March 2023
One year ago I was painting various wood pieces for Hopper, today we are in our 8th Mexico state!
Next stop was through Michoacán to the city of Morelia. According to Wikivoyage:
"Morelia is the capital city of Michoacan. Its beautiful historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is very clean, safe and walkable. It has a pleasant climate, nice parks to relax in, and plenty of shops and markets to browse."
Our day and next morning in Morelia, Michoacán was fantastic! We parked Hopper in an "estacionamiento publico" for the day (and we were also allowed to camp there) in the middle of the city. How convenient and secure!
Morelia is a small and beautiful big city. Several people helped us see their pride and joy and pointed us in the right direction. My highlights are the little things...like the amazing chocolate/coffee/bakery/cafe (yellow building-La Guarecita) where I got the best moka I've ever had and a couple of baggies of chocolates. The gazpacho (fruit of your choice that is chopped up in tiny pieces, mixed together with chili powder then doused with juices) is probably the best thing ever invented.
The plazas with fountains and benches, the acueducto, then the señora at the self serve water store came out to see if we needed help. Another person apologized for their bad English! I'm pretty sure I'm the one that's supposed to be apologizing for my bad Spanish.
These people are amazing.
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We spent two days chasing Monarch Butterflies, and wow! Did we find them. In Michoacán, there is an area called the Reserva de la Biósfera Santuario Mariposa Monarca. Within that area are places you can enter and hike to where millions of them are gathered on the branches and/or flying and mating. You can't hike alone, everyone has a guide (provided when you pay for your ticket).
San Miguel de Allende is a really cool place! I've taken 5 art classes, walked many miles through neighborhoods and Centro, taken 500 pictures, and eaten some really good (and some mediocre) food. I think my favorite is all the murals and colorful houses/buildings.
Last week, we went out for lunch at a little place called Raices, on the Ancha de San Antonio (the main north/south road through town).
We explored the Fabrica La Aurora, an old thread factory transformed into art spaces.
We spent the last 9 days staying with a friend's mom in San Miguel de Allende, who has an adorable pupper named Bibbs. I fell in love with her and her funny disposition. She was found 8 years ago in a gutter, with a wound on her face and all alone. She's living the good life now!
Daniel got up early yesterday to see the tradition of a procession of people bringing a statue of Christ from its regular place to San Miguel de Allende, where it will stay until after Easter.
The townspeople decorated the street (Independencia) with murals made of flowers, that the procession then walked over on their way to San Juan de Dios church.
This article will explain it better than I can:
http://www.experience-san-miguel-de-allende.com/events-of...
I really wanted to go!
9 days ago I stepped off a curb and rolled my ankle in the exact same way I did while hiking 2 years ago. For peace of mind, we went to La Clinica, in San Miguel de Allende, for x rays.
I tried to speak Spanish, they tried to speak English. The radiologist spoke English and told us nothing is broken! Just have to ice, rest, and take ibuprofen.
Two taxis, two x rays, and a short consult with the radiologist=$63 in about an hour total. So many thanks are given to Mexico for not gatekeeping or gouging patients for medical care.
