WiKanes: #2: Leon and San Miguel de Allende

We arrived late (5:40pm) in Leon that Monday. We had missed our connector in Houston. The warm afternoon air felt great as we walked off the plane, across part of the runway, and into the little airport. If anyone remembers John Wayne airport in its early days… it’s about that size: little.

We made it through the first customs checkpoint quickly. However, we were a bit nervous when we stopped to pick up our bags on the single luggage carousel. We watched as bags passed and were picked up. Nothing – no duffels. I worked up the courage to finally practice my Spanish, and asked a gentleman who obviously worked in the luggage area if that was all of the luggage from our flight. He replied yes. Uh-oh! He asked to see our claim tickets, and when I presented them, he excitedly told me that our bags had arrived on a flight two hours earlier, and were waiting for us at the airline counter. Relief!

It was after we made it through our final customs check, and then picked up our bags, that I became quite glad that I had booked direct transportation from Leon to San Miguel. Our very patient driver (who had been there for the earlier flight) helped us to the car, gave us some bottled water, and even turned on the air-conditioning in his car for the drive. His English was great, and he conversed with us just enough to help us get our bearings and to tell us a little about Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende (SMA).

While we thought we were going to a little town in the middle of the country, it turns out that SMA has a population of approximately 100,000… or so we were told. We knew that there was a population there of US expats, but didn’t know that it comprised about 20% of the population. We were surprised, but not disappointed. We had actually picked SMA because of the size and expat population… we figured that it would be a nice way to “ease into” the trip.

Entering SMA, it looked like any other Mexican city to me. We even traveled along a dirt road for a while, the driver doing a great job maneuvering around ruts while the dust created enough haze to look like a thick fog. It was dark, and I was beginning to get anxious (a mix of excitement and nerves). Melissa sat quietly next to me, peering out her own window as the city flew past. Suddenly the city seemed to transition. Roads and sidewalks were made of stone, and grand looking churches rose up around us. Then, just as suddenly, the car stopped. “Here is your hotel.” The driver stated. We stepped out of the cab into a cute, old plaza that looked like something out of a movie. We couldn’t believe our eyes. It was beautiful!

Because cars were not allowed on all of the streets around the plaza, we had to walk (a short walk) to our hotel. It was just as cute. Likewise, because of a problem with keys, we were automatically upgraded to a suite overlooking the main plaza. We knew right away that one night would NOT be enough, and immediately booked our second night.

Here are some pictures from SMA:

View of the main plaza with El Jardin on the left side.

A view of the main cathedrals/churches at the center of town.

Melissa in a courtyard while we were out walking.

The plaza in the morning. This was at about 7:30 or 8am. Our hotel was in the upper floors of the center building. The window of our room is behind the Mexican flag/banner... the window to the right.