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
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