lucktraveler57 2.0

 The last Sunday of each month the owners of the guesthouse host a party for the locals. We discovered it would happen, after we had already booked the hotel, on the last full day of our stay. The gay community and their friends turn out. There were over 200 guests expected.  The party began at 5 which left us much of the day for further exploration of San Miguel de Allende. This time we climbed the steep streets to a point far above the main cathedral. We enjoyed the spectacular, sweeping views. What we had failed to take into account is that what goes up, must come down. We found ourselves descending a street so steep that there were steps every 50 feet or so. Our fingers grazed the buildings for balance as we made our way down. I was nursing an injured knee. We both were breathing deeply when we finally hit relatively level ground.  As we gloated over our arial accomplishment we were amazed at the cars that routinely sped down the grade. We marveled that they did not r...

 The expats were taking my Travel Buddy to a charity rummage sale on Saturday. I decided I was too shaken up from the fall the night before and it would be better if I spent the day resting and enjoying the lovely environs of the guesthouse. Plus, after spending over 40 years in retail, a little shopping, as a recreational activity, goes a long way with me. At one point, lounging on a rattan couch on the roof deck, I encountered one of the owners. We had a lovely chat about this and that and nothing at all.  The sound of church bells ringing and roosters crowing combined like music. I enjoyed the view of cathedral spires and domes as they appeared to cling to the steep hillside by willpower alone.  I wrote, I did Facebook vacation photo dumps and enjoyed time, at many points in our lives an all too precious commodity.  I get a call. It is my Travel Buddy. He is sounding slightly panicked. He is lost. He has been going around in circles for 45 minutes. It is an easy e...

When we returned to the guesthouse we found the owners, another couple, a woman who is a neighbor and another neighbor, who, with his wife, is renovating a fixer upper in the area in the pool. The neighbor  was fun and charming with a genuine smile I never saw leave his face on the two occasions I spent time with him. He and his wife own a repurposed coach house in the Ukrainian Village, a neighborhood of Chicago. I, along with other young (at the time), bohemian, urban pioneers had opened the area in the early 90's. Attracted by (at the time) by modestly priced living spaces. There is no way I could afford to live there now. My Travel Buddy and I changed into swimsuits and joined them. The company was delightful and we all expressed how we looked forward to seeing each other at the Sunday evening party that was being hosted by the owners of the guesthouse.  Afterwards we dressed, walked to the home of the Canadian expats, whom we went to dinner with and while coming home....w...

 Prior to the "the incident" we had spent the day exploring the remarkably beautiful city of San Miguel de Allende. It is a place that has been on my bucket list for a number of years. After a long anticipation I am happy to say that it did not disappoint.  In the historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, exquisite 18th century churches and houses line steep, hilly cobblestone streets.The shade of tree laden plazas provide places of respite from the heat. Centuries old structures have been repurposed into shops and art galleries. One could spend hours roaming, overwhelmed by the age, history and detail. I began to edit what I photographed as everything seemed worthy of being committed to the art of the camera. There are many places in the world that bear the description of being tourist traps. Some are truly worthy of being visited. San Miguel de Allende is one of those places. 

 There was no food on the bus so we had to skip lunch. Like a hungry child I was getting grouchy. We decided to eat at the first place we came to, a tiny, 2 level, outdoor Italian restaurant.  As we were finishing our meal a group of 3 sat at the next table. We discover they are a married couple and their friend. They have a home in San Miguel de Allende where they spend 4 months a year. The rest of the time is spent at their home and houseboat in Toronto. They invite us to sit with them. My Travel Buddy converses with the wife, I discuss politics with the husband, a yoga instructor, 2 years my senior.  The next night they invite us to see their house before taking us to a small, family run restaurant near by them. It is the type of place where one can experience truly authentic local food.  Walking back to the guesthouse in the dark disaster strikes. I stumble, on what we later discovered was a slightly sunken manhole cover, and go down onto the cobblestone street, ...

 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,...

 The Guadalajara zoo is considered the best in Latin America. I had visited it on my first trip to the city. On my second trip the owner of the guest house where I was staying suggested visiting the aquarium. As it is a low key activity, and indoors, it was remarkably hot during our stay, I suggested it to my Travel Buddy for our final day in the city.  Using GPS, which became invaluable on this trip, we walked the mile and a half from our hotel stopping en route at the breakfast restaurant we had enjoyed so much 2 days earlier, again marveling at the machine like operation. The aquarium is not expansive. Nor is it small. As in the story of Goldilocks, it is just right. Signs in English and Spanish provided details of the different species on display. There is one section where a collection, of mostly larger fish, surround you as the tank forms a tunnel visitors walk through. Manta rays are in a shallow tank with clear sections making for great photo ops. We happened to be the...