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May 18 – high noon.
Make it to Laredo by 2 and Monterrey by 5. Stayed in north Monterrey and didn’t get lost for once. Drove around a bit to get oriented then ate at Cabrito y Carne and that was exactly what we got. Found our Motel and were asleep by 9.
May 19 – parked the car at a mall, got breakfast then caught the #2 rail into Centro. Was looking for the Juarez Market and unfortunately found it. That’s a lot of train and walking for that. Decided to train back to the mall and head south before noon.
Nice toll roads took us pass Saltillo, all the way to Zacatecas. This is a classic colonial town. Easy to get lost in, frustrating to drive in. We settled on Hotel Reyna Solidad. Good choice, nice staff, cheap and in the middle of everything. Nicolas refused to let us carry anything. We got settled by 6pm then found an Italian alley way restaurant. Laura, our waitress, tested Sharon on her Spanish as we ordered Chilean wine, Caesar salads, and some damn good pasta. Yes, we’re in Mexico, but the Italian food here rocks! We left in time to catch game 1 of the western conference finals between the Spurs and Thunder. No, the announcers don’t scream “GOAL” for 90 seconds each time one is made.
May 20 – Our super cool hotel is evidently super loud at night. At 2am or so the couple above us got in a huge fight and one of them dragged their bags down the stairs in protest. Then there was the phone. And the cars. And the platform bed with extra firmness. We survived. Breakfast was great and just around the corner. It was the requisite huevos rancheros and migas with a pot of coffee and is well to start the day. We caught a cab and went to the Teleferico, a cable car from an old silver mine entrance to the highest spot in the area. Majestic views of the entire town. Afterwards we walked, all downhill, back to our hotel. After a nap we walked the city some more then sought out dinner. We decided on a local favorite of pozole, sopa, enchilada and tacos dorado. Nothing was on my current diet but… we walked a lot these past two days to make up for it.
On the way back to the hotel we noticed a lot of set up for “something”. We also noticed a bar above the area with balconies and a lot of yelling and screaming in the streets. So we headed to the bar vantage point and settled in to watch 2 and a half hours of a college beauty pageant. Beats watching a bullfight. About 8pm we made it back to the hotel for more cocktails and Sharon sleepy time.
30 minutes after Sharon was in siesta land, I, in my finest jammies, wondered across the street to catch a clown (literally) playing a requinto (tiny guitar) on the same temporary stage as the pageant. He was excellent! He pointed out to the crowd that a gringo was in attendance, immediately played the intro to “Dust in the wind”, then asked for a donation. I didn’t realize I stuck out so much in a crowd. I also realized I should never leave the hotel without some change, shoes, and appropriate pants.
