A long day of driving took me into New Mexico, and it was late Saturday evening by the time I arrived in Albuquerque, and made my way to my overnight accomodation – Walmarts carpark, of course!
On Sunday morning I met with Sharon, who had contacted me through the website, and was keen to show me around Albuquerque and the surrounding area. We decided to head for Santa Fe while the weather looked good, and headed up into the hills. I was surprised to find that Santa Fe was at a height of over 7,000 feet, and was quite a bit cooler than Albuquerque.
It is an incredible place, with a very Spanish/Mexican heritage, and filled with art galleries and Indian craft stores. We wandered around the town centre, looking at the huge range of goods on offer, and eventually, following a local recommendation, made our way to a very popular local Mexican-style restaurant for lunch.
After lunch we headed down Canyon Road, filled with an amazing array of art galleries. Sharon told me to follow my nose, and decide which one’s to look in, and I did so, suggesting that we go into Chalk Farm Gallery, where we found the work of Russian artist Vladimir Kush on display. It was absolutely fantastic, very surreal and imaginative, a bit Dali-inspired, and incredibly beautiful. Afterwards, I did not really want to visit any other gallery, as I felt that anything else afterwards would have been a bit of a disappointment. Sharon was very impressed with my choice – “You’re very intuitive.” I think maybe I was just lucky.
We headed back to Albuquerque, visiting some of Sharon’s friends on the way, who lived in a couple of amazing homes right at the foot of the mountains.
A quick early evening tour of Albuquerque’s downtown areas was followed by a bite to eat in the Frontier Diner (Mexican again!), and it was time for an early night (Walmarts again!), as I had a lot of travelling planned for the next day and wanted an early start.
I wish I had more time to look around New Mexico, it looks pretty spectacular from the brief introduction I have had, many thanks to Sharon once again for her great guiding services.