CULTURAL CHIHUAHUA
POST TOUR ONLY
Available Space | 8
Length | 3 nights, depart El Paso Oct. 24, return to EL Paso to fly home Oct. 27.
Hotel | Hotel IStay (Juarez), Hotel Sheraton Soberano (Chihuahua)
Highlights | Highlights include garnering insights into the modern-day border and the Mexican Revolution of 1910, sand boarding in the Chihuahua Desert, and acquiring acclaimed pottery.
Physical Ability | Level 1-2 (easy to moderate, walking at the venues)
Cost:
-Active $500
-Associate $575
-Emeritus $600
-Spouse $600
Disclaimer: Tour is subject to change based on number of participants. Organizer reserves the right to cancel the tour or change the tour itinerary if necessary. Deadline for cancellation to be determined with guidance by SATW.
There will be no refunds for the pre- and post-tours as those funds go to the entities providing the trips.
Description
Learn about the early history of Chihuahua at Paquimé, a UNESCO-recognized site also known as Casa Grandes. Recognize the Paquimé designs in pottery in Mata Ortiz, a small town where clay artists garner high prices for their collectible creations.
Itinerary
IMPORTANT ITINERARY NOTES:
– Attire: Comfortable shoes, jacket for cool nights, hat
– Bring passport and Global Entry/SENTRI card for card readers at the border
Oct. 24
MORNING
Depart El Paso and cross the border over the Rio Grande in early morning. On the Mexican side of the border, Ciudad Juárez, a city of some 1.8 million residents, has demonstrated admirable resilience. Learn about its stalwart character during a daylong immersion, visiting the Burrito Lady before touring Casa de Adobe, where the 1910 Mexican Revolution was headquartered. The house is located on the banks of the Rio Grande, where a marker delineates the U.S. Mexico border. Continue into downtown Juárez to tour the Museo de la Revolución, the 17th-century mission church, 20th-century cathedral and the open-air market. Margaritas at the legendary Kentucky Bar precede lunch at the busy Café Nueva Central.
AFTERNOON
Check in at the Hotel iStay and prepare for a sandy adventure. Thirty miles south of Juárez, the Samalayuca Dunes are part of the vast Chihuahuan Desert. Try sand boarding, or spend your time trying to capture the panorama. You’ll stop off at a Sotol farm near the dunes to try the local tipple before a farm-to-table dinner at Flor de Nogal, where Chef Oscar Herrera oversees an acclaimed farm-to-table menu.
Oct. 25
MORNING
You’ll start a bit early for the four-hour drive to Paquimé, with a burrito and quesadilla stop along the way in Villa Ahumada. You’ll get a short break during check in and have lunch at the intimate Hotel Guacamayas where you’ll be spending the night by the archeological site.
AFTERNOON
Also called Casas Grandes, Paquimé is a massive UNESCO-recognized site including restored pre-Columbian (circa 700-1475) rooms, workshops, ceremonial chambers and stores where several thousand agrarian Paquimé people lived and traded. Your tour begins with the Museum of the Cultures of the North’s collection of pre-Columbian treasures unearthed at Paquimé, from polychrome ceramics to basketry, gems and more, followed by a walk around the site. The day ends with a campfire dinner.
Oct. 26
MORNING
First up is a walk through Cueva de la Olla, a prehistoric site within a seven-room cave. The most notable structure is a huge vase-shaped granary. Next comes time with the clay artists of Mata Ortiz, home of famed Mexican potter, Juan Quezada. Mata Ortiz pottery’s swirling, intricate brown, black and red patterns are based on ancient Paquimé designs. Collectors spend serious money here. Late lunch.
AFTERNOON
After lunch you’ll have time to rest during the three-hour drive to Chihuahua City, capital of the eponymous state. Check in at the Hotel Sheraton Soberano is followed by dinner at La Casona in a restored 19th-century mansion.
Oct. 27
MORNING
There’s time for a quick tour of Chihuahua’s historic district, with grandiose Colonial architecture and museums galore before the mid-morning departure for El Paso. A stop at Villa Ahumada for burritos and quesadillas breaks up the four-hour drive. Oct. 27, group will arrive back at the convention hotel late afternoon. Most participants should plan on overnighting at the hotel (rooms provided) with departures any time on Oct. 28
