Stuck in San Miguelle

So even on the easy rides Churro usually has something up his sleeve. I have previously mentioned I cannot access gas below the petcock, so despite having gas in the tank I can run out of gas. Well Churro decided it was time to come to a halt with a Pemex tauntingly in sight, but too far for me to want to push that fat bitch. So close yet so far, that green sign says Pemex!

Ok, I will tip you up on the kickstand to get the gas from the right side wing over to the left so I can drive rather than push. After filling back up at the Pemex we continued on to the pueblo magico Dolores Hidalgo, a city I have heard good things about but have not yet made it to.

A random church of the way to Dolores Hidalgo

Dolores Hidalgo, a pueblo formerly only named Dolores, until a man, Miguel Hidalgo, stepped in and took over. Actually, he is well known as the priest who spurred the Mexican War of Independence back in 1810, calling for the people of Mexico to rise up and kill off the Spanish bastards who had stolen their lands and enslaved them all. He reportedly gathered an army of over 90,000 poor farmers and other brave Mexicans, doing all this without a facebook page, call me impressed. Unfortunately for Sr. Hidalgo, he ended up decapitated with his head displayed for all to see in Guanajauto as a reminder of what happens when you call out the elite, but eventually the people won their independence from the Spanish bastards 10 years later. Before he was executed it is claimed he said “Though I may die, I shall be remembered forever; you all will soon be forgotten.”…now that is one bad ass hombre! I am definitely stealing that line when I am executed. Possibly more important than this though, Dolores Hidalgo is now also well know for their homemade ice cream sold all over the centro, so I bought some of that, despite enduring the past few weeks of cold weather.

I love when the celebrate my arrival in these towns

Impossible to get this church without the wires

Dolores Hidalgo is nice, but a bit small. I could have stayed several days but moved on after 1 as I had seen most of it. I ate ice cream, got a couple tortas for lunch, and found a street burger for dinner. The burger was a messy delight full of both burger and hot dog, but since I am once again a month or two behind I don’t really remember what else went on in this town, but I did enjoy it and will use it as a stopping point if ever in the area.
I had a few options moving on from Dolores Hidalgo, so heading for Queretaro I chose the route that took me straight through San Miguel de Allende only a quick 45 minutes away with no plan on stopping, but figured I should take another look for old times sake. During the van trip we stopped here for 1 night, which was all we needed. San Miguel is an absolutely beautiful city, but it has been over run with gringos for a long time. I remember seeing numerous plates from both the US and Canada which was odd, as most locations during the van trip I did not see many other US plated cars at all outside of Baja. Of course with gringos comes high prices, so San Miguel is not high on my list of Mexican destinations. It is not only that I am a cheapskate, though I am, the unfortunate effect of gringo popularity means that cost of living, and goods go up and hurt the locals, something that my friends in Mexico have even commented on when I mention San Miguel. I did end up enjoying my evening in San Miguel on the van trip, and remember chilling in a park somewhere listening to the numerous musicians during the night. This time I am not stopping here, so figure driving through will be a nice reminder of the 2011 trip.
Filler from 2011-8 pictures, that is all I took of this beautiful city, I really was burnt out

Well once I got to San Miguel I was reminded of how beautiful the city is, and almost completely devoid of tourists/expats thanks to covid, so I changed my plans and decided to stay the night. I found a hotel with parking a bit outside the centro, but an easy walk to everything around. I believe the cost was 25USD, and for the most part I was the only 1 there. After a shower I set off to find some food and check out the city. It was much emptier than most places I have been thus far, but everything was open, so it kind of gave me the city to myself. Unfortunately the musicians are non existent due to covid, but I was able to find food despite restaurants and bars being empty. I walked all over the city, and took the guitar out to an open field near the hotel where I wouldn’t bother anyone, so it ended up being a continuation of my desert relaxation rather than an adventure. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to stay other night….and another…and eventually I found myself stuck in San Miguel for a week or so when I was only planning on driving through.
2020 and recharged…so here are 40!!

Now that I am old it’s not often I am out after 10pm, so I had no idea there was a curfew in place requiring places to close down. I had gone to a bar with a friend at 9:15, only to find out we needed to finish the beer and leave by 10. The bartender told us where we could buy beer, but the stores are not supposed to sell alcohol after 10 and his hot tip was a dud, so the store would not sell us beer. Of course I waited in the car so it wasn’t because the gringo wanted beer, we just happened to find an honest store that was following the mandate, nothing wrong with that. Luckily this is Mexico, and the 3rd store we tried sold us beer, so we took the party back to my friends house despite knowing covid would be out on the hunt now that it was nighttime.

Def not as fun as the Ruta de Mezcal

Despite enjoying my stay, San Miguel does have it’s drawbacks, one being the gringo prices previously mentioned. A perfect example was the morning I couldn’t decide what I wanted for breakfast. I reluctantly headed for the centro, knowing I would be paying more for the location, but decided to check the cafe which had constantly had a small handful of gringos out on the patio throughout my stay. Well, all I did was look at the 1st few entries on the menu before changing my mind. They wanted 50 pesos for a juice, when they are normally sold in Mexico for about 20 pesos, and sometimes even less….a difference of 1.50USD, yeah I don’t think so. I once again decided to fight the hombre, this time finding a guy selling donuts and coffee out of his home. I was able to buy 2 donuts, plus a coffee for 30 pesos, less than 1 juice at gringo cafe, I have won this battle! Luckily outside the centro there are still plenty of non gringofied food spots, so I was able to get some carnitas tortas for only 24 pesos, and this enormous bag of chicken and potatoes for under 5USD.

Eating well, but doing nothing, it was once again time for Churro and I to move on, this time to the city of Queretaro. I had heard there is a very nice centro, yet all the amenities of a big city as well, which means much more going on than this past week in San Miguel , so we were ready for the change. But before we get to that post, let’s finish off with more pics of SMDA, since I have more than 8 this time.