El Charco del Ingenio..A Visit to the Puddle of Ingenuity!

We had heard some good things about the El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Gardens & Preserve that were situated just a short walk from where we were staying, but nothing prepared us for the spectacular display of cactus and other vegetation nestled in a deep ravine with a commanding view of the city. The name El Charco del Ingenio translates literally as "the puddle of ingenuity", and it named for the spring-fed pool that lies at the bottom of an impressive canyon.

The centerpiece of the Preserve is a large reservoir that backs up behind a dam created to provide water to a now defunct textile mill located in town over a kilometer away. The large iron pipe is no longer functional due to changes in the spring and silting of the reservoir, but there are still large sections of it visible along the edge of the canyon. There is also the stone remains of a large water wheel that dates back to colonial times and is believed to have been used to grind grain or perhaps to treat wool. The reservoir itself creates a spectacular wetland that is home to many species of wildlife.

The preserve is laced with scenic walking trails that can be enjoyed by people of all ages as they are relatively smooth and level. From these trails, you can enjoy the dramatic canyon with its deep green pond, a spectacular view of the city, the wetlands, and a beautiful conservatory. The Conservatory houses a diverse collection of cactus gathered from around the country as well as a water feature containing aquatic plants and fish native to the region.  The Preserve is also home to an amazing collection of cacti that are considered in danger due to urban growth and large construction projects. Two significant species, the Agave and the Nopal which are important sources of food, drink (tequila!), fiber, and medicinal remedies each have their own garden and an impressive display.

Do not miss El Charco del Ingenio when you visit San Miguel. Here are some more pictures from our visit. Click on any picture to open the gallery!

If it's Tuesday this must be Mercado!

Every Tuesday is Market or Tianguis de los Martes day in San Miguel. Primarily for the locals, not the turistas, the Mercado is roughly the size of three football fields and here you will find everything from soup to nuts with a couple of kitchen sinks thrown in for good measure. Packed from end to end with shoppers, there is a staggering display of goods and many of the tables are simply stacked high with large piles of clothing and shoes that one must rummage through to find what you are looking for. Many of these items appear to be from the U.S. and are often stuff that didn't sell well and you will often see brand name goods at ridiculously low prices.

In addition to the vast array of clothing and shoes, there are electronics, household goods, handmade items, chickens and other birds, fruits and vegetables, and lots and lots of food! There are dozens of stands selling prepared traditional Mexican foods along with candies, nuts, meats, flowers, and anything else one could or could not desire. We had some Tacos al Pastor that were quite tasty and cost about 37 cents apiece!

Even if you are not in the market to buy anything, it is simply an experience that cannot be missed. This is where the locals not only do their shopping, but conduct an important part of their social life. It is hard to describe the colors, smells, and tastes of the Mercado, so I will let the pictures do the talking! Click on any picture to view as a gallery.

Villa Alta Dos...A Paradise in Paradise!

As we prepared for our trip to San Miguel, one of the most important things for us was finding the right place to stay. As we were hoping to get more of the experience of "living" as opposed to "staying" in the city, we used airbnb to look for a private home to rent. In our search, we were lucky to come across the Villa Alta Dos, a delightful walled compound located near the top of a hill just about a 10-15 minute walk from the Centro. As with many of the homes in San Miguel, behind a somewhat nondescript exterior, lay a beautiful courtyard, lush vegetation, and a perfect casa for our stay.

There is only one residence on the property, along with an artists studio that you can also rent, so we had the entire compound to ourselves. From the moment we arrived, everything was perfect. Our flights had been delayed, so instead of arriving at 8 am, we arrived at 8 pm to find Veronica waiting for us with everything ready to go.

After a quick walk through, she left us alone to get a great night's sleep in the quiet neighborhood and on the good bed. The bedroom is on the upper level with a beautiful boveda brick ceiling, a nice fan to keep you cool, a large bathroom, and a huge closet. There is also a small sitting deck right off the bedroom that is a nice place to enjoy a drink or a cup of coffee.

