November 8, Tuesday Los Azufres

 

Tuesday, November 8  Los Azufres

Election day back in the States.  We all voted early and now are blissfully disconnected from that.

We have breakfast, load up the van.  That's a little more complicated than most days.  Dave and Patty bought a full length mirror from a street vendor.  Shipping it home turns out to be more complicated than initially thought.  We're taking it with us and will revisit the shipping issue when we get back to Morelia.  

Off to the unknown for all of us.  I made reservations for us at Los Azufres Spa so hopefully all is well.  It looks good on Booking.com.  It's about a 3 hour drive and the scenery is nice.  When we get close, we can see puffs of steam in the distance from the geothermal plants.

We come to a really pretty little lake, looks like a nice hotel area.  Oh, but GPS says we're not to our place yet.  We continue on past the pretty lake.  GPS says we've arrived but there is a chain link fence gate, a gravel parking area, a big earth mover carting around mud a couple small little buildings and a green pond.  This can't possibly be where I made reservations.  This is like those commercials of bad booking experiences.  Everyone gets out and walks down to the pond while I try to figure things out.  They are all pretty quiet and have concerned faces.  They find the reservation that I made but they aren't really ready for us.  Their records show that Booking hasn't charged my account.  They try to call Booking on the phone that is attached to a pole outside one of the little buildings.  I tell them that we won't be staying and that we won't be paying either.  I tell everyone that we're not staying and we're going back to that pretty little lake.  Everyone looks very relieved.  Luckily, it isn't the weekend or high season so I feel quite confident that there will be space for us back at the lake.  There is! And, it's about half the cost of the green mud pond place.  I wish I had taken a picture of it but I was too anxious to just get away from it to think about a picture.  

Where we landed certainly wasn't luxury but it sure looked good after the other place!  We got rooms with lake views, had a good lunch of fresh lake trout.  The restaurant closed at 3:30 so we ordered quesadillas to go to have for dinner.  The little store also closed at 3:30 so we got some snacks and drinks to have with dinner.  

Patty went in one of the thermal pools while the rest of us went on a walk to  explore the area.  We were hoping to walk around the lake but the path petered out.  Walk the other way around and see how far we can go.  Hmmm.  Not very far but it is pretty.  We a path up to what looks like some small water falls.  Off we go.  It takes us up to some more thermal pools.  And a merry-go-round.  Fun to see Wynne and Dean go back to being kids.  Each pool is a little warmer as you get towards the source.  People are all in the warmest one.  

We had a picnic dinner with our quesadillas in a nice picnic shelter.  Dave was able to open the beer without an opener on the side of the big grill.   They didn't give us all cheese quesadillas like we asked for, but instead all beef ones.  Bleah!  Still had enough food for the non-beef eaters.  The resident dog enjoyed some quesadillas when we were done.  

We decided to have a leisurely morning here rather than get up early in the morning to drive to the falls at Uruapan.  They're nice but not worth a long drive at the end of a trip.   

Good night.

November 7, Monday A day in San Miguel de Allende

 

At breakfast we have a group meeting.  We break the news that the Butterfly reserve is closed.  We tell about several options.  Everyone agrees that they would really like to do something with nature.  Going to another colonial city is more of the same.  With that information, Juan and I go to the drawing board.  There are hot springs in the direction of the butterfly reserves and there are waterfalls in Uruapan (back past Morelia).  We think we can do both of those if we stay overnight at the hot springs. 

So on with the day.  Juan does an optional walking tour while I do more checking on alternative plans for tomorrow.  After the walking tour, I meet up with Michelle.  We have lunch in the market and poke around in the mercado artisanal.  Michelle would like to find an animal mask.  We have a quest.  After many stalls, stores, galleries, we think we may have found a good one.  It is at the very top of a very tall display.  The woman finds a ladder.  Finds the extension tool to be able to reach further.  Stretch!  Stretch!  Oh no!  It’s tumbling down!  It doesn’t break and Michelle likes it.  Quest complete.  That calls for some ice cream in the park.  I head back to the hotel and Michelle continues poking around.  Several hours later, people gather in the courtyard of the hotel sharing purchases and stories.  The others rave about the restaurant where they had lunch.  About the hat salesman who wore a stack of hats about 10 feet high and how he sold 4 hats to people in our group.  They all look very spiffy!

Dinner is at a terrace restaurant.  I made reservations but didn’t go up to look at it.  What? There isn’t an elevator to take us up there and it is like 4 flights up?  The call of dinner is enough to get us all up there.  The view is nice and the food was good too. 

Sunday, November 7. Dolores Hidalgo, Atononilco and on to San Miguel de Allende

 

As we leave town, we stop at a church overlooking the city.  In many ways, the churches are all the same and yet they are all different and have their own feel.  This one was financed by a single person who was the owner of one of the mines.  The front is all 23 Karat gold leaf.  I thought that was impressive.  And then walked to the front of the church to discover that there were ones just as big and ornate to the right and left.  Oh my!  What could have been done with that much wealth to raise the standard of living of so many people.  It also seemed ironic that there were numerous signs reminding us that this is God’s house, be respectful, no flash.  But all of the pews were cordoned off so it was impossible to sit and really reflect and be in a spiritual frame of mind. 

