Day 529
Durango
The ride into Durango was downhill, miles of it, with the city lying before us on a vast flat plain. I generally hate riding into cities, the traffic, the noise, but today though, being Sunday, the main highway was just about deserted, so much so that we ignored the cycleway, yep they have cycle ways in Mexico, and whizzed along on the road. We had decided on a proper break, 5 whole nights. No packing up every morning, no cycling, plenty of time for our chores, leaving loads of time to relax, bliss!
Being a city, Durango has its share of ancient churches, such as the Cathedral Basilica, built in the 1600s. Art galleries and museums appear at every street corner. The centre is full of colonial and baroque Mexican buildings, still beautiful and standing grandly besides some near derelict more modern buildings. The city is full of music, from bands playing to the tourists, to guitar players at every traffic light. We stood one night watching hundreds of women march, protest banners held high, candles burning, chanting for justice for yet another murdered woman, different continent same issues. Taco stands abound but not as many as I expected, the young of the town happily queuing to buy their Maccy D’s. Hopefully they will see the light before they loose these awesome food stalls selling every type of taco. Two of the busiest ones were selling the local speciality of tripe. I have to say the Mexicans did create a better-looking dish than the boiled tripe and onions so beloved of my Grandmother. I was almost tempted to try one but the smell of that boiling tripe lingers still in my brain and we walked on by.
Our walk took us along the streets of this lively city. Local artists have spent years creating vibrant murals, we even walked up one piece of artwork, a set of steps on the outskirts of the city which attract tourists and fitness addicts in equal numbers. Unfortunately though Tom and I are bike fit we have completely neglected walking and by the time we had retraced our steps our legs were shaking with pain. Oops! More walking needed!
We had another night out with Jong and Nico before they departed for Mexico City, drank in local pubs, tried Mexican pizza, my advice is stick with the tacos, though they do a mean Chinese! We wandered into the cathedral and sat transfixed during the evening service. We clearly stood out as tourists, locals spoke to us in English before we opened our mouths, our poor Spanish getting little chance to improve here. Tomorrow it’s back on the road, into the hills again, which is apparently the best way to ride back down to the coast, go figure! I’m ready for it, but today I’m enjoying a lie in, breakfast in bed, courtesy of my lovely hubby, and I’mtrying not to feel guilty as I lie back, coffee in hand, whilst I read a book and relax!
