Llera de Canales, Tamaulipas, Mexico tour...

After a very interesting night, staying at the Hotel Guanajuato, we checked out of our fine room, and decided to hike around the town, and check out some of the places that we'd visited the night before, but with a added, and welcome attraction: Daylight!

Photo: September is patriotic month in Mexico, and Calle Hidalgo, next to the municipal park, is decked out in the national colors of Mexico, red, white and green. La Michoacana can be seen near the center of the photo, which is a great place to grab a bit to eat, or a delicious drink.

Photo: From the roof of the Hotel Guanajuato, I'm looking east on Calle Morales, toward the direction of the town square. Note the patriotic decorations, in keeping with the spirit of September, in Mexico.

I read a plaque mounted on a cement pedestal in the town square that gave a brief history of the town. The town was founded, way back on December 25, 1748, by a Spanish officer, Captain Don José de Escandón y Helguera, who was leading a group of soldiers and potential settlers, and he liked what he saw in the area. Llera de Canales was actually named after José's wife, Josefa de Llera y Balles and the Canales was subsequently added in honor of General Servando Canales. The town's slogan is "Linda Naturaleza" which means something like "natural beauty," as the town and area has a lot to offer with the nearby green mountains, lush valleys, and the clean, rushing rivers. Tourism is a major occupation in the town, as the municipality strides to attract tourists from all over Mexico, plus a few stray gringo such as Jerry and the author. The town has an official website, which is www.llera.gob.mx/ all of which is in Spanish, so you might want to get your Aunt María to help you out on that one.

Photo: These guys operate a mobile tire repair business, and I snapped their photo outside of the only place in town that offers hamburgers. It's located on Calle Morales, next to the Municipal Center, across from the city park.

After spending a rather interesting night at the swank Hotel Guanajuato, and actually surviving the experience, we were ready to explore Llera by day, and actually see that the town had to offer by the light of day. Llera de Canales is a very small town, and if you center your expedition on the town plaza, which is located at the intersection of the main streets in town, Calle Hidalgo and Calle Mendez, you can fan out from there and see most of the town.

Photo: An interesting view east on Calle Mendez gives the reader a view of the small-town Mexico atmosphere that Llera de Canales offers... Check out the guy crossing the main street, using a cane, as he has do dodge the motorbike and bicycle traffic.

Photo: This ice cream vendor seems quite determined to ply his delicious wares, as he heads west on Calle Hidalgo, directly into the lens of my digital camera.

We hiked around the town, and took many digital photos, and visited a juice restaurant, and a tortilla factory, both of which are covered elsewhere on this website. We also had the opportunity to view the small town during the morning rush, and there was not a whole lot of action. I queried Rodolfo about what most of the local residents do for a living, and he told me that most of them commute to Cd. Victoria, which is about an hour away. For the residents of Los Angeles that are reading this article, I guess there is hope for you yet.

Photo: It's perfectly legal to ride in the back of a truck in Mexico, specifically Llera de Canales, as this gentleman illustrates, as I snap his photo a the intersection of Calle Canales and Hidalgo, next to the municipal building, in downtown Llera de Canales.

Photo: How many times, during your travels to Mexico have you ever seen a gal riding a bicycle? This was my first time, ever, during my 30+ years as a seasoned Mexican traveler, and his gal seemed to enjoy her ride down Calle Morales, as she had a smile on her face all of the time.

The vendor was closed, but we had the opportunity to check out a small, taco vendor who proudly displayed to the world the name of his business, "¡Que, Queeeeee!" That is the latest in eastern Mexican slang, which literally means, "what, what?" but if you'll read your history books, you'll notice that was slang, way back in the 1750's in Great Britan, which was a term that curious noblemen used when confronting an unfamiliar situation. I'm glad that I had a chance to download contemporary Mexican slang to my main memory.

Photo: What? What? Why were they closed during our visit to Lleras de Canales? I'll wager that this place serves a mean dish of barbacoa or menudo, but we didn't get the chance... Well... maybe someday? Jerry Flinn took the photo.

Llera de Canales, Tamaulipas, Mexico, is small-town Mexico at its best.

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