Photos from Cuilapam

Legend has it that the roof can never be finished because a Dominican friar angered the wrong spirits. History records that costs began to soar for the extravagant structure, and so plans to finish building the church came to a halt. Every Sunday my bus speeds past the church in Cuilapam (kwee-la-pah-m) as I peer out my window and wish I had the time to stop and explore.

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I finally got to visit this church with my college roommate yesterday. A warm, sunny day greeted us when we got off our bus in this small town. We wasted no time to walk right up to the church and begin exploring these stunning ruins of a church built more than 500 years ago.
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After admiring the impressive, albeit, half-finished front building, we kept on wandering through more doorways and halls, looking around at all the beautiful archways and columns.

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We found an opening between two scaffolds, and made our way through. Following an arrow, we kept turning left, and soon found ourselves at a decaying wooden door, which happened to be the entrance to the ex-convent behind the church. It was an added treat when the man sitting by the desk informed us that, on that day, it was free to explore.

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Each corner brought interesting new sights - some triggering the imagination, prompting us to envision what it was like for the residents of this convent so many years ago - other corners making us eager to move on, the unknown of a deep dark room or a plunging staircase to the basement making us a bit uncomfortable.

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As we made our way back out, we stopped for a quick picnic under the trees outside. It was a great way to spend our day. I'm not sure if I'll make it back there again, but now I can picture what is behind those big, stone walls when my bus rumbles by each Sunday.

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Black/white or sepia = easy ways to make sights look extra cool :)

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Cuilapan de Guerrero