Guanajuato Wow!

This is the coolest Mexican City… beautifully set in the valley between several hills with tiny alleys and several roads that are pedestrian only. This because old silver mine shafts are used as a subterranean road system that frees up the surface for beautiful walking. The town is small (85,000 people) yet has a university. There are tourists, but probably more mexican tourists than gringos.

This was one of the richest cities in the world at one time. Reportedly 20% of the world's silver came out the mines here. The mine's themselves are now an underground road network that allows for a very sweet above ground pedestrian environment. The best I've seen so far in Mexico.

If you don't know, you can click on these pictures and they become big.

This is the view at night from the roof of my hotel... $16 a night...



As in most of Mexico, there's some great public art. If you click on this picture you'll see a two staues, one in the foreground and one up on a hillside above the city...



This is a little fountain near my guest house. Kids play soccor and people hangout hear at night.



Typical neighborhood stores sell everything you need... and best of all ... NO CARS!

The big white building is the university. It was controversial when built in the 50's, but people have grown to really like it.

Many of the arteries are underground and like most Mexican cities, there's a good bus network. Here's a picture of the steps going down from the surface to a bus stop.







I also really like the way the tunnels transition to the surface... here's a picture...



The town is almost entirely made up of Callejon's which are pedestrian alleys that are too small for vehicles.



Here's the alley that goes up to my hotel Casa Bertha. I love this hotel. It's got the best view in town on the roof...



I've been taking some amazing night pictures. You have to click on these to get the full effect...


Tomorrow I'm back to Mexico City for the completion of my dental work. Then, next Saturday, I'm heading back to Boston.

Day 13

Ah, the street food... it is so yummy. I always tell comidores that I don't eat meat and they tell me what they can make... below are tortillas stuffed with nopal cactus covered with mole sauce, sour cream, cheese and advocado...

San Miguel D’Allende

This is sort of like Martha’s Vineyard of Mexico. Incredibly beautiful and incredibly expensive-- even by US standards. The Gringos and upper middle class Mexicans enjoy this as a place to live-well-- away from the craziness of their home cities in Mexico or the high prices of the US. I am really here because my good friends from NYC were here and I thought it would be good to hang out and see it now because otherwise I’d probably avoid coming to such a gringo-haven. One of my major goals while I’m down here is to improve my Spanish. That is hard to do when English speakers are estimated to make up between 10% and 30% of the population. But anyway I sure aint suffering...

Like in many rarified towns, the people who work here can’t afford to live here. Also there’s a huge parking problem. For some reason I haven't been taking many pictures of that... but there's an empty space in front of this really cool house...

Just outside of town is a botanical garden... I went with my class mates from Spanish Class. The guy on the right is my professor



Lots of cactuses and it gives you an idea of what the country side was like before it was cut up by roads and villages




Last weekend I went to "La Grutta" a thermal hot spring spa about 10 minutes out of SMA. It's really a must go if you make it here. Very relaxing and very nice hot water to soak in. They have a really cool tunnel and cave that you can soak in. I didn't risk my camera in it to take pictures. But here's one of the above ground pool...

At La Grutta I met Moy and Alicia, two hip 20 somethings from Mexico City who were up for the weekend. We spent most of the afternoon together and had a really memorable evening taking night shots of SMA. This is Alicia taking a shot...

This one sort of looks like Alicia firing a rocket launcher but I like it!

Finally, my favorite shot of the evening. I pulled the camera away just before the shutter closed...

Day 4

My trip to Mexico is funded by my paper savings in having dental work done here instead of the States. I needed five crowns. In Boston this would cost a minimum of $1200 per crown or about $6,000. Here the cost is a little over half of that. My joke is that I’ll come back with a full set of dentures, but really this dentist is really awesome. As of today, three of the five crowns have been completed and I’ll have two more my last week in Mexico. That will be the week I’ll give you the official dental report with pictures of me and my dentist. My shiny new crowns and hopefully a report of no complications.

Coolest Street Furniture Ever

I’m Staying at the Casa Gonzalez in the Zona Rosa, or Pink Zone. It’s a trendy area with a couple of Woonerf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woonerf) like street/ pedestrian malls. It’s pretty much known as the gay area with cafes with names like “Be Gay/ Be Proud”. The bars are apparently pretty wild, but as I don’t stay up that late I can’t report on them.

Between my hotel and the Zona Rosa is Avenida Reforma. The City has been investing a lot of money in to making this a showcase for the city. The most modern buildings, all the embassies and many government offices line Reforma. My favorite part of the renovation is the way cool street furniture.

One must see attraction in Mexico City is the Anthropology Museum. It has great exhibits showcasing the populating of the Americas up to the Spanish Colonization. My favorite part though is the architecture… check it out…