We went out for breakfast the first morning, but once we had a chance to do some shopping, we cooked all of our breakfasts and many of our other meals in the well equipped and spacious kitchen. We enjoyed eating them at the table on the lower level patio that overlooks the gardens. With San Miguel's mild weather this was the perfect spot to savor the morning or evening sun.

The living area was nicely decorated and well equipped with plenty of seating, wi-fi, and television, although we didn't spend much time there with all there is to do in San Miguel!

Overall, our experience at Villa Alta Dos was nearly perfect. We did not experience any problems with the property whatsoever. It is located in a good neighborhood, and is withing walking distance of many parts of the city. With that said we would offer one caveat concerning walking. As I said earlier, it is located near the top of a fairly steep hill. We are in good shape, so for us the walk was simply brisk and invigorating and we only took a taxi a few times during our entire two week stay. If you are not in good shape (San Miguel is at 6500 ft), or are adverse to walking, you can easily take a taxi instead Taxis are cheap (around $3.00 to go pretty much anywhere) and plentiful, so even if you don't like to walk, the Villa is a delightful and quiet place to stay. Our hosts John and Veronica made the entire process a pleasure, and when we had a small glitch in our reservation, John helped us to resolve it immediately. We enjoyed it so much we were thinking about looking into the laws in Mexico concerning eviction! This is a great property at a great price and we highly recommend it.

Guanajuato...Land of the Living Dead!

Guanajuato, a pleasant 1-1/2 hour bus ride from San Miguel is another beautiful Spanish Colonial city situated in the high desert mountains of central Mexico. The rugged mountains that surround the city produced vast quantities of silver and other minerals under Spanish rule, but today the area is known for producing a broad array of goods including ceramics, textiles, agriculture, and other hand-made goods that are exported around the world. Guanajuato is not only the state capitol, it is home to the University of Guanajuato and boasts a vibrant student population. With all it has going for it, it is ironic that it is perhaps best know for being the home of the Museo De Las Mumias, or Museum of the Mummies!

We arrived around 10 am and exited the bus stop with no idea of where we were, or how to get where we were going. A quick GPS search for El Centro, or the town square showed that it was over 7 km away and a 1-1/2 hour walk! We quickly decided a taxi was our best bet, but Guanajuato is another place where most of the taxi drivers speak little or no English. After a brief exchange with the first driver we saw, I felt a bit more confident than Kate that we were actually headed in the right direction, and about 15 minutes later we were deposited in front of the large Mercado in the center of town. Perfecto! The market here is a bustling indoor affair, and is housed in a large domed building in the center of town. We spent a little time wandering the booths and taking in the sights and smells before heading to the museum.

Guanajuato is nestled on the steep hillsides of the dramatic valley in which it is located. From the town square, everything is up, and I mean up. Most of the side streets are narrow alleys, and many of the homes can only be reached by ascending long flights of stairs. It reminded me a bit of the Arizona mining town of Bisbee, but on steroids. We followed the signs to the Museo de Las Mumias, which not surprisingly led us up and up through the city and after several stops to catch our breath, near the top of the steep hills we finally reached the museum. First unearthed in 1865, the mummification process is a result of the composition of the soil and low humidity of the dry desert air. Many of the mummies were victims of a cholera epidemic around 1833, and were disinterred when relatives of the deceased were unable to pay a tax that would allow them to remain buried. Cemetery workers in charge of the dis-internment started to charge visitors a few pesos to few the bodies, and over time the museum was formed. Today it houses over a hundred corpses in various states of decay.

Some of the mummies are said to have been buried alive, and while the grotesque facial expressions may just be the result of the natural postmortem process, it's a good story and adds some spice to the gruesome nature of the display. As bizarre as it is, it is hard to take your eyes off it, and the mummies of young children are particularly unnerving. Many of the mummies still have the remains of the clothing and jewelry they were buried in, and some still have quite a bit of hair. But indeed, it is the tortured facial expressions on many of the mummies that really make for a night of sweet dreams after your visit!

