Good thing we have our Breathing Mobile RV Clothes Washer
with us!
So, we did a couple of buckets of laundry, and hung it out to dry. No problem doing it this way, you just have to do a couple of small loads every day.
We had been planning on doing a hike in the area yesterday, but I was reading some literature about the city of Guanajuato and a local dish called Enchiladas Mineras.
A traditional regional dish made with corn tortillas which are dipped in a sauce made with chili, garlic, cumin, and onions. Once the tortillas are fully dipped, they are stuffed with chicken or cheese. Then a layer of lettuce on the bottom, potatoes and carrots which have been chopped and previously fried, and shredded lettuce and cheese are then added on the top. Finally, a piece of chicken is usually included on the side, along with tomatoe, onion, and a pickled jalapeno pepper.
I was reading about this, and I was getting hungry. I read it out to Ruth, and it didn't take long for us to decide to hop on a bus and go find ourselves some Enchiladas Mineras!
The bus stops on the highway right out front. It cost 6 pesos ($0.48 CAD) each for the 11 km (7 mile) ride to el centro Guanajuato. I checked back to the last time we were here five years ago and it was only 5 pesos back then. Not much inflation riding the buses!
Downtown Guanajuato.
It was already 12:45pm when we got off the bus so we immediately set out to find a place for lunch. We saw several places in the tourist center advertising Enchiladas Mineras...apparently it's become a popular dish for the tourists. But we wanted to get out of the tourist area and try to find a place where the locals would go. So we did some wandering around on the side streets.
Guanajuato has a population of 170,000 people, but because it has several universities the population fluctuates depending on whether school is in session. Apparently there are 30,000 students here. And yes, we saw a lot of young people around.
Ruth, in one of the little plazas.
Many of the streets are narrow. Not RV friendly! Barely wide enough for a car in some places.
Lots of great photo opportunities.
We couldn't find anywhere suitable on the sidestreets. Lots of hamburger and pizza places...I guess that's reflective of the student population. So we went to the big central market, and sure enough that's where we found our Enchiladas Mineras at a good price.
Huge indoor market. And surprisingly, not very busy. We're thinking that there must be another local market outside of the central core.
Chicken, anyone? That's a pile of chicken feet on the right!
All different kinds of peppers.
Fruits and veggies.
Several places selling lunch, and they all try to wave you over. How do you choose which one to go to? Well, we always figure that the busiest place must be the best place, but that doesn't always work out.
In this situation, it worked out just fine!
Ruth, with her plate of Enchiladas Mineras for 60 pesos ($4.80 CAD).
My plate arrived seconds later. It was delicious!
One of the best meals we've had in Mexico. We were stuffed.
Panza llena corazón contento. A full stomach makes for a happy heart!
We figured we had better walk off some of that meal.
Another plaza, and the basilica.
Looking back the other way.
Inside the basilica.
But the inside was amazing. Look at the detail just in this one corner!
Check out this guy painting the railing.
We noticed that he always had one hand hanging on in case the board broke!
A great city to wander around.
The city is built on a series of riverbeds that have been turned into tunnels and roadways. Really interesting.
Heading into one of the tunnels.
Some of these arches date back to the 1700's.
We had a great afternoon exploring Guanajuato. We enjoyed it even more than we did five years ago, and we're looking forward to going back with the caravan group tour on Saturday.
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Awesome tour...thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Rita! We enjoyed sharing it with you.
DeleteLove that city.
ReplyDeleteWe do too!
DeleteGreat pictures, and a very generous lunch. We will be there next week.
ReplyDeleteYou will love it here Peter and Shelagh! Are you going to stay for a couple of days or are you just going to visit for the day?
DeleteWhat a neat small City - I love cities that size. It almost looks like parts of Europe with those tunnels and raised buildings.
ReplyDeleteWe love the small cities too! It make look a little European but it certainly doesn't feel European. It's such an interesting city, one we could easily spend more time in as well as the surrounding area.
