Mi no hablo espanol....but luckily people speak English!

So on to New Mexico which I guess is a lot like old Mexico.... the thing that surprised me the most was the greenery - I expected it to be far more barren - but there is lots of green everywhere and you can see how they are irrigating the land and ditches line the road for the run off to be collected - a great example of harnessing the environment. The land is a rich red in places and on the train to Santa Fe today you could see the strata (is that the word?) of the rock and the colours in it - the mountains were rising up and from behind them poked the fluffiest whitest clouds I ever did see. Got chatting to some lovely people on the train (don't tell Julia I speak to strangers) who were keen to tell me about lots of great places to see while I amhere - i am clearly not here long enough! Included in those people was an Australian woman who told me within 5 minutes of meeting her that she was gay...why? Why did I need to know that?? I don't actually wish to ponder the question to be honest...is it normal to go around letting people know of your sexual preferences? Obviously I have led a very sheltered life...
Anyway, Santa Fe... is proper old in American terms -well in Euro American terms - Spanish arrived in 1608 but natives were here long before that but that seems a fact little acknowledged. The town is a bit Disney-fied with new buildings built to look like old ones but looking 'new' and is definitely a big shopping destination if you want tourist tat.. could have got Kizz and Ben some brilliant snow globes but resisted - I ask you, snow globes of the desert????????????
There were some great places too - the cathedral was amazing and had THE most stunning paintwork inside... I do have some photos - will try to sort them out... and great stained glass - I am a bit of a sucker for stained glass done well (like I would know if it wasn't!) AND, get this, I went on a TRAIN, because I've not travelled far enough on one of those yet this holiday...but it was just $8 return for a trip 60 miles away - definitely couldn't do that in the UK! I think it costs Tom more to get to Newport and that's 12 miles!!! So, impressed I am with Albuquerque and New Mexico in general and wish I had longer to see more things - highly recommended.
As for the Spanish, well, you hear it everywhere and it gives the place another dimension... I like it - Am off to Flagstaff, Arizona tomorrow afternoon, staying with Mike Casey and his family - more big country awaits me, I'm sure!