Canyonwren Travels: San Miguel de Allende

Monday, October 20, 2014

San Miguel de Allende

Our taxi arrived exactly on time and we were able to convey to the driver that we needed to go to the north bus terminal. Without a GPS he made his way through the morning traffic and dropped us right at the front door. We were planning to travel ETN, one of the higher class bus lines, so we jumped in line and bought tickets reserving seats for the 7:00 AM bus. At 7:30 AM the bus pulled out and we were on our way.

Looking northwest from a very long stairway.

The ride was very pleasant; I slept most of the time. Big buses in Mexico are very roomy. We had no problems getting comfortable and thus the four hour drive went by fast.

San Miguel has been a place that both Linda and I have wanted to visit for many years. One of my good friends, Joe Maranovitch who had retired from NIC, made regular journeys down this way. Before she passed away we had planned to visit her but never got the chance. Now we hoped to see just exactly what she loved about this area during our visit.

San Miguel de Allende is located in the far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. At 6,200 ft in elevation it has a climate that many people from the US call ideal.

We settled into our casa and spent the next hour looking at maps of San Miguel. We are located close to the Jardin Principal, it’s a short five block walk to a classic center point for exploration. The town is very hilly and with the altitude it has been a bit of a challenge and we have definitely been feeling it.

Rogue burro moving swiftly away from owner.

The streets are very narrow. I find that I am a bit claustrophobic when traffic and people are moving about. This is a bit different construction technique. All buildings are constructed right up to a very narrow sidewalk and most contain structures that enclose an entire block. The exterior is almost always a solid wall which is painted to designate the different ownerships. Doors open up from the street into a hallway that accesses a center garden. These doors are almost always very unique. If you want to shop or find a place to eat, you have to go into the entrance and inquire or explore the interior of the building. To me this is a bit hard because of my natural nature to not snoop in doorways.

The Jardin Principal sits directly in front of the big La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcánge (Link to Spot view) or current parish church of San Miguel. It is a beautiful structure that serves as our best guide post while exploring the tight streets in the area around out casa.