The bus was luxurious, complete with a ham and cheese sandwich, drink and spacious seats. The ride to Queretaro was 3.5 hours long.
Meeting out friends in Queretaro, we noticed the cleanliness of the Station and the streets outside. We were surprised not to be ‘swarmed’ by taxi cab drivers as we have been in the past. Queretaro is a large city, close to one million people. Queretaro became a center of intrigue among disaffected people plotting to free Mexico from Spanish rule. In 1917 the Mexican Constitution was drawn up.
Meeting our friends and taking to bus in San Miguel, we arrived around 8:00 p.m. that evening.
'San Miguel is a stunning, clean, neat city with colonial architecture, enchanting hilly cobblestone streets, with narrow (single) sidewalks and amazing light that attracts arts from around the world.
Regular festivals, fireworks and parades dominate the local scene. Our first couple of nights were spent being woken up by fireworks and church bells ringing at all hours of the night for all the Saints in the area. Numerous galleries are stocked with some of the best Mexican artesian and cultural activities are continuing being held for residents and visitors.
There are few sights, as a Mexican-declared national monument, San |Miguel is the Sight. San Miguel's weather is considered among the top destinations for people wanting warm, but not hot days and cool, not cold evenings to sleep comfortably, every day. San Miguel is in the central highlands of Mexico with an elevation of 6,500 feet.
The next morning, MaryIris attended a Yoga Class with her friend, followed by an interesting lunch of scrambled eggs and refried beans mixed together in burrito style with fried plantain in a beautiful surrounding. Gerald took a three-hour tour of the downtown of San Miguel with his friend followed by lunch outdoors where a beer and burger cost less than $5.00 Canadian. Gerald noticed that the bike riders do not require helmets unlike back home.
Very quickly it becomes obvious to us that there is something for everyone in San Miguel. In the weekly “Atencion” the Quepasa section has a calendar of weekly events it has four pages of listings, everything from Salsa Dancing to Art Openings, to Concerts, to Workshops, Yoga, Festivals, Slide Shows, Movies Walking Tours, Cooking Classes, Social Lunches, etc., etc.
People in the Villa \Martha, where we are staying, come from |London, Ontario, Columbia, Burlington, Long Island, \N.Y., Ottawa, Waterloo and San Miguel. Many of them stay for three months to enjoy the weather and the activities and the warm, loving nature of the Mexican people and their hospitality
In the evening of our first day in San Miguel, we enjoy good company, good wine for very cheap and a walk down to the Jardin, town square.
The second day in San Miguel, MaryIris and friend attended a Women’s Lunch and Card Making Workshop. It was a warm, wonderful afternoon of laughter and community-building. Gerald explored San Miguel and had another interesting lunch with travellers in the area. That evening we went to the El Charco Del \Ingenio Jardin Botanico for an Opera.
The El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden reserve covers more than 300 acres adjacent to San M|iguel.
It is a nongovernmental initiative, begun in 1990, to rescue and protect a treasured area benefiting and open to all sectors of the community. It has an extensive collection of cacti and other species of Mexican planstys, many of which are rare or in danger of extinction. In 1995, the Garden was awarded the "National prize of Ecological merit by the Mexican government. It was declared a peace zone by the Dalai Lama in 2004.
Before the Opera we watched a traditional indigenous dance which was spectacular.
Following this ceremony, we participated in an Equinox ceremony in Spanish and English. We were all given a prayer of intention and seeds to sow.
The \Opera, Equinoccio De Primavera was held in the gorge of the Botanical Garden with Soprano Libico Belinda Gonzalez and Tenor Rodrigo Garciarroyo accompanied by pianist Mario Alberto Hernandez. The natural acoustics of the canyon gorge were breath-taking as was the sight of many people sitting on various rocks at various levels in various attire enjoying the music.
The Internet describes this show as:
"Spring Equinox CONCERT –
OPERA IN THE CANYON – 5:30p.m.
As is customary every year, El Charco celebrates this festival of the Sun with a musical offering. This year a special performance by Rodrigo Garciarroyo (tenor), Belinda Gonzalez (soprano) and Mario Alberto Hernandez (pianist) will take place in the canyon’s natural amphitheatre – sculpted by millennia of flowing water. The program will have arias from various operas by Puccini and others as well as some Spanish songs from Zarzuelas."
