Guanajuato - Tunnels Leading to a Place for Dreamers

Leaving Leon, a major industrial center specializing in leather products in the western central Mexico Highlands, we made our way towards one of the most talked about towns in Mexico, Guanajuato.  This town is rich in history, including being the epicenter for the beginning of the Mexican war of independence.  We arrived at the bus station with very little of the historic town in sight.  I was curious about the situation, but I have been learning quickly to not get too worried about anything that didn’t initially make that much sense. 

We flagged a cab for a short ride to our hotel, which was only accessible by an alleyway.  I knew we were supposed to be heading west to the hotel, but we started north and then the cab turned into a tunnel in the side of rock face and started to descend into the dark with light provided only by an occasional lamp.  The tunnel kept twisting for a while until we came into what seemed to be a ravine, “…well… that was not that bad…” then back into another tunnel and underground again.  At this point I was getting into the ride and it reminded me of the Miner’s Museum back in Glace Bay, NS.  Then we resurfaced onto a narrow street lined by colorful brick houses. The town was like a bowl lined with houses up to the ridge.

The cab ride had been almost 25 minutes when we finally stopped suddenly on a narrow one-way street at a historic theatre.  Catherine seemed to know the route.  We turned into the alley beside the theatre and looked up at a very steep climb with our packs.  We started up only to meet a guy on a motorbike coming down at a good clip.  The sun was setting as we found our way to Casa Bertha.  Inside the hotel / hostel, there were stairwells that connected two separate building that were joined to form the hotel. 

We got to our room, quickly unpacked, and decided to go for a walk and see the town after the long trip.  By the time we got back outside the temperature had dropped over 10 degrees and it felt like a Canadian fall.  We went down towards the main square and found it filled with people.  This was every night in this town.  There was music everywhere, people and costumers singing along and others being serenaded by mariachis. 

Over the next couple of days we enjoyed great food and amazing sites, including a Cervantino museum (Don Quixote).  Yes, this town has its own museum for dreamers.  It is easily one of the artistic capitals of Mexico and the birthplace of Diego Riviera among others.  We visited a Mummy museum and other locations that kept making this small hidden town even more unique.

On our last night, we met up one of the troops of university musicians that parade every night with a 15-piece band in costume and play at locations all over town.  This musical tour was an amazing experience that quickly became a parade of people and musicians (and rooftop dogs), and a fantastic opportunity to see many historic sites. 

Like the settings of Don Quixote’s adventures, Guanajuato was a place for dreamers and romantics. The city provided an atmosphere that is unlike anything I have experienced.  It is a place where anyone could get lost or find themselves.