San Miguel de Allende: At last and worth the wait!

5 vehicles, trucks, trackers and an atv, brought the 17 of us to this remote beach. It was the day after of Semana Santa and while the beach was perfectly clean, there was a huge pile of trash bags next to the road that disappeared into a truck while we were there.

As I’ve said before, our visitors inspire us to take time off from chores and explore. We have been wanting to go to San Miguel for years, and so very glad our friend Tricia arranged a stay at her friends really amazing zero lot home (calling it an apartment does not do it justice). Given the reasonable flights within Mexico, we are so glad it worked for Tricia to stop in for a little visit on our way to SMA.

It truly does not get much better than this.

Sadly San MIguel has no ocean (or maybe happily so it’s not further overrun with tourists.) Thus, it was important to work in a BEACH DAY before our departure. It did not seem wise to tow a trailer over a mountain ridge then rattling down a roller coaster dirt road with 2 kayaks on it. It did, however, seem wise to have sharp eyed friends follow that trailer so they can jump out and grab that paddle when it flies out. Sadly for them no firm bets were made as to what was going to fly out and when…next time.

We also questioned the wisdom of spending the day at the beach when we should have been packing but we did not want to disappoint Trafford (jeje). It was a perfect day of snorkeling, floating in the crystal clear water, and kayaking on a beach that we had all to ourselves. When I heard Heather shout “WHALES!”…I shouted to Tricia, who was holding on to the side of my kayak, “I’ve gotta go!” and left Tricia to swim back to shore. (She’s a good swimmer.) While I never got close enough to fear a Job recreation, I got close enough to see the enormous size and grace of the whale. A definite top 5 in kayak moments….made it worth every rattle. Next time I want to explore the pocket beach that Brant found on his explore of the coast via kayak

We knew the majority of folks would be gone when we returned from San Miguel so we dragged out our beach day by yet another tasty lunch at Las Terrazas. I have never figured out how they calmly and smilingly serve up lunch for 15 people that just wander in with no reservations.

For some reason I had a hard time getting excited about this trip. I think it’s because I had read that the city had been destroyed by an influx of American tourists that had spoiled the ambiance . Perhaps it’s because we come from what is probably the most gringo town in all of the Baja, but I did not feel that way. In fact there seemed to be a a lot of Mexican tourists far out numbering the pale appearing tourists. Downtown Oaxaca seemed at times to have more gringo tourists than San Miguel (though neither seemed overwhelmed with US tourists at the time we were there). I guess the difference is that so many went to San Miguel for the sleepy solitude of a quaint Mexican town and clearly now its a place sought after for its excellent food, music, art and architecture….now beautifully presented. While LB has definitely expanded, the beach (our reason for coming here) remains pretty pristine (though now with red tides on occasion…hmmm)and empty EXCEPT FOR SEMANA SANTA. SO glad Tricia got to experience it with us. The beach is covered with campers and throughout most of the day there is music. Some bands have elaborate stages and light shows. Finally, the volleyball tournament returned which had been absent since COVID.

It is remarkable how easily the bands can be heard at Mar Y Sol. The public beach is about 500 yards down the the beach from the condos). And the music can be heard until 2 or 3 am for a couple nights.

…the combination of a good margarita, a band playing reggae while watching 2 volleyball games is once again hard to beat.

In the summer this is a pretty empty beach but during Semana Santa it is filled with cars, tents and lots and lots of grills.

Nice to get a chance to take Tricia to see our friend’s beautifully completed casita. Tricia got to walk around this land just a couple months after they bought this lot about 5 or 6 years ago. Lots of hard work over a few years…now time to enjoy it!

I also thought perhaps it would be just like the recently visited Oaxaca, but it certainly was not. The architecture, geography and the people all seemed surprisingly different. Nor did it seem like Guanujautu (see other blog) … a beautiful city a short distance from San Miguel. So much like any large country, there is great variety (but always there are tortillas). We did not explore Querétaro but learned from the driver that its a town filled with industry and the largest shopping mall in Mexico. Later I read how they are working hard to strengthen trade agreements with the EU. You can even take a direct flight from Querétaro to Madrid (one of it’s trade partners).

Our driver told us this is a hospital. Bet the docs get to have an elevator key for codes!

The afterglow of sunset from the deck of the Rosewood Hotel. Perfect place to start our trip though a bit pricey and we actually found much more interesting rooftops. This one gives you a nice overview of the city though.

