Yucatan

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Hey...San Miguel was just what I needed . I was on overload for a bit ,so I spent my time there just hanging out.I confess I even left the Lonely Planet at the hostel when I went out !!I lucked out with the hostel I was staying in . Not only did I have an apartment but I had a BATHTUB! I also had a great owner who was happy to share information and help with travel arrangements .

San Miguel de Allende has been a gringo enclave for many decades, since after the WW2 .. It is a pleasant town of cobbled streets and a zocolo jardin flanked by a church ,(the Paraquoia photo was in the last blog) and the homes of the silver barons of the 17th century. I am learning the history of the Spanish conquerors here and the revolution as I travel. That area of Guanajuato is where the revolution started ... on the 16th of September (this is also a common street name ) .

It seems a little sad to me that the area is now home to about 15-20000 American expats and Canadian snow birds. They are very involved in the community in language schools, art endeavors of various kinds and many good works in the area . I was fortunate enough to go to a benefit concert featuring WILLY and LOBO the first night I was there.I had first heard them at the Calgary Folk Festival 10 years ago and they have been playing in San Miguel for over 25 years...it is that kind of place and cliental. A Canadian I visited suggested that given the age of of the gringos who live there it was a habitation of the 'almost dead' which fitted well with the Mexican preoccupation with the dead.

That really wasn´t fair . But...
I enjoyed my time there and ate some good food and heard some great music in and out doors.

The town center is a place of community and a place of music . The people pay the musicians to play and it is not unusual to see couples of all ages dancing . I really enjoy it.

I left San Miguel at 8am on a city bus , transferred to a 1st class bus to the Mexico City international airport then flew ,on a $97 Canadian ticket, to Merida here in the Yucatan .A bit of a long day but worth the the effort.

Merida was just finishing a 3 week Anniversary celebration of the city's founding. It was quite a celebratiion on the zocolo. There were stages set up in each of the 4 corners , high ,excellent sound systems and masses of people to enjoy each group in turn. Again there was dancing in the street , 2 side streets were filled with food stalls and within the plaza vendors were selling stuff...jewellry ,clothing ,balloons...a BIG party. It got to the point where I had to leave after about 2 hours . There was too much noise and thousands of people. Good fun

The next day I did a walking tour of the Centro Historico and began learning about the Mayan people and the impact of the colonists on this area. I am finding it quite fascinating. I was also amazed so see that the area was completely cleaned of the previous night refuse ...

Today I went to UXMAL and to KABAH both Mayan temple/city sites. They were impressive and reminded me so much of Anchor Wat in Cambodia. I have decided that I will not be going to ChickenItza this trip. My next ruins will be Palanque .

No photos this round..I hope all is well ...keep in touch here or at my regular Email...

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Comments

[Joy]

Pam stimulates my travel gland
This is all wonderful Pam. It will be so wonderful to hear even more about it when you get back. I am envious - but one day we will travel together, loosely, and it will be a blast. Joy

[Jan]

Count me in!
Hi Pam, I want to go there. My girls are campaining for a warm holiday next year. This sounds like the place.