September 29, 2007

September 29, 2007

We went into Santa Fe today and mostly window-shopped. The arts and crafts stores were similar to those of Taos. Santa Fe to me is prettier. It looks like the old town that it is. The streets are narrow and winding like the original roads. The architecture is all Spanish pueblo adobe style. I was going to visit the history museum in the Palace of the Governors but after reading a synopsis on some outdoor plaques, I was bored and confused by all the very long Spanish names. For example the city’s original name was La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis. The history of English colonization is easier to remember with names like John Smith.

Santa Fe was the Timbuktu of Spanish outposts. I am not sure why the Spanish maintained this colony so far from all their other possessions for so long and why they prevented trade with the outside world. I don’t believe any gold or silver was ever found here. After Mexico gained independence from Spain, some enterprising Americans blazed the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to profit from trade between Mexico and the US.