We flew directly 🙂 into Queretaro with a driver waiting for us with a correctly spelled name (always a pleasant surprise)! Our driver had excellent English and had lived in the US for many years as well as Canada, but had opted for San Miguel for partial retirement. An hour and a half later (after a brief grocery store stop where we team shopped for supplies) we arrived at our spacious and beautiful San Miguel home.

I’m not much of a bacon fan but bacon infused bourbon sounded pretty interesting….and I know a guy who loves bacon. There was a great variety of restaurants in San Miguel.

Sometimes you really feel the need to book tours and adventures but this was a perfect week of just relying on others recommendations on where to explore, eat and listen to music. Our steps rarely went below 10,000 …the hills and cobblestones should have given us a bonus 5,000/day…so we earned all those drinks and dinners. The reasonable prices further inspired second drinks and desserts. Many thanks to all who added to our list.

It’s glowing right? Note the tree on the roof

It’s a very photogenic place that is just so easy to enjoy. The whole city glows in the golden hour. And we did meet ex pats (otherwise known as immigrants), many who have lived in San Miguel for many years, Some who were torn between choosing city vs ocean in Mexico (might do a house trade with those folks). It was nice to see the expats were still out enjoying the city… cacao mesquite coffees, live music most nights, painting classes, spanish classes…. We even heard it’s becoming a pickleball place. And a nice surprise when we ran into our neighbors (yes LB neighbors) who were visiting SMA! A small world for sure.

We were told its been called the city of doors but I think city of coffee shops would be a better name. And it was good coffee,,,,and excellent croissants! I have to say I much prefer a croissant to pan dulce.

I look forward to coming back again, but no plans yet to leave my crystal clear ocean here in LB. I suspect we visited at the perfect time. Cool in the morning and the evening but hot midafternoon, providing us with a daily siesta excuse. And best of all, we were there I suspect when there were not too many of “us” to spoil the ambiance. An interesting sentiment to ponder, isn’t it?

This is the back of the house, The bottom is the grotto (bedroom, bathroom living room and a fountain bubbling off the wall), the second floor is another 1-2 bedrooms and courtyard), third is a gourmet kitchen with about 5 options for making coffee with another living room and bougainvillea filled patio—-then onto to the rooftop. Yup, 4 floors to search for your lost shoes!

…but worth it to lose your shoes if you can sip a glass of wine while watching the sun set over the city.

…and who minds going up stairs when you get to look at beautiful art work on the way up?

It seems every city these days, is filled with murals (and i love that), but never have I seen a portrait done on such a bumpy brick wall. The image changed with your vantage point and had such depth…. A nice surprise as we walked to our Brooklyn like brunch at Rústica. (Which was also filled with 30 the same 30 something’s that fill the same restaurants in Brooklyn…except these 30 something’s were speaking spanish.

We had heard El Charco del Ingendio should not be missed. Rare that a cactus is tall enough to provide shade.

It is a botanical garden/ nature reserve just a few minutes out of the city (but take an Uber as its a very steep walk up to it). This is the conservatory devoted to preserving rare plants of the desert.

There were miles of manicured hiking trails; some along the edge of this dramatic gorge. This park has only been here since 1991—suspect there are many similarities to the American river conservancy..though far smaller.

…and a sculpture garden. After all that walking I treated myself to what tasted like homemade lavender ice cream.

These were described as the hacienda ruins on the map. We were surprised to learn the home was I believe last occupied in the late 1800s. Shows the importance of maintainence and the harsh climate of the desert.

We spent a day at the thermal pools. There are many outside the city. The very warm pools were covered with brick cupolas and required careful walking up and down steps to maneuver through them. It was perfect to get a massage after that strenuous workout in an out of that chain of thermal pools. A nap under the pine trees after a lunch of arrachera and michelada completed a perfect day for the 4 of us.

On Saturday, the zocalo was filled with families enjoying the day. Watching the other partakers, I tried a new flavor of ice cream, Beso de Angel.

I took about 30 pics of the Parroquia…each a bit different in the changing light.

..and of course you have to have some”tall people” wandering around the square. Note how dark the church is in this lighting,

…so very true (this is the lounge where we listened to jazz and James taylor).

Superb sopes! Don’t want anyone to think we only had Italian, French and Vietnamese food.

