Since last year I visited Guanajuato for only a few hours, Susan and I returned on Saturday for a full day of explorations with a guide.  The city is known for its silver mines that date back to the 16th century and as the site of the first battle of the Mexican Revolution against Spain.  Today it is the capital of the state of Guanajuato and known for its excellent university.  The city has a whole different character than San Miguel.

Our first stop was to visit a museum of an hacienda owned by an old mining family, the Barreras.  Next to the family home there used to be buildings that processed the silver and other minerals, but today the area is covered with 17 gardens, each unique.









This altarpiece in the family chapel is gilded with 24K gold.







This is the city of Guanajuato viewed from a scenic overlook. 



Behind the large yellow church (Basilica de Neutra Senor de Guanajuato) are large gray buildings.  That's the university.



The city is made up of very narrow streets, most not wide enough for cars.  So in the 1930's the city began digging tunnels for the flow of traffic.  Today there are 45 kilometers of tunnels under the city.





Below is my attempt to photograph a tunnel in a moving car.  It makes for an interesting abstraction!



We explored the narrow winding streets of the city on foot which meant going up and down inclines and steps.  There were all sorts of charming architectural features to marvel over.  We visited the capital building, the university, the covered market, and the museum of the early home of Diego Rivera.  We also visited the granary that in 1810 was the site of a bloody battle when 20,000 Mexicans killed about 400 Spaniards who were taking cover there.  Led by Dolores Hildago, this was the first battle in the Mexican Revolution.





One of the things that makes Guanajuato different from San Miguel is the color of the buildings.  In the historic district of San Miguel, the paint colors are restricted to beautiful shades of sienna, orange, gold, ocher, cream, and brown.  In Guanajuato a full array of bright and glorious colors appear, often in unique combinations.











I even found the graffiti beautiful!



Isn't this fellow wonderful?  I can't explain who he is or why he was outside of a shop, but I connected with him.