Friday 14 May 2004
We went first to Tasco on the advice of neighbour Stefan whose daughter Lara had spent part of her Spanish university course in Mexico.
Leaving Mexico City we first took the metro to Taxquena, then walked to the Terminal Sur bus station and bought tickets for the two and a half hour journey to Tasco On arriving we took a collectivo (shared taxi) to the zocalo. My first thoughts were we have struck gold, or rather silver as this picturesque old town on a steep hillside was built for the mining of the metal.
We looked for the hotel Posada San Javier having seen rave reviews in the Lonely Planet and struck gold again thinking is the nicest hotel we have had since .... in Bundi India. There were several small uniquely shaped bungalows sited around a beautiful garden of trees, flowers, ornaments, statues and a swimming pool.
Our delightful unit being five sided rhombic in shape with one long side, being wrought iron gates sealed with stained glass leading to the triangular bathroom. At the centre a pillar with a circular ledge surround, the furniture is wooden bold and heavy.
We bought Mamee fruit, new to us with skin and a large stone reminiscent of avocado, but a taste of that and date.
On exploring the town we found that the Summer Festival was starting tonight with an orchestral concert in the square followed by a firework display. We got there in time to hear the last number
15 May
Breakfast was outdoor restaurant on the roof of the main building with many separate small tables and fabulous views of the town.
An interesting friendly mixture, two Mexican girls Cecelia and Jessica studying at the Quick English School in Mexico city, two Americans were returning home after spending two weeks in Peru.
An Mexican with his American girlfriend shared our table.conversation. She like all Americans, she said, originally had a poor view of Mexico but on living there had grown to like it a lot. There was lots of advice on places to visit including Baja California in winter to watch whales in the breeding season. But Joan records the tremendous respect for Benito Juarez who became President in 1861.
'Benito Juarez is considered one of Mexico's greatest and most beloved leaders. During his political career he helped to institute a series of liberal reforms that were embodied into the new constitution of 1857. During the French occupation of Mexico, Juarez refused to accept the rule of the Monarchy or any other foreign nation, and helped to establish Mexico as a constitutional democracy. He also promoted equal rights for the Indian population, better access to health care and education, lessening the political and financial power of the Roman Catholic church, and championed the raising of the living standards for the rural poor.' (mexonline.com)
Wandering around town we found the streets full of wandering children and then a wonder concert by a group of young clarinetists, I record there were five different pitches, high soprano,alto, bass and contrabass the latter Joan sketched as being the shape and size of a thin baritone sax with the sound of an organ. Their classical reportoir of Chopin, Beethoven, Scriabin, Bach, Schubert, Carmen and tango by Albeniz got standing ovations.
Next off we saw an outstanding modern dance troup, the most memorable being two women with a pitcher of silver dust dancing ever faster, finally unveiling their faces and gliding off stage. A different combination saw 4 men with 3 fabulous slim young women dancing faster and faster.
Joan records we finished the day with hot dogs, what a come-down!
Sunday 16 May talking to the American back from Peru about the war in Iraq, he saw Bush as a Texan farmer not a politician, we guess he voted for Al Gore. Back in the streets we listened to the most awful free jazz band ever for a very short while.
Met the pleasant Mexican/American who gave us their address in Mexico City, they showed us a beautiful little bottle opener albalone with silver fish with interlocking scales.
He conceded 'the Spanish gave us a wonderful language, but they don't know how to speak it' whereupon the American girl responded with 'We say the same about the English'
Lunched at the Terrace Cafe on coffee and cakes and got into an earnest discussion with the owners.
At a concert a 'handsome pianist' (Joan) gave us a very ordinary introduction to the styles of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Gershwin.
We ate a Mexican dinner in the Santa Fe restaurant with a fine pumpkin soup, Joan having stuffed chicken with a unique spicy taste, me with pork and prunes, with a large jug of refreshing blackberry juice.
Monday 17 May The mixed race couple had left so at breakfast we talked to the pleasant Mexican girls anxious to practice their English, but all with very American accents!
