It was time to leave Santa Fe - minus 6 degrees - and head south. Or south-west. Not far, just back to Albuquerque, where we have booked the next 2 nights. About an hour's drive.
After our trip on the New Mexico RailRunner train yesterday we were not that overly inspired by the idea of 2 days in Albuquerque but that quickly changed. We were able to check into our new motel at 10am rather than published time of 2pm and with a provided map of the historic Albuquerque town about 2 blocks away, we set out to explore.
Albuquerque is 300 years old and the old town plaza is lovely, with surrounding adobe buildings and a very old church. The plaza was for a short while caught up in the civil war and there are some plaques and cannons on display, but you can't see much English/northern influence in this old town.
As you would expect the plaza is surrounded by a lot of tourist shops but they are tasteful and some seem quite fun.
This is the old hacienda of one of the original families who were housed there for generations.
Around the plaza the alleys are small and even the street furniture is tasteful and in keeping with the history. Not sure about whether the tourist here is blending in...
We ventured to the Albuquerque Museum but it appears to be more of an art display and costs to get in. We would normally proceed but their big exhibition at the moment is Japan Deco. Not New Mexico and not what we wanted.
So instead we stayed outside (in the balmy 5 degrees) and wandered the sculpture garden for free.
This work, La Jornada or The Journey, was very impressive.
The artwork is huge and tells the story of the journey of the original 600 settlers that left to settle in northern Mexico in 1598. The journey took 7 months.
Other sculptures were a bit of fun - and we think its a tie between these two for how stiff and inflexible you can be...
This sculpture was every appropriate - it is called "windy and rainy". We definitely had the stiff breeze and clouds were approaching.
We love the colours of New Mexico, including the gloves...
We thought this could be perfect for a backyard - maybe it could work at Vineet's place in Scottsdale?
We needed time to warm up and a break for lunch. Throughout New Mexico we have seen this chain of hamburger joints, Blakes Lotaburger, so we had to try it. Doesn't she look happy about it?
The "LOTA burger" is like a whopper but not greasy and no mayo. The good thing here is they know how to make and grill beef burger patties and the taste is better. They keep them simple unless you add more. This was quite good for about $5 in a combo it yummy onion rings and a giant drink, of course.
They really really love their chilli in New Mexico.
This store was very popular - and with the limo out front made us first think of a brothel... But they really sell candy, which is very good quality. Either they make their own or import good stuff - Hans was delighted - real Dutch licorice. Di was delighted - Lemon and grapefruit slices.
On to the International Rattlesnake Museum. Di was a bit reserved before we entered... Hans was not.
The rattle is only used when snakes are scared and then as a warning before they strike. Rattlesnakes are not aggressive and would rather warn and back off than attack.
For a small museum a lot is packed in. They also run the David Attenborough film on snakes (we think called "Life with cold blood") which was a perfect accompaniment.
Snakes bite about 5000 to 8000 people in USA each year but only 5 to 8 people die. You can read some stories of really stupid people - like a guy who was on a bicycle, saw a rattler, chased it with a stick, it bit him, he caught the snake and when it bit him again he decided to bite it's head off where it promptly bit him on the tongue and lip before being decapitated. He survived! Why???
The Rattlesnake Museum also collected licence plates with snake associations. Here are a few...
Motel 21 with hand painted weekly rates and advertising Christmas and NY deals... In February...?
And this one which proclaims to have provided 70 yeas of continuous service, hmm...
After a quick (free) coffee back in the lobby of our motel we wander down the road to cross the Rio Grande. Rio Grande flows to the very south of the States and then becomes the USA/ Mexico border towards the Mexican Gulf. Apparently it is a major bird migratory path as the river is very long and basically runs north to south through several states.
It is wide enough here to perhaps be called "Grande", but very shallow from what we could see.
As we have a microwave in our room we opt for a home/hotel cooked meal so we stop by this local supermarket up the road. A new brand name, we have not tried these guys before.
Aahhh - we don't speak Spanish, the signs are mostly in Spanish and the vast majority of the customers look Hispanic (Nearly 47% of the population in Albuquerque are Hispanic). We loved the place and wish we could try out so many things that looked really good but we had no idea what they were, but eventually settle on Spanish rice, with tomatoes and some fresh chorizo.
Some pics from inside Pros Ranch Market...
Pros Ranch Market also has a hot food bar were almost everything is described in Spanish but not in English. Everything seems so cheap and there are fabulous choices. The meal deal listed for $10.99 above is advertised to feed 3 to 4 people!
Salsa by the pint! Looks good doesn't it?
After trialling out the motel's spa, our Mexican sludge dinner works out well and the chorizos cooked in pieces in the microwave are delicious. Of course an interesting fragrance has been added to our room and perhaps to the bed sheets!
Another interesting day with new discoveries.... Good night.
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