San Miguel de Allende

Just a short entry because we are back in Mexico City in the Hostel Moneda. Horaldo the crazy man has arrived, and he is trying to organise a trip to the wrestling. This involves rounding up a group of people and then organising a taxi to take us there and pick us up. There is a huge street market outside the hostel. so it is closed to traffic, this means we have to walk up to the corner to meet Ricardo, our taxi driver. Going out at night is dangerous, but the most dangerous part is hailing a taxi on the street. Not even the real risktaking, Spanish speaking men do that. Hailing a taxi on the street means that the statistics about Mexico being the kidnap capital of the world might just come true for you. The story is that the taxi driver picks up the passengers, drives them to where he wants, meets up with his gang and then they and all their possesions become his. Even the last train on the subway is safer than hailing a taxi. Or so it goes. If, on the other hand you know the taxi driver, and have a time and place for pick up, it is okay. The hostel has its own taxi driver and our excursion is with him. All this and we are only going out from 7.30 til 9.30pm, hardly a late night.

We returned from San Miguel de Allende at 4 pm today, and it met every preconception of Mexico, especially in the rustic, quaint, cute, colourful etc range of descriptors. Some of the features are: cobblestone paths, Mexican folk taking their children to school on horseback while wearing white cowboy hats, terracotta pots, mustard yellow walls, silver jewellry, and a laid back attitude. (If you google the name of the town under images you will see what I mean.)
The thing I did not expect was the number of American and Canadian folk who have retired here, and the ease with which we got around. This town of 60,000 was listed in some newpaper as one of the top ten retirement spots in the world, and come they did. The real estate is cheap (with North American money), in winter it is 20 to 25 degrees, and the cost of living is one third to one half of the US. Many people live in this town for half the year, and I can't say as I can blame them. It is the only place in Mexico where I have seen Chinese food, sushi, Italian food, muesli and decent coffee.

Back to Australia soon.