Dear family and friends:
Although many of you have requested travel adventure reports from me, some of you have not. I put my sending list together based on those I thought might be interested as well as those who have expressed interested. So if you don't care to read impressions of our travels, that's fine. I promise that you won't be tested on what I've written. This is really as much a record for myself as it is a report for others.
Anyway, yesterday was our first full day in San Miguel de Allende. We began our day by looking for someplace to have breakfast. We found a little place a few blocks away called Bagel Cafe. I was in my glory to have a bowl of yogurt with fresh fruit (papaya - my favorite, melon, bananas, etc) topped with granola. Rick had a scrambled egg, cheese and bacon bagel sandwich. We shared a homemade cinnamon-raisin bagel. The food, which took a long time to come, was obviously prepared from scratch. And delicious. It was somewhat costly - $16 (including tip) for this simple breakfast. However, the cafe was near the tourist-y historic district, and I've since learned that the prices from restaurant to restaurant are pretty much standard. It was certainly worth it.
After breakfast I went out to explore. Luckily I had my little map with me. For those of you who don't know, I'm extremely directionally challenged. And of course I got lost. Several times. But that was part of the adventure as far as I was concerned. And wonderful exercise with all those hills (puff puff). Logging 10,000 steps a day on my step counter isn't going to be a problem here at all.
Speaking of hills...we're at an altitiude of about 7,000 feet above sea level. It's going to take awhile to get used to this thin air, combined with the hills. Not only are we going to have quads of steel when we leave here, but lungs of iron.
Checked out the language school just a few blocks from our casa. Spoke with Sara, the director and owner. Although I didn't sign up at the time, I've decided to start classes on Monday. My plan is to try 2 hours a day, M-F for a week. If I like it, I'll continue for the 4 weeks that we're here. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity, because being able to speak the language fairly comfortably has been a long term goal of mine for a long time.
Also checked out the swimming pool, a few blocks up a VERY steep hill from here. Although Rick and I were able to get into the building, we couldn't find anyone to talk to about joining. It's a 25 yard lap pool, which is a good thing. And it looked like it was in the process of being cleaned, which is also a good thing because it was needed. But the fact that it seemed deserted on a Saturday afternoon...well I just don't know. Brought my fins, cap and goggles with me, had planned to swim, but we shall see...It didn't look particularly promising.
This happens to be a holiday weekend, and it seems like many of the well-to-do locals who have 2nd homes here are in town. It's also the weekend before Ash Wednesday. Mexicans are very religious - usually Catholic - people. They also love to celebrate, and there's many celebrations going on. The big one is something called "Carnival", which is reminiscent of Mardi Gras. Last evening we walked down to the town square where we watched musical performances by different amateur groups (some of them very good) under the gazebo. There was also a clown performing and he drew quite a crowd. His show was very audience-interactive.
There's an interesting tradition among the young people here, from about the ages of 8 to 16. They were carrying around baggies full of eggs full of confetti and smashing them on the heads of their friends and family. We sat down to watch a couple of groups doing this, and they were having a ball. We don't understand how they got the confetti into the eggshells. I would have liked to have asked one of them to let me look at their egg. But I was afraid I might have gotten it smashed onto my head so I didn't. Anyway, it was great fun to watch.
Another observation: The women and girls were carrying around baskets with ornately dressed dolls inside. I think perhaps they were taking them to church to be blessed. I was told that this is a "fertility" weekend and that is one of the customs. Apparently it's also the weekend where the people buy their plants for planting. I'm told that there's a park full of plants and flowers to sell this weekend. Rick and I will walk over there after church to check it out.
As we sat outside of the beautiful gothic Cathedral last night, we saw lots of Mexicans, many of them very old, approaching the Cathedral steps as if they were on a pilgrimage. We surmised that perhaps they were from out of the area on this long holiday weekend, and it was, for them, a real pilgrimage of sorts. The religiousness of the people here is touching.
We discovered a natural foods restaurant yesterday where we had supper. Rick had an eggplant burger, and I had a tofu burger. They were both on whole wheat buns, with lettuce, tomato and avocado on top. Along with mustard and ketchup on the side, there were small dishes of sauces we couldn't identify but that were delicious nonetheless. Our side dish was potato slices prepared in vinegar. Everything was delicious. We've had 3 meals since we've arrived here, and they've all been great.
We also found a little grocery store where we stocked up on some basics. We had to be careful about buying too much, because we had to carry everything quite a distance home. At least we have the makings of a simple breakfast this morning before we go to church.
Speaking of church...I'd better sign off. It's already 6:40 a.m., I hear a rooster crowing, and I need to start getting ready. I'll write more later or tomorrow.
Hasta la vista, Judhit
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