Sorry our blog is quite a bit out of date. We are actually in Guatemala right now, but we are trying to get caught up.

The drive from Monterrey to Zacatecas was beautiful and sad. The landscape alternated between sandy mountains, covered by grass and scrub, and lonely deserts, inhabited only by giant cactuses (cacti?). The desert towns were some of the dreariest I have seen. On first approaching them, they have the look of an ancient ruin, long abandoned, until one gets close enough to notice that there are people dwelling in the crumbling structures, and clotheslines strung between them.

Driving into Zacatecas was quite a stunning sight, however. The city is nestled inbetween two small mountains, with the downtown in the valley and the residential sections clinging to the sides of the hills, jutting out at seemingly impossible angles. A colonial-era town, the old section is a warren of narrow one-way stone streets, many of which suddenly turn into stairs when the incline gets too steep. We found our map to be entirely useless, and after an hour or so of driving in circles we parked the car and set off on foot to find the hostel. Unfortunately, by the time we found the hostel we couldn´t remember how to get back to the car. One of the hostel owners was kind enough to wander through the city with us until we found it, and guide us back to the hostel.

The hostel in Zacatecas is one of the nicest I have ever seen. It is an old four-story building, with a rooftop patio with an incredible view of the city. There is a pleasant reading room overlooking the lobby, with a serve-yourself beer fridge which works only on the honour system. The place was filled with travellers, most of them from the UK. It was strange after so much time without seeing any other english speakers to suddenly be surrounded by them.

We spent a couple of days in Zacatecas exploring the town and checking out the nightlife. We took a cable-car accross from one of the hills to the other, which afforded a spectacular view of the city. On top of one of the hills is an old fort from the 2nd Mexican revolution, which has been converted into a museum, as well as a giant rock outcropping you can climb in order to dangle over the city.

After a few days in beautiful Zacatecas, we reluctantly set out for Guadalajara...