You know that scene at the end of American Beauty when Kevin Spacey gets shot in the head and just as he's dying he realises how beautiful the world can be?
Well you don't need to get blown to pieces by your closet homosexual neighbour to come to this conclusion...You just need to come to Albuquerque. Someone should have told him really.
Seriously this place is like nature heroin. And after four long days of tarmac, the mountains are a very welcome change of scenery.
We're staying in a slightly odd place. After nights in plain sub-standard motels, we decided to blow our budget and book two nights in this Victorian B&B where Elvis and Janis Joplin have stayed previously. Or so they say. We booked the cheapest room which wasn't cheap in any way, shape, or form - but it boasted a view of the mountains and we figured any room in this place would be lovely.
Well it is lovely here. The owner is an wonderful chap who sat us down the moment we arrived with a map to tell us the best places to eat and offered us home-baked cookies. But the illusion of grandeur was ever-so-slightly ruined when he led us to a shoebox and told us this was our room. Admittedly, it's a very pretty shoebox, but the lack of space is somewhat challenging. Especially when you have three large suitcases and there's not even space on the floor for one. And the view of the mountains is beautiful...with a pair of binoculars. Despite feeling slightly like sardines in a can, I do love the place and it's the perfect place to explore such an interesting city.
We've managed to squeeze a lot of nature stuff in the two short days we are here. Yesterday I braved my fear of heights to take the world's longest cable car ride up a 10,000 foot mountain. The impending sense of doom as my entire life flashed before me with the jarring realisation that I've not achieved anything of any note in my 24 long years(see photo), was definitely a small price to pay for the amazing view. You could practically see the whole state. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime thing which I suppose is what this is all about.
Then this morning we hiked (I know - very American!) through the Petroglyph National Monument. Don't worry. I had no idea what that was either about two days ago. But again, it was amazing. It's a rocky mountain-like terrain with thousands of ancient pictures carved into the volcanic rock by the Pueblo people. Again, Americans seem very low-key about letting visitors get up close to exhibits and the hikes took us right up to all the rocks. A truly incredible experience.
Another spiritual experience one can gain from a visit to New Mexico comes from their brilliantly amazing superb food. If you don't like spicy food - you will probably starve. And it serves you bloody well right. The state question is, after all, 'Red of Green Chilie?'. But if you like chilies this is gastronomical heaven. Yesterday we feasted on giant green chilies stuffed with cheese before being dipped in batter and fried. This morning, we breakfasted on green chilie omelets with savoury scones and chilie jam. And lunchtime was randomly guzzled in the back of a pharmacy (it's where all the locals go so you know the food is authentic. God that sounded wanky) where I devoured a massive bean burrito swimming in a sea of green chilies.
When we've not been enjoying the landscape or stuffing ourselves into oblivion, we've been exploring the rest of the city. We're right in Old Town - which is like being in a time warp. The place is so...Mexican - well d'uh - and gorgeous. There's all these yellow stone buildings joined by narrow pathways draped with bundles of dried chilies and stuffed with teeny shops selling Native American jewellery. Unfortunately the overpriced shoebox has prevented me from actually purchasing any of the 5,215 things I have fallen in love with - but window shopping is still fun.
Tomorrow we leave. Again. I don't think I'll ever get used to this constantly-on-the-move malarkey. It's great when you want to rush away from horrible places (Goodbye Kilgore Texas!), but sad when you have to up-and-leave somewhere as beautiful as this.
As I said...Kevin Spacey. He should have come to New Mexico.
xxx
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