Getting ready to end the Mexico Menaderings on Tuesday  and head back to Minnesota.  We will have been gone 45 days.  Staying in private homes through the airbnb website has been an interesting experience.  For the most part we have stayed with folks who left the USA to try another life in Mexico.  Some have only been in Mexico six years or so but others have been living here for a good portion of their lives.  They were all great in helping us plan our days.  You never know what you are going to get with an airbnb stay so be prepared and open minded.  Other than the unfortunate blockade experience on the bus ride to Chiapas we have not run into any difficult experiences.   We never felt in any kind of danger although we have certainly stayed out of areas with State Department warnings.  Mexico is rich in history, culture and art and we have enjoyed wandering through museums, archeological sites and churches.  We've enjoyed bus trips out to the countryside where you can still see horses plowing the fields. It's good to see folks protesting Monsanto here too.  I'll miss the abundant fruit choices here.  I won't miss the rough sidewalks.  We were lucky neither of us took a tumble.  I rarely took off my tennis shoes.  Mexican women love their high high heels.  I don't know how they do it.  I wish I had a couple more days at the beach.  I'll miss having somebody doing my laundry for me even though one place gave my tan shorts to someone else and it was days before I got them back.  People work really hard here and their days are long.  It's not good to see so many children working.  I'm glad to see alternative transportation services in Mexico City and it generally was less smoggy than I was expecting.  I'll be thankful though to get back to a place with water that I can drink right out of the tap.  Ok, going out for one more beer then it's time to pack!

Strolling through Chapultepec Park today.  It was free day in the park and we started out with the Contemporary Art Museum, then the Rufino Tamayo Museum.  Combine those and you might have something like the Walker in Minneapolis.  Then onto the zoo.  We skipped the Anthropology museum. I know, I know it's probably the best museum in the world of its kind but you can only do so  much.

We were back on the subway yesterday heading for downtown again.  The subway gets easier every time I use it.  Saturday morning was less crowded as I suppose folks were getting a later start to their day. The subway is 5 pesos one way.  That's less than 40 cents right now.  What a bargain.  Our destination was the Belles Artes.  A beautiful building and the location of many fine murals by Diego Rivera, Siqueiros and Tamayo.  Outside is the beautiful Parque Alameda and just beyond that is the smaller museum that houses the most famous of Rivera's murals depicting La Catrina and historical figures walking through the Parque Alameda on a fine Sunday afternoon.  The mural survived the earthquake in 1985 that killed thousands in the city and was later moved to its current location.  When we arrived at the museum there was a recital of pianist and vocalists going on so we could not get up very close to the mural. Apologies to the artists as I came in scrunching my water bottle and zip zip zipping my purse.

Sitting in the park yesterday in the Coyoacan neighborhood about 8 subway stops south ( ?) of our neighborhood.

This is a photo of me and two strangers. I know its weird but there is something I like about it anyway. We were at the Frida Kahlo Museum yesterday.  It was high on my list of things to do.  We didn't pay the extra 60 peso fee allowing rights to take photos inside. Took a few in the courtyard outside anyway.  Loved the inside of the house.  They left everything just as it was when she was living there.  Beautiful display of costumes and jewelry.  As I write this it is not even 8 am and someone is playing very loud dance music somewhere in the courtyard of the apartment complex where we are staying.  An updated version of the Bee Gees Inside and Out is playing.  Ahh, I can hear a few neighbors beginning to protest.  Music still going half an hour later.  The place where we have been staying was once called Little Peyton Place.  It was built in 1908 in a London style by an Irish architect.  The inside of our apartment has features that remind me of San Francisco.  This building has a long history.  Placido Domingo, Luis Buñuel, Octavio Paz and Frederico Garcia Lorca among others lived here in the past.  And now we have a famous DJ just outside the window. Get the party started.

Out amongst the teeming masses yesterday and today. I don't know what the population is now for Mexico City but there were a lot of people walking the pedestrian mall between the zocalo and the Bellas Artes yesterday. The double long red metro buses were packed to standing room only.  The green street cars looked the same.  Cars are everywhere.  Meanwhile down below, the subways are filled to capacity.  We rode the subway yesterday and today in rush hour.  Maybe it's always rush hour.  The subways are confusing at first but then you learn the lines by color, the stops by symbols and the directions by what's at the end of the line.  Just happy that I'm not taking that to work every day.

