Saturday, December 24, 2011

GUANAJUATO, MEXICO -- 8


CASA ZUNIGA

As our story on Casa Zuniga draws to a close, we have to note a few things.

First off, Casa Zuniga is not wheelchair accessible.

Perhaps it is odd to heap such praise on such a place in a blog dedicated to barrier-free access and urban walkability/rollability.

The thing is, most of Guanajuato is not wheelchair accessible.

It's pure topography.

Guanajuato makes San Francisco look like the flat filled swamplands of Florida by comparison.

GTO also is a very old place.

Some callejones (alleyways -- there are nearly 4,000 of them in this village) are barely two feet wide.

All of them are series of steep sidewalks and stairs.

GTO was a caregiver's respite for me.

Casa Zuniga is built on a hillside.

You have to walk maybe 50 steps down from Pipila and equal amount within the Casa Z property just to get to your room.

It's that kind of city -- buildings have multiple levels....people just keep building up and out on the hillside until they run out of land held by their family.

I'm sure if he could acquire a site downtown -- where GTO is moderately wheelchair-accessible at the very best -- he would do so.

His raw energy and ingenuity would surely serve wheelers.

The other thing worth noting is that Rick is a bit of an iconoclast and certainly and character.

To 99% of us who love travel and the quirky things you find on the road, that makes him an ideal host.

But I can see where Senor Zuniga's strong personality and opinions could rub somebody the wrong way.

But he's truly a saint. Most innkeepers would do well to offer one tenth of Casa Zuniga's hospitality.

Check them out at:

http://www.casazunigagto.com

casazuniga@yahoo.com

dial 011-52-(473) 732-8546

No comments:

Post a Comment