After rising early in Guadalajara, I headed out for another driving adventure to two towns, which have been on my bucket list for years. Both are 15th century mining towns that are locked high in the mountains, with substantial areas that are pedestrian only. Guanajuato is on the top of a mountain with a confusing array of “other” towns up-and-down the surrounding hills. To make matters worse, this particular mountain has a series of hand carved tunnels to drive though. I tried to take a picture while driving, but failed miserably. After coming out of the tunnels, I just parked the first place I could and hailed a taxi to finish the journey. This was my smartest move of the day. To call this town a maze would not be doing it justice. I am sure I missed most of it during my 2-hour stop. The streets all surround the cathedral with small green areas here-and-there. Turn down one road and you pop out wherever, after it has curved several times and I was disoriented. It is a very beautiful town, as the pictures shows, but I needed to get to my crown jewel, San Miguel de Allende.
SM Allende was about 60-miles further into the mountains. It is hands down one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. I stayed in a hotel overlooking the main square with cathedral right out my window. Magical does not even begin to describe this UNESCO World Hertitage site. I could have snapped a photo at every turn and never have captured its allure. There was a wedding going on and the street were filled with mariachi bands, giant brides and grooms, and kids playing with long ballots that they would bounce off of the ground. I spent 2-days walking the streets and going into countless art galleries, high end restaurants, and appealing courtyards. I really felt like nothing had changed here for hundreds of years. Some would call this a tourist place, but in the end, it is because it has so much to offer and see. Why wouldn’t it be tourist. I did see a fair number of tourist, but it was offset by a large number of locals flexing their buying power with a higher standard of living.
From Arizona to Panama Canal 