Adios San Miguel de Allende …

Four straight years of participating in the Holy Week of Easter in San Miguel left Bev and I opting out of too much mingling and moving with the masses this year. In years past, we had often followed and photographed to excess perhaps, the many somber and celebratory processions that flow throughout the city. San Miguel comes alive at Easter, with Mexican tourists flocking here from all over the country, intermingled with a handful of Europeans, Americans and Canadians all eager to experience the legendary Easter religious rituals performed by locals every year. Sometimes it is enough to just enjoy the general ambiance. That often meant staying behind, enjoying our peaceful garden patio with a good book in hand :), or enjoying a meal or drink at a cafe near the Centro and viewing all the hullabaloo from a distance. One can still catch a hint of mastranzo (a minty herb) and chamomile wafting in the air … masses of these herbs are used over the two holy weeks … inside homes, lining the streets for certain processions, in churches, businesses, restaurants, decorating the various altars depicting the seven stations of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Need I say, San Miguel is a very religious city, high on Catholic rituals. For some reason, Mexican Catholic celebrations sit more comfortably with me than they do in other countries and generally I do enjoy the religious ambiance that prevails here at Easter … hmmm. However, it WAS a pleasant feeling to not participate as a harried tourist, frantically trying to capture every moment through a phone lens. I have certainly done both in my day :).

We did manage to find our way to the awesome Monarch Butterfly Migration in late February! Every year, we were either too late for it or we just didn’t feel like taking a day away from San Miguel! Great experience to share with Bev and her sister Jo Ann! Long twelve hour day though … comprised of almost eight hours of driving, followed by a steep horseback ride and hike to the site. There are times when iPhone photos do no justice whatsoever to a nature phenomenon such as this! Wished I had brought a good camera … such is life … a rich imagination is required to view my photos to get a feel of what we experienced 🙂

Up close and personal with a few monarchs that landed near us … tried to post a video …. not able to unfortunately … maybe weak wifi at our place 😗.

Adios mi amigas and amigos … swell having time to share some films, various concerts and impromptu gatherings! Til next year …