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What a beautiful drive we took to Tequila. We left at 9:30 and it took all of about an hour. We paid for the autopista but that was a mistake. Not in good condition and on the way home we took the libre. Much more scenic and in very good condition. We passed field after field of beautiful blue agave.
Fantastic views on the way to town from the main highway not to mention good roads.
Agave fields.
As we pulled into Tequila you could tell it was a Pueblo Magico. Very tourist oriented, well-maintained, and had that international flair about it. We asked a transito where to park and he directed us to a public lot right in front of the plaza. 10 pesos per hour. We headed directly for the presidencia municipal and the registro civil to see what we could find on Juan's mother. We weren't really prepared as this was all after thought since leaving Monterrey in July. They couldn't help us but directed us next door to the tourism office. The local historian works there and she drilled us with questions. She really knows her stuff. However, we ran into a major glitch. When she asked what year Juan's mother was born, she said it was not an easy task. That was the period of the Cristeros, and they destroyed public records as well as church baptismal records. Some had been salvaged but it looked like a dead end. The Cristeros War of 1926 to 1929 was an uprising against the Mexican government of the time, set off by religious persecution of Christians especially Catholics.
Checking records at the church rectory.
At the end of the conversation we exchanged emails and as much information as possible along with a list of details we need to find once we return to Monterrey. After, she sent us over to the church records department. They did have records for 1927 - 1930, but no luck on baptismal records. It was worth a try and we didn't walk away empty handed. Juan got to feel a bit of his roots being in his mother's hometown and we did find a couple of people in the phone book but we decided to wait until we here from the historian. BTW, the historian is responsible for the opening of a tequila museum in San Antonio, Tx. A very knowledgeable woman.
Well, I need to rewrite this portion of the post because this damn keypad or mouse goes all over the place and I end up deleting stuff, argh. Anwyay, we headed out for the market which is behind the cathedral. Again, lots of good food to choose from and the prices are right. Food is so inexpensive in Mexico one could eat out all three meals a day and still save money. We stopped at this place and had the special; milanesa de res (chicken fried steak) with rice, french fries, a wonderful tossed salad with dressing, a quesadilla and tortillas. All that for 50 pesos.
That was a good lunch but we needed some type of digestivo. Hmmm, tequila would do the trick. All the distillers have their shops around town and we went to a couple for tasting. We also picked up a couple of bottles for home and as gifts. We passed on the tours because they charge 120 to 150 pesos. Way too much for someone who wants me to buy their product. For that price we got some very good añejo tequila.
Someone making a selection!
Jose Cuervo y yo!
All in all it was a fun day, a little disappointing but this was our first try at finding the birth records of Juan's mom. The drive was great, it was easy driving there and you can also take a bus. Well worth it. In fact, we would like to stay there sometime. There is a wonderful hotel on the main plaza. We saw the rooms, new rooms with air conditioning, cable, and wifi for 500 pesos a night.
We really enjoyed our day in Tequila. We parked the motorhome at the side of the road at the end of the main street and walked into town. We sampled a couple of places until I remembered I had to drive.
ReplyDeleteLots of great shops and places to eat as you found. A friend of ours (Whit) found a shop where they sold bulk and he bought a gallon or two of very nice anejo tequila for very cheap. This is a place we will return to.