Trinidad and Santa Fe

We left the van as early as we could, with no one coming to say goodbye or get the keys we leave them outside and hope that they don't get burgled. It's been snowing again which is annoying to drive in. We take it slow and we're glad we did as we see quite a few cars that have driven into the ditch by the side of the road, eek! We really wanted to walk around Trinidad as it looks like an unusual town but when we get there it's snowing heavily. We check into the motel and drive down the main road looking for food. After pizza the snow has stopped, hurrah! We walk around the tiny town, seeing a huge canary in a cage and walking along pavement bricks that have been stamped "Trinidad", a nice souvenir? We visit Shirley's Thrift Shop but Christine is left feeling sad when she can't buy two cups that say "Trinidad Care Home" and "Doris", awww. That's about it for this town so we go back to the motel to upload some of the blog but the tablet has enough after two entries and refuses to do any more (wimp).

Today we are having our first couch surfing experience with a guy called Peter. He's a really nice guy and we're staying in a separate building which he told us he built himself as well as the massive house he lives in, impressive! We chat with Peter for a while before heading into Santa Fe where we visit the oldest church in the USA and have a ding on the bell. The buildings are really unusual abode houses and there's a nice feeling about the town, everything looks old and because it's such a small city it reminds of our fun times in Europe. We stroll along the market where Indians are selling handmade Jewellery and gifts, all of the products have to be reviewed by a committee to make sure they are genuinely handmade by Indians before they can be sold. They all have big sticks to whack the hands of anyone who tries to touch before buying (it'd spoil the purity). We find somewhere to stop and watch the world go by, that seems to be the number one activity in Santa Fe and it fits in perfectly.

On the way back we stop at a general store and chat to the lady behind the counter. She loves the fact that we are from England because she lived there for a while and would like to go back for fish and chips and "oooohhh Flakes! Flakes and ice cream!". Back at the house we talk with Peter about travelling. When we mention being in Trinidad last night he tells us a funny story, wish we knew it at the time: Trinidad was the site of the first sex change op in the States! Apparently half the people in the town are mid or post op so we missed out on a fun people watching game!