Taxco

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="041005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mexico Feb. 2006"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>     | </B><B> </B><B> </B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Mexico Feb. 2006</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mexico City"><U><B>Mexico City</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Teopanzolco"><U><B>Teopanzolco</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca"><U><B>Centro Cuernavaca</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tepoztlan"><U><B>Tepoztlan</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>Taxco</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca 2"><U><B>Centro Cuernavaca 2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="People"><U><B>People</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family"><U><B>Family</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Encuentros"><U><B>Encuentros</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Info"><U><B>Info</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=100 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Taxco</div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca 2"><U><B>On to page 7</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="1003" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 414 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c4ec710.jpg" border=0 width="492" height="369" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="496"><bR> <div> Day 12 Feb. 21st Tuesday</div> <div> High Temp: 93. This morning we were up early and took the bus to in town, grabbed coffee and made our way on foot to the Estrella Blanca bus station on Morlales Ave (GPS: N18 55.574 W099 14.296). We ran into Nellie and Victor and a couple others people from the school and bought our tickets to the town of Taxco. The bus ride was long about an hour and forty minutes, we were tortured with the Aviator in spanish on the ride down. After arriving in the town(bus station GPS: 18 33.339 W099 36.156) we figured out what time we needed to get back and worked out that there would be no trip to the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa which would have been a very cool side trip but the bus ride each way was 40 minutes and it would not work out. I was really disappointed having to make that decision but that's life sometimes. Taxco is an amazing place, built on a hill with extremely narrow streets of cobblestone it is a silver capital in Mexico with mines that are 500 years old. Read more about Taxco's history. Taxis hustle up and down the maze of streets but most of the action takes place in the Center where there is the Church Santa Prisca (GPS:N18 33.392, W099 36.319). This is an amazingly beautiful Cathedral ornate steeples rise above the Zocalo of shops and restaurants.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 368 WIDTH="496"><div>  </div> <div> You can cache a taxi up the hill from the bus stop for about $12 pesos. Pedestrians must push close against the walls of buildings as car zip up the sidewalk less narrow streets. We walked up and found a nice restaurant next to the church to have a bite to eat. Along the way were many shops selling this and that but everywhere there was silver, cups chains, bowls earrings and the such on display in each shop. I ate chicken enchiladas with mole while Joy chose a burger and Elisa  soft tacos that and drinks were $175 pesos or 17 or so American. We had talked to a guy at the bus station about visiting the mines. He claimed that the prices were better down there and there were no taxes on the goods. So we made our way back down the hill found him again at the tourist information booth. He said cabs were free to this area and brought us out to one. At this point I knew we were getting scammed because I saw him hand the cab driver $10 pesos so I knew something was up. Sure enough we are met by another person a ways down the road who brings us not to the minds but a store away from the center of the town.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c5e36a0.jpg" border=0 width="483" height="362" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 481 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c664db0.jpg" border=0 width="356" height="475" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="496"><div>  Inside they have set up a mine display of the different kinds of rocks you could find in the mines if you were at them which we were not! After a 3 minute "tour" they had us little baskets and let us wonder the store. I was pissed, we had in our stupid desire to get a deal been railroaded like probably thousands of other tourist to this trap of a store. Elisa and Joy looked at things but I was so pissed I just went outside and waited. I was definitely not giving me these scam artist any of my money. Later when we did some comparison shopping up in the Zocalo we saw the prices at this mine store were actually higher than up top. When we were in the mini van taxi on the way there with other people there was this little old guy who talked to us. He told me about another scam, there are guys who are "guides" who lead you around supposedly to the best stores or restaurants but what it is a Mafia, they work with specific businesses to herd people to those places, and quality has nothing to do with it. In fact the prices are inflated because the tourist never comparison shop.</div> <div>  Instead the guide will tell them prices are better than other shops which the tourist believe because it is easier than breaking away from this person. So, the guy on the bus was a retired jazz musician originally from St. Louis who retired to Taxco after some breathing issues. It was good to get the warning and after our "mine" tour I was very cautious. Funny thing is I know for a fact Nellie, Victor and there friends were getting one of these guides on purpose. We spent the afternoon walking around shop and taking pictures of places and people around the town. We walked up to the "Our lady of Guadalupe" Church high on the hill overlooking the town. There was an excellent view worth the trip. </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 409 WIDTH="496"><div> We shopped and bought nice gifts although after getting home and checking prices of similar things online I see we really overpaid and should have looked at prices of things before going to Mexico. The paintings we thought were really cool were also a scam, as we saw them being sold on the street for less after buying them in a store. In all the business end of this town is a rip off. One big tourist trap. Instead go for the town itself and don't buy anything but food. The Church "Our lady of Guadalupe" is nice and the Cathedral is spectacular. At about 5:30 we decided to catch some dinner before we had to go back down for the 7:30 bus back to the city. We found this really nice place called Cafe Sasha, although more pricey than some this place had excellent food and a nice dimly lit cool atmosphere. The decor was a mexican India mixed that really worked well. We had a good salad, Joy a pesto pasta that was tasty and Elisa a Spinach lasagna serving that was big enough for two. I had the Chicken Burrito smothered in sour cream, I needed to add salsa to spice it up but otherwise it was great. Dinner and drinks, including coffee was $330 or about 35 American not bad for the 3 of us. The ride back to the city was in the dark and I enjoyed the stars out the window as we drove. We overpaid for a taxi back to the house as Elisa agreed to $35 instead of the proper $25 (2.50 US). We were all very tired so it was sort of all right.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="496"><div> <IMG SRC="1c72e930.jpg" border=0 width="302" height="403" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 377 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c8ef730.jpg" border=0 width="495" height="371" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c9ee730.jpg" border=0 width="494" height="371" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 381 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="205f4770.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="375" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1cef1750.jpg" border=0 width="497" height="373" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 546 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="273951c0.jpg" border=0 width="405" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1d193190.jpg" border=0 width="403" height="537" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 558 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1d490150.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="533" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Our Lady of Guadalupe church high up the hill in Taxco.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1d58d110.jpg" border=0 width="397" height="529" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The hill outside the Guadalupe church</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 606 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1d9c2580.jpg" border=0 width="450" height="600" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1d8c2580.jpg" border=0 width="450" height="600" ALT="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 378 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1ddf0740.jpg" border=0 width="496" height="372" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1dcef730.jpg" border=0 width="495" height="371" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 378 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1e0f0740.jpg" border=0 width="496" height="372" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1e1ed720.jpg" border=0 width="493" height="370" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 669 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1ebe3840.jpg" border=0 width="483" height="644" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> We headed back down and checked out the Cathedral in the Center.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="274ee920.jpg" border=0 width="494" height="658" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 654 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1e4e6880.jpg" border=0 width="486" height="648" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1e5e6880.jpg" border=0 width="486" height="648" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 666 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1e8ef940.jpg" border=0 width="495" height="660" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1e9ef940.jpg" border=0 width="495" height="660" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 611 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1f0c2580.jpg" border=0 width="450" height="600" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="275c65d0.jpg" border=0 width="454" height="605" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 377 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1f9ed720.jpg" border=0 width="493" height="370" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1f8ef730.jpg" border=0 width="495" height="371" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 378 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1f7f0740.jpg" border=0 width="496" height="372" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1f6f0740.jpg" border=0 width="496" height="372" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 666 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="20def940.jpg" border=0 width="495" height="660" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="276ee930.jpg" border=0 width="494" height="659" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca 2"><U>On to page 7</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>