Albuquerque and the Pueblo Tribes

Running behind our schedule we changed our travel route to the west coast. Instead of Chicago we decided to drive via Albuquerque and Mesa Verde. Not only the distance was the reason for the change, also all the closed campgrounds around Chicago. The closest would have been 80 miles away.

Why Albuquerque? Well we met Sarah in Tibet and she ended up in Albuquerque. Months ago she was writing me about this spiritual place with so much Native American Culture still alive. So we wanted to find out about New Mexico and the Pueblo tribes.

And we didn’t get disappointed. First we visited the Pueblo Museum which is actually owned by the 19 Pueblo tribes. Since the Pueblos haven’t been nomads it was easier to claim back their land and now all the tribes own hotels, casinos, golf clubs and so on.

It was the first time that we could read about the horrible time of the inquisation. Not even in the Native American Museum in Washington D.C. there was anything about this. I spoke with some Native Americans and their stories where really interesting.

We were lucky and saw also the buffalo and turkey dance. Their costumes were great and the big Pow Wow must be special. So next time we try to be in Albuquerque for the festivals in April.

In Albuquerque old town we could see the Mexican influence and liked the small houses. They definitely love their chilies. Big risas where hanging from every house and in the stores you found the craziest, spiciest chili mixes.

The last evening we met Sarah and her husband Nathan and they told us about Taos and the Pueblo. It was great to see here again and for sure we have to check out some advices they gave us.