Guanajuato in Pictures

February 2016 - Guanajuato Mexico

We started our morning (a very cool one) with no plan other than being back for our 2 PM "city" tour.

We dropped into the closest church followed by another.

Then just rambled much like this post.

San Diego - there will be many more photos from inside!!!

Inside the basilica.

This is the back of the cat statue.

One of the many many squares.

Another church - Mass was taking place and the bell ringer was at work.

A little disappointed it wasn't a wizened old man.

Hidalgo market - saving it for another day.

We pick a sunny cafe for coffee and are serenaded by this gentleman.

By now we are roasting and have our sweaters off.

The basilica as we head back to our hotel.

Ice cream shop built inso side of basilica.

Back to Jardin Union and the theatre.

We are picked up promptly for our Spanish city tour, which didn't cover the city, didn't last hour nor did it end up being free. There were only us, a family of four and a couple.

The driver took us down into the tunnel to where his van was parked.

Another entrance to a tunnel.

He does a quick tour of town and I do a drive by shooting of Don Quixote which we had seen yesterday.

He points out some points of interest in town such as Diego Rivera Museum which is on our list.

We head out of town.

 Castillo Santa Cecilia. we will have to check if this is worth a visit.

John managed an overall view of the castle from his side of the van.

We make a stop at a seemingly innocuous museum although the chilling sculpture was a forewarning of what was to come once we paid an entrance fee and then had to tip the guide.

Our guide, dressed in monk robes, met us in a beautiful garden from which he then led us to the deep and dark cellars of the dungeon.

We passed the graveyard, I like graveyards.

 We enter the doom and gloom of the dungeon and are treated to see the devices the Spanish Inquisition used to torture infidels, indigenous, political dissenters and anybody else that was in need of torture.

Lovely decorations from the ceiling. I haven't seen anything like this in House Beautiful.

Didn't think we'd ever see daylight again.

Back into the van and we climb even higher out of town. The La Valenciana or San Cayetano church is an 18th century Mexican Churrigueresque church built at the opening of the La Valenciana mine, the site of the largest vein of silver found in Mexico. Come back for more photos another time.

And like any good tour guide he took us across the street to a silver store. The Disney version of leaving through the gift shop.

Back on board and we head further out of town down a dirt road where we thought he was turning around but instead parked.

It was a mining museum where we paid our entrance and tipped the guide at the end, not shy about holding out his hand.

The Bocamina de San Ramón mine is one of the city’s early mines, with the deposit found by some travelers in the early 16th century. In 1548, its mother lode was found.

 San Ramon was the patron saint of prisoners so I guess people are offering their keys to get out of whatever prison they feel they are held captive. I smiled to see some modern day keys such as swipe cards.

The bar used to be the gunpowder room.

Sending my miner down to the inner depths.

There is light as John makes the arduous climb back up.

Back up and we make our way back to the van thinking we must be done by now. Not so, the driver asks, very excitedly if we are ready for the mummies!! We ask for the senior rate, 17 pesos versus 52 pesos. More dinero but no tip as we never got a guide, thankfully, as the sign clearly stated that the entrance fee did not include the guide.

The museum contains naturally mummified bodies that were found in the municipal cemetery between the mid 19th and 20th centuries.

Another stop, that doesn't cost any money, it is now getting very windy and we are way up over the city.

John gets out and I opt to remain in the van.

Pípila was a miner who became famous for an act of heroism near the very beginning of the Mexican War of Independence, on 28 September 1810. The insurrection had begun in the nearby town of Dolores, led by Miguel Hidalgo, Click here for our visit to Dolores Hidalgo last week where you can see Pipila.

With a long, flat stone tied to his back to protect him from the muskets of the Spanish troops, Pípila carried tar and a torch to the door of the Alhóndiga and set it on fire.

See the green patch behind the church, there sits our hotel where the bar is beckoning us to use our two for one coupon, strictly for medicinal purposes to warm up.

Some sights as we drive back to town.

Back into the tunnels and we are dropped off. I was just joking about the entrance fees as we would have paid those anyway if this had been a paid tour, but it was a freebie as part of the hotel package I booked. We were able to see sights that are out of town and it lasted for almost four hours. Well worth it and the guide's tip.