Saltillo to Lagos de Moreno

The Holiday Inn website said we would get a free breakfast. When we checked in, we got a card for 2 breakfasts, and it said “cont” on the card. We figured that meant continental breakfast. When we went to breakfast, the waiter took the card and made no mention at all as to what we got. There was a breakfast buffet with fruit, cereal, yogurt, eggs, pancakes and Mexican pastries. We ate a decent breakfast then got going.
The Holiday Inn is closer to Saltillo than the turnoff to Matehuala. We were told that doubling back to the cutoff was the quickest way to go. I think if we had turned sooner and followed the signs we would have been fine and saved some on the tolls.
The drive from Saltillo to Lagos de Moreno was fairly uneventful except for the couple times the things in the car shifted and fell on the dogs. They started getting pretty nervous and as soon as we got on rough pavement they both wanted to jump up front with us to avoid the fallout. Eventually Harold tied everything in place and it all stayed put.
We knew in Lagos de Moreno we had a reservation at the Hotel Paris. Our friend Luis had called around to find us a hotel that allowed pets. We asked him to get directions to the hotel. The best he could get from them was that it was next door to the police station. Someone else told us it was right on the square.
Once in Lagos de Moreno we headed for Centro. As we were trying to decide how to locate the square, Harold noticed we were right behind a police truck. Since we were at a traffic light, he suggested I go ask them where the hotel was. So I asked them and they directed us to the hotel. Harold and the dogs waited in the car while I checked in. I knew the place was different than other hotels we have stayed at when the desk clerk gave me a roll of toilet paper and 2 bars of soap when I checked in. They gave me the choice of two rooms. One had a window into the interior courtyard, the other a window overlooking the street. I chose the street side so we could get some fresh air. We were right across from the police station.
We got to Lagos de Moreno about 3 p.m. We walked to dogs near the river and then we took the dogs back to the room and Harold and I looked around the town some. After a short nap, we took the dogs out for a longer walk. We passed a nice looking restaurant and decided to see if they would let us eat on the patio with the dogs, or if we would have to walk the dogs back to the hotel then go eat. They said as long as our dogs were quiet it was fine. The meal turned out to be very good. I had a chicken breast wrapped in bacon with a sauce, and Harold had arrachera. They gave us an octopus ceviche appetizer and we ordered another appetizer which was puff pastry with a creamy cheese filling and a rich cream sauce. Everything was very tasty. The restaurant was attached to the cultural center and had a very nice setting. We enjoyed our meal which came to 250 pesos including tip for a big meal and two beverages.
After dinner we saw a crowd gathering in front of a church. We waited to see what was happening. It was a performance by a traveling Polish singing and dancing troupe. This was part of a series of cultural events called Otono en Lagos.
We returned to the hotel where I went to the desk and paid my 20-peso deposit for a towel. It had about the amount of cotton contained in a normal washcloth! But the hotel did have hot water and the towel worked fine.
Once we went to bed we figured the street noise would quiet down soon. It did, but we weren’t counting on the police officers hanging around outside the police station most of the night. First they were working on the hood latch of one of the trucks. This involved opening and slamming the hood many times. Later on they were laughing and telling jokes and playing with their police radios. It didn’t make for a real restful night but we survived.