¡Muy Importante!

YodersAfloat is moving! Please come and see us at our new location. Be sure to update your bookmarks. Once you get there, sign up yo receive notifications of updates via e-mail.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

1/29/2010 - El Quelite

***CAUTION: NO FOOD CONTENT. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK****

Stuffed to the scuppers with molcajete and limonada, we piled back into the rented Nissan and headed back out to the main road so we could drive to the colonial town of El Quelite. "Colonial town". I'm not really sure what that means. A town that was built when Mexico was a colony? Is it a label that places the town in time or that harks to its ambiance? I don't really know. But, if someone describes a Mexican town as "colonial" I sort of know what I expect to see. Oh well.... See what you get when I'm not talking about food?

Anyway, we made the relatively short drive (way less than an hour) from La Noria to El Quelite. We entered the town under the same type and color of arch as graced La Noria's entrance. I believe these town are all under the auspices of some sort of historical commission or something, though I don't know that for sure.

Upon entering, we were greeted with a slightly larger, more active version of La Noria. We parked in front of the church and got out to walk around.


This looked like another likely candidate for a homepo

rt after anchor-swallowing. As we often saw chickens wandering around loose, I'm pretty sure we could have our chickens here. El Quelite is the home to the largest cock-fighting farm in northwest Mexico although that really has nothing to do with chickens walking around loose. Unless they're escapees. Here chick, chick, chick. No. NOOOOO! GAAAAAHHHH!

El Quelite had similar achitecture to La Noria although there was a little more tendency toward the use of wood and long, covered, ranch-style front porches. Just right for sitting in the shade during a hot summer afternoon, enjoying a cold cerveza or maybe a siesta.



We stopped in at a ceramics shop and a leather shop where Dave bought a straw cowboy hat. They had beautiful saddles. Almost made me want a horse just so I could own one of them. Not sure why I didn't take a photo. Maybe I was just too awestruck.


Check out this cool ceramic drain spout:




A couple of odd cactuses:



And a proud papa or possibly grandpa showing off his little one on a ride through town.


I tell ya, the clop-clop of his horse's hooves on the cobblestone streets was classic. Yeah, we could definitely settle down in a little town like this. Although our guide book said there were only 2 restaurants, we saw several more than that. We (at least Dave and I) tried to convince ourselves we were hungry enough to eat but we knew we really weren't so, eventually we piled back into the Nissan and headed back towards Mazatlán via the coastal route. And that's a story in itself.


Mañana: the trip back home


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are the local people you meet on the streets cordial to americans? How much does beer cost at a local food stall? Thank you Melehia

Steve and Lulu said...

Melehia,
Good questions. The people in the small towns and so far, in Mexico in general have been very cordial to us. Sometimes they may look a little grumpy at first (as many of us do) but an "Hola "or "Buenos Dias" is almost always greeted with a smile and a "Buenos Dias" in return. There are a lot of Americans down here and some are not as pleasant as others. Consequently, the locals are pretty reserved at first, not knowing for sure which type you may be. But, when treated respectfully, they are always very friendly in return. Wait till you read tomorrow's blog about our return trip to Mazatlan to see how friendly they can be to a carload of lost gringos.

Beer costs run from super bargain happy hour prices of around 11 pesos a bottle (about 85 cents) up to a pretty normal restaurant price of 20-25 pesos ($1.50 to $1.90). Rarely more than that. Store prices are roughly 70 pesos ($5.40) for an 8-pack of Pacifico or Tecate.

-Steve

Steve and Lulu said...

Melehia,

Another thin... Many of the local food stalls don't sell beer but will be happy to let you bring your own or, in some cases, will run to the store and get you one.

-Steve