Last night we did have our little swim which was very pleasant and refreshing. The only problem is that you then have wet bathers which never dry. So much so that I’m not inclined to go in again this afternoon because moving on with wet bathers is a pain. After the swim we sat out on the balcony and had a glass of wine, read a bit and waited to see if we could see any 4th July fireworks from the motel.
We could, so we watched them, and we watched them…and watched them. They went on and on and on. In the end we gave up on them and went to bed. The pop,pop,pop of fireworks went on for absolutely ages.
A much calmer day today now that the 4th is finally over. Firstly a quick word about the weather. It was much cooler and very pleasant in Taos and Santa Fe but as we have travelled South we are heating up big time. Today’s top was 95F i.e. 35 C, we are back in a sweat. And we are heading into the desert so expect to be boiling again.
Predictably this morning we set of in our usual manner to find a decent coffee. Moderate success in the US context. You can’t expect great but they try. This place had a chart on the wall explaining that a cappuccino had half milk and half froth. A Latte had 3/4 milk and 1/4 froth…ahhh, that’s where I’ve been going wrong. So I got a latte this morning and that was much better. Problem is that these definitions aren’t consistent.
We then went to the Old Town, found a 2 hr park, and wandered around the shops and galleries in this very pretty part of town. We’d read about this Trolley Car that does a 100 minute tour of Alb. with a guy commentating. We saw the trolley and decided we’d take it. Expensive tickets but it would give us a good overview in an efficient way. And it did. Lot’s of Breaking Bad sites and sights. Among many others, Alb seems to attract film crews. We knew we were taking a measured risk with our park, it being 2 hrs and we were doubling that.
When we got back our 2 hr park was well and truly overdue but Norjie assured me it wasn’t going to be policed…given my propensity to take the odd such risk, we decided to look around some more in this lovely part of town. So more walking, more heat and more money (a bit!).
Our next visit was to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centre which is owned by 19 tribes of Pueblan Indians (self called Indians). It has a Museum, a Pueblan restaurant (although very heavily borrowed from the Spanish/Mexican), and is a Cultural centre for the Pueblan crafts.
We had a drink, a bite to eat, wandered around and then watched some Pueblan dancing exibitions, outdoors under the scorching sun. I thought they would faint in the heat, but no…on they went, again for ages.
That was it. It was very hot so we came back to our lovely Motel which is cool and has a bar. A Margarita later made by the lovely barman, Alonso, and we set out for a meal at a cafe (Church St cafe). Mexican again. It was a fine meal but I think I may never want to eat Mexican again. I had a Sangria Rita. A mixture of Sangria and Margarita.
Back now for the night. Off to White Sands National Park tomorrow, spending the night at Las Cruces. Right down on the Mexican border. That will be interesting.