The scenery on the way to Dolores Hidalgo is very nice as we drive through the mountains.  There is even a song written about the road by the famous popular singer Jose Alfredo Jimenez.  In Dolores Hidalgo, we visit the home of Hidalgo.  Since this town has so much history concerning the start of the fight for independence from Spain, it is very special to Mexicans.  There is a replica of the bell that was rung to inspire the war.  The original one is in Mexico City.  We eat lunch at a restaurant on the square.  They have a huge offrenda to the musician Jose Alfredo Jimenez, who was from the town. 

Next stop is the Sanctuario de Atotonilco, known as the Sistine Chapel to many Mexicans.  As soon as we turn off the main road, it is crowded with parked cars, people walking and little stalls.  Many are selling food but most are selling little religious trinkets.  The one I found most amazing and disturbing were little rope flagellators for children.   As soon as one enters the church, you can see why it is referred to as the Mexican Sistine Chapel.  The ceiling is covered in paintings.  But these are not the beautiful, peaceful, cherubs.  These are mostly black and grays and depict gory aspects of the crucifixion.  Then there is the side chapel that costs 20 pesos to enter.  That is where the real gore and macabre is.  Life size 3D figures of people putting Jesus on the cross as well as the other 2 who were crucified that day.  Arms hanging at strange angles, men on horses coming to do who knows what.  This is so contrary to any way that I think.  Outside of the church is a statue of Hidalgo with a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  The war of independence was a war between the Mexican version of Virgin Mary and the Spanish version of Virgin Mary. 

On to San Miguel de Allende.  Our hotel is wonderful!  First off, the office is a library where one can go sit and look at all the books.  Plants are everywhere and there are little sitting areas hidden around.  Dean and Melanie’s room is the most unusual -  up a little spiral staircase.  But once you get there, there is a cute little sitting area as well as a little balcony.  It’s 2 long blocks to the main square, right next to the park where artist set up their work on Sundays.  Serves breakfast.  I think I may have finally found a hotel in San Miguel de Allende that fits all of my requirements. 

We all walk up to the main square and have a little time to enjoy the ambiance before going to dinner.  The church is beautiful in the daytime and at night when it is all lit up. 

When we were at Canada de la Virgen, we were talking to another traveler.  We said we were planning to go to the butterfly reserves.  He said he had tried to go and that they were closed to visitors because it was their mating season and would not open for another 2 weeks.  Obviously, this was unsettling news.  Juan and I looked into it and the website indicated what the hours were.  Checking it at various times of the day it would say things like “Open”, “Closing soon”, “Closed”.  Seemed promising but I was still dubious without talking to a person saying “Yes, it is open to visitors now”  A bit deeper research confirmed that it was closed to visitors until November 18.  OH CRAP!  What to do???  How will we tell people???

Saturday, November 5 A day in Guanajuato

 

November 5, Saturday A day in Guanajuato 

We all meet downstairs for breakfast at the hotel.  There is a large group of French tourists there so table choice was limited.  The buffet had all the expected items but not much more.  After breakfast we set out for a walking tour of the main points in the center of town.  Juan planned a route with as few steps and up and down as possible. 

We went to the Granary which is where the Spanish loyalist had their food supplies and barricaded themselves when the people fighting for independence  and led by Hidalgo, came to the city.  It looked like it was working until a miner, Pipila, tied a large rock on his back to protect himself from the stones and gun fire as he crawled to the wooden doors  of the granary to burn them down. It worked and Pipila became an instant hero.  His statue overlooks the city.  Later four leaders, Hidalgo being one of them were killed.  Their heads were brought back and were hung on the  corners of the granary. 

Guanajuato is full of small parks/plazas tucked into little corners.  We walk through a couple of the parks, stop to admire the University of Guanajuato.  They have a large “U” “G” by the stairway.  We decided it really needed to be UGA.  Michelle made a great “A”. 

The museum of contemporary art with a characteristic sculpture from Leonora Carrington.

We continue to the boyhood home of Diego Rivera, now a museum.  The lower level is rooms with furniture of the period.  In the stairwell was a large offrenda.  Upstairs was a nice collection of Rivera’s work through the years.  It was impressive to see how many styles of painting he did.  Certainly the large murals are what he is famous for but he was quite competent in many areas. 

Anything for the right angle for the perfect shot.

We walked a few blocks, through a few more plazas to the triangular main plaza which is shaded with large trees.  The opera house is the most impressive building on the plaza.  This is where we take a funicular up to the cliff overlooking the city.  There is still climbing up about 100 steps to the overlook once one gets off the funicular.  We all made it to the top! The view is really nice!

We eat lunch at a restaurant with outdoor seating in the park.  Apparently it is wedding day as we say several groups of people who appeared to be going to receptions.  We saw one bride walking down the steep cobblestone street to the church in her high heels.  The wedding party was helping her.   YIKES!

After lunch Juan continues the walking tour.  This included the street that is so narrow that couples can lean out the window on one side and kiss their lover on the other side. Of course some more churches. The city market ended the tour. 

We planned to order from UberEats  and eat it up on the roof top.  I messed up and didn’t complete the order.  We waited and waited for it to come before realizing it was not going to come.  UGH!  Juan walked us to a restaurant he knew, “Bohemian” that was a few blocks away.  We enjoyed sitting outside in one of the little plazas and were serenaded by a group of wandering singers. 

From the hotel rooftop terrace.