Albuquerque part 1
Visiting Albuquerque has a mixed amount of emotions, it was interesting to see or heard the community is proud of the native ancestry, but at the same time it felt like it was more a tourist asset, and not even in the tourist events was a center of attention the 23 tribes (tree Apache tribes and the Navajo Nation), which was a bit concerning but not surprising, but we are here to show the most positive aspect of every region so let's continue.
The first thing I noticed was the altitude and the ecosystem conditions, its altitude is 1.600 m, and its dominated by mostly desert, so it was visually like other deserts I've been to, but felt like 2000 m, very chili and thorny our dog couldn't walk 100 m without limp thanks to Tribulus terrestris, also some "Colombian manner" the sun in Albuquerque is definitively rain sun (we said that when the sun seem to be stronger almost blinding which we call spicy).
Downtown is a very small area and has something magical, you don't see many people around it kind of coincides with the ghost stories which also seem to be a big thing there, in the central park of the city there is a representation of cultural representation, some petroglyphs an archeological piece that also Im not sure if it's an original one, which let me think that all cultural pieces should be accessible to the public, should be considered a civil right but in many places, its also a benefit of class (just if you can pay the entrance to the museum), nevermind that was pretty nice to see.
Albuquerque is famous also because of its trails and natural scenery, so I decided to visit some of them, which lead to many other good and surprising things, I was hesitant about riding the bike to the beginning of the trail because there was no information about a place to put it safely so I decided to go on public transportation, also public transportation gives you a taste of the culture, the modern culture. The bus rate was $0 which make me happy not just for saving 3 or 4 dollars but because I put myself in the position of the community that needs this service the most, and yes they are the most frequent users, so I hope more cities decide to be more inclusive, my ride was about an hour to the city limits, The Sandia Mountains and within this protected area, there is a really easy access trail called "Embudito" one of the 32 different trails in the preserve area ( check the list here).
Something curious I observed was the birds were very active even though it was the hottest part of the day, I watched the following ones in just 20 mins I stayed close to an area that look promising:
🐦 White-crowned Sparrow
🐦 Canyon towhee
🐦 Orange-crowned Warbler
🐦 Rufous-crowned Sparrow
🐦 Black-chinned Hummingbird
🐦 Yellow warbler
🐦 Crissal Thrasher
check the moment when I was leaving
Also had the opportunity to visit another part of the city, "The Old Town" its a "colony", where you can find different stores mostly native souvenirs and restaurants, my first impression was feeling I was in ancient times getting through a colonized Indigenous city, the Adobe buildings with colonials balconies with earthy colors and every column and door decorated by Red chili Ristras as a welcome sign (Loved it!).
you can find pottery from different cultures my favorite Navajo iridescent this, also jewelry, clothing, and accessories.
Part 2 is coming...
Comments
Add a Comment