This'll have to be quick as the internet cafe is closing soon. At the moment I am in a rather dire little town called Matehuala, but it's just a stop over before I head off to Real de Catorce tomorrow. But that's to come, what about what has happened.
Well, when I left you last I was off to sample Guanajuato's night life, however it turned out to be a bit disappointing and there wasn't as much on as the night before (I know because it kept me awake!). Although I did get to experience a traditional Guanajuato street band (called estudiantistes), which had the added bonus of being free (hey, I am Scottish after all). Anyway, from Guanajuato I travelled to a small town called San Miguel de Allende (I wasn't planning to originally but I was told that it was worth a day, so I thought what the hell).
SMA turned out to be quite a pleasant town with some well preserved colonial buildings and quaint, steep cobbled streets and plenty of different styled churches. Unfortunately the reason for SMA relative good state of repair is also its downfall: gringos. The place was swarming with them. It turns out SMA is quite a hotspot for retiring Americans, so the town has entered into a sort of Faustian pact: the gentrification of the town comes at the cost of a Yankee invasion. I didn't really visit any museums or stuff but was content to just walk around and soak it up. I also met two guys from Guadalajara and we spent the evening together walking around. It was interesting to see the locals getting dressed up and promenading around the main square as live mariachi bands played. In the old days this was how young men and women would get the chance to meet and perhaps share a brief glance or a fleeting moment together. I also learned a bit of vernacular Spanish from the guys. Apparently chido is good, gacho is bad, and cachondear is very good. The next day I had a bit of time to kill before my bus left for San Luis Potosi so I decided to visit the jardin botanico (botanical gardens) and I was very glad I did. It isn't really a botanical garden in the sense that we might recognise at home, instead all it is is a well maintained piece of land beside a creek, but the enormous diversity of species was absolutely breathtaking. And needless to say I found quite a number of strange and exotic insects, which really made my day. I'm sure the place would also be an absolute heaven for any twitchers (like my former colleague David) but unfortunately I'm not much of an ornithologist. Anyway it was one of those places where you actually feel you want to pay the entrance fee and that they really deserve it.
And so tomorrow I am off to Real de Catorce, which is supposedly a spectacular ghost town up in the mountains, but unfortunately tomorrow is the start of the St Francis celebrations (that last about 3 weeks) which means that the place is probably going to be packed so I don't know if I'll be able to find a place to crash. I'll let you know how it turns out...
Well, when I left you last I was off to sample Guanajuato's night life, however it turned out to be a bit disappointing and there wasn't as much on as the night before (I know because it kept me awake!). Although I did get to experience a traditional Guanajuato street band (called estudiantistes), which had the added bonus of being free (hey, I am Scottish after all). Anyway, from Guanajuato I travelled to a small town called San Miguel de Allende (I wasn't planning to originally but I was told that it was worth a day, so I thought what the hell).
SMA turned out to be quite a pleasant town with some well preserved colonial buildings and quaint, steep cobbled streets and plenty of different styled churches. Unfortunately the reason for SMA relative good state of repair is also its downfall: gringos. The place was swarming with them. It turns out SMA is quite a hotspot for retiring Americans, so the town has entered into a sort of Faustian pact: the gentrification of the town comes at the cost of a Yankee invasion. I didn't really visit any museums or stuff but was content to just walk around and soak it up. I also met two guys from Guadalajara and we spent the evening together walking around. It was interesting to see the locals getting dressed up and promenading around the main square as live mariachi bands played. In the old days this was how young men and women would get the chance to meet and perhaps share a brief glance or a fleeting moment together. I also learned a bit of vernacular Spanish from the guys. Apparently chido is good, gacho is bad, and cachondear is very good. The next day I had a bit of time to kill before my bus left for San Luis Potosi so I decided to visit the jardin botanico (botanical gardens) and I was very glad I did. It isn't really a botanical garden in the sense that we might recognise at home, instead all it is is a well maintained piece of land beside a creek, but the enormous diversity of species was absolutely breathtaking. And needless to say I found quite a number of strange and exotic insects, which really made my day. I'm sure the place would also be an absolute heaven for any twitchers (like my former colleague David) but unfortunately I'm not much of an ornithologist. Anyway it was one of those places where you actually feel you want to pay the entrance fee and that they really deserve it.
And so tomorrow I am off to Real de Catorce, which is supposedly a spectacular ghost town up in the mountains, but unfortunately tomorrow is the start of the St Francis celebrations (that last about 3 weeks) which means that the place is probably going to be packed so I don't know if I'll be able to find a place to crash. I'll let you know how it turns out...
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