It took me only a one hour flight and a 50 minute drive to get to MADRID.
Are you wondering how I made it to Madrid so fast from Denver? Well, this Madrid is a charming town with a population of 300 people in the Santa Fe County of New Mexico.
I was looking for a quick drive from Albuquerque for my off of work weekend. I had already visited Santa Fe, which is beautiful, active, cultural and a little to wealthy for my simple taste. So I decided to Google towns within an hour from my initial location. I found Madrid, a old coal mining town in the 1900’s, abandoned in the 1960’s, and claimed in the 1970’s by a bunch of self named Hippies. I asked a couple of people from Albuquerque about this European named city and no one seems to know much about it. So I decided to rent a car, set up my phone’s GPS and hit the road to this clandestine town.
The drive there through 14 North was breathtaking. The arid color of the soil spotted by the green short bushes goes for miles like a blanket over the mountains and the valleys. I would highly recommend not to blink because one could drive by and miss it! Madrid is pretty much 3 blocks of local owned galleries, restaurants, jewelry shops, more galleries, a book store, a chocolate boutique and a photo park.
It seems like 90% of the habitants are artists of some sort and the sense of community hangs in the air. Walking into the galleries I noticed a pattern “Hello, this is my work, but you will find here work from 20 local artists. Please feel free to ask any questions.” And by asking questions was how I found out that most of the people are not from Madrid, not even from New Mexico. New York, Missouri, Colorado, Maryland, even France are the suppliers of this Bermuda Triangle where people get lost with gusto. I heard more than a couple of times how they had come to Madrid, just like me, for a day or passing by on their way to San Francisco and had decided to stay because those 3 blocks made them feel like at home.
Everyone is eager to talk about the history of the town and their own stories. They are friendly, open and if you have the misfortune to run into a mean person, my case with the server at Mama Lisa’s, you just forgive him because everything else is so perfect. However, I should confess I am still pretty hurt by it because that place has the reputation to have the best food in Madrid and I couldn’t try it.
Everyone is eager to talk about the history of the town and their own stories. They are friendly, open and if you have the misfortune to run into a mean person, my case with the server at Mama Lisa’s, you just forgive him because everything else is so perfect. However, I should confess I am still pretty hurt by it because that place has the reputation to have the best food in Madrid and I couldn’t try it.
Anyway, I went to The Hollar instead, the second top choice from my friend at the Eclectique store. Initially, service did not look promising. I sat myself, by a waiter suggestion and waited for the menu 7 minutes. I took the initiative to help myself grabbing a menu from the bar and waited another 7 minutes for someone to take my order. At that point I lost track of time when I got distracted by a snoring Boston terrier sitting right next to me at the wooden bench. Then I noticed that the place was not only pet friendly but dogs have no collars or name tags and hang with visitors in the cafes and restaurants like they own the town. Well, they do.
After enjoying my steak tuna sandwich made from scratch and a glass of local sparkling wine I kept walking up and down those 3 blocks. I discovered amazing artists like Jill Shwaiko at the Indigo Gallery or the teenager, Alicia Stewart, at Metallo Gallery who not only paints with the maturity of a grown woman but also writes poetry as a counterpart to her paintings.
I finished my day stopping by Shugarman’s Chocolate. A little one man show place owned by Harvey Shugarman, Yeah, that is his real last name. As soon you walk in, a rainbow of chocolate scents welcome your senses and Harvey treats your palate with samples from his daily creations. Pink pepper, French white chocolate, red chili mangos are just few of the ingredients enhancing the organic chocolates he gets from around the world. He is like a Willy Wonka in the middle of Madrid.
The time to leave had arrived, the stores were closing and my budget was running low. I hit the road again, right on time to see the orange sun sitting over the flatness of the valley. I felt fortunate finding this little gem in the middle of nowhere.
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