San Miguel de Allende

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Thursday 18th September:

Today was one of those awful travel days where you spend hours and hours on the internet trying to figure out where to go and how to get there and feel like you're getting no-where. We spent a few hours last night and then the whole day today on the internet! So frustrating. We decided to up-end our plans completely and head to the Copper Canyon in the North of Mexico. Getting there was another problem to deal with. We first looked at flying which was viable until we found out it was $50 NZD just to get to the airport at one end, plus accommodation etc which adds up. We then looked at an overnight bus but it had gone up to $124 NZD each for a 13 hour ride to Mexico City. We ended up chatting to people and we found out about a sister company called Cristobal Colon. We went to the bus ticket office and the guy tried to sell us the expensive tickets until I asked about the other company. He reluctantly told us about it, and the tickets were only 40 NZD each! Cheeky. We were stoked to finally sort what we were doing. After arriving in the morning in Mexico City we planned to bus to San Miguel, an upmarket and beautiful Colonial village a further 4 hours North from Mexico City.

Friday 19th September:

The bus ride overnight was pretty bad. The roads were so bumpy you were getting flung around while trying to sleep. We were stopped a lot by the police who came on board and stalked up and down then got off. Rather random. We caught the bus to San Miguel from Mexico City without any hassles.

San Miguel was AWESOME! We caught a cheap bus into town and walked to our hostel which was really nice and clean. We headed straight into town for a look around and WOW it was such a stunning place. Everywhere you walked were quaint cobble stoned streets with bougainvillea covering red and yellow walls. A real Mexican look, different to the ones we saw in Europe. Jasmine and Mum, if you remember what I was like on Waiheke, times that by two! Haha I was saying 'oh wow, stop it', around every corner. We ended up walking around for 6 hours admiring all the beautiful streets. The main plaza is beautiful as well, there are large manicured trees in a small park with benches everywhere that were full of people watching the world go by and a few Mexican men dressed in their smart outfits playing instruments. The main church facing the park was enormous and stunning in pink stone.

For dinner, we had our worst and most expensive meal at a small establishment that looked nice from the outside but was shoddy on the inside. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

Saturday 20th September:

We headed to the main park to check it out. After more 'oh wow, stop its' from me along the way, we met an American lady with her classic little dog called Tinkles. There is a large retired population of Americans and Canadians in San Miguel de Allende. This lady we met was lovely, she walked us around the park and told us what to do, eat and see. We ended up going to the organic market on her recommendation. Wow it was amazing, it was in a large grassed courtyard with loads of cute stalls. There were also loads of amazing Mexican food stalls which we got amongst, yum! We also raided an organic bakery stall of their chocolate fudge, biscuits and incredible fruit scones. Wow the best we've ever had! We got chatting to two Americans over lunch and they had just moved to San Miguel. They were so nice and they ended up taking us out to a dressage show out of town. It was SO poncy, cool to see a different world. Marti, the American lady, was telling us how dressage works and what moves the horse was doing and how the rider was making it happen without showing it. Some incredible horsemanship. We really enjoyed our chats with Marti and Mike, a great afternoon.

That night we came across an epic local eatery with lots of coloured pottery pots laid out with yummy ingredients inside. We ate 4 quesidillas, 2 burritos, aztec soup and jamaica juice which were all delicious and only for 90 Pesos!! Such a contrast to our awful 300 peso meal the night before...

Sunday 21st September:

In the morning we researched where we were going next, we decided to skip the other towns and stick around in San Miguel and then go straight to the coast. We found another amazing Mexican restaurant for lunch. This one was more formal with the beautiful paintings and pottery work decorating the place. The ceiling was made into arches all with red bricks. We ate some delicious Red mole with chicken and a chorizo dish plus another soup. Yum.

After walking around the streets some more, we caught a taxi to the eco reserve nearby. This was so awesome, it took us an hour and a half to walk around the reserve which was chocka block with loads of different cacti and succulents, some of which are rare and endangered. Such a beautiful walk with incredible views back to the city and surrounds. There was also a small lake and canyon with some ruins of an old aqueduct system. Very cool.

Back at the hostel, we chatted to a couple who are travelling and working on the road and they raved to us about Ecuador. We looked into it and decided we should go since it flows on from Colombia so well. So there you go, another change of plans! We also want to go to the Galapagos islands. Very exciting stuff!

Monday 22nd September:

We wanted to soak in the thermal springs just out of town for the morning, so we started walking in the right direction, thinking we would pick up a bus. We ended up walking for one and a half hours!! The map we had was only partly complete as we found out later. We ended up getting picked up by a friendly Mexican who went out of his way to make sure we were dropped off at the right place. The baths were nice but not out of this world. There was a tunnel which entered a cave like a sauna on overdrive. We had a great soak and chat to a lovely couple who gave us a ride back 😊

We were starving when we got back so we went to the Via Organica cafe, on recommendation from more Americans we had met. Wow it was so so good. They have a shop and restaurant just out of town and its a not for profit organisation. The food was epic and we couldn't resist buying a few things from the store. Mikey tried a Tuna beer! Ha, Tuna is the name of the flower from a cactus plant. It was a yum, slightly pink beer but just a wee bit sweet.

Later in the evening, we caught the overnight bus from San Miguel to Puerto Vallarta on the coast.

Tuesday 23rd September:

Managed to sleep some of the way, arrived on time in Puerto vallarta (9 hours). We caught a local bus to Sayulita an hour away. Sayulita is a lovely wee coastal town, super quiet as its low season. This was was meant to be a surf town, but all the locals kept telling us it was the flattest they had ever seen it, and that they had had massive swell only three days prior... Poor Mikey 😊

We ended up staying at the best hostel we've been to, with a large pool and BBQ area. We did some research for our up-coming Copper Canyon trip and generally chilled out, did all our washing and swam LOTS to cool off. It was so so hot.

Wednesday 24th September:

Went for a wander along the beach in both directions, some beautiful houses blending in with the landscape on the coast.

Did some more homework on the Copper Canyon and also looking into Colombia, Ecuador and Galapagos Islands. Woohoo! Really enjoying just chilling out and swimming and getting excited about future plans.

Thursday 25th September:

Today we chilled by the pool all morning again and then caught a bus to Puerto Vallarta, then an overnight bus to Los Mochis up north which was 13 hours... We actually managed to sleep most of it which was awesome. It was one of the best over-nighters we've had.

Friday 26th September:

We caught another bus inland to the village called El Fuerte. We are starting our train journey from here into the Copper Canyon tomorrow. Our first stop is Bahuichivo and the town of Cerocahui.

El Fuerte is a pretty little place, very laid back and quite which we like. We wandered around town and had some delicious local meals. Its extremely hot though so we escaped back to our air conditioned room to recuperate.

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Comments

[Michelle & Jet]

VIVA!!
Hi Guys!! - Loving the photos and hearing all the bits and bobs about the trip - the food pics make my mouth water! :) Sending you both big massive hugs and a few smooches too. Adventure on..and look out for ol' Tommy boy over there if you meet up! xxx M&J