Si Si San MIguel de Allende

Jan 26 

We took a car and driver to Mexico City from Cholula at 6:30 a.m. It took 3.75 hrs instead of the usual 2.5 hours due to Monday morning traffic and construction. But we arrived in time to catch our 11:15 bus to San Miguel de Allende (SMA). It was a first class bus that was very comfortable, including a couple of movies (in spanish). We arrived at 4:00 p.m. and took a taxi from the bus station to our apartment but we somehow had the wrong address. I waited on the sidewalk while RB went to an internet café to contact owner. About half those who passed by were English speakers. A Mexican woman came out from the building where I was standing and offered to help. We could leave our luggage inside her gate, I could come in and sit down and wait, etc. This is just another example of how incredibly kind and friendly Mexicans are to strangers. Ron returned with the correct address and we took another taxi to our apartment just a few blocks around the corner.  

We have a big room with a king size bed (2 singles), desk for two laptops, dining area and kitchen and bath. There is plenty of space. It is a little dark and somewhat cold in early a.m. and late p.m. but there is a gas heater that makes the room quite toasty. Note the tree growing in the room, extending through the roof.  There is also a very nice patio outside our door.

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After unpacking we went grocery shopping and got soy milk, ala Costco (Kirkland), juice and some lunch supplies. Yeah! We went to Harry’s Restaurant and bar, excellent New Orleans cuisine. It had been recommended by Antonio, Pilar’s husband. We ate early since our lunch was a free sandwich by the bus company that I didn’t bother to eat. Most of the patrons were in the bar and most were Norte Americanos. The décor felt more like New Orleans than Mexico, the gumbo was excellent and so was the salad of iceberg lettuce with a good dressing. Ron’s fave dessert is bread pudding so we indulged.

Jan 27

Today decided to get our bearings. SMA is a UNESCO heritage site. The core downtown is charming with old buildings, well maintained for the most part, very clean streets and the commercial signage is quite regulated with small signs that blend in with the exterior of the building. For example we didn’t see the Starbucks until someone told us a day later that it was next to the main square. We had been in the square several times and never noticed it. No logos anywhere. Just the name in muted colors. Obviously the designation has some requirements regarding keeping the area special.

We made an appointment with Alice and Hal McCartor who are friends of Kent Synder in Portland.  We walked to the tourist office in the main square (there are many small squares here) and got a good map. We popped into some fabulous textile shops. We went into the church in the town square and wandered around town testing our map reading skills.  We took a historic walk with a guide. The money we paid for the tour goes to support a program for poor children’s dental and medical care started  by ex-pats. The guides are ex pats who volunteer their time. It is a successful program that served several thousand kids last year with three vans that take the dentists and assistants to the needy areas around SMA.  We also visited a great art gallery and spoke with the owner/artist about his work.

That night we met with Alice and Hal. They graciously invited us to their home in the hills high above the city. They have a fantastic view from their roof top terrace and they have an exquisite home they built 15 years ago. We asked lots of questions and they were most helpful.  They gave us a perspective we had not considered before. Our bias before coming to SMA was that the expat community was so large that we would never interact with Mexicans. Our goal had been to live in a place where we could immerse ourselves in the local culture and befriend locals. Alice brought up the point that we would need to be fluent in the language for that to happen and that takes about two years and it is really a difficult task at our age. It definitely gave us a moment to pause and consider her advice. Hal spoke up and said he found many interesting people here in the ex pat community. We ate a great Cobb salad for dinner and visited some more before walking back to town, about 20 minutes.   

Jan 28

We contacted a rental firm and made an appointment. We also made an appointment with Steve Goldstein, a cousin of our dear friend Sue Orris from Grants Pass OR. We wandered around town until time to meet him in the late afternoon. Steve met us in a park near his home. He is a delight, another expat who has lived here 15 years. We walked around the park after asking lots of questions about his experience here. He showed us a play area in the park that had been donated by the expat community.

When I asked him what he didn’t like about SMA he said ‘the gossip’. Apparently because the expat community is relatively small (perhaps 10,000-15,000) in a community of 80,000, gossip is prevalent. There is another 80,000 people in the areas surrounding SMA. He also said there had been a series of recent break-ins although it seems to have lessened. Steve said he dealt with it by increasing the security on his doors with a metal barrier. We walked to his home which was great with beautiful tile work, skylights and old Mexico charm. He is very close to the downtown core yet near a lovely park that has been greatly improved in the time he has lived here.

