Arrival in Queretaro

 

We’re off on a real adventure finally. Our last two vacations were pleasantly spent in Cabo San Lucas and on the island of Isla Murejes. This time we’re visiting a city I’d never heard of before a bartender in Houston told us how beautiful and clean it is. I did some research and decided it deserved a visit. Santiago de Queretaro is centrally located north of Mexico City. It’s set at the base of the Sierra Mountains. We’ve enrolled in Spanish language school again and this time we’ll be staying at an Airbnb, instead of a homestay. The closest family to the school is a five minute taxi ride… not close enough.

As I type this, we’re on the 747 Star Wars plane. It’s pretty cool looking. The airport staff was pretty excited. All the people down on the tarmac were snapping photos. A couple of flight attendants standing near us were chatting about how neither of them had ever even seen it. I was beginning to get excited about going on board. A quick web search said the safety would be done with Chubaca and Yoda. There would be themed music as we boarded. Not so much. The only thing inside is the red seats on one side and the blue on the other side.

QRO is a tiny little airport, and word to the wise, the bathrooms are after your baggage pick-up and immigration/customs… go on the plane before you land! We pre-arranged for a driver to pick us up because we weren’t familiar with this area and we came out of the airport at 11:30 pm. But honestly, now we know it would’ve been fine to use Uber ($12) or a taxi ($30). Raul, our driver took us by the famous aqueduct. I managed to snap a picture as we sped past it. We arrived at our house at midnight and as we stood at the door talking on the phone to the hostess and the door magically unlocked.

I did my usual—put several blankets under the bottom sheet to pad the bed, but we still had a rough night’s sleep. I finally was in a deep sleep at about 5:30 in the morning, when all of a sudden a really loud banging sound startled us awake. It sounded like someone was pounding on our metal front door! Joe and I leaped out of bed. He ran to the top of the staircase and listened as the banging continued. It stopped, but we were shaken. I went and stuck my head out the front window to see who it was, but the street below was deserted. With a shrug, we went back to bed. Immediately, it started again. This time I went straight to the window and looked down, but no one was there. We were baffled. Then it happened again and we realized someone was setting off fireworks… the big loud ones like M-80s. What is it with Mexicans and their explosives? We crawled back in bed and suddenly a train blew its horn. It sounded like it was on our street! This was followed by another volley of explosions. We started laughing. Even earplugs can’t solve this.

Joe got up early to have a pot of coffee waiting for me. When I came downstairs, he was cussing under his breath and wiping the flood of water and coffee grounds off the countertop. I guess the coffee maker doesn’t work. I turned on the kitchen faucet and waited for the water to heat up. Nope. I tried both nobs. I went upstairs to check the shower. As I let it warm up, which it didn’t, I went in to make our bed. I came back to a flood of cold water. The shower is not separate from the rest of the bathroom—no threshold. What I hadn’t noticed was the clear drain plug… sigh. I finally texted the owner and she said, “Turn the hot water heater on, and wait 20 minutes.” Okay, so Joe did that for me. We waited 20 minutes and I must tell you that a warm shower that turns cold after you have your hair lathered with shampoo, is quite exhilarating.

We decided to explore the town. We stopped at a couple of gorgeous cathedrals, and munched some street tacos. The city had street markets everywhere. But I’m really disappointed to see the food is take-out only. I’d researched it and it said they had outdoor dining. The weather here is perfect for outdoor dining (about 70 F). We are really going to have to change how we do Mexico. Normally we park ourselves at some café or pub and watch the world go by. We managed by sitting on the cement planter boxes in the park. The benches were taped off, so we all bunched together and ate next to the benches… not well thought out.

A trip to the market was a must. I thought it was going to be a grocery store, but it was a traditional indoor mercado. It was huge and had everything you could imagine, from pig’s feet to guava. It was packed full of people (wearing masks), but the parks are off limits. Yellow caution tape prevents children from running and playing in the open-air. So they play in compact groups on the sidewalk! Seriously?

The highlight, besides the churches, was a café where I got an espresso mixed with dark chocolate. It was heavenly. Valentines Day (Dia del amor y Amistad) is a love-fest all around. It’s not just for couples, but a day to celebrate everyone you love. Balloons, chocolate, flowers, gifts, and of course the mariachi bands. Dinner was hot dogs from a street vendor—almost as good as Isla Mujeres—followed by a scoop of ice cream… what? I’m on vacation.

It hasn’t even been 24 hours. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring. We start Spanish language school at 9:30 in the morning. Super excited. Now if we can only sleep tonight! :/