SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

Jan 7

Written By Gabriele Marewski

SCENES FROM THE VAN

There are times when pictures simply say it all!

ARRIVING

San Miguel de Allende - What a charming, colorful town! One can spend days walking the streets seeing buildings and churches from different angles.

The tall church through the open gate is the imposing Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel which was designed by a self-taught architect, Don Gutierrez, who had never been to Europe but had seen postcards of European churches! It’s one of those buildings that you want to spend the day with to photograph it as the light changes.

The dome church is locally know as Las Monjas or The Nuns since it is a convent. It has a bench under a beautiful tree in the courtyard to sit and contemplate life.

LOCAL CULTURE

An interesting cast of characters! In addition to all the churches and murals, there are huge paper mache figures around town called Mojigangas that are used for traditional and religious parades. They are now also used at parties and for retail sales appeal. Hermes Arroyo, a local artist, has made at least 1,000 Mojigangas.

El Charco del Igenio

Maris, Bill and I went to visit El Charco del Ingenio, a botanical garden and nature preserve where Maris and Bill volunteer to remove air plants from trees. The garden is famous for its rare cacti and succulents. It is a 170 acre biodiverse area which features a canyon, wetlands and dry scrubland.

CONVENIENT CAMPING

Staying at the RV park in downtown SMA was great! It’s walking distance to Benito Suarez Park (perfect for the dogs), an organic food market next door, and easy walking distance to downtown for exploring.