It’s Wednesday evening about 8:00. The last couple of days were eventful, enjoyable, and challenging all wrapped up together. After we had an excellent breakfast Tuesday morning and got some ideas from our host, we decided to head for Santa Fe, the state capitol of NM, which is about an hour north of Albuquerque. At breakfast we had talked to another couple staying at the Bed and Breakfast who had gone to Santa Fe via a road called the Turquoise Trail. It is NM state highway 14 and runs parallel to I-25 which is the main road running north and south in NM.The Turquoise Trail runs directly through the Sandia Mountains and divides several small towns that retain much of their original ancient architecture and character. We’ve been to many beautiful places in the U.S. and even in some of the Caribbean islands, but I think this is the most beautiful place I have seen. It’s both majestic and plain. The people here live simply in adobe structures. There are as many horses as vehicles in some of the villages we journeyed through. It’s a far different part of this country than what I’m accustomed to. It was refreshing.
After some lunch we headed for downtown Santa Fe. We drove around until we stumbled upon the state capitol. We found a parking spot, walked inside and were greeted by a couple of friendly middle age women who gave us a brochure and pretty much gave us the run of the place. It didn’t seem particularly busy and we were free to walk through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors with no guidance or restrictions. Seeing it was the beginning of June, the house and senate weren’t in session, nor apparently was the Governor anywhere to be found. I’m guessing there are more restrictions in place if there are people to protect. Nevertheless it was very laid back, which seemed to be the general attitude everywhere we went in NM.
There can be no doubt about both the Spanish and Catholic influence in Santa Fe. The words Santa Fe apparently mean “holy faith” or something close to that. 2010 is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Santa Fe. Everywhere you turn there are 1600, 1700, and 1800 Catholic churches and cathedrals as the centerpiece of the community. Most of the place names are some combination of Spanish and local Indian languages. In a more modern concession to diversity we saw at least three Jewish synagogues and some Hindu centers of worship.
After making a full day of touring Santa Fe we headed south on I-25 back to Albuquerque. We decided to forego dinner and instead picked up a bottle of local red wine and some cheese and crackers and enjoyed the setting sun out on the balcony of our room. That turned out to be a little bit of a mistake.
After not sleeping well I woke up Wednesday morning feeling awful. I had no energy and couldn’t get myself out of bed to go to breakfast. My wife decided to go to breakfast without me with my encouragement. I’m glad she did. After describing to our host my symptoms she immediately knew my problem-altitude sickness. At higher elevations like Albuquerque the available oxygen in the air is less than at lower elevations like where I live in Michigan. The body needs to work harder to stay oxygenated and healthy. In addition the dry air of the southwest US, although very pleasant compared to the humidity I’m used to living in, is very dehydrating. Alcohol in any form also has a dehydrating effect on the body. So the two glasses of red wine I had the night before contributed to the effect. Some people are barely affected by the change, other are affected severely. Thankfully we identified my problem quickly and the solution is simple. Water, water, and more water, in addition to water with electrolytes added. Over a half gallon of water later over the next hour things starting coming back to normal.
Wednesday afternoon we visited a section of Albuquerque called Old Town. It is a strange combination of very old adobe structures and modern “adobe looking” buildings. It’s also an odd mixture of very nice local artwork, pottery, and jewelry contrasted with touristy type stuff like t-shirts, coffee mugs with pithy slogans, and other knick knacks you can find in almost any tourist stop across the country. All in all it has been a great couple of days. Tomorrow we hop on the train for home.
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