San Miguel Part Dos

A view of San Miguel from the El Charco Reserve


Been out and about the town for the last several days and have been enjoying it very much. The area's charms are subtle but undeniable, combining some of the best elements of Italy and Spain...especially Tuscany and Mallorca. The weather has been just gorgeous - bordering on hot some days at mid-afternoon. This being the high desert it cools off quickly once the sun heads on its downward arc around 3 PM.

Did another day trip to the El Charco Botanical Reserve on the edge of town, this time taking the backpack, water and lunch for some light-duty hiking in the Northern part of the reserve. Walked around for about 3 hours in a leisurely meander. Another active and relaxing day.


The ruins of an old hacienda


This is a sweat lodge that the Botanical Garden occasionally offers for groups who want to reconnect with their "Inner Indian"


The view down the Valley from the North side


Lots of photo ops as we wander around the town. It's a very peaceful & tranquil place, and the locals are genuinely friendly towards the visitors

Signed up for a Sunday House & Garden tour offered by the local Biblioteca...supposed to be one of the "must do's" while you're here. Got to tour two old haciendas in town - the first was just gorgeous, with an inviting courtyard, pool, many terraces, etc. Exactly what your mental image of a Mexican hacienda probably is.

The other was the home of one of the local artists who's lived here for many years...one of the Children of the 60's who apparently migrated here years ago and just stayed on. To say that the place was gaudy would be an understatement. Overheard a comment from a guy just in front of us who said in a stage whisper to his wife that "if you googled "tacky" this is what would pop up" - couldn't have said it better myself. The owner/artist was there receiving the visitors as they trooped by...attired in a Sergeant Pepper military style tunic complete with epaulettes - just a tad over the top. Couldn't decide whether he looked more like Idi Amin or Moammar Khaddafi. Don't know about his talent as an artist, but the house looked like he had decorated it after way too many pitchers of Margaritas.
Here are some photos from the homes- all but one from the first house. See if you can tell which photo is from house number 2.



I could be happy here
























The place is really growing on us and we're liking it more and more the longer we stay. Looking forward to more exploratory trips around town and the nearby environs. Have booked a trip to the pre-Columbian ruins of Teotihuacan on Thursday...should be fun.

Had thought there wouldn't have been much difference between the cost of living here versus the US, but have been pleasantly surprised at how relatively cheap everything is. The exchange rate at the moment is about 12 pesos to the dollar - not sure how that stacks up historically but it does seem as though the dollar goes a long way here.

There's no need for a car here - in fact the narrow, cobble stoned streets and compact downtown area invite walking. For longer trips the local buses are cheap and reliable. The place we're renting is about a mile (20 minute walk) from the Parroquia downtown, and passes several inviting little parks along the way. You do need some sturdy walking shoes, however, since the cobble stones are widely spaced and pretty rough...would be easy to twist an ankle if you weren't careful. What traffic there is moves very slowly thru the town...only about 10 miles per hour - thanks to the ruggedness of the surface and the fact that they have speed bumps about every hundred yards or so to keep everything slow. Makes it especially nice to be a pedestrian.