Puebloan Mysteries: Acoma Pueblo

On May 10, 2024, our Off the Beaten Path group departed Grants, NM, to visit the Sky City of Acoma Pueblo, a settlement perched atop a 365-foot mesa. Arriving promptly, we were among the first to arrive at the visitor's center, sitting near the foot of the mesa. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

All visitors must be accompanied by a tribal guide. A van took us to the top of a road blasted out of the rock in the 1950s.

 

Acoma first appears in historical records in 1539. Several Spanish expeditions followed over the years, culminating in a massacre and enslavement of the Acoma in 1599. Between 1629 and 1641, the Mission Church was built using enslaved labor, 20,000 tons of adobe and other materials, plus Ponderosa pine cut and carried from over 40 miles away. In this photo, our guide is explaining the architecture, art, and grisly early church history.

No photos are allowed inside.

Afterward, we began a walking tour of the Sky City. To make the presence of tourists less intrusive, taking photos of the residents is not done.

There are streets and cross streets.

The mesa hosts buildings old, new, and refurbished. About 55 families live here during the summer, but fewer in winter, so the children can attend school.

Some home renovations are still a work in progress.

Here's a look back as we left the church behind.

There are some vehicles up here. Note the outdoor oven to the left of the car.

To the northwest lies Enchanted Mesa, an earlier abode of the Acoma until erosion destroyed all access to the top.

Zooming in for a closer look ...

This closeup of a knob of "our" mesa shows how sheer the sides can become.

At one location, local artisans had works for sale, including gorgeous pots and other handicrafts. Joan and I needed extreme self-control to avoid accumulating more souvenirs.

 

Here, our group is moseying down the wide "Main Street."

Originally, access to the dwellings was through an opening in the roof, and ladders gave access from the street level.

At a wide intersection we enjoyed some more presentations, but without any photos, I'm at a loss to describe them in any detail. One fellow gave a presentation about his hand-made knives.

At the end of the tour, we could take the van back down to the visitor's center or clamber down the mesa, using the original route. This was the prospect as we pondered our choice; the visitor's center is in the green circle.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Most of us decided to try our luck with the trail. In the beginning, there were well-worn steps in the rock.

Then things went vertical, and the original hand- and foot-holds were very welcome. John, our Off the Beaten Path guide, did an excellent job guiding and assisting us.

More descent on more accommodating stairs.

Everyone made it safely down, and on our stroll to the visitor's center we admired this rock formation, perhaps a dike. The tip at the top right seemed ready to fall off.

After reassembling at the visitor's center, we left for the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque. We had an ample lunch there, and then admired the traditional arts of 19 pueblos, such as the San Ildefonso black-on-black pottery. We also watched a traditional dance in a central courtyard.

Afterwards our group checked into the elegant Hotel Albuquerque Old Town, and later had a yummy farewell dinner at a favorite spot for our guide, John Ninneman. We arrived half an hour early at the restaurant and therefore retreated to the Old Town Plaza, perusing shops and the courtyard of the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, built in 1793, and other establishments around the plaza. Also, we had a chance to admire a couple of elegant lowriders before our excellent farewell repast. Early the next morning John ferried the first wave, including Joan and me, to the airport, ending our Off the Beaten Path adventure.

 

If you missed the first post in this Puebloan Mysteries sequence, it's here.