Leaving the friendly mummies behind us, we made our way back into town to find a bite to eat and enjoy some more of the sights in this lovely town. We had an amazing time at the Diego Rivera Museum which far exceeded our expectations. While many consider Guanajuato to be the most beautiful  and romantic city in Mexico, we still feel that San Miguel holds that honor, but the city is wonderful indeed. With its narrow winding cobblestone streets and alleys, brightly colored buildings, and dramatic setting, it is another gem in the high desert of Mexico.

Dolores Hildago...a quaint little village in the mountains!

Over the last few days we have taken some day trips to one of the outlying towns and another to a nearby city. Our first trip was to Dolores Hilgado, about a 45 minute bus ride away. Unlike San Miguel, which has a large expat community, Dolores Hilgado is almost exclusively Mexican, and we wanted to explore the difference in the way the community feels.

The bus ride itself was quite pleasant, and the buses here are very nice, the terminals are modern and clean, and the buses are on time. It has been awhile since I took a Greyhound in the US, but the last time I did the experience was less than pleasing! The stations were mostly grungy and smelled of diesel and urine, the staff was surly, and the buses were crowded and dirty. By contrast, the buses here have seating nearly the equivalent of a First Class airline seat with plenty of legroom, they are spotlessly clean, and the staff was helpful and courteous. It is interesting a less than affluent country like Mexico can run a first class transportation system, while the US cannot. I am curious to travel on one of their trains as I have used Amtrak a number of times, and while it is a little better than Greyhound, it pales in comparison to the bullet trains I have ridden in Europe.

We arrived in Dolores Hilgado around 10 am and it was a short walk to the Centro from the station. Once we got our bearings, we took a bit of a walk around town and checked out the sights. It was a classic Mexican town where life revolves around the town square and the hustle and bustle of street vendors fills the air. Virtually no one here spoke much English, so my Spanish was tested to the max. After a bit of walking we found a decent looking restaurant to grab a little lunch and I am pretty sure the tall, slender, dark-skinned, olive-eyed senorita that beckoned us in had nothing to do with my choice. No English was spoken here, but I find menus pretty easy to decipher. Having the servers understand me however is another story, but I managed to wrestle my way through without ordering fried walrus tusks or cowboy boot rellenos!

Know for its pottery and some unusual flavors of ice cream, after a few more hours of shooting photos and wandering about the town, we decided to try and get a beer at one of the small cantina's scattered about the town. If they have a swinging door and look like something out of a Pancho Villa movie, then you will probably find them to be "muy athentico" inside. We pushed our way through the doors, endured the stares of the entire group at the bar, and rather than slink off to one of the tables we sat down right at the bar and ordered some beers. This seemed to meet with the general approval of the patrons, and within a few minutes a man sat down next to us and asked "como se llama?". This being one of the few questions I actually remember from my Spanish lessons long ago,  I gave my reply in my best rapid-fire Spanish "Se llama Juan!". Well this was a really big hit and his face lit up like the scoreboard at Wrigley Field. "John" he said, I am John too!", and I felt like Arlo Guthrie at the Group W bench when he admitted his crime of "littering, and creating a nuisance". From that moment on we were "in" at the cantina and Juan regaled us with his adventures in the US in a blend of Spanish and English. Although I did not understand everything he said, I just kept grinning and nodding and this seemed to satisfy him. As we prepared to leave, Juan, who was pretty well into his cups by this time, persuaded one of his friends to shoot a photo on his phone so he could "show his wife" the Americano's he had met. Pretty sure she was going to be thrilled!

We decided to head back to the bus station and see if we could grab an earlier bus as we had pretty well seen most of this small village. As we sat down, the wind started to blow, lightning flashed across the sky, and within what seemed like seconds huge sheets of rain fell out of the previously nearly cloudless sky. What ensued was one of the most powerful downpours I had ever seen. The street vendors scrambled to protect their goods and we boarded, getting soaked in the 10 ft or so to the bus. As we headed out of town, the streets had begun to flood, the Policia were already blocking the entrance to some roads, and the driver was lucky to get us out just in time. The rain continued for a while and you could see the smaller cars and trucks pulling off the road until things subsided. Other than limited visibility, the bus plowed through the water and about half way back to town, the rain suddenly quit. When we got to San Miguel, it was obvious it hadn't rained a drop there!

