An attempt with photos

 

 

This is an aqueduct that was built in c. 1780s to get fresh water from an underground aquifer up to a convent built on a hill overlooking Queretaro.  It's an absolute wonder to me and the government has preserved it well.  It runs down the middle of a fairly large avenue and is a reference point for anyone looking for or giving directions.  What's really amazing about it is that there is no more than a 2% change in grade in the whole expanse and it runs c.1200 meters.  There is a lot on the internet about it if you're interested but the point is that they got the water up there and then they disbursed it to fountains throughout the city by a series of pipes or canals that ran downhill with the fresh water.  There's a whole story about how the guy who organized the project was married to an ultra rich Spanish marqueza but was having an affair with a nun who lived up at the convent and the nun was always sick due to the bad water so he used the Marqueza's money to build the aqueduct and once it was finished the nun went back to her love of Jesus instead of the boyfriend.  There is a fabulous hotel and restaurant in the historic part of Queretaro that he originially built for the Marqueza but the story goes she never lived there. Quien sabe.  I'll try to post some pics of it.  It's officially called La Casa de la Marqueza.  The historic district is very interesting, of course most of the buildings were build during the Spanish occupation so there's that.  I haven't gotten outside the city to any of the Aztec, Mayan or other indigenous sites but I plan to do that as soon as Peace Corps allows it.  We're not allowed to go anywhere outside of the city until we get sworn in and then spend another 3 months at our sites.  I think they fear people will jump ship once they see other parts of the country....quien sabe.  ( I love that saying....of course it means, Who knows.

This is an example of how words get changed with languages.   This is Auto Zone in English....It might translate to "Autos we are"  in Spanish but the pronunciation would be very similar.  It's a used car lot.