New Mexico isn’t a very popular destination, from an European perspective. We met a few people in a bar in Albuquerque who were really surprised to meet Manu and I there. We talked about travelling in the South West (we heard that California was overrated, and that Colorado was the best). Even though New Mexico may not be the first State you think about when we say “South West”, I do recommend road tripping there. The sky seemed more blue than anywhere else, the clouds looked like giant cotton balls, landscapes were awesome, there is a great history of a thousand years here, and the people were cool and nice to us.
I’ll write about New Mexico in the following weeks, and here’s an idea of what I’ll be talking about…
Breaking Bad. The adventures of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman were filmed in Albuquerque in “natural” sets. I saw some of the places, and among them Walter and Skyler’s house…
Because filming our road trips make great souvenirs, I’ll edit a video of our road trip between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.
Rio Grande is a mythical river (and the title of a famous vintage French song that we sang along the road too many times). We drove along the river, we even crossed it when it was deep down in a canyon.
One of my favorite part of this trip was driving on the Jemez Mountains trail. The landscapes went from plain, desert, to canyon, and at last, mountains like in the Alps. All of that within less than a 2-hour driving. Incredible.
This trip was a good occasion to learn more about the people we called “Indians” but that are actually called Pueblos here in New Mexico. Fascinating history, and also very sad.
Another favorite place during this road trip: the lovely artist town of Santa Fe. George RR Martin, the author of Game of thrones, lives there! We haven’t met him, he was in France at that time…
I’m not a big fan of Chimayo sanctuary. The church is gorgeous and quaint, lost in the middle of the hot mountains, but it’s also a very kitsch and touristy place, full of superstitions and weird religious stuff. Not my jam.
I spent some time in the city, slept in a motel in Route 66, visited nice museums and enjoyed eating in restaurants in a fake-but-okay Old Town. But did I like the city? Not so much.
Taos Pueblo is an unique place: a 1,000 year old preserved village where Pueblos still live. It’s touristic, but authentic, and even magical.
Does eating mexicain and new mexicain is the same? I’ll also talk about the official question in this state: red or green, that refers to the color of the sauce to dip your food in.
Another historical road to discover New Mexico, between Santa Fe and Taos: the turquoise trail. (it was at that moment that it really look like a Breaking Bad scenery with all the bushes in the desert). Turquoise refers to a famous blue stone used mostly in jewelry here. A symbol of water.
