Zacatecas

We arrived in Zacatecas on Friday evening. TD's friend Jesus took us up to the Cerro de la Bufa which looks over the city. After sunset we picked up his son Eric and went to dinner at a great taqueria. After dinner, a little sightseeing downtown. TD and I were surprised at how many teenagers were out in the city on a Friday night.

Really different rock formations as we got closer to Z - its the southern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert.

La Bufa - apparently the Cerro looks like a pig's bladder (pig's bladder = bufa)

Pancho Villa. Cerro de la Bufa was the site of the Battle of Zacatecas during the Mexican Revolution where Pancho Villa led the troops to victory.

The top of La Bufa had a museo, convento and mirador (lookout).

The old convento

Zacatecas is a beautiful city set in a steep hillside. The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Stonework at the mirador

TD & Jesus

I had the best enchiladas for dinner - and we discovered Atole, a hot drink traditionally made with corn. Here we had it with guava and it was awesome!

The cooks were not happy about posing for a picture, but Jesus made me...

La bufa was beautiful at night

close up of La Bufa

The Governor's Palace decorated for the Bicentenario.

The beautiful Catedral built between 1729 and 1753.

The facade of the Cathedral is considered to be one of the best examples of Churrigueresque (Mexican Baroque) architecture.

The cathedral is beautiful at night

An enormous sculpture. Apparently the artist is working on the rest of the guy...

A "callejonada" or alleyway party. A group winds its way through the narrow streets - singing, dancing and drinking. There is usually a band, and the donkey carries a jug of Mezcal. People drink out of little jars called jarritos - its free and anyone can join!

A beautiful museum near the Aqueducto.

After our nighttime tour we headed home to sleep - we had an early morning Saturday for a field trip with some of Jesus's students.