Loretto Line City Tour of Santa Fe

Hop on hop off tours have always been our way to experience a city and then to decide what we want to explore at greater depth. There is no hop on hop on bus as such but there is something better - a free shuttle  service - that we plan to avail of once we have decided where we want to go. So we decided this morning  to take the Loretto Line City Tour of Santa Fe.  The tour trams/trolleys hold 16 and are driven and guided by a very interesting and knowledgeable man (in our case though there may be women for all I know!).

The Loretto Line tour filled quickly and we headed off to a bit of the history of Santa Fe. La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis (The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi), fortunately shortened to Sa ta Fe is the oldest capital city in the US. It is 405 years old and has the highest elevation in the country  at 7,000 feet. It has 360 degree mountain views, 325 days of sunshine and only 20 inches of rain per year. It is the 4th largest city in the state of New Mexico. Santa Fe's nickname is The City Different.

Our tour took us through the  Plaza, along Canyon Road and on part of the old Santa Fe trail. Jim was careful to keep arms and legs inside the trolley as he took some photos.

This is the Masonic Scottish Rite Temple described by the guide as a "fraternal organisation

All these are sculptures or pieces of art along the route of the tour.

This is a traditional adobe house that is being maintained in the traditional way by mixing   mud and straw. Most modern day adobe houses are concrete made to look like adobe.

The guide gave us a brief respite to stretch our legs and to admire a monument that celebrates a significant part of New Mexican history. His instructions. to exit the trolley at the right and backwards because the step is very high and could cause injury, fell on Jim's deaf ears - well not entirely, he did exit at the right but then he was seated a the right! Everyone else managed to heed the instructions - even a 6 year old boy - and descended with dignity. Jim's ascent was followed by and ungainly and uncontrolled downward run!

"Journey's End" is a lifesize bronze sculpture located at the entrance to Museum Hill on the Santa Fe  trail where, seemingly there are wagon wheel ruts still visible nearby (didn't  see them). The sculpture depicts a covered wagon pulled by 6 mules  and bogged down travelling through a pass on its way to the Santa Fe Plaza. It features a muleskinner helping a mule that has stumbled and an outrider looking back to see if he can help. A boy and his dog are running from Santa Fe  to  greet the wagon. An American Indian woman is observing the scene from a distance. This  monument represents the traders who came with goods to sell in the Plaza.

The guide / driver explained how history plays a major role in Santa  Fe's current persona. It is a unique blend of Native American, Spanish  and Anglo cultures which influences everything from architecture to art and jewellery to cuisine. Santa Fe's history  dates back to around 10,000 BC when nomadic Paleo-Indians arrived in the  region. Their descendants were the architects of adobe structures and the Pueblo style evident in Santa Fe. Spanish explorers in search of gold arrived in the mid 16th century and settled  here establishing Santa Fe  as the capital of Nueva Mexico. Anglo settlers began making their way  into the Santa Fe region around 1750 with thousands more pouring in following the creation of the Santa Fe Trail. In 1824 the Spanish province of Nuevo Mexico  became the Territory of New Mexico under Mexico. But in 1846 the United States claimed possession of New Mexico. The 3 main styles of architecture are Pueblo (adobe - rounded corners), Territorial (like adobe but with sharp-cornered walls) and  Northern New Mexico  (pitched roofs instead of flat ).

Canyon Road is a mile-long road where historic adobe homes are now galleries specialising in Western, Native American and contemporary art. Some of Jim's photos are from there but we plan to devote a bit of time exploring there.

The pine tree that  produces  pinon (pine nuts) has always been  very important  to  Santa Fe.

At the end if the tour we got similar instructions to earlier - exit at the right and backwards. Did Jim? Not a chance!

After the tour we took a trip to the  Cathedral and to the Loretto Chapel. The  Cathedral Basilica of St.Francis of Assisi  was built after an older church built in 1626 was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. In contrast to the surrounding adobe structures it was built in the Romanesque  style. Due to lack of funds the left tower is taller than the right tower.
                                                               

This is a staue to the  first Native American woman to be  made a saint - Kateri Tetakwitha known as "Lily of the Mohawks".

The door into the Cathedral.

The water feature in the Cathedral - presumably the baptismal font. Maybe Catholics are into total immersion here!

                                           St. Francis of Assisi

We paid a visit to the Loretto Chapel which is famous for its so called miraculous staircase. When the Loretto  Chapel  was finished in 1878 there was no way to access the choir loft which was 22 feet above . Carpenters  maintained that the only possible way was by ladder as the Chapel was too small for a staircase. Legend says that the Loretto sisters made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the final day of the novena a man with a toolbox and a donkey arrived at the Chapel looking for work. Months later he had completed a  elegant circular staircase and had disappeared without being paid. The  nuns searched for the carpenter in vain and could only conclude that the carpenter had been St. Joseph himself. The  staircase has 2 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Its design still perplexes experts today.

The Loretto  Chapel was built along the lines of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.

As is the norm everywhere, you can't leave without viditing the gift shop. The Loretto Chapel  gift shop has a section dedicated to Christmas.

Below are some more examples of art seen as we made our way back to the car.

And finally - Jim sees part of route 66!