Acoma Pueblo and Albuquerque (New Mexico)
May 7th
We awoke on Saturday morning, ready for a new day, a little weary of sightseeing, but excited to see our friends in Santa Fe. There were, however, a couple of sites to see en route. We started the day with a visit to the Acoma Pueblo or “Sky City” which sits 7,000 feet above sea level and is one of the longest inhabited settlements in the United States. To visit the pueblo, you must go on a guided tour, but we arrived just after a tour left and had to wait for about an hour and a half. After debating a bit, we decided to wait for the next tour…it was a unique visit and passed our time visiting the art gallery and small pottery market. The pueblo is famous for its hand painted pottery. Our tour started with a short bus ride up to the mesa where the pueblo sits. The views are impressive, particularly of Enchanted Mesa, which was the former home of the Acoma people. We visited a church that was built by the Acoma people under the instruction of the Spanish missionaries. The village is continuously inhabited, but it’s strange to see the contrast of old adobe homes and modern cars parked outside. There were a lot of artisans in the village selling their pottery and paintings. We opted for some homemade pies. The Acoma visit was interesting, but less impressive than our later visit to the Taos pueblo.
Next stop en route to Santa Fe was Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico. We stopped in Old Albuquerque, picnicked next to a fountain and wandered around the old quarter. The old quarter is centered on a large plaza with a Spanish era cathedral (very European.) There was a wedding going on (it was Saturday afternoon) so we couldn’t enter the church. We perused some of the gift shops looking for gifts and then hit the road to Santa Fe.
Tags: BIG TRIP 2011, In English 2005-2006, New Mexico
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