Acoma Pueblo - "Sky City" - May 30

Before leaving New Mexico, I wanted to check out one of the "pueblos" the region is famous for. Lonely Planet recommended Acoma, or "Sky City" which was an Indian village at the top of a mountain.

Acoma, or "Sky City," is an Indian village at the top of a mountain with no power or water, but beautiful views.

Acoma had been continuously inhabited for thousands of years by the native people there and was famous for its pottery and ceramics:

Some of the pottery in Acoma and the view of the surrounding desert.

The guide books made the town sound romantic and lovely, but when we got there it was dry, dusty and almost abandoned. There is no electricity or running water and the few inhabitants live in small, ramshackle huts interspersed with smelly outhouses and port-a-potty's. Fortunately, the views from Acoma were beautiful and the pottery was also very nice.

One of the adobe houses in Acoma with a Catholic Church in the background.

Half way through our tour, a retarded little boy tried selling me cheap trinkets for a few dollars. When I asked him a simple question he babbled incoherently and started drooling on himself, so I stopped asking him any questions.

Life on the reservation is definitely not all that it's cracked up to be. My mom said "my grandmother's village in India was better than this" and I believe her. It's kind of sad what's happened to the native americans- their old way of life has been destroyed and many still aren't fully integrated into modern society. It's as though they're lost between two worlds. But at least they can enjoy the view from up there:

John Wayne shot several films in and around Acoma because of the beautiful scenery. I felt like I was in a Western movie here!