After being with Steve, we went to get a bite to eat at a restaurant Alice had recommended and had a good dinner and then headed to the movies. The theater seats 25 and is part of an old hotel. We saw Whiplash and we were exhausted emotionally afterwards. It was a good film and we were thrilled to see a movie after months of not seeing any first run movies.

Jan 29

 We met with the rental agent at Starbucks and discussed SMA and the rental market. He walked us down the street to a place he had said needs a lot of work.  It was a dumpy place with huge potential. We could see possibilities if you spent a modest amount of money to make repairs and clean it up. It had an interesting floor plan with a small patio between the dining room and living room. It had some pretty colorful tile in the kitchen. The owner has neglected the property for years but the rent was low for the centro area at $700 a month unfurnished. The old rehabber in us wanted to turn the dump into the beautiful rental it was capable of being. Troy had another appointment so we agreed to meet Friday to see more options.

We came back to the apartment and roasted some veggies for lunches. All fruits and vegetables must be disinfected for 10 minutes before cooking or eating. This requires soaking them in a water bath with disinfectant that we bought at the grocery store. Given the limitations of our kitchen I could only soak a few at a time so this was a labor intensive process. In the afternoon we walked to a place Alice and Hal had recommended called Fabrica La Aurora, an abandoned textile mill that has been converted into a development with art galleries, antique stores, cafes, interior design shops and the like. On the way we passed a fabulous store that specialized in Michoacán crafts. OMG! We drooled on everything in this store! We hope to return and purchase a mask here. The owner said he has done this all his life in order to help his people. We were moved by his mission not to mention his expert eye for quality work. He has masks, copper ware, wood carvings, jewelry, ceramics and more.

That evening we met Alice and Hal for dinner at another recommended restaurant. Our meal was good but not particularly special. The company however was terrific. Hal and Alice told us of their experience living in a cooperative housing arrangement. We shared stories of how we met our spouses and stories about our children. It was a perfect evening. They have been so helpful telling us about an arts and crafts fair this weekend, sights to see, encouraging us to just take a bus and visit Guanajuato which is a little over an hour away and that has a smaller ex pat community, and recommending restaurants, etc.

Jan 30

Troy, our rental agent, picked us up at our apartment at 9:30 and took us to another property that needed some work. It was partly furnished but neither of us liked how broken up the floor plan was and it had an awful floor tile throughout. It was located high above the city with 180 degree spectacular view but had no car access. Troy parked his car in a vacant lot and we walked down about four flights of stairs to get to the apartment. It was $700 also. Next he took us to a plain, unfurnished but okay place that was probably 20 years old, mostly in good repair. It didn’t need paint, had three bedrooms plus a sitting room, laundry room and 2.5 baths. The kitchen was adequate and the area seemed middle class. It is located near a modern mall with large stores. Lastly we went to an upscale condo fully furnished with two bedrooms with room for an office set up, access to a roof top terrace which are common here. I assume that is because of the fabulous weather where you can be outside anytime except the rainy season.

We came back and visited with neighbors from Canada who are staying in the apartment above us. They will leave tomorrow after being in SMA for a month. We went to the copper shop where earlier in the week we saw the perfect water pitcher to go with copper goblets we purchased in India years ago. We asked for them to make us one with tin lining and will hand carry it home. We made lunch at the apartment and then took a suitcase that lost the outer covering of a wheel to be repaired. We took a taxi to the very large hardware store but they were not able to help us. We took a bus back to town to go to a shoe repair place who said they can fix it…that is what we think they said anyway since the entire conversation on her side was Spanish and our side was English. We have our fingers crossed.

