Quiet Here

Hola!!
Our sunsets this week have been brilliant. The sky has been so many shades of pink, purple, blue and yellow.
And the weather has changed. It is still dry, but the wind has died and the days are getting hot. Yesterday we were 91 in the shade of the hilton garden room. All of the ceiling fans are going and they are very efficient at keeping us cool, but we did buy our mini split in Obregon as we returned south last week. Before we went up to Tucson, we were able to see some of the events of Santa Semana, the holy week leading up to Palm Sunday. There were a number of times when crowds of people were walking through the streets, following the priests and the carrier of the cross. The crowd sang very softly as they walked and quickly gathered in numbers.

The farioses were in the streets, dressed in their deer masks and boots made from shells, their bells jingling as they danced for money. They are men who are chosen, before Lent, to walk to larger pueblos, to dance in the streets for money. Different groups of farioses have been in Alamos over the past month. They are to remain silent for the entire month they are visiting different towns, returning during Santa Semana to their own villages with the money they have made.

There was also a huge increase in Mexican tourism here in Alamos. We have been told that the weeks before and after Easter Sunday are the equivalent of spring break for the states. But, here it seems to be a big family affair. The municipal workers here in Alamos had a four day holiday and my Mexican friends and aquaintances were taking their families to the beach.

From what I can tell, Mexican tourists love Alamos as much and probably more so than foreign tourists. I certainly saw busy, crowded streets filled with people walking, taking photos, shopping in the stores. On the Friday before Palm Sunday, many hotels and inns appeared full of Mexican tourists and alot of family parties were held in the streets at night. On the alameda, at the bus stop, I saw busloads of tourists arriving. Food stands were filled with people and the lines in the markets were long. In the afternoons the plaza was crowded with people sending pictures to friends via their cell phones and fathers taking lots of photographs of their families as they posed under the gazebo.

this was a busy place..............

Today, after a walk to the track and to town, the streets seem quieter. There are less cars and trucks on the main road and I see more people I know and I see fewer crowds of people I don't know.

We know that many of the foreigners who make Alamos their home for the winter months have gone back to their other homes, and from the looks of things, the Mexican tourists have returned to their homes as well.

it seems very quiet here.....................