Alamos

So, "alamo" is a type of tree. Who knew?

Alamos is a very quaint, historic, old town in southern Sonora that we visited a couple weekends ago. It's about three hours south of us, at the base of the Sierra Madre mountains. And it is just as cute as can be.





As such, it has a significant "norteamericano" community -- about 300 families from the U.S. and Canada in a town of less than 10,000. So, not entirely "authentic" Mexico, but to be honest, over the last five decades the norteamericano's have pumped a lot of money into this town, started some great little shops and hotels, and restored hundreds of beautiful, old, historic buildings. So, we're not complaining. And there are fewer gringos in Alamos than in San Carlos, near where we live.







At left is the main square, with a very old cathedral. It was build in the mid-1700s by Father Kino, a well-known Spanish priest who really got around in northern Mexico and southern Arizona.




Alamos is reportedly the oldest city in Sonora (oldest European city, we assume). It was a mining town, mostly silver, that helped fund numerous Spanish wars, including the native rebellions around Alamos. Colonialism at its best, eh?

More pictures here