The Cool Air - San Miguel de Allende

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

(Sorry, no pics.  My Telcel stick is not getting a strong enough signal.  I'll post some later).

We’ve been enjoying our time here in San Miguel de Allende.   Parked here at the botanical gardens (El Charco del Ingenio) we’ve had very cool nights and light breezy days.  You couldn’t ask for better weather.  The afternoon showers make for great down time or a nap.  

Tuesday night was a great surprise.  I received a letter from blog reader Barbara.   She came from Washington state last October to make her home here.   She had offered her place to me when I was looking to work with the kids at the school here.   She was very kind in her offer. 

  

Tuesday afternoon we got together for some wine and chat which turned into a great dinner and the opportunity to make new friends.   We’re planning on seeing each other again this weekend for dinner out.

Last night was a walk down to the Parroquia to people watch.   Again, the weather was cool and enough that you need to carry a light jacket or sweater.   There is just so much to see and do here I hope we living here in southern Mexico in the next couple of years.

Tonight  is a talk and Q&A with Lisa Pixley who is the author of a book about the history of San Miguel de Allende.  She has lived here for 15 years and speaks fluent Spanish.   She tells the history of the city and the influence that foreigners has brought.    I’m looking forward to her point of view as you know I have my own.

What has happened in the last year since coming to SMA?  Lots of changes.   Too many to say I would actually live in the city.   Other small towns nearby abound and offer just as much as here.   The traffic has gotten a bit hairy.   People are driving much faster and there are more cars.   New construction of avenues including infrastructure changes have created a big city feel.   I realize it’s summer and there are lots of tourists.   Here by the gardens are two, new housing projects with homes starting at 185K, I may have already mentioned that.   Too many people.

This morning we walked from the gardens to the Luciernega mall with the glorieta and the new Soriana.   We took a bus down to centro.   We could have walked faster because of the traffic and at one point we got off and just walked.   Quicker and faster not to mention great exercise.  BTW, I did my 1.5 hour walk this morning with a mix of hillside and city.  

We’re moving again in the morning.   I’ve mentioned several times that there is a public parking lot off of San Antonio St. where the big buses park bringing tourists.  The charge for 24 hours is 160 pesos.  The lot is changing ownership on Monday so the current workers have offered us 100 pesos a day for the weekend.   Fantastic, we’re right in town.  There are no services but our solar works just great for us.  It’s a paved lot but we’re here for the city and we’ve done a lot of hiking here at the gardens.

Turns out we may not make it to Hacienda.   It Sounds like the park is falling into disrepair and Chema’s is a bit muddy this time of year.    We are thinking about heading to the waterfalls in Zaragoza, a state park at the border between San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Leon.  Not sure yet.   Every day is something new.