Still Settling into SMA

—Blogpost written by Bob 

In this blogpost, we continue our 6-month winter excursion to San Miguel de Allende (SMA).  We arrived by car on October 15, traveling from near Annapolis, Maryland where we live on our sailboat.  This has been quite a change in our life style!

Monday, October 24

We woke to an overcast sky for a change.  The outside temperature was 62 degrees a little later at 10 AM and it was only expected to reach 69 degrees in the afternoon.  I took a much needed shower this morning (with a lower-than-normal shower head) and shaved (using the lower-than-normal mirror).  (The Mexicans who construct these buildings and furnish them are generally shorter than we are from the U.S.)

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We finally got Maggie's laptop updated early this morning to the new MacOS (Big Sur)--she was still on El Capitan (several years old).  Her laptop is still somewhat messed up because she doesn't get the normal notices of available upgrades.  (We will have to address this when we get back to Annapolis.)

Our map to La Comer.  One of the things
that make navigation difficult is the
contorted pronunciation of the
Spanish street names by
our english-speaking
GPS.

We decided to drive to La Comer, the supermarket, this morning (about 11 AM).  We had a brief early lunch at the Cafe at La Comer (hamburgers).  Then we took our time grocery shopping.  (We still haven't been able to find diet tonic water, "tonic sin azucar" as they say here, but we will keep looking.)

Near the end of our grocery shopping, Maggie wanted to shop in the housewares section (alone) and I went to the cafe and had a delicious cappuccino and two small pieces of French pastry.  (Later, I felt the effects of the caffeine in the cappuccino--I am not used to caffeine any longer.)

My grande cappuccino
at the cafe.

By the time we were finished shopping for
groceries and housewares at La
Comer, it was raining outside.

By the time we were finished shopping for groceries and housewares, it was raining outside.  As we got outside with our full cart, an attendant accompanied us to our car and helped us load groceries into our car.  We tipped him and we were on our way back to our home away from home.

The return traffic on the highway
just outside of San Miguel 
in the rain.

By the time we got back to our apartment and stowed the groceries, it was 3 PM and time for an early Happy Hour.  Driving in and around San Miguel was horrendous--that's the best way to describe it.  There are serious speed bumps at most intersections.  (You need a strong drink afterward!)

Tuesday, October 25

The outside temperature was as low as 53 degrees last night!  At mid-morning (10 AM) it was 57 degrees and headed for a afternoon high of 76 degrees.

A puddle in one of the cobblestone
streets from yesterday's rainfall.

One of the tastiest things we purchase lately was fresh local blueberries.  Unlike back home where they come prepackaged, at the local markets in San Miguel they are presented in a big crate--you just scoop them out into a bag for purchase.  They actually have a tart (more than a sweet) taste. Another fruit that we have purchased locally that tasted great are red plums.  

Steaks and pork chops are awful compared to what's available back home.  Ground beef seems acceptable but not outstanding by any means.

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Our main goal for the day was walking to the artisan's market about 1/2-mile away.  Specifically, we wanted to buy a couple Mexican-made margarita glasses and Maggie wanted to shop for some hand-made jewelry. 

The warming late-morning sun along
a street in San Miguel de Allende.

A street leading toward
the Parroquia.

 

Inside the entrance to the
Artisan's Market

We left our apartment at 10;30 AM and walked toward El Centro as far as the Artisan's Market.  It turns out that the shop with the handmade margarita glasses was closed today.  We shopped around for some other items--Maggie bought some earrings and I bought a woven leather belt ($13.25 USD, made in Leon)

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We had a terrific lunch at Cafe St. Ana within the Biblioteca--we both had Cobb salads which were very artistically arranged (must be a requirement for Mexican chefs) and tasty along with the best tasting iced tea we've had here yet.  We shared a piece of orange cake for dessert--it wasn't sweet at all but very tasty!

A street musician in the
Cafe Santa Ana.

We got back to our apartment at about 2:30 PM, a bit warm from the afternoon sun and with tired feet from doing so much walking.  (Mexican locals actually think it was cold today!  One of the easiest way to identify locals was that they were the ones wearing jackets and sweatshirts.)

Everyone wears a face mask here
in San Miguel de Allende!

Maggie walking back to our apartment with
her new bag in tow. (Of course,
she needed a new bag!)

Wednesday, October 26

I slept in by about an hour longer this morning.  I was able to sleep diagonally on our bed which I love to do since Maggie was up feeding the cats and spending some alone time.  We took our time having breakfast in our apartment (cereal with berries on top), taking showers, and generally being lazy.  We finally left our apartment for lunch around noon.  We walked to our favorite restaurant nearby, Hierba Santa-Cocina del Sur, and ate lunch in their outdoor courtyard.  (Our outstanding lunch for two people with a shared dessert cost 540 Mexican pesos which is equivalent to $27 USD--this would be considered an expensive lunch here and we are careful about how many times we splurge like this.)

The outdoor dining area at
Hierba Santa

Their iced tea was a mixture of tea, lemon, and orange juice--it's very refreshing!  For lunch I had Pescadillas Acapulco.  As with all our meals here, the presentation was outstanding.

Pescadillas Acapulco
for lunch today!

We then walked to the Artisan's Market to buy the margarita glasses we couldn't get yesterday from a little shop that specialized in handmade glasses of all types.

Colorful ceramic skulls were on sale in
the artisan's market in preparation
for Dia de Las Muertos.

A serenade outside a local shop.

A completely empty street in San Miguel
de Allende. (The pipes coming from
the roofs drain rain water from
the rooftops into the street.)

When we got back to our apartment in
the early afternoon, we tried out
our new margarita glasses.

Even though my leg muscles ached, I felt like I was getting around the cobblestone streets better than I was in the beginning of our time here.  (It would help if I was part mountain goat but we still haven't improved our navigation by iPhone much.)

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Stay tuned for more exploring...

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