Chimayo

Sanctuario de Chimayo

 Tucked into the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the village of Chimayó may seem far off the beaten track as we drove along the tree line winding road.
 

Known as the “Lourdes of America,” el Santuario de Chimayó, 40 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world. Even so, it is unknown to most Americans.
 

 Each Holy Week, Chimayó, a tiny town of 3,000, swells to more than 40,000 as the annual pilgrimage fills the high desert roads of Northern New Mexico with the faithful. Many of the pilgrims walk hundreds of miles to visit the site. To read more about the miracles click here.

It was a short drive from Ojo Calliente to the mission.

 The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970

 The Three Cultures Monument, depicts the meeting of a Native American, a white cowboy, and a Hispanic vaquero under a benevolent figure of the Virgin Mary.

Calls for prayers for the ill and troubled are posted

 The Santuario is known for its healing dirt. The tradition of the healing dirt continues to this day.

Off to the side of the altar is a doorway leading to a small prayer room with a wall of cast off crutches, and an entrance to el pocito, or “the little well,” of healing dirt.

 Some pilgrims take vials of the sand with them as a remembrance. Fortunately, there is plenty of soil available to satisfy the ongoing demand. The Church replaces the dirt in the pocito from the nearby hillsides, there are 5 gallon buckets in the back of the church to bring more dirt when needed. We left our share for someone else.

Chimayó is also famous for high-quality weaving, red chili, horse and sheep raising, and fruit orchards.

The Santo Niño Chapel is just a short walk from el Santuario honoring children with many baby shoes hanging on the walls.

 

The story of the Santo Niño begins in Spain during the time of the Moors, Spain's Muslim conquerors. In Atocha, outside Madrid, many Christian men had been imprisoned. The jail did not feed the prisoners, and the caliph ordered that only children could visit and bring food to them. The women prayed to Our Lady for help. Soon word spread that a small boy was visiting and feeding the prisoners. His basket was never empty of bread, and his water gourd was always full. He was considered a manifestation of Jesus as the Holy Child, the Santo Niño.

Don Bernardo Abeyta statue was builder of Sancuario de Chimayo.

 



Walkway along the river.

Ortega's Weaving

Not far from the Santuario is Orteg's weaving where we made a quick stop.

In the early 1700's, Gabriel Ortega was among a group of settlers who came to the Northern Rio Grande Valley to settle in what is now Chimayo, New Mexico. In those days Chimayo and the surrounding area were the last frontier of New Spain. Life was difficult which meant Gabriel Ortega needed to be self-sufficient. One of the skills needed to survive was weaving, with which they made clothes, blankets, rugs and even mattresses.

In the early 1900's, Nicacio and Virginia, who were also from a weaving families, opened a general store in Chimayo. Nicacio had a loom in his store and sold his weavings along with those of his sons, relatives and friends. The demand kept growing as more people discovered Santa Fe and New Mexico.

Everything on dispaly was very nice quality.

Black Mesa Winery

It was a sightseeing day and we also stopped at the winery.

Most of the grapes had been harvested except the Montepulciano grapes. I tasted a grape while walking though the vines and thought they tasted better than the wine.

Behind the winery is a trail that winds between over 300 petroglyphs.

Labyrinth along the trail. We are near Santa Fe. A labyrinth is a given.

Driving through the area, we saw so many apples trees. This area is known as the apple orchard area. The winery put out a call for apples from the surrounding area for their hard cider "Bit Me" which we purchased. It must have gotten its bite from the harsh sunny conditions of the area. We also found a white wine we both liked very much.

One of America's best diners

The winding highway meandered alongside the murky river to Embudo, NM.  We smelled the hazy smoke plumes coming from Sugar’s BBQ & Burgers.

 

It was recognized as one of America’s ten best drive-ins by Gourmet magazine. We chose the brisket burrito in which tender brisket, green chile and shredded cheddar cheese piled high on a fresh tortilla. They were so large that we had the second half the next day. I know, not exactly heart healthy but very tasty.

A fitting end to a great morning. Lunch under a tree as the breezes cooled us as we enjoyed the changing of the fall colors.

I hope I haven't bored you with my little history. We just find learning about the past makes our adventures even more memorable.

