Guanajuato

We escaped the summer heat and humidity of Baja with a quick hour-and-a-half direct flight from Cabo to Guanajuato in the central Mexico highlands. The city was as colorful and beautiful as described. Our Airbnb apartment was perched up in the hills at almost 7,000 ft (2,100 meters) above sea level, about a half-mile (800-meter) walk from an overlook with a monument and a funicular to ride back up.

On our first day, for some reason, our phones wouldn’t get a signal, so we wandered the labyrinth of winding, narrow streets and down into the underground tunnels without the benefit of Google Maps.

Getting lost turned out to be the best way to see Guanajuato. Every alley (callejón) seems to end in a staircase, and every staircase leads to another tiny plaza or a painted house begging to be photographed. Jaime led the way up most of them.

The monument at the overlook is El Pípila, a giant stone statue honoring a miner who became a hero of Mexico’s War of Independence in 1810. The view from up there is the best in town, especially at dusk when the lights come on and the yellow basilica glows down below. Living a short walk away meant we got to enjoy it a lot.

For some, no trip to Guanajuato is complete without a visit to the Museo de las Momias, home to more than a hundred naturally mummified bodies that were dug up from the local cemetery. Our friends said it’s every bit as creepy and fascinating as it sounds. This photo is from our Airbnb entrance as Jaime vetoed a visit.

Down in the historic center, everything is walkable. The Teatro Juárez, with its row of bronze muses lined up on the roof, is one of the most beautiful theaters in Mexico, and a few blocks away the bright yellow Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato anchors Plaza de la Paz. We also poked around the Mercado Hidalgo, the University of Guanajuato, shady plazas with fountains and more streets strung with papel picado than I could count.

Then there are the tunnels. Guanajuato sits in a narrow ravine, and after centuries of flooding, the old river channels were turned into a network of underground roads. Cars, buses and pedestrians all share these stone passageways, and walking through them feels like being on a movie set.

On our last day we climbed back up for one more look at the view and one more steep staircase home. Guanajuato was a great escape from the Baja summer: cool mornings, endless color and enough stairs to count as a workout every single day.

If you go, bring good shoes, stay up the hill for the views and give yourself time to get lost. Video below.