Leaving San Miguel

La Gruta

Our last excursion outside the city was to a local spa called La Gruta - located about 8 miles north of San Miguel on the main road to Dolores Hidalgo. This part of Central Mexico is dotted with hot springs and thermal activity, evidence of the existence of the same tectonic plate that runs around the Pacific rim - which is why you occasionally read about earthquakes in Mexico City and the surrounding area. Anyway, there are several natural hot springs along the Dolores Highway and La Gruta, being the closest one to San Miguel, makes for an enjoyable day-trip from the city. Caught the local city bus up there for 9 pesos (an adventure in itself) and then spent a most relaxing day "enjoying the waters".


The main thermal pool at La Gruta. There are several pools in a series - all fed by the same hot spring. The temperature is graduated from the hottest to the coolest, so you can select which one best suits you with a little trial and error. It made for a nice excursion...and soaking in the thermal waters was truly heavenly.




The entrance to the grotto. After swimming about 50 yards thru this tunnel, you emerge at a large circular pool where the main pipe replenishes the hot water several times a day. The custom is to stand under the cascade for a minute or two and just let the warm water roll over you. Can't begin to describe how wonderful it felt.


This will be our last night in our pretty little hacienda. Catching the bus tomorrow afternoon to Mexico City where we'll be staying for a few nights. Our flight home leaves Wednesday afternoon, and we should be back in Washington around 10 PM that night.

Really sorry to be leaving SMA, especially when I read about what's waiting for us on our return to Vancouver - cold, rain, and the usual gloom of a Pacific Northwest winter.

The longer we stay here the more we enjoy the relaxed pace of life and, of course, the never ending series of warm sunny days. Here are a couple of "last looks".



The view from our dining room on a sunny morning. The bougainvillea has been in full riot for the last couple of weeks, and the rest of the garden has been sprouting new flowers seemingly by the hour. We're actually leaving just at the beginning of La Calendaria - the Festival of Flowers they have here every February. Parque Juarez was jam packed with hundreds of vendors setting up for their two week run, during which time you can buy virtually any sort of flower, plant or tree you can imagine. Walking thru all of the flowers today brought back memories of Hawaii.


And a last look down on the city from El Mirador. Boy do we hate to leave this place.