Mexico 2026 - The Ride to San Miguel de Allende

 With the preview of the Festival of Lights the night before as a send off from Guadalajara, we prepared for the next stage in our journey. After a final meal at  our new favorite breakfast spot we gathered our bags and were off to the bus station for the 5 hour ride to San Miguel de Allende. 

Once outside the city we passed tiny cattle ranches and fields of blue agave, the succulent that is used to produce tequila. As we rode we realized how much of a desert this part of Mexico is. There is agave, agave and more agave. The blue green leaves are ubiquitous in the region. 

Suddenly the bus stopped amid an area of desolate fields. We sat and sat, eventually the driver bypassed the traffic by using the shoulder of the road. The route began to twist and turn in a seemingly arbitrary manner. It appeared that the driver was making it up as he went along. We passed through a tiny town, A huge gay pride flag is painted on one wall. As the saying goes, we are everywhere, 

Eventually we arrived at the San Miguel de Allende and ordered an Uber which drops of off, after traveling in reverse some of the way due to the steep, narrow twisting streets, beside a blue wall with a house behind it. We rang a bell, no answer. My Travel Buddy, using GPS, which in this particular instance was inaccurate, attempted to ascertain if we were in the right place. After some texting and phoning we were finally given the code to the door. On our last day my Travel Buddy did find the instructions originally sent to him buried in an avalanche of emails. Fat lot of good it did us then. We entered Casa Azul (Blue House) our home for the next 3 and a half days. 

It is an oasis of red geraniums, succulents, cacti and bright orange, towering bougainvillea, all set against the  blue buildings which comprise the guesthouse. It is a place of commodious rooms, large, well appointed common spaces and a rooftop deck which provides a spectacular view of the historic center of the venerable city perched on a hillside. Due to recent, unseasonable rains the mountains that provide the backdrop to the city were lush and green. The sky is immense, it is in a word, stunning. All this augmented by the hosts/owners and a manager that gives new definition to the word gracious. 



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