Blogs from San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, North America - page 6

All prepped for the big tour, we arrive at reception before 10am, then wait til quarter past. Martin arrives with Alehandro. For some reason although Alehandro does the whole tour for us in english, he does not drive. Alehandro is approx 40, friendly but appears preoccupied with conducting his narrative and does not readily take on our comments or questions.However through the day he covers a much wider subject than the tour content, telling us about the famous singer Jimenez (Himenez) and taking us to his memorial, talking about Guanajuato life and how not to live in the hills outside town because of all the scorpions. He also goes over all the stuff about Guanajuato that we'd not really understood from the previous day. The tour starts in Dolores Hidalgo after the stop at the cemetary ... read more

Après Mexico City, nous sommes fait 4 heures de bus pour arriver a San Miguel de Allende. Nous avons trouvé facilement une auberge de jeunesse disponible. Ce petit village tres charmant est aujourd'hui peuplé de nombreux americains retraités qui profitent du climat exceptionnel. Mais le soir le centre ville est aussi très animé, de nombreux mexicains viennent jouer de la musique. Il y a aussi beaucoup de restaurants et pub on rencontre les jeunes mexicains. Nous y avons passé 2 nuits et un jour puis sommes repartis en direction de Guanajuato.... read more

Getting out of Copper Canyon was meant to be easier than getting in but somehow we managed to topple off 3 times on the way out. First we came round a corner and had to negotiate a bulldozer than had just laid 6 inches of fresh soil on the road surface. We got past the bulldozer ok but then we came to a standstill in the thick, fresh, soil and just toppled over gracefully. Next we had just finished negotiating the really tricky, steep, smooth rock part and were on the easy flat straight section when the back wheel just caught the tiniest bit of mud and before we knew it we were back on the ground with a dented pannier (the panniers are quite handy as they support the bike so it doesn't actually fall ... read more

It’s been a while since I last wrote but I’ve been really busy and recently sick with ‘the revenge’ and time has just flown. Busy may seem like an oxymoron here in Mexico, since our perception in America is of a more laid back existence which is still true to some extent, except for us crazy gringos and some hardworking Mexicans. To start with, I volunteered to help the San Miguel Author’s Sala (www.sanmiguelauthors.com) which has recently absorbed the annual Writer’s Conference scheduled in February. I’ve committed myself to selling their book Solamente En San Miguel, an anthology of fiction, essays, memoirs, and poetry about San Miguel, to Bed & Breakfasts and other outlets around this area as a way to raise money and awareness of San Miguel and the Writer’s Sala. The other key committee ... read more

Its 6:30 Sunday morning and there’s a cacophony of fireworks in the distance: a common sound in Mexico in the otherwise quiet pre-dawn hours. Last night, in a small cement ring not far from our condo, there was a bullfight. Dignitaries had been flown in on helicopters that came and went throughout the afternoon. On our way out of town we saw tables being set up with stark white tablecloth’s outside the Bull Ring alongside the highway for the dinner served after the fight: a splash of sophistication against a backdrop of dirt and dust. Fortunately for the bulls, there is no fight to the death (here in this part of Mexico at least, they do not kill the bulls). The sounds of elated cheering and bursts of fireworks lasted late into the evening. Yesterday also ... read more