DeleteAnother fun day exploring Mexico.
ReplyDeleteEveryday here is a fun day! :-)
DeleteHadn't heard of that town but indeed looks like a great one to explore
ReplyDeleteMany of these interior cities and towns get missed because they are not "tourist draws". Kevin and I have a hard time understanding why so many people visit and live in San Miguel when Guanajuato is so close and in our opinion so much more interesting.
DeleteIn every restaurant the enchiladas mineras would be slightly different. Noticed all the TV aerials in some of the pictures!
ReplyDeleteYes, I am sure that they would be slightly different in each restaurant but in general they will all have the same ingredients.
DeleteMost Mexicans have TV's even in some of the small villages.
Glad you are enjoying Guanajuato. I had Enchiladas Mineras several times and it was always delicious.
ReplyDeleteWe liked Guanajuato the first time we visited just over 5 years ago and having visited here again, we like it even more.
DeleteI can understand why you had the enchiladas more than once! :-)
Wow, what a great tour of a Mexican city. Very impressive.
ReplyDeleteWhat in the world is counter-balancing the board the painter is sitting on? Surely not the pail of paint! Yikes!
We actually saw him move the board from one end to the other and we saw him hammering it in place but not sure what he was hammering it into as the balcony looks like it is made of concrete! Unfortunately we couldn't see what the actual surface was made of, so it will remain a mystery.
DeleteWell that's just crazy that you can't use the washing machines. Those enchiladas sound delicious and the look delicious!
ReplyDeleteCheers - Ellen
That's what we thought too! His explanation to us was that it was too costly to run the water to fill it up. Not sure why he wouldn't just charge a fee to use it?
DeleteThose enchiladas were delicious, I could see us having them again. :-)
Guanajuato,great city,noticed your approaching 3 million on your blog Congratulations from Zihuatanejo,Rod y Kerry.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a wonderful city and look forward to seeing even more of it on Saturday.
DeleteThank you Rod and Kerry, Kevin thinks we will hit the 3 million mark sometime this month.
Enjoy Zihuatanejo, we quite liked it there.
Cant wait!
ReplyDeleteYou will love it, Stephen!
DeleteHow do they keep that raw chicken from spoiling? It always looks like it's just out in the open. Wish I could have had lunch with you. As usual it looked delicious!
ReplyDeleteNothing! We have way to many regulations when it comes to food Canada and the U.S. It takes quite a bit for food to spoil, having said that we tend to my our meat early in the day rather than at the end of the day.
DeleteLunch was amazing!
Your lunch looked absolutely delicious! And what a lovely city. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great day and it was all amazing, food included! Glad you enjoyed the post.
DeleteGuanajuato is such a colorful, lovely town. Your header photo is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGreat indoor market. I might be able to find a few things I can't live without.
Yes, it is a very colourful city and so interesting along with lots of history.
DeleteWe love the markets here in Mexico, if you can't find what you want at a market then there is no such thing! ;-)
Hello friends, we are pleased to continue its route in a good way, but more like giving us be reminded of their "full belly happy heart" jajajaja
ReplyDeleteGracias Paco y Oty, que nos han enseñado bien y usamos esta palabra varias veces. :-)
DeleteGood tour, sure would like to try some of those peppers.
ReplyDeleteCome on down and try some! There are just so many different kinds, some are really, really hot! ;-)
DeleteIt is a beautiful city! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's not hard to make Mexico look good, it is such a beautiful and interesting country! :-)
ReplyDeleteHave you been to the next town north, Dolores Hidalgo? We stop there often to buy Talavera items, at great prices. We stay at El Relicario on the outskirts and walk to the plaza area.
ReplyDeleteYes, we have been there before, once several years ago and again on this trip. We stayed in behind the auditorium right near downtown for 2 nights and then another 3 nights at a balneario just north of of the town.
Delete