Blogs from Guanajuato, Mexico, North America - page 11

So the tour begins, and we are met by Martin (pronounced martEEn) who says it is in Spanish as we just shrug our shoulders. We'll make do. We are joined by the gentleman and his family and two others, and the guide immediately begins his dialogue. He talks almost continuously the whole time, even while driving, only stopping when we are inside an attraction where the tour is conducted by staff. So anyway it is very difficult to follow the rapid spanish, requiring intense concentration and picking out maybe one out of five words. I figure at some stage we'll pick up a guidebook on Guanajuato to help explain it all. He takes us first to Las Mommias, so we spend more time looking around the stalls while others take the tour. I notice there is ... read more

Kept awake worrying about things that could go wrong, both Ky and I were up before 6am. But so far we're on the plane to IAH Houston and no problems. I've found seeds now for the giant Sequoia tree, Joshua tree, and giant Saguaro cactus. I picture the Joshua trees and Saguaros in front of our arched italian front garden wall ( to be built). Not sure where the Sequoia will fit... It's going to be exotic! The complimentary buffet breakfast is the best yet, scrambled eggs and bacon, fruit selection etc. The shuttle ride to the airport fast and painless, less than ten minutes. Shops in the Terminal 2 at the gates are really nice, with lots of indian art to look at. The planes to both Houston and Guanajuato are little 50-seaters, 3 seats ... read more

When I booked my flights to Mexico I included time after the end of term in order to have the opportunity to travel further afield than I could for weekend breaks. Towards the end of term as weekends starting running out and my return home was drawing near I started to plan the places I wanted to visit that I had not seen and for my final week in Mexico I had quite an itinerary planned. It is now my final week in Mexico and instead of enthusiastically leaping out of bed to hop on a bus and visit somewhere new I am wallowing in travel-apathy. It's not necessarily a bad thing. While the temperture has cooled off and the sky has been overcast of late I have also been ill and since the other teachers ... read more

Guanajuato a ete une ville qui nous a fascine par ses couleurs et son art de vivre. Villes etudiante aussi, elle compte 70000 habitants et n'est donc ni trop grande ni trop petite pour passer une semaine agreable. Nous avons ainsi suivi des cours d'espagnol. Je peux maintenant reparler plus facilement et Darren a les bases pour comprendre l'essentiel et commander une biere :-). Le fait de se poser une semaine a un meme endroit nous a permis de vivre davantage la vie mexicaine quotidienne. On a pu cuisiner un peu, courir malgré la polution, sortir, apprecier les rues vivantes. Presque tous les soirs, les mexicains jouent de la musique sur les places principales. Il y a toujours les groupes d'etudiants qui deambulent de place en place pour jouer de la musique et raconter des blagues. ... read more

We ended our visit in Mexico with two colonial cities, Queretaro and San Miguel. Queretaro was a wonderful surprise for me and Ilan, as it is one of the prettiest cities we have seen. It's historical center is filled with beautiful, well preserved buldings and plazas. The city was full of people wandering the streets with their children and having a good time. San Miguel was our last stop. Our main goal here was for me to meet with a local midiwifery clinic and school, to look at volunteer options. The day I spent there left a strong impression on me; the need here for social and medical services is just huge. There is so much that needs to be done for the women and families here. I hope to come back in a few months ... read more