A few old white domes in Mexico City.

Eco Bici, bike rental in Mexico City like the Nice Ride green bikes in the Twin Cities or similar to other metropolitan areas like Paris.  Mexico City has designated bike lanes in high traffic areas.  I am nervous here just crossing the street with all the traffic.

Exploring the La Condesa neighborhood on our first day in Mexico City.  In the Parque de Mexico there were hundreds of dogs and their dog walkers.  Dogs of every breed.  After their walk they all go to their favorite spot in the park and lay down to rest in a nice big row on what looks like the same mat you might have used for nap time in kindergarten.  No barking allowed.  If you misbehave you are removed from the group and are tied to a tree until such time as you've learned your lesson.  In another section of the park we sat on a bench and tried to eat our takeout lunch of chicken and rice.  Several puppies got wind of our lunch and a cute golden retriever took the chicken wing right off my plate before I knew what was happening.  Bone and all, it was gone in seconds.  I think somebody needs to be tied to the tree.

Not quite to the top of the funicular for this photo.  Guanajuato is a spectacular looking city and is so different from the quaint cobblestones of San Miguel de Allende.  It really has a European feel to it.  In our short time there we peeked inside church doors, sat in the beautiful jardin, walked a bit in the underground tunnels now used for cars and buses and still had time to run down to the mummy museum.  After that we were dead tired.

Yesterday we were in the city of Guanajuato just for the day.  To see it properly you MUST take the funicular to the top for a view over the city. If you have time you could walk back down.  We did not have time because we only had about four hours to see everything.  We decided to do a day trip to this city instead of staying there after finding it difficult to locate an airbnb stay.  This is a challenging city to be on foot.  It is VERY hilly and while the town itself is nice and compact running the length of the ravine or valley it looks like everybody lives up an alley on the side of a hill.   I can only imagine what it must be like to live there.

Happy Mother's Day from Mexico.  They celebrate on the 10th of May here. It doesn't matter what day of the week it falls on.  As we walked down the hill into town I noticed a few women bringing clothes out to the sidewalks to sell.  Big day for a garage sale.  They must call it something else though. We headed to the mercado this morning. They were selling fruit baskets and flowers like hot cakes.  The butcher shops on the east side of town were all hopping especially the poultry shop where a dozen or so waited in line to give the butcher their order.  We've been in San Miguel for about ten days now and we like to get to know a city by just wandering around not looking at the guidebook excessively. Today we were asked if we knew how to get to the Fabrica Aurora by other tourists.  I guess we've been here long enough that we can give directions.  We're thinking about meandering off to some other town next week most likely to Guanajuato.  It will be a little higher in elevation and a little hillier.  I hope I'm ready for that.

Mural from the Allende Institute circa 1959.  That must have been a crazy year.  Pablo Picasso meets the Frankenstein monster.

Walked to the Allende Institute today after it stopped raining.  This was part of the mural in the entryway to the school where folks can take art classes.

It's pouring outside right now so we might be stuck inside most of the day.  Our host left umbrellas by the front door and there is a small family owned restaurant named Oswaldo's down the street so we won't starve. We've been there a few times and they wave to us when we walk by now.  The home we are staying in is up a hill so you don't want to walk into town more than once a day. Oswaldo's has a grill outside and they specialize in tortas, big fat sandwiches with everything on it.  The liquados are good too. The other day I was stung by a bee on my index finger as we were walking by Oswaldo's.  We were going to stop by to get take out anyway so we asked them what to do about a bee sting.  They immediately started chopping garlic and putting the juice on my finger.  I left with a garlic ice pack plus the sandwiches and beer.  Now I have to say the bee sting was particularly painful and by the time I got back up the hill it was somewhat better but when our host got out a paper towel with some vinegar and said use this that was what finally got rid of the sting. I'll have to remember that trick.  Yesterday we spent a good part of the day walking around town and taking a second look at some of the old churches. This photo is from the front of San Francisco church and the outside is particularly nice.  The statues on the inside are in good shape too. I guess at some point during the revolution many statues were damaged.  Yesterday was strangely quiet around town. There were few tourists. It was slightly overcast with a few sprinkles here and there.  We felt that we had the place to ourselves.

