ae od 46 - Sunday, December 20, 1992 ~ North Shore News we tes Tour of Taos unearths ancient condos Barbara McCreadie oe TRAVELWIS IT’S THE wise traveller whe does his homework be- fore he leaves home. That goes for experienced irav- eliers, too. Just because you think you know quite a bit about a place doesn’t mean you know it I'd have missed Taos, New Mexico, if } hadn't been snooping in the itineraries of bus tours. You don’t have to climb aboard the 48-passenger limo to take ad- vantage of the stops they make — just remember that the tour buses try to take advantage of every interesting destination. Sante Fe, N.M., has the distinc- tion of being chosen the mosi desirable tourist destination in North America. It’s nice but Taos, tous,isnicer. . Taos is small — the galleries and shops are in an area downtown that you can walk in a saunter, stopping off at the Ki Carson museum en route. - There are plenty of good res- laurants, espresso bars (look at the books or artifacts while you sip) and all sorts of accommoda- ticn. But best of all is the Taos Pueblo. Here is true, living histo- A ‘‘pueblo” is an aboriginal village. In this case, the buildings are at least 1,000 years old and in excellent repair. They are inhabited by the de- scendants of the builders, who choose to live as their ancestors did. There is no electricity, no running water and no indoor plumbing. The only ‘‘modern’’ conve- nience is doors and windows, in- stalled in the 1500s (the Spanish missionaries’ influence). Prior to then, the access to the individual residences was through a skylight arrangement on the roofs, reached by a scries of fad- ders that could be pulled out of reach of raiders. Have a4 look at the photo! So you thought that condominiums were a 20th century innovation. What you see here is almost exact- ly what was built in the 10th and lith centuries, due to the care and attention of the Taos people. The basic building blocks are sun-dried adobe bricks, a mixture of mud and straw, supported by big timbers (vigas). Thinner ‘“‘latillas’? prop the roofs, resting on the vigas and covered with adobe. The repair job is constant. The visitor can watch crews at work with buckets of mud, filling cracks and restoring the finish that the weather erodes. Inside the individual apart- ments, the walls are kept up with a white mud. However, the inside CALL 986-6222 [255 1139 LONSDALE Pay pea d of the pueblos is private. A few of the occupied pueblos, near the en- france, are used as shops and you can get an idea of the rest from there. Knowledgeable young Indian guides will take you on a free walking tour, explaining some of the history and telling stories. Some questions are answered with a polite, ‘Sorry, but that in- formation is part of our religion and not shared.”’ The religion is calied ‘‘kiva”’ but it harmonizes with the Catho- lic church — 90% of the dwellers are also Catholics. About 150 people live in the pueblo. About 2,000 others live on the Taos Pueblo lands, in modern homes, in all — 95,000 acres. In 1970, 48,000 acres containing the sacred Blue Lake were return- ed to the pueblo by the U.S. gov- ernment. You cannot visit the Blue Lake, nor will you be told much about it. Again, part of the religion and not divulged. There are 19 pueblos in New Mexico. Taos is the most north- ern. They are independent of each other and the tribes all speak dif- ferent languages. in ancient times they had little to do with one another but today they share cer- tain festivals. Some of these are open to tourists but no photography is allowed. One story, told by our guide, is that the first time the pueblos got together was to boot out the Spanish back in the 16th century. A runner was sent south by the Taos pueblo carrying a knotted string. Each day, one knot was untied, indicating the day of uprising was one day nearer. The runner sped south and on the ap- Photo submitted TRUE, LIVING hiatory in Taos Pueblo where the structures are over 1,000 years old. pointed day all the pueblos rose up and defeated the Spanish. Our guide was a university stu- dent. She explained that babies are given one name only, chosen by the grandparents. She was born on July 4 and her grandmother named her ‘‘Flowers That Burst In The Sky’’ or, translated, ‘*Firecracker.”* Taos is about a two-hour drive north and east of Sanie Fe — we took Highway #68. Leaving Taos, we branched over to #64, through the Cimarron Canyon, It’s wonderful, especially in September when the aspens-turn yellow. Here is a list of festivals open to the public (dates may vary- slightly, so confirm before On behalf of the residents of the North Shore, we'd like to visiting): Jan. 4: Turtle Dance; Jar. 6: Buffalo or Deer Dance; May 3: Feast of Santa Cruz (Corn Tance); June 24: Feast of San juan, Corn Dance; July (second weekend}: Taos Pow-Wow: July 25-26: Feast of Santa Ana, Corn Dance; Sept. 29-30: Feast of San’ Geronimo — Sunset. Dance; Christmas Eve: Procession; Christmas Day: Deer Dance. . Admission to the pueblo is $5 per car. To use a still camera, $5; video, $10. . : Your visit is carefully monitored and you are asked to abide by the rules —- don’t open any. doors, don’t photograph. people without permission and don’t wade.in the river — it’s drinking water. welcome all the babies born in 1992. As a special tribute, the North Shore News will publish a 1992 Baby Album. Proud parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles will want to make sure their newest family member is included. The Baby Album may include a picture and wording from the original birth announcement, or new wording and picture. Publication date Wednesday Feb. 3 Deadline: Tuesday, Jan. 26, noon COST: A. Photo plus 5 lines of copy.................$25 (1991 Alburn Participanis ..................$20) B. Announcement — up to 5 lines of copy ......$15 WIN A BABY PORTRAIT PACKAGE One baby’s name will be randomly drawn from all ads submitted. The winning family will receive one 8:10 and 2 5x7 colour photographs of their baby taken by a North Shore News photographer. tus 2% 2 OF nowt nano eA NE eancuWIe chore | CLASSIFIEDS AVENUE, NORTH VANCOUVER Diy ERI et hye