Cinco de Mayo

Sunday, May 5, 2013 – Cinco de Mayo

 

Eleanor and I touched down in Albuquerque last night just as the sun was sinking behind the mountains.  The airport terminal was quiet, all the restaurants and shops closed down for the day.  After the mammoth sprawl of Dulles, it was a pleasure to find the baggage claim area just a short walk from the gate.  By the time we went outside to wait for the hotel shuttle bus, the darkness was complete.  “Where’s the traffic?” we asked our friendly driver.  “Oh, we never really get much traffic here,” she informed us.  Clearly, we’re not in the DC area anymore.  Our hotel, the MCM Elegante, reinforced that impression.  Although I was tired after a long day of travel, I could appreciate that the colors and contours of the building were inspired by the adobe architecture of the Southwest. 

Since our Road Scholar program didn’t begin until late this afternoon, we had the day free.  I managed to stay in bed until 6 am, but then got up and checked the weather.  The wind was still blowing pretty hard, so we decided to leave the Sandia Aerial Tram for another day. 

Then I realized today was Cinco de Mayo, so I checked online for special events.  There was the Cinco de Chihuahuas Adoption Day at the city’s animal shelters – can you imagine Elliott’s reaction if I came home with a Chihuahua as a souvenir?  We could go to a traditional Matanza feast where they roast a whole pig.  On second thought, maybe that wouldn’t be such a great idea for a quasi-vegetarian.  Another possibility, although it had nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo, was an afternoon Albuquerque Isotopes (minor league baseball) game. 

After careful consideration, we opted to start our day at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.  Although it’s quite small, the museum has an impressive sculpture garden, the highlight of which is entitled La Jornada, an ambitious bronze piece portraying the 1598 journey of 600 settlers north from Mexico into the northernmost region of what was then called New Spain.  

In addition, we enjoyed seeing the museum’s interesting permanent art collection (including a painting by Georgia O’Keeffe), and a very informative exhibit on the history of Albuquerque – or Alburquerque, with two r’s, as it was originally spelled.

A Georgia O'Keeffee painting from the museum

By the time I finished looking at all the museum exhibits, it was after 1 p.m. and I was famished.  Since Eleanor is on Weight Watchers, she explored the gift shop while I devoured a cup of delicious but sinus-clearing tortilla soup with green chile, half a turkey sandwich, and a mini lemon-blueberry cupcake at the museum’s café. 

After our museum visit, we strolled over to the plaza in Old Town and sat down on a bench to contemplate our options for the rest of the afternoon.  It was a very pleasant spot, despite the preponderance of touristy T-shirt shops.  In the shady park at the center of the plaza, a young female singer/guitarist was giving an impassioned performance.  The sun was shining on the San Felipe de Neri church, turning its adobe walls a rich buttery hue.  We also observed an interesting ritual.  Cars would drive around the plaza very, very slowly, just to be seen.  The same white Silverado pickup truck passed us three or four times, as did a vintage purple and white striped Corvette Stingray.  Isn’t there a Spanish word for this activity? 

Since the winds had moderated, we decided to give the Sandia aerial tram a try.  Yes, the taxi ride up to the tram was $56 and tram tickets cost $17 each (with our senior discount!), but it was worth it.  This is the longest aerial tram in the world, and we had magnificent views of the stark landscape during the 15-minute ascent.  The temperature at the top was only 46 degrees, so we didn’t linger at the summit.   

 

The view as we ascended on the aerial tram

 On the tram ride back down, Eleanor had a brilliant idea.  She called out to the crowd, “Who wants $25 to drive us back to our hotel?”  We ended up getting a ride from a young couple from El Paso who told us that the Texans don’t like the New Mexicans.  When we asked why, they insisted that their cultures were very different, but they couldn’t give us any specific examples.

Exhaustion struck us late in the afternoon, due to a combination of jet lag, altitude, and sightseeing.  Fortunately, I had a chance to lie down for about an hour before the official start of our Road Scholar program.  We met for the first time at dinner, which was followed by our welcome orientation session.  There are 27 in our group, with a big contingent from California, but several East Coast participants as well.  I hope I’ll get a good night’s sleep so I’ll be ready for class at 8:30 tomorrow morning.