About Aguas
What follows is some gerneral info about the city of Aguas, our home for the next 10 months.
Aguasacalientes is the capital city of the state by the same name. The state, one of Mexico’s smallest, is said to be in the geographical centre of Mexico.
Aguas is a sprawling city of about 600, 000 people. Johnny says it’s about the size of Ottawa. There are no giant office towers like in Toronto, and in fact there few high rises. The tallest building I’ve seen so far, is about 14 stories high.
It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to drive from the northern perimeter of the city to the southern.
Generally traffic moves well. Rarely have we been caught in a traffic jam. The traffic police do a good job. Driving is a little crazy though, drivers have little patience, (quick to honk their horn) and you always have to be ready for the unexpected person doing a U-turn or turning left along-side you even though they’re not in the left-hand turn lane.
The city itself is quite flat but in the west there’s a rather scenic view of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Aguas itself is situated in what’s known as the northern altiplano. Yes, it’s in the highlands region, with the city’s altitude at 1800 metres.
The entire city is made up of fraccionamientos or neighbourhoods. There are about 400 of these fraccionamientos.
The heart and centre of the city is the Plaza de la Patria. About half of this main square is a large and open area. This is bounded by the beautiful 18th century cathedral and by a large column sprouting the symbol of Mexico, an eagle eating a snake. Behind the column and still part of the square are several fountains and the quintessential Mexican jardin.
The square is usually busy with small vendors selling pieces of fruit in cups, some potato chips and popcorn topped with chile sauce, toys, balloons, and lots of colourful plastic items which provide a fantastic contrast with the old grey walls and solemnity surrounding the cathedral.
Also on the main square is the Palacio de Gobierno. It has an immense courtyard surrounded by arches and stairways. On both the ground floor and the first floor there are several large murals to admire. The murals depict the history of Aguascalientes and of Mexico in general.
From this main square there are several pedestrian streets and markets within walking distance.
The whole city is surrounded by two main ring roads, these being the best way to travel any distance to the north, south, east, or west of the city centre.
The roads are fairly well kept, but pot holes do seem to sprout up especially after a heavy rain. It’s not unusual for large puddles to obliterate entire roads after a rainfall. Cars become amphibious through intersections all over the city.
Both to the north and south of the city are what are known as industrial areas. Most notably the Nissan plant, here since the early 80’s, is in the south of the city. It could be said to be the city’s largest employer mainly because so many other companies are providing parts for it.
The east of the city, known as “Ojocaliente” is home of two public hot springs. Aguascalientes of course means hot waters.
The city is dotted with several large parks. In fact Aguas is well known in Mexico for it’s abundance of green space. Two of these parks are Parque Mexico with its jogging/cycling trails and many playgrounds all surrounding a small lake and Parque Heroes Mexicanos with it attractions for children including a tribute to Cri Cri*.
The indigenous tribes in the region before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500’s, were known as the Chichimecs. They built extensive catacombs beneath the city which the Spanish nick-named the perforated city. At present the series of elaborate tunnels are (unfortunately) off-limits to visitors.
Aguasacalientes is the capital city of the state by the same name. The state, one of Mexico’s smallest, is said to be in the geographical centre of Mexico.
Aguas is a sprawling city of about 600, 000 people. Johnny says it’s about the size of Ottawa. There are no giant office towers like in Toronto, and in fact there few high rises. The tallest building I’ve seen so far, is about 14 stories high.
It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to drive from the northern perimeter of the city to the southern.
Generally traffic moves well. Rarely have we been caught in a traffic jam. The traffic police do a good job. Driving is a little crazy though, drivers have little patience, (quick to honk their horn) and you always have to be ready for the unexpected person doing a U-turn or turning left along-side you even though they’re not in the left-hand turn lane.
The city itself is quite flat but in the west there’s a rather scenic view of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Aguas itself is situated in what’s known as the northern altiplano. Yes, it’s in the highlands region, with the city’s altitude at 1800 metres.
The entire city is made up of fraccionamientos or neighbourhoods. There are about 400 of these fraccionamientos.
The heart and centre of the city is the Plaza de la Patria. About half of this main square is a large and open area. This is bounded by the beautiful 18th century cathedral and by a large column sprouting the symbol of Mexico, an eagle eating a snake. Behind the column and still part of the square are several fountains and the quintessential Mexican jardin.
The square is usually busy with small vendors selling pieces of fruit in cups, some potato chips and popcorn topped with chile sauce, toys, balloons, and lots of colourful plastic items which provide a fantastic contrast with the old grey walls and solemnity surrounding the cathedral.
Also on the main square is the Palacio de Gobierno. It has an immense courtyard surrounded by arches and stairways. On both the ground floor and the first floor there are several large murals to admire. The murals depict the history of Aguascalientes and of Mexico in general.
From this main square there are several pedestrian streets and markets within walking distance.
The whole city is surrounded by two main ring roads, these being the best way to travel any distance to the north, south, east, or west of the city centre.
The roads are fairly well kept, but pot holes do seem to sprout up especially after a heavy rain. It’s not unusual for large puddles to obliterate entire roads after a rainfall. Cars become amphibious through intersections all over the city.
Both to the north and south of the city are what are known as industrial areas. Most notably the Nissan plant, here since the early 80’s, is in the south of the city. It could be said to be the city’s largest employer mainly because so many other companies are providing parts for it.
The east of the city, known as “Ojocaliente” is home of two public hot springs. Aguascalientes of course means hot waters.
The city is dotted with several large parks. In fact Aguas is well known in Mexico for it’s abundance of green space. Two of these parks are Parque Mexico with its jogging/cycling trails and many playgrounds all surrounding a small lake and Parque Heroes Mexicanos with it attractions for children including a tribute to Cri Cri*.
The indigenous tribes in the region before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500’s, were known as the Chichimecs. They built extensive catacombs beneath the city which the Spanish nick-named the perforated city. At present the series of elaborate tunnels are (unfortunately) off-limits to visitors.
posted by Sabine at
12:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home