One of the reasons Rick and I love San Miguel so much is that it's a very walkable town. We don't rent a car when we're here, we just walk everywhere. This is a treat for us because if you're familiar with where we live, you know that there's nowhere to walk to but the beach (which is great during 3 seasons, but not so good in the winter due to the ice, snow and hilliness).
In 1926 San Miguel was declared a World Heritage Site, preserving it's historic nature. It's one of Mexico's prettiest colonial towns, with cobblestone streets, flagstone sidewalks, 16th and 17th century architecture, pastel colors and beautiful old churches.
The casa we rent is perhaps a mile or so southwest of El Jardin, the main square and central "jewel" of the town, and there are several routes we can take to get there. The scenic way is through Parque Juarez, a large, gorgeous park that is currently full of beautiful flowers, plants and pots for sale. It's officially spring time here, and vendors from all over the area bring their wares and their tents and set up in this lovely park for a couple of weeks. It's a traditional event called "Candelaria", and it's a joy to revel in all that beauty in February, totally forgetting about all the snow and cold we left behind in Michigan.
The other route to "El Centro" (the center of town) is through the business district, which is located about 30 yards from our front door. The pace on these streets is much quicker, and there's many more people teeming about. It's an interesting walk though, because it's an opportunity to peek into the storefronts that abound . Hecho de Mexico, one of our favorite restaurants, is located on this street, very near Instituto de Allende, a cultural center that offers art and language classes, along with interesting tours and lectures. Yesterday we discovered a small store that sells natural products from shampoos to teas to vitamins and other "cures" for whatever ails you. We purchased a few items and enjoyed testing our Spanish in a conversation with the lady behind the counter who didn't speak any English. We did pretty darn good, if I say so myself.
Although we do our big grocery shopping at Mega, a huge store that we're told is owned by Costco, we prefer to do our business with the locals when possible. They are friendly and hard working, it's an opportunity to use our Spanish, and they need the money much more than a big conglomerate does.
I could go on and on about the pleasures of walking in San Miguel, but I won't. I must say however, that it's not without it's risks. The cobblestones on the streets aren't particularly easy to walk on, and the unevenness and unpredictability of the sidewalks - lots of steep curbs and holes that just sort of sneak up on you - have led to a number of tumbles for me in the years we've been coming here. It would be really easy to break an ankle or worse. And the thought of having to traverse the streets with crutches - or end up in a Mexican hospital - is something I don't like to think about. And so I wear sensible shoes, pace myself as best I can (I tend to ordinarily walk too fast), and try to watch where I'm going. That's often difficult, because everything around me is so interesting.
Walking is a good substitute for the daily lap swimming that I do at home. It's a great way to work off the wonderful foods we're enjoying in this country. But that's a whole 'nother blog. Until then...hasta luego.
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