Dia de los muertos in Santa Fe Plaza

The previous post in this series is here..

We had spent the morning at Bandelier National monument. The evening was a little chilly. Our plan was to go to the Santa Fe Plaza and join in the Dia de los muertos (day of the dead) festivities.

It was a version of halloween and a mass srardham of sorts with live music and people dressed up in costumes.

The slight drizzle that was coming on and off made the colors vibrant. We were greeted by an amazing rainbow as we walked in.

Spent some time walking through the plaza and soaking it all in. Then went to the restaurant where we had a reservation for dinner. Once there, we realized that we almost had outdoor seating and that meant some smoke from a cannabis store nearby. There was also very limited options for vegetarians and the restaurant suggested we were better off going to another restaurant which had vegetarian food. They were going to have a busy night and all their other tables were reserved. It was nice of them.

San quickly found a vegetarian place a block down. The Fiesta Oaxaca folks were extremely nice and accomodated a table for 8 in record time. The food was great as was the service.

After we ate and celebrated, it was time to walk around the plaza again for a good 30 minutes before we made our way back to the parking lot and drove back. It had been a fun filled day.

Here are the pictures..

A video highlight reel of the evening..

Day 2 was going to be a lot more hectic. So we went back to go get some well earned sleep!

Bandelier National Monument

Our first day in Santa Fe started with a photo session after breakfast. The first post in this series about the house we stayed in is here.

We started driving to Bandelier National Monument around 8AM and reached there a little after 9 AM. It was a scenic drive with fall colors everywhere!

There are a lot of places in New Mexico to visit. This was a birthday celebration. So the ladies had shortlisted a few places to see considering the crowd and capabilities (my knee, MIL’s ability to walk etc.). Banadiler was supposed to be all level ground for the walking (occasional slope but with ramps and no stairs).

There was a guided tour and we joined that tour for the first 20 minutes. Then we decided to go as a group and see the rest of the stuff with the map.

My knee was put to the test even though it was walking through level ground and the occasional ladder climbing.

This place is our local Cappadocia !!! Similar soft stone where peope made a residence. The fall colors were beautiful as was the weather. It was supposed to rain, but we got lucky throughout the day.

Here are the pictures..

At the end of the canyon there was an alcove house which needed 140 steps to be climbed. We decided to see it from the base of the canyon and turn back. There was no way I was going up those stairs. Was happy to have gotten this far with the knee brace.

A shout out to Uniqlo.. those Gemini Ganesan style pants I bought in the Japan trip in April really came through. You cannot see the knee brace as I am wearing the pants on top of the brace!

We had packed lunch from the bay area and we had that in the picnic benches near the visitor center and drove back.

A video highlight reel…

Came back to the house and had a tea/coffee break. Then did a small photo shoot and we were off to see the Plaza.

That in the next post..

A weekend getaway in Santa Fe

Last weekend we decided to go to Santa Fe for a short trip with friends. Took Friday off and came back Sunday evening.

It was a 2 hour flight. Given my last flight before that was giving me PTSD I prayed to all the gods I know and don’t know that there be no turbulence or delays. The entire group was sending me to the restroom till the plane was about to board. Fortunately little turbulence on the way in. Weather cooperated. We landed and drove from Albuquerque to Santa Fe after getting our rental cars.

Men in one SUV and the ladies in another SUV. We reached our Airbnb an hour later.

The house we rented was the highlight of the trip. It was spacious and cozy at the same time, had amazing views and we had a great time just hanging out together. Also got to take photos during sunrise and sunset and occasionally watch the rain on the deck.

This “hacienda” deserved a post in itself. Here are some pictures and a video of the place itself..

A video highlights reel..

We would definitely recommend this place if you are going as a group of 8 or 9. Fantastic experience. We drove to an Albertsons which was 10 minutes away to shop for groceries and used the kitchen as well.

The rest of the “sightseeing” we managed to do over the two days will be posted over the next week.

My leg was still in a brace this entire trip and it was good I kept the brace. There was a lot of walking every now and then on flat terrain and this was a good test to see how the knee was recovering.

Glad I went on this weekend trip!