Swarming with Beetles

Beetle taxi
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From Mexico City we took a 4 hour bus south to the silver mining town of Taxco, one of the most picturesque places i have ever been to.

Set on a hillside the narrow cobbled streets intricately wind their way around the whitewashed colonial buildings, many streets only wide enough for pedestrians. The market area, where our hostel was situated, was a warren of hidden alleyways linked by thriving market life all around, so easy to get lost in. There were narrow stairways leading off in all directions spreading the market down the hillside. Our walk up to the main square every day was short but very tiring. The street food here was excellent although you had to be careful when offered the Jumiles - 1cm long beetles (sometimes live) that they pack into your tortillas. We weren't brave enough to try this culinary delicacy.

The most prominent sights here are the silver jewellery shops and the white volkswagen beetle taxis

Taxco hillside
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Apart from the intense whiteness of the place the most prominent sights here are the silver jewellery shops and the white volkswagen beetle taxis, both are everywhere and you couldn't go a minute without seeing one or the other. There were hundreds of jewellery shops lining the streets, the perfect playground for Shannyn. Not only do they have a huge source of silver from the nearby mines but since the arrival of William Spratling in 1929 they have developed a creative design industry - he is famouus here for single-handedly turning the industry around in Taxco. This meant that there were lots of jewellery shops for us trawl, i mean browse, through which as you can imagine i was thrilled with.

Winding street
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This is one of the most famous places in the world for buying silver, people come from all over to buy wholesale at very reasonable prices. They also have many retail outlets good for showcasing the talented designs but luckily we noticed early on that the same product could often be found elsewhere at a wholesalers at a fraction of the price. They shouldn't sell single items at the wholesalers but if you had the cash ready they would give you a good deal - I made sure we had the cash ready.

The main square
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One of the stores we went to made jewellery for one of the Tiffany's designers and as part of the agreement they were allowed to sell this range of Tiffany's jewellery here. They were selling the items for one tenth of the price (under 30 dollars for a nice silver pendent and chain set) - Shannyn.

Other than this we just spent our time wandering through the streets or taking it easy at one of the many cafes as we squeezed ourselves into the minute balconies, giving great views of the surrounding area.

Whitewashed petrol station
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We would both recommend coming here, one of the most unique places we have visited. Gary