The silver ranch of Spratling (1900-1967) was reached partly by bus and then walk in country side with such fabulous tree blossom.
Spratling had trained as an architect but became famous as a designer of silver objects. He initially came to Tasco to encourage people to make good quality silver designs using traditional patterns. He was a friend of William Faulkner and Diego Rivera. There were several examples of his own designs on display ( Joan sketched several including elegant pots an engraved wooden box inlaid with strands of silver). A frail old man was making dragonfly and bird designs.
Walking back along the road we saw some very dehydrated looking cows and horses then an woman under a large tree, her husband had climbed high and was picking the pods. She gave us some to eat, they had a white fluid with black pips. We left the road for another hoping to find the other silver ranch but instead found a small friendly village and church, a carton of orange juice and some bananas before taking the bus back to Tasco.
Back then to our beautiful garden and a seat near the pool.
That evening there was a talk in Spanish on old Tasco. We arrived late to find only five people there, including the very pleasant lady we had seen at several concerts, but more kept arriving. The talk was fascinating for fifty years ago the village had had lavendieras for washing and laundry exactly as we had seen fifty years ago in Spain. In the same period VW Beetles had now replaced donkeys as beasts of burden.There was a long discussion about the way the town should be preserved and developed so as not to discard their heritage.
(We later met a woman who recalled there were still donkeys when she had visited just ten years ago. and an American couple a looking at a place open for dinner at 10:30 pm - they succeeded.
Back to the zocalo for another concert and a delightful meal of pacos eaten on the verandah overlooking the square. A few days earlier we had had a long chat with the owner of a silver ornament shop who had invited us to stay at her house if we ever returned to Tasco. I took Joan back there to buy a present to mark our fifty years together. She chose a heavy silver necklace and she records that she would enjoy wearing it - though in practice the suitable occasions have not been that frequent.
Tuesday 18 May
At breakfast talked to an American/Japanese couple who visited Tasco twice a year to buy silver goods, who said the current wholesale price was $3.7/gram, we had bought our necklace at just 10% above that.
We had decided reluctantly to move on today so I talked a long time to the pretty wife of the owner trying to sort out next move without returning through Mexico City. We had come NW to Tasco and wanted to go south and not further west to the coast and Acapulco. So we elected to go by bus to Cuernavaca and then on to Puebla, which proved to be another wise choice - we were beginning to crack travel in Latin America on a our first visit.
We went first to Tasco on the advice of neighbour Stefan whose daughter Lara had spent part of her Spanish university course in Mexico.
Leaving Mexico City we first took the metro to Taxquena, then walked to the Terminal Sur bus station and bought tickets for the two and a half hour journey to Tasco On arriving we took a collectivo (shared taxi) to the zocalo. My first thoughts were we have struck gold, or rather silver as this picturesque old town on a steep hillside was built for the mining of the metal.
We looked for the hotel Posada San Javier having seen rave reviews in the Lonely Planet and struck gold again thinking is the nicest hotel we have had since .... in Bundi India. There were several small uniquely shaped bungalows sited around a beautiful garden of trees, flowers, ornaments, statues and a swimming pool.
 |
| SAN JAVIER HOTEL. POOL, GARDEN and MAIN BUILDING |
 |
| OUR SITTING ROOM |
On exploring the town we found that the Summer Festival was starting tonight with an orchestral concert in the square followed by a firework display. We got there in time to hear the last number
15 May
Breakfast was outdoor restaurant on the roof of the main building with many separate small tables and fabulous views of the town.
 |
| VIEW FROM ROOF RESTAURANT at SAN JAVIER |
An Mexican with his American girlfriend shared our table.conversation. She like all Americans, she said, originally had a poor view of Mexico but on living there had grown to like it a lot. There was lots of advice on places to visit including Baja California in winter to watch whales in the breeding season. But Joan records the tremendous respect for Benito Juarez who became President in 1861.
