Hola Amigos,
This is my last afternoon at the internet cafe, the last few hours before we take off for the airport. The last part of our journey in Mexico will require big muscles to carry all of the things I have bought, a taxi to the bus station, a bus to a bus station closer to the airport, and another taxi to the airport. We get home at around 11:45pm and are hoping that Mike will be there to pick us up. Otherwise we are taking a shuttle home.
Yesterday I made the journey to San Miguel. The fact is, the shopping in Guanajuato sucks. And there were specific things I wanted to get from SMA. Also, K was going in search of tequila and mescal, which I wasn´t too keen on doing myself.
I left in a taxi for the bus station at around 10am. I arrived in SMA at around 12:45pm. I was starving, so I enjoyed a torta at Tortitlan...my favorite torta place ever. You can pretty much tell them exactly what you want on it and they make it. I love how they melt the cheese right on the skillet/grill surface. They burn one side and it is really yummy. Then I asked for grilled onions, chicken, and no mayo. The mayo is way scary. For some reason in Mexico most people leave the mayo out all day in the blazing heat. No worries about bad things growing in it. No thanks! That is touristas/Montezuma´s Revenge waiting to happen. After the torta I went to a few shops collecting the things I had missed the first time. I ended at the mercado, buying bolsas from the local grocers. They have the name of the grocer and bright pictures of fruits and vegetables. I was weighed down with things, but Christmas shopping is complete... before July! How´s that?
Always take the first class bus in Mexico if you can. If you want to see the people and all the places they get on and off between locations, and you don´t mind tacking on an extra half hour or more, take the 2nd class bus. It can be very interesting when you are in the mood. I timed my return for the first class bus. It was the first 1st class bus since I arrived here. I was back in Guanajuato by 5pm.
K and I met back in the room. She had done lots of shopping too and also found out about a cool mescal bar up on the hill outside of town in Santa Valenciana. We went out looking for tamales for dinner. We had tried some the night before and they were excellent (aside from the American cheese in the one I had!). Apparently there is an evening for everything, but not all evenings have the same thing. We could only find elote (corn on the cob - they slather with the scary mayo and pour cheese and chile all over it) but that wasn´t calling. We ended up back at the Mercado Hidalgo. This time we ate at a Fonda, just outside the market. There are stands one next to another, and the owners are cat calling for your business. We went with the place that had guacamole. Of course. If I am going to get touristas, this was the place. I had a plate with beans, salad, and a 1/4 of a chicken. I also got a bottle of auga tamarindo which they must have bought from another stand, because she told me they didn´t have any. If you want it they can get it because someone around has it. It was all very tasty, but I wonder how clean it was. K was more safe with an order of quesadillas. Although she did order one with barbocoa, goat´s meat. It looked okay, but she said it was too gamey and didn´t end up eating it.
Then we went in search of a bus to Valenciana. We were directed here and there. K saw a bus with a sign for "Valenciana." It´s a good thing it dídn´t stop for us, even when we were running after it because it was going the wrong direction. We ended up in a taxi for 30p. It was up up up to the top of the ridge of mountains surrounding Guanajuato. Very beautiful little town. Very isolated. He agreed to return for us in a couple of hours. (It was 80p to get back down.)
It was well worth the trip up there. We met two really nice guys, Alon, the bartender, and Scott the chemist from Toronto working in the mine here. K was really excited because we were able to have a tasting of all the mescals they have. Basically they buy a big barrel of mescal from a guy on a ranch out in the middle of the state. Then they bottle it with different things like cinnamon, ginger, citron, raisins and jamica (rose hips flowers). We also got shots of the mescal reposado (8 years in a barrel). It was excellent. Our new friend Scott had been in the bar most of the day. Apparently, there is no food anywhere in the town, except in the little market. So, he had a liquid lunch and was working on dinner. We invited him to come to town with us.
Back in El Centro, we went to a taqueria that was recommended to us by Riley and Aaron, a few days ago. They enjoyed the food and music by Oscar Chavez...oldish Mexican folk. We got the entire place to ourselves. The chicken sopes had a red sauce that was amazing. After food, we went back to the casa to drop off the bottle of mescal we bought (we will share) and we had a little bottle of mescal K had bought that she didn´t want to bring back to the states, as there are quotas of how much you can briing back with you. Or at least that was the excuse.
Back out in the street, we found Bar Ocho that was recommended by the woman who owns it who K met at the liquor store earlier in the day. Actually, we first stumbled into another place that had big couches, almost as big as beds! Scott and I fell onto one and had a very hard time getting up. It was so inviting! But the problem was the lighting. It was bright as day in there. No mood lighting. I would like to think that it was because they were closing and not that they have no sense of what good mood lighting looks like.
Bar Ocho. Very cool. The coolest place we have been to yet. Lots of cool shit on the walls and bohemian people both inside and out on the patio. It was 4 stories of places to sit and a pool table on the top floor. I met a group of Chinese restauranteurs who came in and sat next to us. I learned some Mandarin. Like "ganbei" means cheers in Mandarin. It was all a little sureal. We stumbled out of there and to another taco place at around 1am. Those baby tacos tasted so good! Satisfaction. We got Scott in a cab going back to his apartment in Valenciana. I am pretty sure he made it okay.
I was feeling pretty cruda (hungover) this morning. I think K was suffering a bit too. It has mostly worn off by now. Lots of water and some good food helps.
We had an expensive breakfast this morning...$190p ... the ONLY thing I have put on my credit card my entire vacation. Not bad. I had eggs with a sincronizada under it. I am not surprised if you don´t know what that is. It is two flour tortillas with ham and cheese melted in the middle. The entire thing had a red sauce over it. During breakfast we had to suffer through two musicos muy mal. You know the drill: they come and play, standing right next to you (which is almost unbearable with a hangover), and then they want a tip, even though you didn´t want to hear them in the first place. It´s a bit of a dilemma because they have nothing I am sure, but on the other hand, I really just wanted to pay them to go away.
After some last photos, searching for items at the pharmacy, and some little chochkeys, we are ready to go. The bags are packed. K is actually waiting for me. We are going to try to have one last meal: chiles enogada. Finally we found a place that has it.
Hasta luego amigos.
Besos,
Elisabeth