Hey hey USA - 29th October - we get rid of the van and drive to Taos

March 20, 2023

We left the house in Abiquiu in the morning and drove to Albuquerque to get rid of the odious van. Getting a taxi to the airport we picked up a rather nice and comfortable Ford 4x4 which we thought might be appropriate in the now rather chilly weather.

As you can see it was a very bright and clear day so we took the scenic route to Taos through the Sangre de Cristo mountains and passed through the little town of Chimayó. Here we discovered El Sanctuario de Chimayó, a little church which has become a shrine and place of pilgrimage. During Holy Week thousands of pilgrims arrive, some of whom come to be cured, so the place is known as the Lourdes of North America. There is a pilgrim's walk from Santa Fé which many undertake carrying crosses.

Native Americans regarded Chimayó as a sacred place and in 1810, before the church was built, a local priest found a crucifix buried in the soil after seeing mysterious lights in the hills. He took the crucifix to Santa Fé but it miraculously disappeared from there and turned up in its original burial place. The Sanctuario was built over the site and the place of discovery is in a side chapel of the church. Here pilgrims fill vials with the soil which is supposed to have healing properties.

We walked from the car park to the church past a pretty little stream and arrived at a complex of buildings including of course the gift shop. It was getting on in the day so the shadows were very long.

Inside the building there were statues surrounded by supplications for the sick and troubled.

Outside are some statues of Our Lady, a pilgrim and Fr. Casimiro Roca who served as priest in Chimayó for decades before dying in 2015 at the age of 97.