We ended our day with picking up our laundry, grabbing dinner at an Argentinean bistro with a delicious penne pasta with Italian sausage (how that’s for international…in Mexico, eating Italian pasta in an Argentinean restaurant?) then seeing our second movie this week, The Imitation Game

Jan 31

We spent the morning in our apartment catching up with email and working on the blog. We headed out about 11:30 to attend an arts and crafts fair held at the Instituto, an art school that was founded by the former governor of the state Enrique Martinez and an American, Stirling Dickinson in the 1930’s. There were 90 vendors at the fair, the vast majority were Mexicans with all kinds of treats: woven wool rugs in bright rich colors and designs, jewelry of every description, clothing, artwork, photography, food and journals. We wandered by each exhibit and I ended up buying a gift for a friend in Portland and another pair of earrings. These were very plain silver. 

Then we went across the street to look at three shops that sold architectural salvage: old carved doors, tables, ironwork, etc. We walked back to town and found the hair salon where Alice has her hair cut. I made an appointment for next Friday as Andre doesn’t work on Saturdays and we leave on Sunday. We popped into a Mexican restaurant and I had tortilla soup and Ron has chicken fajitas. Neither of us finished our meals as we had eaten too many chips and salsa waiting for our lunch. Both of us went away happy however. We searched for a bakery Ron really likes and they had one cinnamon roll left, one of RB’s favorites. I got a couple of cookies for later as neither of us could eat another bite.

We replenished our chocolate supply when we finally found a store that stocked a dark chocolate that we like and Ron topped up his cell phone. We came back home to rest a bit and call our realtor about seeing another rental that just went on the market.

We tried a new little place up the street for dinner and won’t bother to return. A young couple are attempting to start an eatery on the weekends. Then we went to our third movie in four days and saw Selma. We had an interesting conversation with an employee, Ricardo, who spoke great English and has traveled to Bali, Thailand, and Japan. He said he loves to travel. He works until he has enough money to take off and travel to a new place.

 Feb 1

Today was a great day. We started with a tour of the private Mask Museum. Bill and his wife Heidi built a seven room b and b here and he has been collecting Mexican dance masks for years. He has over 500 in his collection. We spent close to two hours looking at his collection and reading his explanations. The b and b is absolutely a work of art. 

Afterwards we walked to the Juarez Park to

view the Candalaria, a 50 year old event that celebrates the beginning of the agricultural season. Growers from all over the region hold a plant sale during the time of ‘the blessing of the seeds’ to ensure a good harvest. Ron got lots of photos while I drooled over so many beautiful plants of every description. 

Afterwards we grabbed a cup of coffee then headed to yet another movie. This was the documentary Citizen Four, about Ed Snowden. It was riveting and down right scary. Afterwards we came home, made our first dinner in our apartment and watched the Super Bowl and were disappointed to see the Sea Hawks lose at the end.

We've been watching a humming bird nest just outside our apartment door  and looks like she may soon be a mother. 

Feb 2

We walked about 35 minutes from our apartment to view a long term rental this morning at 11:30. It was quite suitable and we have decided there will be no shortage of possibilities if we choose to return to SMA as our home away from home. Troy will be an invaluable contact for us. But we both feel that we don’t have to put a bid in now as we really would like to wait and return somewhere in the fall. This will give us time to sort through anything we need in the storage unit that contains all of our worldly possessions, time to see all our friends and family over the summer and time to get all in order for a move. Frankly it is very freeing to see that there will be many possibilities here in terms of places to rent.

We walked back to the Centro area, took a pair of shoes to be repaired, and had a lovely lunch in an outside courtyard. It is cooler today at 72 degrees and some cloudiness. Tonight we went to see Pride, a British comedy based on a true story. Afterwards we went to a great Italian place for dinner that Alice had recommended. We had two great pasta dishes.

Feb 3

Today Ron had a three hour private photography lesson and I ran some errands. It was our second break from our usual 24/7 with each other since Sept 3^rd.  Ron took some great photos and had an instructive session which he enjoyed. His instructor moved here seven years ago from NY so he wouldn’t have to have a winter coat! HA.

 

We dined with our new friend Steve Goldstein at a great Mexican restaurant. I had fish tacos while Ron and Steve had Cajun tilapia. We topped off the meal with sharing a huge rich chocolate brownie with ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce. Yum. Steve is a real sweetheart. He regaled us with wonderful stories and shared helpful advice about living here. When we told him we have fallen in love with SMA, he smiled and said we would have been the first if we hadn’t fallen in love. The rest of the evening he said frequently “when you move here…”