San Miguel de Allende...a Mexican hilltop town

Sorry to leave Guadalajara but the road was calling so off to the bus station we go....

The bus to SMA headed east towards central Mexico and again travelled many miles through mountains and valleys where there appeared to be many ranches and large farms.

 

 

I think the big house on the hill is the hacienda...while the few other houses we saw looked like this...

When we arrived in San Miguel we were delighted with our accommodations in a home owned by an artist from Santa Fe, the whole house was decorated with the colors and art of Mexcio.

 

This is our bedroom....

This is just one of the terraces outside our bedroom.

This is our street which is very typical of the neighbourhoods here...brightly coloured with great flowers.

Around the corner is the laundry and here is Don passing in his clothes to be washed. He was there bright and early because when you are travelling for months with a carry on there is not a lot to spare...

We are in the Colonia Guadeloupe which is very much a Mexican neighbourhood with a few expats living here as well. Though overall SMA is home to one of the largest expats communities in Mexico many of them Americans who first came here on the GI bill after WWII to study art and made it their home. We shared a cervaza with an American vet who came here after Vietnam and he told us there was even an Ameriacn legion here back then.

Given the large foreign community the town has many amenities you wouldn't find in other Mexican towns this size...

We had breakfast every morning at this combined organic grocery store, bar and restaurant and it was quite a pleasant place.

One of the centrepieces of town is the Bibliotecia which is housed in an historical building and offers a bilingual library, art classes, language classes, cultural events and so on. This too was founded by American women in the 1950s. When we went in there were lots going on and this display of children's art from one of the classes was being mounted...

 

San Miguel de Allende is located approximately 1900 meters above sea level and has a population of 150,000. It's main industries are agriculture and tourism and it played a very important part in the War of Independence with two of the main leaders Allende and Hidalgo coming from this area.

Here are a couple of views from a lookout at the top of the town...

 

 

Beautiful colors but somewhat washed out due to the brightness of the noonday sun. It is springtime and the purple trees are in bloom everywhere.

Many of the streets are made of cobblestones and are very steep so walking is difficult...

 

 

SMA is known as an artist town and everywhere there are beautiful murals on sides of houses, shops and public buildings, this one is just around the corner on the front and back wall of a parking lot.

It is also a town of many 17th and 18th century churches, one on every corner it seems...

Every one we visited had worshippers in them...some quiet time...

This is the main church in the central plaza..

 

One evening we came across a religious procession that started in front of this church and then proceeded to another so we followed along...

The women were carrying Our Lady of Sorrows as this is part of Easter celebrations. We got in the procession and the statues were carried into the church to their rightful places and the crowd cheered.

This woman was one of the light bearers. We really like it when we come across these gatherings as they help us understand a little more about Mexican culture....

such as there is religion and then there is music...this mariachi band started as soon as the procession passed and the people began dancing in the streets...

And of course there is always an evening snack!

In Centro and the surrounding area there are many shops selling all manner of art, clothes, home decor but I am often drawn to the places where the locals shop...

I love the colors in this hardware store...

The smells of roasting corn which the locals call eloite and eat with chilies and mayo, nice smells but not to my taste!

The local mercado was busy as well...

 

This lady was cleaning her cactus leaves which are a very popular food here in Mexico.

 

Everywhere you turn in Mexico people are trying to make a living by selling something. In front of one of the churches there was a flower market...

 

Flowers are one of the things that the farmers grow here and the roses in particular are gorgeous...

This little fellow was helping his mom tie up the bundles for sale.

There is also a huge Artisans Mercado on a street filled with art shops which we visited but didn't buy much because we have little room in our packs, however it was a feast for the eyes and you could spend days just in this area of town.

 

Here are some glimpses of what we saw...

Frida was everywhere..

So was amor.

There is also a tradition of tin smithing in this region, anyone interested in an angel?

 

And color, color and more color...

 

 

As we walked the streets the sun was lighting up every corner...

 

 

We also spent some time in the Jardin which is the town square modelled after a French garden so it looked different than others we have seen in that all the trees were trimmed to look like giant tires...

 

In the evening this area is packed with people and activity, this lady was making crowns from fresh flowers which she sold for 20 pesos to lots of women who wore them around in the evening.

Lots of mariachi bands, here two of the musicians are warming up...

 

There is also a tradition of giant people who stroll around or dance to the music...

The ballon man is always out...

 

Every time we sat here on the bench we ended up talking to someone as people are very friendly and interested in where you come from. All in all it was a wonderful but too short of a visit we could have easily spent a week or more and barely scratched the surface of all this town as to offer. I am already checking out the Language schools as I think they would be a good reason to come back to this hilltop town.

San Miguel de Allende was a Mexican delight, still very much a local town with so much to offer to visitors...definitely a place to come experience Mexico. Hasta Luego!

 

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