Trips

…in which Montezuma targets the wrong person

Today was not quite everything we had hoped it would be, but it was a good day nonetheless.  We were joined by two couples last night at the Casita.  The younger couple and their child were from Mexico.  The older couple was from England.  Think the British judge on Dancing With the Stars, whatever region that accent is from.  These couples new each other somehow and were traveling together.  I never did get it straight how they met.

One other couple was already here when we arrived on Saturday.  Fausto and Barbara were from Tijuana and had taken a month off for travel.  So far Fausto had driven to Guadalajara where Barbara flew in to meet him.  They then drove to Puerta Vallarta and then drove back across the country to San Miguel de Allende.  Tonight they are staying in Guanajuato and while we travel there tomorrow they will be on their way to Mexico City for a wedding.  They were very nice and helpful and even shared some papaya with us this morning.

Speaking of this morning, after coffee and updating pictures and this blog we walked down to the Ancha de San Antonio and had breakfast at Cafe del Sol.  Cafe con leche was served in very nice cups.  I had Gorditas and Dixie had some sort of green chile soup with poached eggs in it.  Both were delicious.

By the time we finished we were running late so we took a Taxi to the cafe at the Teatro Angela Peralto to meet Carol and Norma.  They have been living in San Miguel for several years and have even written a book on retiring here on nothing but Social Security.  They were a wealth of information on everything from local restaurants to local characters and chisme (gossip) to medical costs.  Before we knew it three hours had flown by!

Afterwards we attempted to contact another local who was going to try to take us to see Timolandia (a.k.a. Timmyland).  It is an odd home-made house with lots of concrete-over-wire-mesh sculptures and shapes.  Think realistically painted snakes with heads about two feet tall.  Stuff like that.  Now we have to come BACK to San Miguel, just to see that and some other oddities.

Rather than sit around waiting for a return phone call we took a taxi to the botanical gardens.  It was pretty for desert terrain, and the lake was in the process of dredging and reforming the artificial islands, but we did get to see some interesting birds and plants.  The taxi driver waited for us and returned us to the casita.  Unfortunately he also separated me from more money than I care to admit (perhaps double what I would have thought proper) but before I had a chance to work up a righteous anger, Montezuma came calling.  At the first sign of discomfort I panicked, worried about all kinds of diseases and malaises which might be attacking my body.  But after a couple of trips to the bathroom I summoned great resolve and courage and told Montezuma that he had the wrong person!  My ancestors were from the British Isles and had absolutely nothing to do with that evil Cortez and those Spaniards!  This seemed to work, for the cramping soon subsided.  

Well, it was either that or the two anti-diarrheal pills I took. :o) 

Side note:  traveller’s discomfort is called Montezuma’s Revenge, the Aztec Two-Step and the Gringo Gallop in Mexico and central America, Tut’s revenge in Egypt, and Ghandi’s Revenge, Gyppy Tummy, Delhi Belly, the Rangoon Runs, and the Tokyo Trots elsewhere in the world.