Could Zacatecas be the most beautiful city in Mexico?

To say that our stay in Zacatecas has been incredible would most definitely be an understatement. We have spent the past 5 days in what is perhaps the most beautiful city I have stepped foot in, staying with two incredibly generous and fun-to-be-around hosts, and being entertained by a world cyclist with an encyclopedia of stories. What’s more, we had excellent weather and so were able to get out and around to see a sampling of the sights. And we just happened to arrive here when the Mexican Independence Day was being celebrated. Yeah, I’d say we had a great time!

Given that our goal is to head south though, and we still have a huge amount of the country to cover before our visa runs out, we will be saying so long to Zacatecas tomorrow morning. The next big city we’ll be visiting is Guanajuato, perhaps a week or so from here on the back roads. New adventures await!

Our host lives in one of the buildings bordering this scenic plaza in the historic center of town.

We were stunned by the beauty of this area when we first arrived.

I am not great at photographing buildings but trust me when I say that the old city is amazing.

We took a road trip to Aguascalientes, a city south of Zacatecas.

We spent some time exploring the Museum of the Dead!

Much of Zacatecas is built on top of an old mine.

The tour through the mine was quite interesting and well worth the time.

We toured but did not stay at the amazing Quinta Real hotel, built around an old bullring.

People now enjoy cocktails where bulls once waited to meet matadors.

A huge aqueduct.

La Bufa in the distance. We would later visit that viewpoint both by car and by bike.

The Zacatecas Cathedral.

Another old church. Not long ago mummies were discovered under the floorboards here.

Another view of the Cathedral. This photo was taken from the rooftop of our hosts’ building.

Another view of La Bufa.

A bird’s eye view of the city.

We got our exercise early one morning when Francisco, our host, led us to the top of this viewpoint.

Francisco leading the way on his eBike. He told us that he had the power turned off but we’re not so sure. 

Rebecca and Carlos, our new friend, making their way down the steep hill.

A view of the city, and the Cathedral, as we descend on our bike ride.

Post bike ride. Discussing which tuna (fruit) we like the best. 

We visited the fair. Much like a Canadian fair except with much more Mezcal!

Perfect timing to visit Zacatecas!

We were right in the heart of the celebrations.

Viva Mexico!

Trust me, do not position yourself directly under a fireworks display!

This morning we were able to watch the parade from our hosts’ balcony.

The entire city was decorated for the celebrations.

Following the school kids were the police, fire departments, ambulance services, and red cross.

Our hosts, Sandra and Francisco, aka Obama, and Carlos, world cyclist extreme. 

The street parties were still ongoing when we packed it in this evening!