Next...off to Guanajuato and the Museum of the Mummies!

The Land of the Giants...I Love a Parade!

We had wandered into town for a bit when we noticed that a crowd was gathering around the square. Always a busy place at almost any hour of the day or night, the crowd began to fill the entire plaza with an unusual fervor and we knew something was up! Within a few minutes, we saw that the Policia were blocking one of the streets and the head of a parade was lining up behind them. We took advantage of the distraction to grab a bowl of fresh cappuccino ice cream from one of the street vendors, and found a place to park ourselves where we could catch some of the action. If there is one thing they know how to do in Mexico besides fireworks, it is throw a parade!

From what we could gather from the banners that the individual groups were carrying, these were all participants from the outlying towns, and each group had a theme based on their local area. This made for a fascinating array of colorful ensembles and we marveled at the diversity of the costumes. It was a pretty warm day and as the parade snaked its was through the town, we were thinking of how warm it must be in some of those costumes  In spite of the heat, all the participants (and they ran the gamut from very young to pretty old) seemed to be having a blast.

The highlight of the parade was the giant dancing puppets or "Mojigangas", a San Miguel tradition and a sight to behold! These amazing stilt creatures dance and swayed across the plaza in a dazzling display of color, somehow defying the gravity one would expect to topple them. Locally made exclusively by the family of Hermes Arroyo Guerrero these iconic and sometimes satirical puppets are a vital part of virtually every parade and celebration in San Miguel.

Parades, fireworks, and celebrations of every sort are part of the fabric of everyday life here, and it is a fabric that weaves this community tightly together.

Craft Beer in Mexico...a Visit with Cerveceria Dos Aves!

As home brewers and craft beer aficionados, one of our first missions was to check out the craft brew scene in San Miguel. We had heard that things were starting to pop down here, and soon discovered the brewing magic taking place at Cerveceria Dos Aves. We found our first taste from this delightful brewer at Cumpanio, a small restaurant and bakery located just down the road from us. Between my broken Spanish and the handsome young bartender's limited English, we managed to communicate what we were looking for, and he produced a few varieties of the brew. Big IPA drinkers, we quickly choose the Imperial IPA and were immediately impressed with the quality of this beer. Being from Oregon where the craft brew scene is pretty robust, we are not easily impressed, but this was damn good beer!

Over the next couple of days, we managed to sample a few of their other brews as we visited some of the other watering holes in town. After posting a tweet that included the hashtag #dosaves, we got a message back from the brewers and an invitation to visit the brewery. We made our way across town and wandered through a residential neighborhood before arriving at an unassuming concrete building with no sign, but a couple of half-open blue steel doors. We bent down and wandered inside and were immediately greeted by Francisco with whom we had been chatting. His partner Mark joined us, and the two of them gave us the 5 peso tour!

Francisco met Mark while attending one of his home brewing classes on the Central Coast of California. At the time, Mark was living part time in San Miguel and Francisco and his wife were working on launching a B&B there as well. The two formed a bond, and were soon fermenting the plans for a brewery.

The Dos Aves operation is the very definition of a "micro-brewery". Three stainless steel fermenting tanks and the hand operated bottling line fill the main part of the small building, while two smaller temperature controlled rooms housed their aging and storage facilities. Mark and Francisco do all the brewing and bottling themselves and only recently added a young man to help them with the cleaning. Much of the equipment has been engineered and created by the brewers themselves, and they have done an impressive job of creating a brewery on a limited budget.

During our visit, Mark kept the samples flowing, and we were treated to a smorgasbord of their delightful beers. My personal favorite was the Triple Belga, a Bronze Medal winner at the 2014 Mexico Professional Beer Competition. This is a classic light colored Triple beer with a perfect blend of clove-like flavor, fruity esters, and a sweet light finish.

Their growing list of Gold Medals is as impressive as their beers and the perception of Mexican beers is going to be changed forever by these talented gentlemen. While you currently cannot get Dos Aves outside of Mexico, if you visit San Miguel you will find it at many of the local restaurants!