Trip to San Miguel de Allende & Guanaguato

Reed and Danielle Piepgrass are visiting us from Calgary for a few weeks.  They are considering  moving here so are staying with us while they explore the area.  Brian is away working but we decided that I would drive them to see another part of the interior of Mexico.  It was about a 5 hour drive on the Quota highway (toll road) through rolling hills of well cultivated and irrigated landscape.  

The colonial town of San Miguel de Allende has a well preserved historic centre dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.  It supposedly looks much like it did 250 years ago, with many of the buildings converted into stores, restaurants and hotels.  Today the charming town attracts artists, writers and language students.  

  

The doors were amazing!

 Hidden behind many of these interesting doors are colourful courtyards

 

And of course...the people are always fascinating to me.  

The nearby town (about 2 hours drive) of Guanaguato is an old silver mining town.  At the height of production, one of the local mines produced 2/3 of the world's silver.  The brightly coloured houses are built on the steep hillsides over the mines, but many of the roads are inside tunnels.  Outside, the city is dotted with beautiful plazas.

 

Poinsettias are still blooming in the plazas.   

 

On the way home we stopped at one of the roadside stands selling strawberries - complete with the wicker baskets.

I love this truck that we discovered at another stop.