Leaving the Land of Eternal Spring

We're just finishing up another delightful month in San Miguel de Allende - the place that's become our "go to" winter destination. Haven't been keeping up with the blog since we arrived, mainly because we've succumbed to the relaxed ambiance and pace of life here and have frankly been too lazy to do so. Couldn't even muster the motivation to tote the camera around town and take any original photos so the ones I've attached here are all taken from the SMA tourist website. 

Once again we really hate to leave here on Friday. Will be catching the local bus into Mexico City (about 3 hours), stay overnight at an airport hotel, then board our return flight early Saturday morning. Should be home by around 2:00 PM local time.  

Here are some more photos of one of our favorite destinations.

Lots and lots of pleasant walking around the pretty local streets - generally exploring the town at a snails pace and looking for someplace to have lunch...or maybe  just a cup of coffee.

We've continued to return to one of our favorite local restaurants called Sicilia en Bocca near the Mirador which, as you can see, commands one of the best views of the town. Doesn't hurt that the Italian food here is terrific. A meal typically takes a couple of hours to complete - in true Mexican/Italian style.

Even the local bars are picturesque photo ops here, as this rustic cantina attests.

And another one - just up the street from us in fact.

A favorite outing has been to the small town of Atotonilco just  a short bus ride outside of town. The Sanctuary is a world heritage site and played a role in the events of the Mexican revolution of 1810, when Father Hidalgo and his army of Campesinos stopped here on their way down from Dolores Hidalgo to collect a banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which became the symbol and patron of the revolution.

The chapel inside the church, which was built in 1740 on the site of a local Indian (Chichimeca) holy place. In an age when most of the population was illiterate, the inside of the church is loaded from floor to ceiling with frescoes and allegorical scenes from the bible to assist the new converts. 

A look at just a part of the ceiling inside the nave. Atotonilco is a pilgrimage site for people throughout Mexico and beyond, and I must confess it really is an evocative place. The entire little town could be a movie set of a small 18th century Mexican village. Except for the power lines strung along the street I doubt that it looks much different from the day they laid the cornerstone for the church.

We've also been back to La Gruta a couple of times, enjoying the spa and generally soaking up as much sun as possible before our return to reality. 

As before, we really hate to leave the endless sunny days and balmy temperatures of San Miguel, but do plan to return - if not next year then maybe in 2015. Hasta Luego.

Leaving Puerto Vallarta

We departed PV on the 1st via the Primera Plus bus to Guadalajara, where we stayed for a couple of nights before pushing on to San Miguel,  where we are now. Our last couple of weeks were spent revisiting some of the dreamy little Mexican beach towns to the north of us - even got to do some real snorkeling when the weather and sea state permitted. Although we enjoyed our explorations around the town of Puerto Vallarta, looking back on it I think we're both glad that we opted to stay outside of and away from the busy city. Nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there sort of a thing.

Here's some photographic evidence of our last couple of weeks:

We returned to the Malecon several times just to stroll along the busy beachfront and have lunch. One section of the walk includes a stretch of sand castles, many of which were quite elaborate and some of which looked like they probably required a construction permit.

Our favorite of all of the pretty little beaches was Destiladeras, located about 5 miles north of us along the road to Punta Mita. It consisted of a two mile long stretch of nearly deserted beach, with this little cove situated at one end...after about a 600 yard walk around a point at low tide. We spent several relaxing afternoons here, and the little cove just beyond the rocks was my snorkeling spot. 

Rita relaxing next to one of the tide pools. It was a perfect spot for us, with the extra advantage of natural shade until about 2:00 in the afternoon.

Looking down Destiladeras to the north. These palapas restaurants were about the only sign of life as you walked along the beach towards the distant headland. Am afraid it's not likely to last. Noticed that someone was developing a stretch of the coastline with condos and private clubs to offer to visiting gringos from el norte, so everything you see will be abutted by development within a few years.

The town of Sayulita has unfortunately been "discovered" by the Americans and Canadians who flock here every winter. The main attraction is that the bay encompasses one of the best surfing beaches in Mexico. There are also a number of RV parks just off the beach so it tends to get a little crowded on sunny afternoon.

The streets of Sayulita early on a weekday morning.

It really is a pretty beach. Just down a little way are a number of local fishing boats, or lanchas. Their method of launching them into and thru the surf was  rather straightforward...just get a bunch of people at the stern to physically shove the things off the beach and thru the waves until the water was deep enough to crank up the engine. Same system in reverse - I never saw a boat trailer, everything was done with brute force.

Rita at the end of the beach walk.

Another of our favorite spots was San Francisco, or San Pancho as it's known locally. Still relatively undiscovered and unexploited, the idyllic stretch of beach wasn't nearly as crowded as some of the others along the coast. Don't think this will last long either, but it sure is nice while it lasts. That sleeping dog lying in the street in front of one of the restaurants sort of sums up the ambiance of the little town.

Looking south along the beach at San Pancho. That estuary just ahead had signs warning of crocodiles - not the vicious salt-water variety you find in Australia thank goodness, but the more benign fresh water types...sort of like American alligators I guess. Nevertheless I didn't see anyone swimming there.

The open-air market in San Pancho.

And a look back from the beach on an exceptionally busy day - it really was a nice place to spend a relaxing day walking about.

Driving in Mexico (at least this part of it) was no big deal once I got used to the local rules of the road, which seemed to be to ignore all speed limit and traffic signs and just race ahead like the proverbial "bat outta hell". The local drivers are very aggressive and like to tailgate in preparation for passing, which they will do just about anywhere. Double yellow line going uphill on a blind curve? No problema, senor. They'll just blast away and hope that no one is coming around the bend just ahead...and those are just the buses. There are speed bumps (called topes) strategically placed along some of the streets in the towns to encourage cars to slow down. Unfortunately many are not well marked so you can occasionally find yourself approaching one at speed (with someone right on your tail) and the ensuing hard braking to avoid tearing out the guts of your transmission, while at the same time hoping not to be rear-ended, can make for an exciting interlude on the road. Still, and with all that, driving here was mostly pleasant and without drama. Wouldn't want to do it in Mexico City however.

Although we both enjoyed our time here in the Riviera Nayarit, we were both ready for a return to the high desert of San Miguel which, after 3 years, has become our winter home-away-from-home.