Through the deserts of New Mexico to the charming adobe city of Albuqurque

The New Mexico landscape
see all photos »

I visited twenty states during my sojourn in the United States and I must say that New Mexico remains my favourite.

The landscape are stunning. Mostly sagebrush desert the colours absolutely fascinate me. The white clumps of sagebrush contrasting with the yellow earth. Both brought into sharp relief by the icy blue of the November sky. Mountains are always on the horizon, rolling red rock edifice sometimes covered in cottonwood forests and ponderosa pines. This is wild country. For a long time unsettled. I get the feeling of the remote West here. It also has an exotic air -a  mixture of hispanic, anglo and as we are to see Native American cultures.

the two on the bus pointed out the Mescalero Apache reservation not far away. Apaches eh? Thats impressive

Chillies in Alburqurque Old Town
see all photos »

My day started early at 4.30am. The TN&O bus to Alburqurque arrived at Whites City at 5.00am and I had to be ready for it. It was rather eerie waiting in the darkness for the bus to arrive. I heard scuffling in a nearby trash can - a raccoon was investigating this potential source of food that fled with a squeak when I took notice. The driver yesterday said Coyotes come into the resort at night. I certainly heard them howl in the hills from the youth hostel.

The bus turned up at exactly the right time and took me to Carllsbad. I small one-horse town that didnt have connections to Albuqurque until 10.00am. I had rentered small town America where the bus company run its schedule around its drivers. I left my bakpack at the station and went and got a breakfast of coffee and grits at a local cafe. No USA Today, this place is too remote. And when I went back the bus to Alburquque was ready and there was only two passengers. Myself and a hispanic teacher - he and the driver took pleasure in pointing out some of the best aspects of New Mexico.

Our first stop was Roswell. This was before I knew about the fuss about aliens etc.Roswell to me from the bus just seemed an ordinary New Mexican town. Encouraged by my interest the two on the bus pointed out the Mescalero Apache reservation not far away. Apaches eh? Thats impressive. I've read Dee Browns "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" and remembered what fearsome warriors the Apache were. To be within even breathing distance of their reservation impressed me mightily. We also drove through Lincoln where Billy the Kid met his end. But mostly they told me stories about the desert and how dangerous it was in summer. For a lad who was brought up in a wet English town this seemed so utterly utterly exciting.

I was impressed even more when the bus driver took his lunchbreak in Carizozo. There were only two on the bus so he took us to his home in the suburbs and parked his bus outside. There, I met his wife and two little boys and had a lunch of chillie and fresh juice. I was so overwhelmed by the hospitality that I asked to pay for it - they would have nothing to do with that.But the rest of the afternoon was driving through the endless desert and rolling prairie which was dotted with mesas and eroded rocks. We approached Albuqurque at 3.00pm and I thought I would hop on the first bus and shoot up to Santa Fe. However, there was a four hour delay between buses so I thought I would stay in Alburqurque and head up in the morning.

Alburqurque was the biggest city I encountered in New Mexico but was an absolute pleasure. Laid out in a wide pattern and even having a skyscraper or two I found myself walking through a Victorian distict of big houses to reach the hostel on Route 66. The famous Route 66 passed by the front door and Old Town Alburqurque was across the street. The place itself was old but very friendly. In fact there were ten of us from the hostel who went to the nearby theatre to see 'Yoshi Yimi' an aboriginal dance troupe perform.

I seemed to get on well with Larry Klein, a Canadian, and Sue Mann, an Australian and mentioned I was thinking of going up to Taos.

"Yep" he said with interest "See me in the morning and I may well come with you.."