Mexico, SM weekend

Last week was so busy that I just wanted to add to Bill's update of week 4. On Sunday the library showed a documentary film on the life of Janis Joplin. She had a sad life as a teenager and never did find real happiness. But, what a talent and her music expressed her pain. 

Last week we also finished our 4th seminar on "Unconcious Bias" at the Institute. Bias, stereotyping, prejudice all about the same. The Institute has different seminars every week on a variety of topics. We're on the waiting list for "Great Trials". 

Thursday night at the Opera Theatre we listed to a Talented Jazz Trio. Bill enjoyed it, but guess it's not my thing. Give me a lyric and a peppy tune! 

At YucatanRestaurant with friends Linda and Mike from NewHampshire and Phyllis and Lee. The atmosphere was incredible, we felt like we were in a huge garden. A lot of businesses, from the sidewalk, look plain and dark behind large doors and narrow entrances. But once you enter, they open up into large court yards full of sunlight, gardens and huge water fountains. It's always a wonderful surprise to see what is behind the heavy, ornate, wooden doors. 

Saturday held many choices and all within 10 minutes of our casita. There was a chili cook off, much like our our RibFests, a huge Art and Craft Show and a One-of-a-Kind like bazar featuring local artisans. 

A huge variety of succulents in 2" pots. I could go crazy!!

Spring arrives early in San Miguel and the local park is full of nursery plants. The sale continues for 10 days and everyone interested in working in their gardens purchase orchids, succulents and planters of all shapes and sizes. Poor Bill, he was like a kid in a candy store...if only he could bring something home to Oakville. 

And here we are, January 30, where has the time gone. By the way, how is everyone? Would love to hear from you and get updated on what you are doing. Adios amigos! 

Mexico, SM Week 4

MIn the Center of town is a statue of a man astride a bronze horse whose name adorns schools, museums, and the town itself. This is in tribute to Ignacio Allende, a hero of the War of Independence that now sanctifying this town as a kind of Mexican Williamsburg.

Festivals happen here all the time - as is any excuse to set off fireworks. Having a Baby = fireworks! Having An engagement= fireworks! Another Saints day = lots of fireworks! Independence Day = haul out the heavy artillery!

San Miguel has a seductive charm in the people, the arts, and the culture that's fast becoming more like home to us each growing day. Three (3) months of this and we might never come home:-) It's understandable why so many Canadians come here to live year round or at least part-time. It is safe day and night, with an ideal dry temperature year round and an absolute ton of local activities -it's a very hard place to beat. 

As noted in blog Week #2 sidewalks can be treacherous so make sure if you're planning a trip pack you're hiking boots. 

A favourite appetizer consist of slices of white, crunchy jicama, a root vegetable served with powdered chile and a squeeze of fresh lime. Every Saturday we return home from the Organic Market with bags bulging with provisions. If we smile, people smile wider. If we say 'Buenos Dias' they say it back, stronger. Sometimes they don't even wait. You put out a little, you get back a lot - in human terms.  

We have a variety of clubs with salsa and blues being the strongest ones. Salsa has the biggest or strongest community of dancers. We are included in theses numbers as we enjoy two one hour sessions of private instruction each week.- lol out Arthur Murray.

As another week passes us by its clear that we are very fourtunate to be guests in this country. We treat everyone as we want to be treated and we're learning as much Spanish as we possibly can -speaking it each day. - after all poor to mediocre Spanish is a thousand times better than just speaking loud English:-)

Cheers:  this week written by Guillermo and edited with photos by Susanna

Mexico, SM Week 3

January is flying by, and why not! There are many choices each day for things to do, so we decided to get started and enjoy the offerings of this cultural town. This week the town celebrated the birthday of Ignacio  Allende, born in San Miguel on January 21, 1769, who was a captain in the Spanish army who switched sides and fought for independence. Tonight we can hear the fireworks exploding in celebration ending a week of parades, parties and events in the central park in San Miguel.

Monday morning we had our 3rd Spanish class with our teacher Paco and Susan. 

Monday afternoon it was off to dance lessons with instructors Sandra and Fernando. Bill is showing off his moves doing the Cumbria, an introduction to Salsa. We were back again on Friday.

The billboard at the market is filled with the weeks upcoming entertainment. 

St. Paul's Church

Three Amigos! Rick and Rafael from Buenos Aires. We met at a Playhouse theatre on Friday night and met up again on Sunday. They came to our casita on Thursday evening and we had a lovely time with our landlady Carrie, sharing stories of travel adventures over a bottle (or 2)of wine. They told us of their 30 day walk on the Way of Saint James/Camino de Santiago. May be our next adventure! Or Buenos Aires! Did you know they have glaziers in Argentina?

Phyllis and Lee from Philadelphia. Don't you love Lee's shoes! We met this fun couple at the library and joined them one day for lunch and again for jazz. Again, 2 great travellers with stories to match. On Sunday we listened to a concert at St.Paul's Anglican Church featuring a duet of violin and piano performing Mozart and composers from the 19th century. On Thursday we switched over to Jazz at a night club with them. We listened to a great quartet that included Richie Cole on sax (Manhattan Transfer, Buddy Rich, Doc Severinsen) and Luis Gasca on trumpet (Janis Joplin, Santana, Van Morrison, Count Basie, Herbie Hancock). The cost for entrance, 2 drinks, all the popcorn, carmelcorn, peanuts and pretzels you can eat = $12Can.

