We arrived after 2 uneventful flights and a free pass through customs. We got a taxi right away, but even with directions he had a hard time finding Emily's house. He stopped 3-4 times to ask, and finally when we figured we were in the right area, we just got out and walked while looking for her. We finally spotted the guard shack she talked about and he was expecting us. She came out just as we were calling her on the phone. Emily's house is up not one, but two steep hills, AND 40 flippin' steps. Once we caught our breath and unpacked, we walked downtown. We had a great dinner of fajita meat and cactus at Emily's friend Stacey's restaurant. Afterward we looked around the Centro and waited for her salsa lessons to start. I now know the soundtrack of my nightmares down here, and it goes like this: "Uno, Dos,Tres..., Cinqo,Seis,Siete...." over and over and over and over. Well, you get the picture. At one point both instructors were counting in Spanish and the song they were playing on the sound system was counting in English, all in different rhythms! We took a taxi home through a maze of tunnel caves under the city. It was really cool but somewhat claustrophobic. Emily left us two old ladies to go back to salsa, and we went to bed. Today we walked downtown again and had lunch at another place (Truco 7). I had a potato, carrot and cheese enchilada ( Enchiladas Mineras - named for the miners traditional lunches.) that was very good. We stopped after lunch for ice cream from a street vendor that was also very good. Emily and I had a butter pecan flavor called Mantecado, and Diane opted for Beso de Angel that was cherry flavor. We walked that off after taking the funicular to El Pipila, a statue and plaza that overlook the city. It really is breathtaking. And speaking of breathtaking, we walked home down a street so steep it is only fit for donkeys, and then up Emily's two steep hills AND 40 flippin' steps.
