Tucson, Arizona
Caught my flight from Nashville today and had to catch a connecting flight in Chicago – which geographically makes no sense but hey who am i to argue. Flew with Southwest who are without a doubt the best airline i have flown with for a while, kicks American and United arses anyway.
Decided to live dangerously and catch the public bus through to Tucson downtown. By the looks of it only the poorer catch it and i had some interesting looks! Also bus drivers in Tucson dont know where the hell they are driving – i asked a simple question about where i had to get off and the bus driver had no idea even though it was on her route. That was worrying but managed to figure it out eventually and walked the last couple of blocks to the hostel. The scenery is completely different to what i have seen so far in North America, warm and blue skies, desert and an abundant amount of cacti grace the side of the road. That is one thing i have noticed so far that everywhere i have been has been so different from the last place and Arizona is unlike what i have seen – reminds me in some ways of central europe, although a lot more desolate. Water is a big problem here and the river has completely dried up. It is on the current agenda of where they are going to get new supplies from. For the first time i am glad i am travelling in winter especially as i found out about the tarantulas and scorpions that usually reside in Tucson but are currently hibernating – phew! Almost had a heart attack when i heard about the spiders – yep one place i know i cant live.
The hostel is a converted house – very spanish in style and has a huge porch. The bad thing is how crammed the beds are in the room – but everyone is really friendly. I found a cool little sports bar to eat in and then hung around the hostel for the rest of the evening.
Met up with Jules today and she was going to be my guide – as i quickly found you need a car here in Tucson as the tourist sites are very spread out. The day consisted of checking out the historic downtown and the adobe buildings – buidlings made with mud. There is a walking tour known as the presidio trail which you can do and check out the ruins of this interesting period. We also saw a room depecting a huge nativity scene – which gets added to frequently. It was very cool and each time you looked at it in detail you see more and more. We drove to the wishing shrine known as El Tiradito which is a shrine which draws the crowds lighting candles and leaving wishes. The legend goes that a man was caught in a love triangle and was killed. Because of the suspicious death he was unable to be buried in a cementary. The legend goes that as he died without his wish of true love being granted he now grants wishes to others and in the cracks of the walls around the shrine people write their wishes on paper and leave them in the cracks. It is better seen at night when the candles are lit but it was very cool indeed and something i would never have seen on my own. We drove past a renovated part of town where the houses have all been redone and repainted in the brightest colours they could find by the looks of it and house prices here on this street have shot upwards. Jules has a fascination with cementaries and took me to one which is so unlike any one i have ever seen – it is bright and colourful well see the picture as it shows it clearer than i can describe.
Our last point of call before lunch was the Mission San Xavier Del Bac which was built in the 1700s The celebrated Jesuit missionary and explorer, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, first visited Bac in 1692. Eight years later in 1700, Father Kino laid the foundations of the first church, some two miles north of the present site of the Mission. He named it San Xavier in honor of his chosen patron, St. Francis Xavier, the illustrious Jesuit “Apostle of the Indies.” San Xavier Mission is acclaimed by many to be the finest example of mission architecture in the United States. It is a graceful blend of Moorish, Byzantine and late Mexican Renaissance architecture, yet the blending is so complete it is hard to tell where one type begins and another ends. Time and the harsh desert weather have taken a toll on the the beauty that is within the church and the entire mission complex. Currently the church is going through an ongoing restoration that tries to clean, repair and preserve as much of the church as it can. and thats my bit of blurb on it – couldnt be bothered to type all that out in my own words – copy and paste is a wonderful thing as is plagarism!
We walked around the grounds – the altars are something to see – wonderful and brightly coloured. There are quite a few in there and people attend mass on a regular basis. We walked up the mountain to see the cave of wishes which has statues of Virgin Mary and is a place where people leave gifts and candles. The view is fantastic and you can see desert and mountains for miles. The thing that surprised me the most was the amount of green that i could see – wasnt expecting that in the desert, well apart from the cacti obviously.
Before we headed off for lunch Jules had me try Native fry bread for $3 we opted for sugar on it – well its already unhealthy might as well make the most of it. It is wonderful and very yummy (couldnt think of a better word there) Try it if you get the chance for sure.
We left the Mission and headed into for lunch in a great little mexican place – well really what else are you going to eat down here. After lunch we had to make a stop at the University of Arizona (where Speed’s Annie was to – little trivia for you) The campus looked huge and actually a pretty cool place. Our last stop of the day was an art gallery – the Degrazia, which was pretty cool, and the garden was fantastic – a true arizonion one – with different cacti. Jules had to go pick up her cat from the vet so we parted ways. Jules was an absolute legend and i would not have seen anything from today without her so snaps for her!! thanks Jules.
My last day in Tucson was John Dillenger day so was packed with people. I had never heard of him before coming here – and for all of you still not in the know, he was a bank robber from Chicago who went on the run and ended up in Tucson where because of a freak fire in the Hotel Congress was eventually caught. He was later gunned down in Chicago. On the deck of the hotel a local acting group were reinacting the life of Dillenger and the parking lot was crammed with old style ford motor cars from the period.
And so my time in Tucson has ended – its definately very different part of America and i can imagine how crazy it is in the summer, but has a winter destination it was very cool and im now off to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
Tags: USA
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