breakfast in the hotel before checking out and moving down to the old city center to our new hotel, the Central Boutique Hotel right next to the Catedral de Chihuahua where we had toured on Monday. Our room, Victor Hugo (all 11 rooms of this hotel are named after famous writers), was a big room in the corner of the original old house and we quickly dropped off our luggage before heading back out. 

We took an Uber to the lookout El Mirador, a mountain on the southeastern side of the city with sweeping views of Chihuahua. It was really windy up there, and both Roxsana and I were starting to feel the effects of all the dust blowing around. So we headed back down to the city center and went to our hotel and hang out and finally get a few moments to just relax. 

La Familia, overlooking El Rejon

In the late afternoon, we headed back out to Parque el Rejon, a small lake that holds a water supply for the city. Like many places in Chihuahua, there was a lot of art dotting the landscape, and many people go to the park after work for a quiet stroll around the lake. There were also several groups there taking pictures. After a quick snack, we walked around the lakeside waiting for sunset and the famous colors of the Chihuahuan sky.

As the sun went down, the hoards of mosquitos came out, and we rushed down to catch an Uber back down to town. In the meantime, we called the tour company to confirm our spots for the next day's tour, but found out there were too many release waivers that needed to be signed that we wouldn't have time to do it. Strange that they didn't let us know about it when we were actually IN the tour office the day before, but ... in the words of the indomitable Roxsana, "That's Chihuahua!" So no tour for us tomorrow, but I'm actually glad that we'll get some time to just take it easy and relax - something that I'm trying to train Roxsana to do! We stopped at Roxsana's house so she could finally pick up some clothes, then we headed back to the downtown area for dinner. We found a restaurant on one of the pedestrian streets - the food wasn't great (and it was basically a meat-fest - who knew I could actually feel meat overload?) - but the atmosphere was nice and the decor was fun and interesting. 

This cake is a single serving?! 

Back at our hotel, we had to stop and sit in the old dining room for a quick dessert. The room has the original hand-painted decor from the 1800's, and has a similar European look and feel as the Quinta Gamera (so much so that we wondered if the same person was hired to do both houses). We shared an enormous pistachio cake, then went back to our room for the night.

Now I want to make it abundantly clear - this is a beautiful hotel and the rooms are new, nicely decorated and furnished, and sparkling clean. I would recommend this place to anyone, and would happily stay here again. I was looking forward to just staying in the room and spending time enjoying the luxury. Roxsana and I pampered ourselves with home-spa treatments, and just as we were winding down, a HUGE cockroach crawled up the wall in the corner. As in around 2 1/2 inches long - too big for me to say I could easily catch or kill it. 

But we only paid for a room for two...

So we called down and immediately a lovely young man came over with bug spray and a sheet of paper - I'm assuming he though he'd be able to shoo it outside. But no - the cockroach scampered away from the stream of poison, so he kept crawling around and spraying to try to kill it. He kept offering to switch us to a different room (which we initially hesitated in doing because it would be such a pain to move our things), but as the toxic cloud grew, we decided it might not be in our best interest to stay in the room and breathe the fumes.

So we switched to the Sor Juana room - slightly smaller but just as nice as the now-infested and potentially lethal Victor Hugo. 

Buenas noches a todo!

THURSDAY

With nothing on the agenda, taking a slow morning and getting up late was a great way to wind down my time in Chihuahua. We walked down to the second-story restaurant with the cathedral view, and had a slow breakfast before coming back to the hotel.

In the small courtyard inside the hotel, Roxsana recognized a former law school classmate who was having coffee with what looked like coworkers, The day before as we were checking in, she saw her cousins (who were here with their work colleagues because their building down the street had been evacuated because of a bomb threat). Two observations: 1) Being in big-city Chihuahua doesn't change the small-town-Satevo feeling where everyone knows everyone else; 2) There is always a bomb threat in Chihuahua when I come to town.

Spring Break, Chihuahua, Mexico

When I told people I was going to Mexico, they immediately pictured me on the beach, partying with a pina colada in one hand and a margarita in the other (they know me so well...). But no - I'm visiting my friend Roxsana, in non-touristy central Mexico, I explained. Knowing that, most people got disinterested. For whatever reason, we don't know much about our neighbors to the south, and for whatever reason, we don't often travel around Mexico or learn much about it. Even I wasn't sure what to expect - the last time I had visited was for Roxsana's wedding, 16 years ago. Outside the wedding, I only have a few scattered impressions - getting stopped by the Federales and taking pictures with their guns, evacuating a club because of a bomb threat, walking down the dusty streets of Roxsana's hometown of Satevo looking for donkeys and waving at every single person we saw, all of whom ended up being a cousin or uncle or in some other way related to Roxsana.

The view of Chihuahua from my hotel room.

After arriving, I sent my friends a photo out my hotel window, telling them I had a view of Chihuahua from my room.

"Can't lie," my friend wrote back. "Saw the message and was expecting a teeny tiny dog."

Most people know nothing of Chihuahua, even though it is the capital of the largest state in Mexico. It's vast, and sprawling, and quite honestly it may be the cleanest city I've ever been to (and yes, I've been to Singapore). There are parts that remind me of Las Vegas, with huge neon-lit malls and intricately twined overpasses. Other parts look like San Francisco, with hipster coffee houses and artisan shops. And still other are reminiscent of old towns in Europe, with pedestrian-only walkways, old gothic buildings, and outdoor cafes.

It's not just clean... it's going green!!

Author Jose Fuentes Mares

Street art is EVERYWHERE. Statues, memorials, and murals are scattered everywhere downtown. It's delightful.

Finally found a chihuahua!

Murals line the streets

Whimsical statues surround the plaza next to the cathedral

Enjoying a jugo fresca

Roxsana and I spent the day wandering around the old part of the city, the district around the Spanish Baroque Cathedral that was built in 1725. Two pedestrian-only streets lead away from it, with lots of fun shops and cafes. At a small boutique hotel, the receptionist gave us an in-depth tour and history of the facilities, built on the former house of an 1800's general. Just down the street, we stopped at a little cafe for some juice, and the man behind the counter kept giving us samples of things to try - tepache- a fermented pineapple juice (that was good but a little too kombucha-esque for my liking); coffee with our postre chimichanga (I wish I liked coffee!); homemade chipotle pork that was his own recipe (and it was delicious!!). 

The people here are so welcoming and hospitable. As Roxsana said, "That's Chihuahua!"

The courtyard in the Palacio de Gobierno

We headed up to the former post office, now a museum called Casa Chihuahua. It had wonderful exhibits on the three main regions of the state of Chihuahua, the desert, the llanuras, and the sierras. Mixed in were archeological finds and other historical and artistic pieces, including some pretty impressive statues carved by actor Anthony Quinn, who was born in Chihuahua. Across the street is the Palacio de Gobierno, where the governor's office is located and where Miguel Hildago, known as the father of Mexican Independence, was killed in 1811. The building is now covered in murals and is a memorial to Hildago.



We wandered around the city a bit more, forgetting that it was Monday so several sites were closed. But it was still a lovely day and nice to see more of the local life. In the afternoon, we went to a movie in the giant supermall near my hotel. We watched "Dos metros de ti," - Five Feet Apart, which I had read not long ago. It was fun trying to read the Spanish subtitles and translating it in my head - and it was especially interesting that the ticket cost around US $3.

I'm loving Chihuahua. A wonderful, relaxing place to spend Spring Break!!