Travel Transition
I’ve moved on from Guanajuato to San Miguel de Allende. The energy here is very different for me. More upscale, lots of English spoken, some tourist ignore me, all the locals smile and say hello when I do. There are places to go here that are more “Mexico”. The mercado, little neighborhoods down side streets, the places I love exploring!
Getting here
Well laid plans…ha! It rained the last evening I was in Guanajuato. I was walking around the neighborhood one final time and too refuge in a local bar with a large sign in red letters: MEDICINA! Perfect, have a beer and sit out the rain. I stopped in a hostel I hadn’t seen, they only have private rooms and are near the middle of everything. They had recommendations for breakfast in the area! Perfect again!
The next morning, I woke early and made coffee while finishing packing. With plenty of time, I walked down the short cut, around the corner, and the restaurant was closed! Plan “b”…always! A longer walk but I went to Truco 7 Restaurant. They have a lot of local food options and opened early enough for me to get breakfast and get to the bus station on time.
Next, wanted to order an Uber but no signal. Tried Didi, connection but wouldn’t accept my credit card. Five taxi’s drove by. I stopped the next one…really nice driver charging the same as Uber. We arrived early at the bus station for my 10:00 bus. More than enough time considering my bus was an hour late. So much for first class service! However, it was extremely comfortable and a short trip! In San Miguel, a taxi driver quoted me a very high rate so I walked out to the main street, stopped a half block and got a ride in a taxi for much less.
The photo above is how they clean water off the sidewalk after rain. Really. Patiently, steadily, repeat as needed and greeting me with a warm smile and hello!
I was early but my room was ready! Thus was the beginning of my time in San Miguel!
Dinner adjustment!
I went looking for this smoked chicken. Walking toward the restaurant, I passed a corner where they were just beginning to set up a tamale selection. The chicken place was closed so I walked back to the tamale area. Just opening, there were already over a dozen people in line. Clue: if it is this popular, it’s good and it will sell out!
I had a chicken tamale and one with almonds! Never heard of tamale with almonds and they were pink. And exceptional!! Once again, the importance of flexibility showed up!
San Miguel treat! I had a sandwich at the market, which was massive. So fun to be eating with the locals, sitting on a tiny stool, traffic flowing around me, and people not quite sure how to interact with a tall gringo. So happy I continue improving my Spanish skills. The sandwich is Milanesa con Pollo, a breaded crispy chicken sandwich with all the works. And a glass of fresh juiced carrot juice!
After that, I was not hungry!
Something ironic about the sign? Beautiful blond model pictured beside a short and very helpful restaurant staff. Traditional?
That evening, it started to drizzle. It was getting late. I thought a nice Mexican Hot Chocolate might be good! So I went exploring and found Chocolate y Churro’s! So perfect! A line was formed outside waiting. Some people were ordering only churro’s and taking them away. I waited for a table to sit and enjoy! While waiting, I met a family from Loredo here for a son’s wedding. We joked and shared and then it was time for me to go sit!
The staff was great but with so many options, it was hard to choose. Finally, I decided on a sweet hot chocolate with a churro “relleno” meaning it was filled. Being in Mexico, I had to go with the Cajeta! Perfect combination. Next time, I’ll go with the dark chocolate which is less sweet and more chocolaty! Actually, that sounds so good, it’s challenging for me to sit here and write when I want to run off this second and have one!!
Observations...very affectionate culture!
This is such an affectionate culture. People walking hand in hand. Mom and dad walking a child home from school, all holding hands. People with arms over the shoulder. People touching while talking. Slower pace of living and connection is really important here! A few images of that are below.
Observations...challenging work!
Guanajuato is on steep hills, streets too small for cars, underground roads, and narrow cobblestone streets. I started seeing something I hadn’t notices. Two men together pushing a dolly up hill loaded with cases of water, the only method of transportation available to them. Waiting together for traffic to break, they took off running to his the slope across the street and make it uphill as far as they could before losing momentum. Dolly’s loaded with a dozen empty beer cases disappearing down a tunnel underground. They had to come up that way too. Supplies needed for shops and bars and restaurants, all delivered that way. Federal Express…same way. Local physical labor required for construction projects. One man walking down hill and into a building having work done carried three cement bags on his shoulders! WOW…really makes me grateful for all the simple things we have that get taken for granted!
Parking violation?
Don’t mess around with parking violations. I’m not positive that is what caused this but I saw it multiple times!
They confiscate your tag! I saw it both for front tag and back tag!
Serious business!
Therapy...soaking in La Gruta Hot Springs..
After a week of pain in my foot, difficulty walking, moving slowly, feeling some aches move to other parts of my body to compensate to the strange way I was walking, my first stop in San Miguel de Allende was the hot springs. What a brilliant idea!! I called an Uber forgetting that it can take them 20 minutes to pick up. Still, I got there before 8:00 am and there were only three people in the hot pool! Heavenly! That changed suddenly when 25 English speaking people, all but 4 women, showed up raising the noise level significantly! For some reason, some of the women felt compelled to load up on perfume before going to the hot springs!? I won’t even try to figure that out! Needless to say, it certainly disrupted the otherwise still environs. They left about an hour later and I was the only one in the inner groto…savoring the complete stillness!
Coming back, one of my favorite things! The taxi’s charge a little more than Uber and Uber was $120 pesos to get there. I walked to the highway and waited for the bus which passes about every 15 minutes. Cost to return to San Miguel…$10 pesos. Experience, priceless! I was the only gringo on the bus. A four month old baby being held beside me decided to grab my finger or sleeve and hold on. We stopped a few blocks behind the mercado and I got a juice on the way home. That’s my favorite mode of travel, when I can afford it!
Collection of images.
I’ve been experimenting with different photo settings. And playing with some night photo’s. Below is a gallery of some of those images from Guanajuato and from here in San Miguel de Allende.
Travel and safety...
Soon, I’ll be traveling on to Queretaro! Everything has flowed well for me and, of course, a lot of that is because I am really patient and allow things to unfold!
Today, I met Sue and Sam, mother and daughter, who are exploring places in Mexico. Sue (mom) spent the past 15 years in New Zealand. Sharing real life about exploring in life, personal priorities, meaningful moments and such is so meaningful. And this happens multiple times a day! Even with taxi drivers! I love that aspect of travel and it’s so nourishing for my Soul!
People here are baffled by the violence in America. I’ve often asked if Mexico is safe? Seeing regular headlines of shootings in the US, people here wonder if the US is safe?
Janet Blaser, author of “Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats”, made a comment about safety in an interview I saw. She went back to America to be with family and grandkids. When people ask her about safety in Mexico, she shared what her grandkids went through. Elementary school children go through training for what to do in case an active shooter shows up in your school. That never happens in Mexico!! And that baffles people here? They can’t comprehend why someone would do such a thing.
Safety…it comes down to your presence, how you interact with others, being a kind person and paying attention to your surroundings. To the best of my ability, I don’t do stupid things like going in to a neighborhood that doesn’t feel safe, staying out late at night and walking home drunk, etc.
This is certainly an ongoing conversation but, unfortunately, the often false image that it is unsafe here prevents people form having amazing experiences here!