All of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende

AN AFTERNOON AT FINCA LUNA SERENA

May 5, 2019

If you want a special afternoon outside of San Miguel de Allende go spend it at Finca Luna Serena!! Only 10 minutes from the Luciernaga shopping center this property overlooking the Bajio Valley feels like you are in another world. 

Olive oil, olive oil products and vinegars are a passion for Victor Gutierrez and his wife. And they share this passion with you Monday to Saturday with a presentation on the production of olive oil, a tasting and a lovely luncheon for the very good price of 400 pesos per person (cash or credit card). Included are round trip transfers from Luciernaga at 12 noon. The tour/luncheon takes about 3 and a half hours and is in Spanish or English and is for four or more people.  Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende

FESTIVE TIMES TO VISIT SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

April 28, 2019

We have lived as expats in San Miguel de Allende for over a year now and just can’t get over how jam packed our social life has been. There are always amazing events happening all over town, many are not listed on the big calendars that are dotted around town or in the Que Pasa part of the Atencion newspaper. So we are surprised quite often by stumbling onto something beautiful and exciting. 

San Miguel loves to put on a party!!! And we think there are some events you just can’t miss!! (Follow the links to our blog posts for each event) If coming to San Miguel during these times plan ahead and book early since our town can really fill up. Good places to look for accommodation are booking.com, AirBnb and VRBO. If using booking.com please consider clicking on this affiliate link to book at no extra cost to you.  Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende

GOOD FRIDAY, EASTER SUNDAY IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

April 26, 2019

We celebrated Good Friday and Easter Sunday as San Miguel de Allende’s Semana Santa continued.

I went out in the morning on Good Friday to witness two somber events in Centro. The Trial of Christ and The Encounter With His Mother. On the walk into Centro I passed preparations for a neighborhood procession to take place in our Colonia San Antonio as altars were being set up in windows and doorways. Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, FRIDAY OF SORROWS

April 13, 2019

Last night we wandered the streets of San Miguel in search of altars big and small. It was another night for Semana Santa, this time called Viernes de Dolores, Friday of Sorrows or Night of the Altars. 

It is the last Friday of Lent when the Virgin of Sorrows is honored with altars in public spaces and peoples homes. Public fountains are filled with flowers, altars set up in all the churches, “carpets” created in the streets, windows, doorways and entry halls of homes are lit up with candles, strewn with paper and real flowers, gold paper flags in oranges, drapes of purple and white and statues of the Virgin. All elements have significance.  Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende

ENTRANCE OF THE LORD OF THE COLUMN

April 12, 2019

Sunday morning, two weeks before Easter we got up early!! 4am to be precise, since we wanted to go and watch the “carpets’ being made on Avenida Independencia in San Miguel de Allende. We would then wait until the “Entrance and Discovery of the Lord of the Column” (Estrada y Descubrimiento Del Señor De La Columna) procession went by at sunrise. 

Getting up this early wasn’t easy but we were so happy we did as the spirit and camaraderie of those working on the “carpets” and witnessing the event was palpable. 

This was the beginning of Semana Santa or Easter Week. In San Miguel it actually stretches to two weeks filled with solemn processions, altars, flowers, music and more. It is our first time experiencing this so we wanted to dig right in.  Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende

WHY SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE IS STILL PERFECT FOR US

April 11, 2019

Many people moving to Mexico ask the question “should I live in Merida or San Miguel de Allende?”

We have just arrived back to our home town of San Miguel De Allende after almost two months traveling around the three Yucatan states of Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche. And, (drumroll please) our move to San Miguel as the perfect spot for us to live in Mexico has been reinforced. 

We really enjoyed our vacation and seeing the sights of Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Valladolid, Merida, Izamal, Uxmal and Campache. But for us and for sheer comfort, convenience, culture, climate and cuisine San Miguel has them all beat hands down.  Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, State of Campeche

THREE DAYS IN COLORFUL CAMPECHE

March 18, 2019

,Since we had made the trip to Uxmal to see the ruins we felt we may as well continue on to visit the colorful town of Campeche on the Gulf coast of Mexico. It is an Instagramable Unesco World Heritage Site especially in its Centro where narrow streets are lined with pastel colored facades. 

Campeche is a walled city, some of which are still standing, and the Centro is within these walls. This is pretty much where the tourist area lies and most of the restaurants and shops. The wall was created to defend the city from pirate attacks and you can walk on top of a small portion by going to the Baluarte de San Francisco and paying 15pesos per person.  Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, State of Yucatan

A VISIT TO IMPRESSIVE UXMAL

March 17, 2019

A week ago we made our way from Merida to Uxmal, very excited to see these impressive ruins. We had pre-booked our bus tickets using SUR, a second class bus company that is the only one that travels to Uxmal (50% discount for me using INAPAM over 60 resident card). This bus continues on to Campeche. Something we would do the following day. There is no on-line booking for SUR so you must go to the bus terminal in order to purchase your tickets. Uxmal is a popular trip, especially for day trippers, so I would do this initial section a couple of days in advance. 

It had been difficult getting actual information on the bus service and route for this bus. At first it looked like we could take the bus to Uxmal but would either have to return to Merida and take a separate bus to Campeche or we would have to resort to a 1900 pesos ($99) more direct taxi ride. But it seems this thru service is new and we lucked out (see more on our post Three Days In Colorful Campeche). Continue Reading…

All of Mexico, State of Yucatan

A MONTH IN MERIDA, MEXICO

March 10, 2019

Thinking correctly that it would still be the cold winter weather up in San Miguel de Allende during February and March we added colorful Merida into our 2 month Yucatan adventure. Today it is 99 at 5pm, so we are definitely getting our heat fix in. 

Here for a month, we have plans to return in December and January, once again to escape the cold San Miguel weather. Because of the heat having a pool at our Airbnb is a must and we lucked out with a nice sized one, big enough to do laps in. A good Merida Airbnb is not cheap though and we will go over our monthly rent budget. This time we have a house in the Santa Ana neighborhood but it isn’t available at the end of the year. For that we just booked a two bedroom apartment, once again with a decent pool for its 6 units. Booking ahead during the busy season is essential in order to remain at least partially on budget. Some offerings are ridiculously priced for what they offer so do some homework. We really like the Santa Ana neighborhood for proximity to Centro.  Continue Reading…