'Benito Juarez is considered one of Mexico's greatest and most beloved leaders. During his political career he helped to institute a series of liberal reforms that were embodied into the new constitution of 1857. During the French occupation of Mexico, Juarez refused to accept the rule of the Monarchy or any other foreign nation, and helped to establish Mexico as a constitutional democracy. He also promoted equal rights for the Indian population, better access to health care and education, lessening the political and financial power of the Roman Catholic church, and championed the raising of the living standards for the rural poor.' (mexonline.com)
Wandering around town we found the streets full of wandering children and then a wonder concert by a group of young clarinetists, I record there were five different pitches, high soprano,alto, bass and contrabass the latter Joan sketched as being the shape and size of a thin baritone sax with the sound of an organ. Their classical reportoir of Chopin, Beethoven, Scriabin, Bach, Schubert, Carmen and tango by Albeniz got standing ovations.
 |
| TASCO TOWN |
Joan records we finished the day with hot dogs, what a come-down!
Sunday 16 May talking to the American back from Peru about the war in Iraq, he saw Bush as a Texan farmer not a politician, we guess he voted for Al Gore. Back in the streets we listened to the most awful free jazz band ever for a very short while.
Met the pleasant Mexican/American who gave us their address in Mexico City, they showed us a beautiful little bottle opener albalone with silver fish with interlocking scales.
He conceded 'the Spanish gave us a wonderful language, but they don't know how to speak it' whereupon the American girl responded with 'We say the same about the English'
Lunched at the Terrace Cafe on coffee and cakes and got into an earnest discussion with the owners.
At a concert a 'handsome pianist' (Joan) gave us a very ordinary introduction to the styles of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Gershwin.
We ate a Mexican dinner in the Santa Fe restaurant with a fine pumpkin soup, Joan having stuffed chicken with a unique spicy taste, me with pork and prunes, with a large jug of refreshing blackberry juice.
Monday 17 May The mixed race couple had left so at breakfast we talked to the pleasant Mexican girls anxious to practice their English, but all with very American accents!
The silver ranch of Spratling (1900-1967) was reached partly by bus and then walk in country side with such fabulous tree blossom.
 |
| JOAN ADMIRING COUNTRY DWELLING near TASCO |
Walking back along the road we saw some very dehydrated looking cows and horses then an woman under a large tree, her husband had climbed high and was picking the pods. She gave us some to eat, they had a white fluid with black pips. We left the road for another hoping to find the other silver ranch but instead found a small friendly village and church, a carton of orange juice and some bananas before taking the bus back to Tasco.
Back then to our beautiful garden and a seat near the pool.
That evening there was a talk in Spanish on old Tasco. We arrived late to find only five people there, including the very pleasant lady we had seen at several concerts, but more kept arriving. The talk was fascinating for fifty years ago the village had had lavendieras for washing and laundry exactly as we had seen fifty years ago in Spain. In the same period VW Beetles had now replaced donkeys as beasts of burden.There was a long discussion about the way the town should be preserved and developed so as not to discard their heritage.
(We later met a woman who recalled there were still donkeys when she had visited just ten years ago. and an American couple a looking at a place open for dinner at 10:30 pm - they succeeded.
Back to the zocalo for another concert and a delightful meal of pacos eaten on the verandah overlooking the square. A few days earlier we had had a long chat with the owner of a silver ornament shop who had invited us to stay at her house if we ever returned to Tasco. I took Joan back there to buy a present to mark our fifty years together. She chose a heavy silver necklace and she records that she would enjoy wearing it - though in practice the suitable occasions have not been that frequent.
Tuesday 18 May
At breakfast talked to an American/Japanese couple who visited Tasco twice a year to buy silver goods, who said the current wholesale price was $3.7/gram, we had bought our necklace at just 10% above that.
We had decided reluctantly to move on today so I talked a long time to the pretty wife of the owner trying to sort out next move without returning through Mexico City. We had come NW to Tasco and wanted to go south and not further west to the coast and Acapulco. So we elected to go by bus to Cuernavaca and then on to Puebla, which proved to be another wise choice - we were beginning to crack travel in Latin America on a our first visit.
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