San Miguel de Allende

My first trip outside of CDMX was to the beautiful San Miguel de Allende, a Pueblo Mágico and UNESCO World Heritage site. The city itself is tiny compared to Mexican standards, with a population of just under 80,000, but it has a lot to offer. This is mainly because over the past few decades, more than 10,000 Gringos have settled here to enjoy their retirement. The city and region became known for its mining and processing of precious metals, which is why many artists still call this place home. Additionally, this is where the Mexican independence movement was formed.

After escaping the traffic of the capital city, the drive was very pleasant. We made a quick stop just before Querétaro to eat the famous lamb tacos (barbacoa) (it was worth it!). After refreshing ourselves, we swiftly continued for the remaining 1.5 hours and arrived at our beautiful Airbnb while it was still daylight.

Since it was Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) on Friday (there will be a separate entry about that), we went out in the city in the evening and participated in the colorful festivities. The whole city was decorated, people were dressed up and painted, there were smaller and larger altars everywhere, the mariachis paraded through the streets, and there were Catrinas (the typical female skull figures) everywhere.

Afterwards, we relaxed on our balcony, enjoying the view and drinking some bottles of wine.

On Saturday, we explored the city extensively. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck with the weather and it rained for the rest of the weekend starting from lunchtime. Nevertheless, I managed to take some photos.

Before heading back to CDMX on Sunday, we visited an old textile factory that now houses about 30 art galleries and studios. Unfortunately, photography was only allowed in the entrance area.

Afterwards, it was time to go home. Unfortunately, it seemed that other people had the same idea that day, so it took us over 7 hours for the almost 300 km journey... But by now, I have almost gotten used to the traffic here, which is much easier when you don't have to drive yourself.

In my next entries, I will tell you a bit about Mexican traditions and problems here. If you have specific questions about it, just let me know and I will address them next time.