Sunday, February 12, 2017

Traveling the Roads of Mexico

It will be two weeks tomorrow since I made the drive back from my "home away from home" each year when the weather is cold in San Miguel.
 One of my favorite views from the house that I stay at are the fishermen who come every single morning to the Bay of Cuastecomate to check their nets and pull in the fresh fish to sell that day on the shore in Melaque.  You could set your watch by what time they arrive.  It is usually 8:15AM and they place the nets the previous evening before sunset.  A long work day for them, but a beautiful sight for me.......
I've been so lucky many times to have the right wing of this house to stay in and to enjoy the large palapa where I can sit and lounge or eat and enjoy all the activities in the bay as well as farther out in the ocean.

That is where all my whale sightings have happened in the past.  Yes, I'm a lucky lady to have a good friend
who enjoys my company for about a month every year.  He and I have been platonic friends for almost forty  years.  The best kind of friend to have in your life.

Usually I pine for the beach when I return to San Miguel, but, not this year.  I had a wonderful month and was ready to come home.  The weather has been so exceptional that it has been possible to have the doors open since it has been in the 80's until the sun goes down.  Joyful.

Here are a few more photos of my month at the beach or my drive back home.

 On January 6th while staying La Manzanilla, many groups of Mexican families were celebrating Three Kings Day.  That holiday is a big deal in Mexico.  School, from the Christmas break, starts right after that so the families who have spent their holiday at the beach pack up after this day and head home. 
 Here were some tourist kids playing on the beach.  It reminded me so much of all the times my children and grandchildren played in the sand in Galveston.  Many many years worth of fun.
 Usually as I pass the Volcano of Fire in Colima, the sky is not clear nor is it blue!  In fact this volcano spewed many times in December and people had to be evacuated and air quality from ash and who knows what was not good.  Usually there is a little cloud right over the opening.  Truly, I was amazed to see the sky so clear on the last day of January as I drove by this immense volcano.  There is a webcam of the volcano if you're interested in watching it when it blows.  Just google it for the website address.
 As always, the Pilgrims heading to San Juan de los Lagos were walking beside the road from all over Mexico.  Estimates are about two million people make this pilgrimage every year.  A little information that
I found out that I did not know is that the Virgen is prayed to for dangerous illnesses or when someone is in mortal danger.  A couple of other interesting bits of information is that there are six artworks in the Basilica in the town by Rubens.  They are behind the main altar.  And, the first miracle attributed to the small statue occurred in 1632! 
 Seven to nine MILLION pilgrims, or peregrinos as they are called in Mexico, make the trip to this site annually.
Truly, I am always humbled by their devotion and dedication along with their persistence and long walks to live their religion.  These last two photos were taken not that far from San Miguel near Celaya.  I had been driving for over three hours at 80 MPH when I spotted these groups as I pulled off the highway onto a smaller road to SMA.  Can you imagine doing this?  I cannot.

One never knows when you get on the highways of Mexico what sights you will see.  I'm NEVER disappointed.  I wish that everyone could drive through Mexico and see all the diversity of the terrain and all the sights that I have experienced.  This country and its people are a treasure.

7 comments:

Peter Kouwenhoven said...

Beautiful Barbara! A nice month on the coast. But 80 mph is a little fast eh?! Just like Darcy drives way too fast, scared the crap out of me!

mexicokid said...

Great post Babs...I am going to Barra in a couple of weeks would you mind e mailing me the driving route you took??? Thanks Les......mexicokid99@yahoo.ca

Unknown said...

There was the time coming back from Guanajuato on the back hills through the pine forrest that I said my prayers before we were lauched off the road to the canyon below. Lucky it did not happen but I felt pretty sure it would. I guess Peter and I would have died happy because we had a wonderful time in SMA. Just for the record with your readers, Babs was not the driver!

Babs said...

Peter, I only go 80 on the straight away roads, other wise in the hilly or curvy areas, much much slower.

Shelagh, that road you're referring too is very scary and I've only driven on it twice. Probably was not going over 40MPH or less. It is treacherous.

Les - I use the Guia Roja book and follow the directions. I don't use highway #s but the name of the place I'm going to. So, it goes: Celaya, turn right to Salamanca/Leon toll road,head north - then follow that road to the Aquacalientes/Guadalajara turnoff. Go to and through Guadalajara (good luck) Be watching for the Colima signs in Guadalajara and once you're out of Guada it is a straight shot to and bypass Colima heading to Manzanillo. Near Manzanillo you will see signs for Barra de Navidad. Again, good luck

Safe Travels.

mexicokid said...

Thanks so much...L

Steve Cotton said...

I could not agree more about the amazing topographical diversity of Mexico. Darrel and Christy said the same thing about our trip to and from Pátzcuaro. I think most of my guests believe that Mexico is desert and cactus. I usually tell them that is only San Miguel de Allende. ;-}

Babs said...

That's funny Steve. It reminds me of my impression of what Texas would be like before I ever went there. I thought it would be wooden sidewalks, cactus and deserts like the Western movies). Imagine my surprise the first time I drove to Houston, Texas in the mid 60's. Here was this tropical city with the most gorgeous tree lined streets. Nary a cactus to be seen. In fact, one must drive almost 8 hours to West Texas to see cacti and desert!