Guanajato & San Miguel de Allende -A little slice of Europe.

---

July 30, 2008 . . . I managed to procure a ticket to San Miguel Allende

I made it! I bought a ticket - using Spanish. I slept most of the way here, but did manage to take in a little bit of the countryside, lakes and cacti and all. When I arrived at the bus station, I was convinced I could avoid having to take another taxi, and indeed, I managed to find the place I wanted to on my own. Pasadas de las Monjas. . . a former monastery - it's beautiful- tiled shower, cross over the bed and a wonderful terrace. I walked to the main square after checking in and got lost in the excitement. Luckily, I came across this great bazaar. More bargaining!

July 29, 2008 . . . I hit four museums in one day!

I woke up with a mission today, and that was to pack as much as I could into one day, since I had decided to try visiting San Miguel de Allende manana. ( that means tomorrow in Spanish!) I stopped by the Hotel Molina del Rey for breakfast, (or desayuno as those of us with limited Spanish like to say) and I had my usual dish of molidas, which is kind of like cheese bread, only with beans and cheese, sprinkled liberally with pico de gallo! Yum.

The first museum I went to was the Museo de Momias. I read that you could take a ruta bus directly to the museum as long as the word, Momias was clearly indicated on the front windshield. I paid my four pesos, about forty-five cents, hopped aboard and took in the glorious view of Guanajuato, the winding roads, colorful buildings, and busy people. Once I arrived at the museum, I paid my fifty pesos and was quickly shuffled to a tour group. Everyone seemed eager to start the tour and happy to be ready for our trip through what I like to call, "Death Alley!" My guidebook says that many people here in Mexico have a fascination with death . . Dia de los Muertos, calaveras (skulls) and the like. How fortunate then that they should discover an entire cemetery of preserved bodies, flesh and hair in tact. In actuality, it was kind of gross, but those dead peeps sure packed in the crowd. I guess it´s hard to resist preserved babies, moms with buns in the oven, and French scientists. That was the little I got from our tour guide. After the tour, I made time for souvenirs, mummy candy, and preserved baby keychains.

My next museum would be the birthplace of Diego Rivera-that's right, it's now a museum. I can´t remember the full name, but it was amazing being there. It took me a while to get to it as the sign indicating the direction was a little misleading. I ended up walking through these amazing tunnels built in Guanajuato to navigate the city. Along the way I ate watermelon sprinkled with chili powder and lime. It was super fun spitting the seeds out in the dark of the tunnel. Anyway, I turned around after asking directions of a shopkeeper, and made it to Rivera's home by way of a torn up street. The bottom floor contained original items from the family. I think people back in the day were generally pretty tiny. On the other two floors, I found artwork by Rivera everywhere . .. a couple of Frida Kahlo, a couple of indigineous people, some pretty serious stuff, and the coolest of all, his prototype for the building he started in NYC.

Two musuems down, two to go. Actually, I stumbled on the third as I explored some of the winding paths toward the centro. Along the way, I saw one family having fun shopping. I looked more closely at one of the daughters because I wasn't sure I had read her shirt right, it said, "Come on baby, notice me!" Isn't that what it's all really about? Getting noticed, I mean. Anyway, the third museum was the Museum of Alhondiga, which started as some sort of warehouse and ended up being a fortress for Spanish soldiers during the Mexican War for Independence. It's a beautiful stucture and housed tons of amazing paraphenalia from throughout Mexican history. My favorite parts were the giant statue heads of many of the important heros of Mexico. My least favorite part was when the tour guide looked at me and started saying something, of which I understood nothing. I'm sure he thought I was a little bit on the slow side.

Finally, on the way home, I was staring at some people, and then I looked at what they were staring at, and it turned out to be one of the other museums on my list! Good fortune, si? It turned out to be the Museo de Iconography of Don Quixote and inside were all kinds of interpretations of the literary hero, don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes. There were tons of rooms housing amazing sculptures and paintings and chess sets and bric-a-brac all with the Man of La Mancha as the subject. I asked the ticket taker if I could take pictures and I thought he said yes. But after I aimed my camera, I figured out he meant only on the patio party. He didn't seem like a happy man! Anyway the artwork was inspirational and multi-faceted- I guess I should read the book.

July 28, 2008 . . . I´m getting kind of good at this . . . kind of.

After procuring a much better room in the Hotel Molina del Rey, I basqued in the glory of my new found habitation by watching an infomercial for some kind of Mexican corset, and reruns of Bewitched. I didn't leave for El Pipela, the huge statue built at the top of Guanajuato commemorating the town hero until around lunchtime. I meandered up through the streets as directed by the signs. Along the way, I passed street vendors selling vegetables, socks, tupperware and marionettes . . It was quite the bazaar. Anyway, I probably walked a mile, wandered around a park for a while, before I realized I had no idea where I was. No problem, I had the whole day to explore. I decided to walk back down to where I had been and catch a bus, but, didn't seem to find any that went to where I needed. Anyway, some guy crossed the street and I asked him about the bus. I thought I was using pretty good Spanish, that is, until he switched to English. Nothing personal, I'm sure. He had lived in England for two years. Anyway, he flagged down a bus and asked the bus driver where he was going. The next thing I know, I'm supposed to follow these two little old ladies around the corner and they would show me the way. Finally I boarded the right bus, and I was the only one on it - what fun. In a matter of two or three blocks, the ruta managed to fill completely, people even smushed in the aisles. I was okay with it, until we started our ascent towards the monument of el Pipila, the insurgent responsible for burning the doors of the Alhondiga, where Spanish troops had barricaded themselves. Anyway, the bus balanced precariously on the side of the road. If anyone had so much tilted one degree to the left, we would have been some flat as a pancake Guanajuatoneses. (I just made up that last word.) The monument was well worth the trip, I wandered around the base where different wares were being sold enjoying the day. I did some shopping and I thought I was getting really good at Spanish until I paid to go to the bathroom and this lady asked me (in Spanish) if I needed paper. I responded by saying, (in Spanish), ¨No, you don´t need paper!¨ Impressive, huh? I´m taking German next year. I also had a tortilla with beans and mole, and did quite a bit of shopping. Then had a fun ride down in the funicular! (Look that one up!)

Having already achieved much success, I thought I would try to get one more item marked off my list of things to see, so I walked to the Mercado Hildago, built by the same guy who designed the Eiffel Tower . . . the one in Paris. Super crowded but a marvel to behold. Full of vegetables, souveniers and food!

July 27, 2008 . . . I arrive after much fear!

"Guacala!" That's the Spanish word for gross, and it describes my first hostel. I think I was kind of scared of not having a place, so I took the first available hotel. Crappy hotel. I think I was beguilded by the bright colors, which distracted me from the fact the bathroom, toilet, shower, et al, was enclosed by only a thin sheet of yellow plexi-glass. I was kind of grossed out by the whole smell of it all. I had to get out of there.
So I went to Teatro Juarez and horned in on a tour given in Spanish. A beautiful theater with a good deal of moorish influence. Later on in the evening, I didn't have much to do, so I went to see where this crowd was going and I ended up at Callejon de Besos - how romantic!

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Wish you had some photos of these wonderful places
You are making me laugh with your descriptions of the hostel. I love your descriptions of the museums. Can't wait to read more.