Alamos
Nov. 22-23
Our next stop was in Alamos, a small town founded by the Spanish
in the early 18th century. It has very narrow streets that make driving a
challenge. The streets are almost all cobblestone. It seems that Alamos has
become fashionable with Americans wishing to live in Mexico; we saw several
businesses owned and operated by Americans. If you look carefully in the photo
you will see a lot of arches; this seems to be the dominant architectural style.
Many building in Alamos are on the Mexican equivalent of the National Historic
Registry; attempts are being made to designate the town as a historic district.
The town square with its gazebo in the center.
The courtyard of the government palace.
Sidewalks in Alamos are very high. We were told that the
sidewalks were originally the loading docks for mule-drawn wagons to unload the
goods for businesses.
Because of the height of the sidewalks, steps were cut into them.
The Mercado (or marketplace) in Alamos. Rather than being a
single store, it is a collection of vendors. You go to different vendors
depending on what you want, and pay each one separately. You can buy fruits,
vegetables, canned goods, meats, clothing, some furniture, and miscellaneous
items.
Aduana is a small village in the hills outside Alamos; it
started as a mining community when silver mines were opened in the area. The
village church, built in 1792, has a cactus growing out of the church wall.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared on a cactus in the village in
early 19th century. Today, thousands of people make an annual pilgrimage to this
church in November - just a few days before our visit.
Today was Thanksgiving, so a Thanksgiving dinner was arranged
for us at a local hotel. Joining us at the table are the Moon's from Portland,
OR.
The menu for our Thanksgiving dinner. The chef was an American.
It was a good meal, but was missing some family traditions, such as sauerkraut
and fruit salad.
The musical entertainment at the Thanksgiving dinner. I can't
say that I have ever had a Thanksgiving dinner like this one before.
Tomorrow we head for Guaymas, our last stop on this 25 day trip through Mexico.