Thursday, December 2, 2021

Mexican Dirt Dwellers

—Blogpost written by Bob 


In this blogpost, we continue our 6-month winter excursion in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), Mexico.  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!


Tuesday, November 30



I was moving slow from the get go today.  We finally got confirmation for our car's service appointment for tomorrow at 10 AM in Guanajuato.  

I lazed around watching YouTube videos most of the day, one on building a log cabin in a snowy wooded area--I'm not sure why I was so intrigued with this one--I guessed it was because it was so different from what I was used to.

We had lunch in our apartment and we went out for a light dinner later at Chill SMA--we both had personal pizzas.  We talked about how our experience here would have been so different if we had found a better place to rent, in particular an apartment with windows and an outdoor space.  (We made sure that our AirBnB rentals in Mazatlan later this month and Puerto Vallarta in February have both windows and outdoor spaces!)


Of course, the pandemic has affected
our experience here as well.


Wednesday, December 1



We were up early, driving to the Toyota dealer in the city of Guanajuato.  We allowed 2 hours for the 47-mile trip and it took every bit of it.  When we got to the Toyota dealer (just after 10 AM), no one spoke English and technical terms were beyond our limited Spanish vocabulary.  We used our translate app to get things started.  Finally, Oscar, from the Toyota sales department, introduced himself to us—he spoke excellent English and told us that a nearby (actually next door) Applebee’s would be a good place for us to have lunch.  (Our car service was expected to be completed by 1 PM.)  We both had big salads (Southwest Chicken Salads) for lunch--they were pretty much the same as back home.



The Toyota dealer's small service
area in the city of Guanajauto.



The Toyota dealer’s facility was very modern, rivaling those in the U.S. but much smaller.  Unlike a typical dealer in the U.S., there was only one service manager (and probably 3 mechanics)--back home there was about 5 or 6 (and a dozen or so mechanics).  (They were able to access our car's service records using our VIN number.)  The cost of our car service (for the 120,000-kilometer interval) was 4,362.99 Mexican pesos ($218 USD) which was more than I expected.  (I thought since almost everything else was cheaper here in Mexico that car service would be as well, but apparently not.)  At one point it was questionable whether we could use our U.S.-based credit card for payment but it was eventually approved.


We arrived back at our apartment at around 2:30 PM and glad that the task was completed successfully.  
It was unbelievable to me how a simple 47-mile drive can be listed on our GPS as taking 1 hour and 19 minutes and, in reality, take 2 hours (each way).  Part of the reason as to why road trips take so long is the frequent occurrence of large speed bumps.  (Back home, a 47-mile trip would typically take only 45 minutes or thereabouts!)


Thursday, December 2



Outside, it was a cool 38 degrees F this morning but, fortunately, the temperature was expected to rise into the mid to upper-70's by the afternoon.  By the time we were up and about the outside temperature was comfortably cool (mid 60's).

Our primary goal for the day was to get some groceries, by first, walking to the nearby butcher shop (for the first time) and, then, drive to La Comer (the supermarket).


The exterior of the butcher shop
down the street.


The inside of the nearby
butcher shop.


The butcher simply pulled out a side of beef, trimmed some fat off, and cut two steaks off for us. Before wrapping them up, he tenderized them with a tenderizing hammer.  We also purchased two thick pork chops and 2 kilos of hamburger, all for under $15 USD.

From there we drove to a new-to-us restaurant near La Comer, it was called PizzaGuy.  The owner was from upstate New York and his wife was from Mexico City.  


Just inside the entrance of PizzaGuy.


The inside dining area and cooking
area for PizzaGuy restaurant.


We ordered Italian dishes for lunch (Cheese Ravioli for Maggie and Lasagna for me--they were both delicious--the best we've had since leaving Annapolis!)  We purchased a pizza to go to have while watching the football playoff games on Saturday.  (We will definitely be coming back to this restaurant!)

After lunch, we did our grocery shopping at La Comer and then called it a day...


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