I love this pic because Tricia’s dress picks up all the colors from the surrounding buildings…terra cotta, yellow and turquoise.

Brant found a flamenco guitarist and dancer show at 2 pm in the theater of the public library. While we had to skip our siesta that day it was well worth the beautiful music and dancing. How do they make playing castanets look so easy?

..actually we did nod off for a bit. Maybe that’s why she looks upset?

While we were listening to music at the library the kids were out in the courtyard of the library bashing down this piñata while an author was busily signing his kids book for them.

Loved just walking around a corner and suddenly seeing this…. Or a dozen other churches etc. I would like to go back and now learn more about the beautiful architecture.

If I had one complaint it would be that much of the city was a bit too polished. There is something so very beautiful about this unkempt building.

We climbed to the fourth floor of this little cafe that looked like a greenhouse. Perfectly timed for happy hour and Vietnamese food…and nearly 360 degree views of the city. I loved it…like being in a jewel box on top of the city!

Note that shopping bag. Nice when you go to a garage sale that provides bags from Paris.

The pink looks real doesnt it? But nope, someone spray painted it. Much to the bemusement of the guys watching us take photos(then coming over to explain).

Yet another great dinner (2 for one sushi this night) after a day of shopping boutiques, markets and even a garage sail with clothes from Italy, Spain and France. Tricia modeling new hat, cape and even a handy backpack. A very successful shopping day for all of us. And so lucky to have this fun loving yet patient and persistent group of friends to share it with.

Here we all are with yet another excellent margarita. Brant is happy to have survived a day of shopping (with not one complaint). Good Italian food and gypsy jazz! For sure an ex pat hangout but fun to chat with some long term expats. One was an artist who I believe he has been painting in Mexico for over 40 years. George Hallmark is the name of the artist, if you would like to look him up.

This woman is carrying roses to the center for older adults. I thought the pic would be a good prompt for a writing class.

We went to an old factory that had been converted into art galleries. It was like being in a beautiful museum but everything was for sale. These are the 3d ceramics done of those beloved bingo cards. Fábrica de Aurora was the name of it which I thought was funny because fabrica means factory but indeed they did make fabric there.

We liked how Maryanne’s hat made it easy to find her in a crowd, but there was lot of red in the city that also made her blend in at times. At the Charco (see sculpture garden pic) she was very easy to find!

Love the stone work on this building….and if you need a broom you can buy one in that little store next to it. Nice to be in a city where it’s not all souvenirs.

So we complain about having mainly cover bands in LB. SO what do we do? Yup we go to listen to this incredibly talented pianist/singer playing James Taylor, Billy Joel and Elton John. ANd we loved it and sang along and enjoyed chatting with this guy from New Zealand who has motorcycled all over . México and lived in our daughters neighborhood for many years as well. We had a spanish potato frittata with those pot pies from Australia I think….

…but I think we redeemed ourselves by going downstairs (but in the same lounge) to listen to this Jazz. A great combo of music that evening,

We have returned to early summer LB. The town is transitioning back to a Mexican town for the summer. I know this because a truck was fishtailing down the main road towards me at what seemed like 100 mph. I was worried he was trying outrun authorities as I could see flashing blue lights in the distance, but no, it was just the arrival of racers from Ensenada (apparently a 7 day race). The flashing blue lights were the police stationed at the arroyo to somehow aid in making this safe. I also know this because the whole town seems more calm and quiet…except for the fishtailing buggies blasting down the main road). Not sure about the safety aspect of these guys zooming through town but the kids (which includes lots of grown men) sure do love it. Best of all, and the reason we came here in the first place, the ocean is warming and flattening to summer perfection. It’s nice to so easily be able fly to a city with great music, entertainment, food, shopping and beautiful architecture. While it’s easy to blame the smart businessmen for making our town too palatable for gringos to live here (the gringo stores with beautiful veggies and imported US products), I am thankful for the hot weather that drives people back across the border and gives the town back to the Mexicans for a few months. Actually, gringo that I am, I really like having those vegetables! And no longer do our friends need to bring us Miracle whip or French roast coffee……

Taco adjusts quickly to the warm weather. He knows how to find shade when he is out on the beach.

This guy is about 1.5 hours later that the truck I encountered at the first of my day. Though I suspect they have delayed time starts, this was a very different style from the other guy. Remember though: ITS ABOUT THE JOURNEY!!