When planning to visit Guanajuato the Missus and I realized that we really didn't know much about the city. So, I did a bit of research and scheduled a private walking tour of the city. It would turn out to a be a highlight of our trip.
We started out the day by having breakfast at the hotel - Chilaquiles and fruit.
After breakfast we headed off to our designated meeting spot near the Hotel Real Guanajuato. Our guide Susana was a treasure; born and raised in Guanajuato, she gave us a in depth history, as well as local insights. There was just so much that I'll just provide a mild outline. In fact, I recommended Susana to FOY "RonR" who also did a tour and from what I understand enjoyed it as well. Susana took us to all the main sights, went thru the history and significance, gave us some recommendations.
There was a bit of research that I did before the tour. I knew that Guanajuato was once the home of the most productive silver mine in the world. And that combined with the obvious wealth which in turn created some wonderful structures has gotten Guanajuato a UNESCO listing. I also knew that the city played an important role in the Mexican War of Independence. In fact, the first stop was the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, now the Regional Museum of Guanajuato. Susana wove a tail of how the royalist barricaded themselves in the building, which was a granary. A battle ensued ensued and the building by the insurgents lead by an unlikely hero. More on that later. Sadly, I was so taken by the story that I forgot to take photos of the building! I thought I took photos, but sadly did not.
Next stop was the ever busy and huge Mercado Hidalgo.
Here we were introduced to the most important item in the market; the shrine of Mary.
As we walked among the food stands Susana said hello to a gentleman. She then told us, "he is the chef for my favorite restaurant in the city" and the we should eat there. The name of the place? Mestizo! We had a good laugh when we told her that we had dinner there the previous evening! Susana seemed to know quite a few people. She told us that her grandfather ran a bakery in town for many years. She then pointed to the church across from Mercado Hidalgo....
And told us; "I was baptized here...." This is the Parroquia y Templo de Belén.
We strolled thru several plazas and there were stories......
Susana recommended that we stop by this place for a drink and we ended up returning twice.
Susana was great when we inquired about various monuments we saw.
The statue above is of Enrique Ruelas Espinosa who founded the University of Guanajuato Theatre and also established the Cervantes Festival.....yes, Guanajuato has a "thing" about Don Quixote.
There were just so may interesting places and stories.
We walked down one of the side streets and came to a point where two buildings were a mere two feet apart. This was the scene of a tragic, "Romeo and Juliette" story. Thus giving the spot the name "Callejón del Beso" (Alley of the Kiss). To quote the story in Atlas Obscura:
"According to local legend a wealthy family lived in one of the buildings that helped create the alley, and their daughter, whose bedroom window looked out onto the alley, fell in love with a young man from the wrong side of the tracks. The young man rented out the room in the building across from hers with a window that was directly across from her own as well. Then they would secretly meet and kiss across the tiny alley. Unfortunately, the girl’s father found out, and in a fit of rage, stabbed his daughter to death. Most accounts of the story end it there, but some go a bit further, saying the young man then threw himself to his death in the alley below."
More versions of the story here and here.
We got there and watched a couple walk up to the steps, their three children cheering them on, taking photos, and giggling until they kissed!
In my previous post I mentioned that much of the traffic in Guanajuato is diverted underground.
We left the colorful streets of Guanajuato and went down stairs.
And into the underground tunnels.
Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was that this was a product of the silver mining days of the city. Which was incorrect. These tunnels were actually created in the late 19th century to divert the Guanajuato River which had flooded the city several times. In fact, Susana went and showed us markers of the height of the waters of several historic floods in the city's history.
I guess expert miners would be pretty good with creating tunnels, right? When it was decided that traffic should run under the city, another deeper set of tunnels were created to divert the river.
As we got to Teatro Juárez, the last leg of our tour was set to start.
We were given the choice of taking the funicular or walking up the hill to the statue of El Pipila.
Well, you know what the Missus chose, right? Actually, it was a fun walk, especially checking out all the pooches along the way.
And at the top was a spectacular view of the city.
And above it all was the statue of El Pipila.
El Pipila was of course a nickname. The gentleman's real name was Juan José de los Reyes Martínez Amaro. It is said that he was given the moniker "El Pipila", which means "the turkey" either because he had a certain complexion or more popularly, because he was born with a birth defect that affected the way he walked. So, what did El Pipila do? Well, El Pipila was a miner, who during the siege of Alhóndiga de Granaditas, when things were at a standstill, El Pipila tied a stone slab to his back to repel arrows and bullets and rushed the door of the granary. He carried with him a torch and tar. He coated the door with tar and set fire to the door. The smoke from the fire meant the garrison in the granary could not accurately aim, folks outside gained entrance to the building and the garrison was defeated. And the Mexican Independence movement gained momentum. And the legend of El Pipila was born.
We enjoyed the street art on the walk back down.
It was a wonderful walking tour. Susana bade us farewell at Teatro Juárez and we did a bit of shopping and decided to grabbing some lunch. Close by was a place I had on my list....a Mariscos shop named La Vela.
One of my favorite things was what I believe is the shop pooch? He started inside....
And then when he saw us. he decided to "hang" with us and get some sun.
Of course things soon got pretty warm out on the street so he grabbed a spot near us.
As for the food....well, from what I had read, one of the specialties of La Vela was the "marlin", smoked fish. And you know how the Missus loves Her smoked fish.
We started with some Flautas de Marlin ($80/MX - $4/US)
Loved the greens, but the tortillas were too chewy and the marlin really dry.
I was curious about the Caldo de Pescado ($95/Mx - $4.75/US) having had my share of mariscos "consomme" over the years.
Man, this had a greasy tongue feel, and was very bland.
The highlight of the meal was the gigantic Empanada de Marlin con Queso ($60/MX - $3/US)
Nice and crisp exterior, the smoked fish was really the star of the show here. It was moist, smokey, not overly salty, with great savory tones. The queso was used sparingly, which was actually a good thing. Look at all that smoked fish!
So, perhaps not the best lunch we've ever had. But it ended on a high note. Plus, that pooch entertained us. Now, if only that Asian dude at the other table on a call, telling folks he's from "Irvine" and went to "Xxxx University" and how he knows everything could have used his inside voice....well, it might have been a nicer meal.
La Vela
36000, Constancia 6
Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico
Well, I know this is a rather long post. So thanks for reading!
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