Don't laugh! We are very proud of our results from the art class we took on Wednesday following another Spanish class. I couldn't believe it was possible for me to sketch a lime I could actually recognize as such. And Bill drew garlic and a study of a wine opener! It was great fun.

Friday evening found us once again at the San Miguel Playhouse with our Spanish classmate Susan and her husband. Susan's friend from New York was performing a Cabernet show with 3 other female vocalists. Songs by Rogers&Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin as well as a number each from Elton John and Billy Joel. The talent was amazing. Susan's friend was a voice major at Julliard who at the age of 17 (in 1961, do the math) was selected for the first national tour of the Sound of Music. She played Liesl Von Trapp. Also showcasing their talent was a Canadian, born in Alberta and who performed with the Calgary Opera, an actor singer who played on the New York stage, and the fourth lady is a former member of the Chicago Symphony. I only tell you this to announce the quality of performers we've seen are professional and accomplished in their fields and now retiried in San Miguel.

Ah, Saturday the 21st. Even SM held a peaceful Women's Solidarity Walk and Rally. And as was seen in major cities in the world, it was not only for human rights but very political in expressing their feelings of mistrust for the new POTUS, chanting "keep your hands off my pants!" The top right picture is Bill and our landlady Carrie, with the red scarf. Participants were asked to wear red and white so an excellent day for me to wear my HBC red jacket with CANADA in large white letters. This week we could have sold all our "I am Canadian" pins and shirts over and over to Americans. Makes you even more proud of the Maple Leaf! 

Hasta la vista!  

Written by Susanne, edited by Guillermo, photos by both!

Mexico, SM, Week 2

As stated San Miguel is a mile high, so for our fist two weeks we've gone slower than normal as we adjust to the altitude. 

This UNESCO World Heritage town is just so impressive and so perfect to explore on our daily walks. Architectural controls make it impossible to remodel any exteriors in the historic Center so most of the area looks like 1750.  Every Sunday is a house tour day starting at the San Miguel de Allende Library. House tour visitors begin arriving in the courtyard at about 10:30 to buy their tickets to see three houses and gardens of expatriates who have settled in this town of 80,000 to make a new life in a place unlike the one they left behind. 

These walks are often on stone sidewalks only wide enough for one person. Streets are generally constructed from the two most common compounds on earth: dirt, and stone about the size of a large grapefruit. There are no traffic lights, stop signs, crossing guards or cross walks here as all motorists and pedestrians alike respect the right-a-ways of the other. 

There are a lot of tourists here from Canada all with curiosity about what it's like to live here. San Miguel has a powerful draw for most and though many over the years have written off Mexico, the reality in fact confirms a wonderful country diverse, accommodating and welcoming to all. Although we have previously visited Mexico's beach communities, we are very surprised at the rich character and fabric of this Colonial town. 

We have a multitude of restaurants to choose from each offering up delicious inexpensive meals served by happy and friendly staff. 

We've just taken out a 3 month membership at the Biblicoteca Publication this is an advantage when seeking out inexpensive ways to take advantage of house tours and garden walks, while all the while inhaling the culture of the town. In addition we are purchasing a weekly newspaper publication called Atencion that outlines activities for the coming week and trust me this is a very long listing.- to be better detailed in forthcoming blogs.

This weeks blog has been authored chiefly by Guillermo and co-edited with photos by Sweet Sue.

Mexico, San Miguel de Allente, Week 1

We are here 6,233ft (1900m) above sea level amongst 12,000 expats and 225 restaurants with more activities available for us to get involved in, that daily we have 4 or 5 choices to make. Do we take Spanish lessons, learn to paint, model clay, cooking classes or just relax at seminars, music performances or visit art galleries, which pop up every 100 yards. We have been fortunate to meet some lovely couples who have given us suggestions for entertainment, eateries and shopping. Not to mention doctors and dentists who speak English and are very affordable = cheap.

We arrived at our casita on Monday, not Sunday as planned. Our flight from Toronto was delayed by 45 minutes, making it impossible to catch our connecting flight. So, we spent the night in Dallas, courtesy of American Airlines, had a good nights sleep and arrived fresh and well rested.

This is a shot of the inside and outside of the enclosure. Our Casita Jardin has 2 floors, we are in the bottom with access to the garden. The owner has a magnificent home in the back of the property.

Centro SM is full of historic buildings, cobble stone streets (not easy to walk on, hence name give to the area is "land of fallen women".

Art sculptures are found everywhere in courtyards, hotel gardens and parks.

Ah, mariachi players, reminiscent of our days in Costa Rica. These amigos were playing at the Organic Market, held every Saturday and only a 10 minute walk from our casita. The market has fresh flowers, fruits, vegetable, cheeses as well as baked goods, preserves and rugs, jewellery and pottery made by locals. This is bound to be a weekly excursion. Everyone is very friendly and there is always someone around to help us translate.

To date we have met an author who wrote a book of support for caregivers of Alzheimer's based on his life experience and an actress who played on Broadway. San Miguel is turning out to be an exciting destination...and all this after just 1 week. Can't wait to see what happens next week. 

I should mention the temperature. Days were warm and sunny with cool nights. But, last night went down to 3c. We have a fireplace and a very warm blanket so slept very well.