TEQUISQUIAPAN

Reading the Diario de Queretaro, I noticed that the above-mentioned town was having their "primer festival gastronómico." Our kind of thing. We had visited this town several years ago and thought it quaint in a precious sort of way. It is a resort town about 30 miles from here, famous for its thermal springs and artisanal products. It was also where Che went to take the baths, a break from living in Mexico City and conspiring with Fidel and others to sail the Granma to Cuba and start the revolution. We decided to go today.

El sr. J. thought we should take buses all the way there and back. So we (almost) did. First we had to go to the big central park--the Alameda de Hércules--to catch a bus to the Central Bus Station, about 2 kilometers outside of town, where we would get another one to Tequis, as the locals call it. There are no signs at the bus stops informing riders which bus to take. Also, the buses don't usually stop unless someone flags them down. Where they go is written on their windshields. So the problem is trying to read the windshield from a distance so you can flag the bus down. A nice bus driver who was stopping for other passengers told us that #s 19 and 36 go to the Central. One of these numbers just flew by as we waved, the next one stopped and we boarded.

"Will we know when we get to the Central?" I ask el sr. J.

"Yes," he says, "and we want the 2nd class bus terminal," (as if we'll know what that looks like). I'm nervous, of course, but el sr. J. is not--he's having a wonderful time identifying streets and guessing which direction the bus will turn next.

Needless to say, we got to the Central, found the bus to Tequis, took another bus from the Tequis station to downtown, and had a great time.

I priced wool rugs, but they were too much for us.

A bigger molcajete than I have.

El sr. J. discussing terroir, etc. We bought local wine and cheese.

Mountains from the bus station (for Pete).

We took a taxi to the Tequis bus station on the way back because we were tired. El sr. J. doesn't really fit in a bus seat because there's not enough room for his legs. We'll see how that influences the next trip.