A trip to Alamos….

Templo de la Purísima Concepcion Church in Alamos, built in 1757

On February 20th-21st, Rick, Harley and I decided to take a break from the doldrums at Marina Real work yard in San Carlos and venture out of town to Alamos for an overnight getaway. We had originally planned this overnight trip the week prior, but Rick got hit with the “touristas” hard, and I, a little milder case, a few days later.

Statue of GIANT Yaqui Indian, in Obregon off Highway15

Harley and I sitting down at the foot of the Yaqui Indian Statue

Just arriving to Alamos

Alamos is a 3 1/2 hour drive inland from San Carlos. The drive was slow going due to road construction and the fact that the highway is only two lanes, one going in each direction. Passing was the only way to really get anywhere if you were on a time schedule. It was a little scary at times on the road, Semi’s and large buses passing other Semi’s & large buses, cars gunning on the gas at full speed to pass other vehicles. It had me biting my nails a bit at times…knees up in my chest, eyes squinted, feet on the dash board. Rick was missing some of the scenery due to the “passing game”, but there wasn’t really much of anything exciting to see, just desert dry land, meager bungalows on the side of the road, anorexic cows & goats and road construction workers wearing fluorescent vests. The scenery did not get very pretty until we passed the city of Novajoa. Then the scenery was much greener. We saw more trees, greener Cactus, bushes and Bougainvillea trees interspersed on the mountainside. And the road was no longer straight, it curved along up and through the mountains. 

We reached our destination, the Hacienda de los Santos in Alamos about two hours earlier than check in but it was not a problem. While we waited for our room to be cleaned, we were able to eat lunch at a restaurant on the grounds. 

Hacienda de Los Santos...as you first enter...

Theatre where you can pick the movie you want and play it on the big screen

A restaurant/bar on the grounds of the Hacienda

Now when we first opened the gates that entered the Hacienda, I thought I was in heaven! I fell in love with the historical old Spanish Colonial style architecture. Apparently the hotel was once 3 Spanish Colonial mansions which were transformed to the luxurious boutique hotel it is now (the process took 24 years). The mansions are connected by stone walkways, brick tunnels and footbridges. There are several blue tiled pools, beautifully landscaped gardens and an array of Spanish Colonial artwork throughout. I was snapping pictures left and right. What was also nice about this place is that there was no one really around, except for three other couples which we only ran into at mealtimes. 

Little patio just outside of our bedroom door

Our bedroom fireplace

Our bedroom dresser and armoire

Bathtub that unfortunately took too long to fill so I had to pass.

Harley facing her cat fears

After our delicious lunch, we checked into our room and left for a sightseeing trip on foot of the town of Alamos. To find out more about the town, click on this link… 

A little history on Alamos

Gazebo at the Plaza de Armas

What is this?

Farmer's Market

Meter/Electrical Panel

We spent a couple of hours wandering the streets and then headed back to our gorgeous hotel, took showers, relaxed in our patio and then went out to dinner (also at the hotel). After dinner, we took a leisurely stroll through the property enjoying the warm moonlit night  observing twinkling lights strung between trees and buildings….spot lights shining up into the twisting tree trunks and branches. It was Magical! No wonder they call the town of Alamos “Pueblo Magico”! 

Ficus Pertusa Tree

Appetizer -Ceviche

Next day we ate our free breakfast at the restaurant where we had lunch and dinner the day before. It was a delicious meal followed with fresh squeezed orange juice! 

After breakfast, I decided I wanted to get a massage since I had heard such great things about the woman who does massage at the Spa. The person I heard such good reviews from actually makes the three and a half hour drive to the Hacienda in Alamos, just for a massage. Well, after receiving the massage, I knew why she made the long drive! Not only was it one of the best massages ever…it only cost $30.00 U.S. for an hour. Amazing!

After my massage, we packed up our overnight bag and left the hotel. Once leaving the hotel, we thought we’d take a little tour by car on our way home. Alamos is really a lovely little town and a place we wouldn’t mind spending some more time. Only downside, it’s not close enough to the Ocean. We are maritime people, and we need our water. 

On our way home, we stopped at a quiet old mining town of La Aduana and got out of the car and walked through an old church, an arts and crafts cooperative and a small tienda. We did not spend much time there since there isn’t much to see or do. Snapped a few pictures and we were back on the road.

We started to make the long drive home around 2:00 p.m. and should have been back to San Carlos around 5:30, but thanks to Google we got back later than anticipated. As we were driving back on Highway 15 (the way we came), Google told us to get off of the freeway and she took us onto a dirt, gravel, large pot-hole ridden road where construction was actively being done. The construction workers were looking at us like we were idiots, flailing their arms for us to get off the road, pointing us to turn back. But we were sort of stuck..couldn’t go back. We had to keep going on this joyride weaving in and out of people, cement blocks, trucks etc. It was sort of a nightmare. FINALLY we got off the circus ride and got back on track…back on the highway we should have never gotten off of! We ended up getting back to our place around 7:30p.m. 

It was a nice getaway! So glad we went. Now back at the grind…getting the boat finished! Mostly for Rick right now…he is painting, varnishing and working on the engine. My part will come into play as we get the mess from upside down to right side up…getting her cleaned up and ready for storage. I’d like to say, ready for sailing, but the guys that are working on the teak decks are moving at a snails pace, so it could be another month.