Another Pueblo Magico worth visiting.
Not as small and compact as Santiago. But it breaths history. Founded in 1712, now it has about 100.000 inhabitants.
The first settlement wasn´t at the same place, but more west. But because of the constant trouble with the local Indians a truth was made. The settlement would move east and the Indians would leave them alone.
The city center was drawn up completely up front. That is the reason that all streets are exactly parallel, and all block are exactly the same size.
In the center of it all, a beautiful square and the church will be found.
MUSEUM
On that same square, you will also find the museum of Linares. On the ground floor the exhibit when we visited it a fine collection of art. But the real treasure is on the second floor.
Here the exhibit the complete history of the region where Linares now is. From ancient history with dinosaur fossils, Spanish occupation, Mission posts, Agriculture until a interactive show about modern Linares.
So far this small town museum was the most complete, with astonishing pieces, we´ve seen.
A special thanks goes out to Manuel Valdés, a well respected partner of the museum, who gave us a tour through the museum and city.
GLORIA
When you are in Linares, you should visit La Guadalupana. This is a famous local pastry shop. Their special treat for you is a sweet called Gloria. Without spoiling the surprise of what you will taste by telling what it contains, I would rather tell you the short story about how this treat got its name and you decide for yourself if you want to give them a try.
When Linares was still a very small village, the difference between poor and rich was huge. A poor woman made a sweet and all her neighbors loved it. One day she managed to have a rich and well respected woman from Linares taste her sweet.
The rich woman could only say, “This Is Gloria” when she tasted it.
From there on, the sweet was called Gloria and now days its well known throughout the whole country.
HOTEL GUIDI
Most little villages have one or two hotels. But not many have 4 stars!
Normally I would not write about a hotel as most of our subscribers are people like us, traveling with their rv. But when you are in Linares, Hotel Guidi might be very interesting for you.
They have a huge secure parking lot!
Finding a spot right in the center of a village can be a challenge. But their parking is so big, that depending on how busy the hotel is, they are willing to let you park there for a small fee.
As it is just a parking, there are no amenities. But it’s a very safe place to park as it is walled completely. At night the gates will be closed and the only way in and out the parking lot is through the 24 hour front desk.
CALDO DE RES
Not specifically something you will only find in Linares, but very much worth to mention. Specifically because the name itself made us doubt if it was worth trying.
CALDO in Spanish is best translated to Broth. In Spain, Caldo is just a liquid, extracted from chicken, beef or veggies. So no chunks of beef, chicken or vegetables in it.
RES is a word not know in Spanish. Its Mexican for Ternera, translated to beef.
But RES does have a meaning in Catalan (The official language of Catalonia. A semi independent state in the North East of Spain, with Barcelona as capital where we live).
Res in Catalan means NOTHING
So when we first heard the name CALDO de RES, our first association was….
BROTH OF NOTHING
Why would something with a name like that be worth trying?
But how wrong we were!
We were invited to try Caldo de Res in the restaurant Doña Raquel.
The restaurant looks smaller from the outside than it actually is. The front is brightly collard like many of the buildings in Linares.
When you step inside, it’s like stepping into your grandmothers kitchen. Square tables with plastic table cloths and wooden chairs with bright colors dominate the 3 rooms the restaurant is made of on the inside.
Directly you notice the restaurant is the main locals choice. Most tables are occupied by them.
We were in for 2 big surprises. With low expectations of “Broth of Nothing”, we ordered Caldo de Res.
A big bowl of soup was served full of vegetables and beef. So much that it topped over the liquid and bowl.
Have you ever had a soup where after your first zip it hits you….
This soup is just right!
There was absolutely nothing that needed to be added. The taste was a strong beef taste, but not too strong. No salt, pepper or any other herb could have made it better. It was just delicious. And with the amount of vegetables and beef in it, it was more of a complete meal than a soup.
The second surprise was the price.
For the soup and a drink, we needed to pay about 4 Dollar each.
When you are in Linares, a visit to Doña Raquel is a must!
OUR EXPERIENCE
We rolled into Linares right onto the main square. We parked in front of a beautiful building that turned out the museum.
In the museum we asked for information. The museum attendant told us that Linares is a very safe place and that there was absolutely no problem of leaving our rv in front of the museum. There is 24/7 police surveillance on the square.
But as our rig is fairly wide, I didn´t feel comfortable leaving it parked in the relative small street.
The museum attendant directly picked up the phone to call the museum director. She made some calls and connected us with the owner of Hotel Guidi where we could park on their parking lot.
The first afternoon we wandered a bit around the village. Making photos and get some food at the food stands on the street.
After a quiet night on the parking lot, the next day we decided to visit the museum to learn about the history of Linares. Again the museum attendant Jesus, made sure we were treated as real welcome guests. He called one of the partners of the museum. Within minutes, Manuel was in the museum to give us a private tour.
After the tour, we wandered through the village to learn more about the buildings we photographed before. And finishing up the afternoon with the delicious Caldo de Res.
The streets at night time were very safe in the city centre. Kids were playing outside and people were just walking around.
A local musical group was practicing in the open air on a square behind the cathedral. Singing and dancing the night away.
Linares, maybe not the most pittoresk village of Mexico, but certainly worth a visit if you want to taste the real Mexican life…and food.