We had a number of hotels to choose from, even after settling on a location near the center of town. I don't think we could have made a better choice than Hotel Niza. I believe the room for my wife and I was 180 pesos. We were very pleased with the location. It was just a few steps away from the marketplace. And our room, facing south, had a charming view of Cerro de la Compana. This means "Hill of the Bell". I would have called it "Hill of Cement" because it looks like some giant tripped and spilled his whole wheelbarrow of cement in one unsightly pile. And there is a road that spirals to the top of the hill. The road is plain to see because there are hardly any trees on this hill. On top there are huge antennae. Truly an ugly mountain. Well, this is not a travel brochure, is it?
Nevertheless, we had a fascinating view of a good part of the city. The streets below were crowded with dulcerias ("candy stores), in-and-out eateries (open-air dining), cantinas and music stores. The owners of those music stores blared their merchandise out in the streets in decibels I did not think were attainable. One of these was right opposite of our third story hotel window. Because the air-conditioner was one of those ancient models (with holes in the vents that pigeons could fly in and out of) we had no way to shut out the music. After awhile we didn't hardly notice it. The human mind is merciful that way.
One thing that I noticed, and that my wife and I were impressed with, was the constant activity. At any time of the day or night we would go to the window and see people walking around or just standing around. This is a city that does a lot of its living on the streets. Horns honking, unmufflered erratic traffic, loud talking and musica, musica, MUSICA.
The marketplace is mostly indoors. Vendors sell locally produced coffee - Cafe Combate. The smell of exotic fruits and vegetables fill the air. There are also counters full of mountains of meat - a feast for the eyes and the flies. The flour tortillas that are sold here are paperthin and are the size of papers, as well. One has to carefully unfold these creations like a map, or the Sunday Times. We bought a local cheese (which was delicious) and we cheesed tortillas for days afterward. This marketplace had an old world ambience to it but just a few blocks away to the north there was a supermarket (LEY) that was quite modern. Well . . . it had open piles of beef as well. But the flies were more attractively lighted as they lighted on their lunch.
One of the biggest attractions, and one well worth a whole day in itself, is the Centro Ecologico to the south of the city. This desert museum was modeled after the Desert Museum of Tucson. But this more modest enterprise was much more enjoyable. It was a lot cheaper - roughly equivalent to a dollar. The exhibits were well marked and all the personnel that I spoke to were very friendly and gave the impression that they really enjoyed their occupation. This park didn't have all the PR and glitz of our museum, but neither did it have the hype, the price, or the crowds.
I almost forgot about the drunk across the hall at the Hotel Niza. Things were sort of semiqiueting down outside - it being midnight and all - and we became aware of drunken shouting across the hall. Various slurs, racial and otherwise were shouted out by one individual. I called the desk downstairs and asked in my Mr. Rogers assertive manner if they would take care of the problem. They assured me they would take care of it. Half an hour later my wife had enough. She knocked on their door and yelled in excellent spanish for them to be quiet or she would call the cops.
I didn't know she had it in her.
Next: Guaymas is the end of the line. Y no hay mas que Guaymas (on this trip at least.)
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