San Miguel de Allende Revisited

I took a taxi to El Charco de Ingenio, a nature preserve on the outskirts of San Miguel. The park is located on the mountain above town where people will pay millions of dollars for a house with a view. It isn't an impressive park. There are several species of cactus growing. One has the flat, ovoid leaves that those of us who eat them call napoles; another is tree-like with branches that look braided; some are straight and reach for the sky, and a round spiky cactus growing in the area for rescue plants. A resident tree has delicate ferny leaves and little grey air plants growing along the branches. There are several varieties of what I assume to be palm, and others unknown to me, but mostly this land is dry and dusty. I hiked the trails, walked beside the reservoir that I hope isn't the town water supply, and stood at the edge of a rocky little canyon. I left when I felt thoroughly sun-baked and sweat-blinded and hiked down the hill into town. While walking, I couldn't help but notice that the same plants I just paid to see were growing outside the walls of the houses I passed. Go figure.

Looking out over San Miguel .

 

The following day, I followed Henrik, a German staying at the hostel, to a public park a few blocks from the plaza. This park has a basketball court, public restrooms, a few sculptures and a lot of green, green trees. The bird song from among those trees was loud and very lyrical. I was able to spot one that landed on the side of the trunk like a woodpecker. I was very impressed with this green space and made a mental note to go back with my sketch book.

My friend took me to the weekly flea market in the part of town with shopping malls. The market was big, all under canvas and had no particular order to it. Vegie booths were mixed with tools; new clothing faced tables piled high with used clothing; and an occasional craft booth was tucked between tables of plastics and bric-brac. One woman, holding an umbrella to shade her, sold nuts from a wheelbarrow. A man walked around with a stack of caged birds strapped to his back. A girl fed grass to young bunnies in a cage. One vendor sold chicharronas, small pieces of deep fried pork rind, as well as the whole fried side of the hog. I was surprised to see a few gringos there other than myself and my friend, but darned few. This is truly a local affair.