Taxco

Trip Start Jan 16, 2006

Trip End Feb 28, 2006

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Flag of Mexico Taxco, Mexico
Saturday, February 18, 2006

Today we traveled by bus to the ancient silver city of Taxco. Our guide was again Joe Luis. He told us about the village near where we are staying called Talacha, which is part of the larger city of Xochitepec "hills of flowers." There is also a large rancho that was once owned by Tyrone Power. An aqueduct can be seen as you leave the village going toward the countryside that is part of the original hacienda. Taxco was the silver capital of the new world. Jose de la Borda came there in 1760 and amassed an immense fortune, creating the village on the rugged mountainside. The Mexican government declared the town a Colonial Monument, which prohibits modern structures; therefore the town still looks much as it did in Borda's time.
The Santa Prisca cathedral was founded in the 16th century on the zocalo. In the mid-18th century, Borda renovated the church, contributing about 8 million pesos, saying that God had been good to him and he would give back to God. The church is now one of the finest in Mexico. Its rose colored exterior is crowned with two ornately carved towers that dominate the city. Inside, gilded ornate altarpieces cover the walls. A beautifully ornate organ on the back wall was thought to have come from Germany, but recently it has been discovered that it came from Spain.
We were given a talk about the silver at Plateria Tono and allowed to shop for 30 minutes. They had rooms and rooms of silver. VW bus taxis then drove us to the zocalo. The streets are very narrow and fortunately only one-way traffic. We were given a tour of the beautiful cathedral and then we went to Del Angel Inn restaurant for lunch. We walked up several flights of stairs to the patio where we cold look out over the city while we dined. Lunch was very good.
After lunch we all took off to shop. We looked for some beading shops and finally found a back street series of shops. Then we found the market place, which had many, many beading stalls. It was a shopper's haven. The market is on a series of pathways, which seem to keep going down and down until we thought, "how are we ever going to get back up to the zocalo," but we managed to find our way. After looking in some more silver shops and buying some jewelry findings, we found a paleteria and had our favorite treat.
Jack found us at the zocalo, and asked if we were done. He said we were the last ones to go back to the meeting place. So we boarded a VW taxi again and made the trip down to the bottom of the hill. It was really a wild ride especially on Saturday as so many people are in town. There are no sidewalks so when you're walking you have to stay to the side, out of the way of the taxis and cars. When you're in a taxi, you're watching out for the many pedestrians and the other cars and taxis.