Ojo Calliente, NM

 "Warm Eye" in Spanish

As one of the oldest natural health resorts in the U.S., Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa opened its doors in 1868.

Steeped in myth and legend, these ancient springs have been a gathering place and source of healing for thousands of years. The use of the waters can be traced back to the earliest human migrations in the region. The ancestors of today’s Native American Tewa tribes, built large pueblos and terraced gardens overlooking the springs.

Tradition tells us that often-warring tribesmen would set their weapons and differences aside to gather in peace at the springs to enjoy the benefits of the waters, and to trade and heal their wounds and ailments without conflict.

In the 1500’s the Spaniards, in their quest for gold and the Fountain of Youth, also discovered the springs.

 We had tried to make plans in years past for a visit. This time we made it happen. They have beautiful hotel rooms and cabins that include early entry to the springs without a charge. We stayed with the  riff raff in the treed RV section for $40 per night and would walk over to the springs and restaurant and pay for our use of the pools.
Mornings and evening was the best and most comfortable.

  We got a chance to be a kid again in our unique Mud Pool. Where else can you slather mud all over your body and bake in the sun until done? Toxins are released from the pores of your skin as the  special blend of clay dries. You come away feeling cleansed and refreshed!

The mud bath was a new experience. Slather mud from a fountain all over the body, lay in the sun until it dries. I did wear my sunhat which now has the ring of red mud on it "souvenir". Then step into the cool mud bath water to rinse off some of the mud. Then stand under the buckets to rinse off the rest of the mud. Mike offered to take some dirt from New Mexico so I could do it all again once we left and he would hose me down. But the appeal isn't the same. We left all of the dirt there.

The unique combination of four different sulfur-free mineral waters: Lithia, Iron, Soda and Arsenic, with more than 100,000 gallons a day steaming to the surface revitalizing us.

A Native American legend tells that the giant rock in the Iron Pool guards the place where the ancient people of the mesa once received food and water during times of famine. The warm, iron-rich water bubbles up from the natural pebble floor, providing hot spots to discover in this mystical outdoor cliffside pool. Iron is considered to be beneficial to the blood and immune system.

The people visiting the hot springs seemed to be moving in slow motion. I move and talk fast often and found this a bit odd. Maybe the minerals and arsenic was starting to affect them. 

 Every so often a person from the front desk would walk around carrying a paddle with small chimes that read "whisper zone". After a while, I started to slow down a little bit. It could have been that I was getting relaxed from all of that warm water.

Ojo's Santa Cruz Church built by the Spaniards in 1793. They were determined to convert the Natives Indians to Catholics.

Back at the spa...

Smoking mesquite 

National Historic Bathhouse

I had trouble disconnecting while walking the labyrinth. I just kept looking around at everything instead of clearing my mind. I guess that is how I roll.

The hiking trails from the Hot Springs went into the national forest. The Posi Trail and River Bosque Trails.

The waters at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs have been deemed sacred by the 8 Northern Pueblo tribal communities for nearly 3,000 years. Pueblo ruins rest just above the property.

Pottery chards along the trail

This group was going through a smoke purification ritual before their hike. It was getting pretty warm as we returned from our hike.

Old roundhouse.

Old ovens



 We put in for a 6 am wakeup call (set the alarm on my phone) which startled us. Once we remembered why the alarm was going off, we got ready for an early morning hike up to Joseph's Mica Mine. As we walked the 2 miles up to the mine, I wondered how a person would decide where to start digging a mine. As we walked up the last rise before the mine, the ground started to sparkle in the morning sun. At first I though someone had crushed glass all over the side of the hill. When we looked closer, we saw it was "fools gold" mica.

Mica was sparkling all across the face of the hill.

I could have missed this horned toad if he hadn't moved.

Even though we stayed at the hot springs RV park for 4 nights we only used the hot springs one day and opted for massages the next. It was a good base to hike and visit other sites nearby. The temperatures in New Mexico's desert were in the 70s and 80s which sounds great but gets toasty in the sun making electric hookups and air conditioning a good thing.

The restaurant had amazing food. Blue corn and pinon nut pancakes with berries and burrito with green chile and tomatillos. This place was definitely A1!