We've been staying in a variety of homes on our travel courtesy of airbnb.  It's been an adventure (and economical) because you stay at someone's home and well you get to know them too.  We've had some interesting conversations about Mexico and the world in general and why they came to live outside the USA. They tend to be well read and adventurous.  Those qualities are what made them take the leap to do something else in life.  We've stayed with folks from New York and California.  Right now we are in a home and to tell you the truth I'm not sure I want to leave.  Not all of the homes we've stayed in are in the same category but this one could be a spread in House Beautiful.  I feel very fortunate right now.  This morning our host showed us the way via bus to the Tuesday Market.  That's where you can find just about everything for a few pesos including shoes, clothing, food, electronics and kitchen stuff.  Today someone was selling clothing with tags from Tommy Bahamas, Lauren, and others.  They might have been seconds or used who knows but if I needed a little shopping therapy I could get it cheap.  Restaurants tend to be a little more pricey here than in San Cristobol but you spend what you want.  We've found that it works out really well to order one salad and one meal and split those.  It's always too much food anyway. After the market we stopped at a family run small restaurant that is up on the same hill as our current place and picked up a couple of to go sandwiches and beer so we can enjoy the view from our patio instead of another sit down meal.  Thunder in the distance.  The rainy season is right around the corner and I'm looking forward to that.  Oh, the rainy season just started.  Glad we've got those sandwiches!

We found our beer and a couple of fish tacos and some chicken taquitos and the world looks beautiful.  Heading back to the guesthouse for a well deserved siesta.

Walking back on the alley way del Chorro path to get back down.  There had better be a beer waiting for me down below.

The view from the top at La Mirador.  The walk was worth it but next time I'm taking the bus.  Somewhere up here (if we kept walking another mile) is a mall with a movie theater showing that new Liam Neeson movie in English.  Is that wrong to want to do that right now when we are in such a beautiful city?

Heading east and up the hill from el centro.  We didn't take a taxi or the 5 peso bus or the trolley tour.  I could have used a lift from the guy on the four wheeler about half way up.  

We are into our third day at a guesthouse in the Guadalupe neighborhood in San Miguel.  One thing you notice right away is that the neighborhood has quite a few street murals. The walls and buildings are better cared for and there is far less grafitti and tagging.  There are also no dogs on the loose like in Chiapas and that is a pleasant change.  There is a ban on leaving your dog on the roof to bark the night away. We have already tried two organic restauants here.  The first one, La Media Naranja had a great falafel salad and delicious fresh juices. The second restaurant, La Via Organica is also an organic store with the same kind of products you would see in the states.  The day we were there they had a Thanksgiving dinner special with all the fixings.  There is supposed to be an organic farmer's market somewhere on the other side of town and so we will wander over in that direction this morning.

The jewel at the center of town.  That's Antonio Banderas with the guitar on the left.  Johnny Depp is watching from the cafe on my right eating pork pibil.

We had to briefly live life without the internet and it was horrible, but we are back on line now.  Yesterday was a travel day and we beat all the other imaginary amazing race teams in getting to our destination of San Miguel de Allende.  Our taxi driver arrived at our Tuxtla hotel before I was ready but I threw my stuff together and piled wet hair on the top of my head.  Tripadvisor says there are two airports in Tuxtla.  There is only one and we got past that obsticle.  The airport is nearly an hour out in the cactus fields.  We did not have tickets but got those in spite of a fairly full flight.  Interjet.  What a great plane.  Roomy and nice comfortable seats.  Free tequila, bourbon, or beer and some little snacks.  Arrived Mexico City on time and walked (uncomplaining) to the far end of the terminal carrying very heavy pack in spite of my advancing years and just barely boarded the luxury bus for Queretaro.  Checked our luggage, received snacks from the stewardess, put feet up on leg rest and plugged in headset to my own personal entertainment system.  I fat fingered my selection of movies and ended up with White House Down in Spanish.  It's always good to choose an action movie when you are trying to translate because the dialogue and plot are at a third grade level.  Arriving in Queretaro you immediately notice that it seems to be a more affluent city with lots of businesses.  White homes everywhere in the hills.  From Queretaro back on a bus that quickly filled up with standing room only as they picked up and dropped folks off into the countryside.  Arrived at 8:30 or so to SMA and got on one final rickety local bus that had an old car license from Minnesota hanging by the driver. Knew that we were on the right bus.