The first thing that hit me as I wandered about town, is how beautiful it is. Churches, gardens and parks a plenty! Almost all buildings maintain the stunning old-style wooden doors, handcrafted metal latches, stone and adobe walls with bright color paint. Wandering down the streets, glancing in and entry and a whole other world appears with gardens, hanging lamps, fountains, adorned with textiles and artwork.
A youth group performing with Our Lady of Guadalupe images on their backs. Their sign says “Reina de México”, or “Queen of México”.
My first Sunday turned out to be Dia de Los Locos – day of the crazies! Fire crackers started announcing the day at 5 am on Saturday! On Sunday morning a friend and I went out for breakfast and families were already flocking to the center of town. Ambulances were blocking off streets and ropes were placed to delineate the parade route. The energy was palpable as everyone secured their favorite spot to view the parade.
I don’t know why anyone would put so much costume on during the heat of the day! There were families, groups, and individuals. During the parade they all seemed to be crammed in the street and bobbing in time to the loud music pulsating from large amplifiers. Periodically, they would shower bystanders with pieces of hard candy.
We soon tired of the excitement (and heat) and tried to make our way home around noon. However, the three-hour parade had begun! We couldn’t go through it, nor could we go around it! So, we found a pleasant cafe to wait it out. Walking home after the parade was breaking up was a treat to see all the delightfully funny, and scary, costumes!
Waking and Driving, oh my! Arriving to my home by taxi convinced me that I would never want to drive in this town. First of all, the streets are paved with round rocks and there are no (!) stop signs or traffic lights! The streets are narrow with no possibility of seeing if someone is approaching the intersection that you are approaching. When you add a big bus or two, and cars stopping in the street for any length of time, traffic travels slowly! I’m impressed that I have not seen any accidents nor hostile interactions between drivers. One strategy is to honk continually as you approach an intersection and dart into it. More frequently, I see drivers sneak up to an intersection and strain to see if there are other cars approaching. As a pedestrian I played it cautious and let cars have the right-a-way. However, I soon learned that drivers want pedestrians to walk quickly into the traffic and they will graciously respond by not hitting you!
The sidewalks seem harder to navigate at times. They are so narrow that you get to play chicken with each walking party you meet. Stopping is not encouraged because you block the parties behind you! There is no gazing at the beauty around you or the Google Maps on you phone because suddenly the sidewalk may slant into the street, or a pillar may appear in the middle of the sidewalk, or holes may appear and tempt you to fall into them.
Suddenly slanted sidewalk! 
Pole in the sidewalk! 
Holes encouraging a trip! 
My México Travels 
Didn’t realize you’d be wandering so far afield from D.F. You may know that Carol B’s daughter has a very nice, friendly café in San Miguel de Allende. There are some interesting mining towns just to the north, though I forget the names. And I personally preferred Guanajuato to S.M.A, so maybe worth a look while you’re in the neighborhood.
If you’re still wandering around, consider Zacatecas for more colonial architecture and urban design along with lots of indigenous culture, and Real Catorce for all sorts of reasons. Those, with the Barrancas del Cobre, were my favorite bits of the Sierra Madre Occidental.
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Thanks Mark – I do recall that you have done quite a bit of wandering in this country. In particular I remember an inspiring photo from Palenque! My first 6 months is already planned: from SMA I go to Puebla, then Veracruz, then Coatepec, then Gruta de Tolantongo, then Guanajuato, then SMA. For the most part I am playing it “safe”. After only a week, I do find SMA a bit gringo-ized, and monied. But right now I am sitting in the Jardín with a bunch of Locos dancing in front of the church – no gringos there! I tried to get the name of Carol’s daughter’s cafe, but she did not freely share – I hope I run into it!
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PS: And, as I meant to say, nice images!
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Thanks so much Kathleen for taking us along with you today. Here is is a landscape party day, overcast and rainy. I’m getting ready to go week around one of the garages. It is so lovely however to take some of the Mexican sunshine, and hustle bustle of the streets into my weeding time. 🙂
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Sounds like a decent day for a Landscape party. I find the heat here sends me back home about 1 pm! The sun is beautiful, but wilting! I do, at times, miss the quiet nights of home. Here, the hustle and bustle is exciting, and sometimes exhausting 😄
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Your pictures are so beautiful!
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How auspicious to arrive on a Celebration Day… but then again, every day as a healthy, retired person is a celebration day!!! Beautiful photos and feeling much gratitude for you sharing…
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Many thanks, BJ – I can always count on you to put things in perspective! Much love 💕
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