Taking a vacation from our vacation, Part 2

We spent a few days in San Miguel de Allende, the town we lived in for six months in 2010, when Indigo was 3 years old. San Miguel is packed full of retired Americans, and it seems like there are even more of them than there were 6 years ago.  Certainly the whole city seems to cater to Americans even more than it used to -- every last store in the center of town seems to have become some sort of tourist shop.  These shops are often full of beautiful things, but after living in Oaxaca it doesn't seem like a Mexican town to me.

But it is beautiful, full of lovely buildings, fountains, and artesanias.  Here's a beautiful carved door.

And here's a shop that seems to specialize in wings. (Not the kind you dip in blue cheese dressing.)

The main church in town is called the Parroquia. You can't really tell from this nighttime photo, but it is bright pink. Here it is with some giant puppets, which seem to have been made to celebrate someone's wedding.

This guy made me think of the kid's book Caps for Sale.

The high point of our trip to San Miguel was a visit to La Gruta, where there are hot springs, with several pools of varying temperatures to swim in.

On the left you can (maybe) see the entrance to the cave where the hot water comes from. La Gruta is one of my favorite places in the world.

Taking a vacation from our vacation, Part 1

It's been a busy month, so I haven't been blogging much. First, there was Thanksgiving -- we cooked a meal for about 15 people, including both Americans and Mexicans -- and then we went on a 10 day trip to Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende, and Mexico City.

Huatulco is a beach resort town, but not horribly touristy like Cancun or Acapulco.  It's only about 150 miles or so from Oaxaca, but since there's mountains between the two cities it's a six hour bus ride.  Or, if you're a relatively rich and spoiled American, you can shell out $200 (for 3 people) and take a 40 minute plane flight, which of course is what we did

So we spent a few days visiting various beaches or the hotel pool, swimming for a while, and then sitting in comfortable chairs while people brought us food and drinks. We also visited the turtle museum.

When they feed the turtles, the local lizards drop by for lunch too.

The water was beautiful and clear and fairly warm, considering it's December.

Indigo went snorkeling for the first time.

After swimming and snorkeling, there are coconuts.

Then and now

2010

2016

Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City. This is the blue house where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived. I make a pilgrimage there every time I'm in Mexico City.