Durango, State of Durango

Landscape on Road to Durango

We arrived at the Zacatecas central bus station at 9.30 AM.  One great thing about these central bus stations is that all of the companies servicing the area are represented and it is very easy to compare prices and schedules.  Omnibus de Mexico had a bus leaving at 10 AM and that's the one that we took.  The price was 480 pesos ($40) for the both of us.  We had a pleasant 5 hour ride to Durango, admiring the rolling landscape with hills in the background.

View to the Left

Brenda Admiring Street Scene

At the bus station Brenda struck up a conversation with a young English-speaking Mexican who asked about Australia.  He escorted us to a cab and directed the driver to take us to a budget motel that he knew in the Centro de Historico, the historical part of the city.  Brenda and I thought the hotel too 1960's Australian blah so we walked about 9 blocks to the cathedral because across the road from it was the Hotel Plaza Catedral, described in the guide with the words "This cool, 270-year-old castlelike building is a labyrinth of stairways, arches, and tile work.  Rooms are a bit dilapidated and some are gloomy: those facing the cathedral, with small balconies, are the nicest and brightest."

Room 307

Looking down on inner court yard from 3rd floor

Looks like a private chapel at the second level

Well, we wanted some character and we got it.  For 300 pesos a night we followed the advice of the guide and took a room with a balcony facing the cathedral.  If my arithmetic is correct the building dates from 1740.  It has the thick stone walls, high ceilings, and a two inner court yards that though roofed today would have been open to the elements at one time.  There are balconies and even a small chapel overlooking the court yards.  The views from the room are excellent, with a long promenade to the left, the cathedral on the other side of the promenade with its mixture of protecting angels and threatening bells, and to the right the Plaza de Armas.