Walking and talking

Yesterday and today we have mostly done a great deal of walking and talking. Walking is such a challenge because the streets are cobbled and the sidewalks are uneven. You just have to watch your feet or you will get tripped up! The problem is that there is such a wealth of fascinating things to look at. Not only are the streets so picturesque, there are interesting tiendas (stores), galleries, churches, courtyards and restaurants everywhere. Now and then you turn a corner and get a sweeping vista of the mountains or countryside.




I noticed today as we were walking around that there are no stop signs or traffic lights. Not sure how they keep from crashing into each other but it seems to work. They have a traffic cop at some of the really congested intersections, but mostly you are on your own!

Below you see the courtyard of an old convent which is being renovated as the Institute of Belles Arts. It is going to be really wonderful when they finish. It is near the theater where we have tickets to see a flamenco performance tomorrow night. This town is all about the arts.


Oh and it is also about the restaurants because it appears to me that everybody goes out to eat all the time. The food here is so great! Nothing is fried and there is an emphasis on fresh healthy ingredients cooked in very tasty ways. We actually ate in the library cafe today. The special today was chicken fajitas with beans and salad plus cream of broccoli soup, fresh limeade and chocolate cake all for about $9.






Last night I had big shrimp stuffed with a little queso fresca , wrapped in bacon and then grilled. Yummy. We met a bunch of other Americans there and they told us of another nearby place. We went there tonight and met the folks at the next table . He has published 6 books about San Miguel and invited us to a lecture he is giving on Monday. His wife is an artist who crafts silver jewelry. She showed us the lovely turquoise bracelet she had made. They also told us about an archeological sight nearby which features ancient pyramids on a private ranch. The young woman sitting at another nearby table gave us the phone number of an archeologist who is an expert on these particular ruins. We contacted him and he is going to take us on a tour on Tuesday ! Cool! That's just how it is here. Everybody talks to everybody everywhere. There are so many interesting folks here.
Lastly, here is a pretty bad picture of the splendidly decorated bus we rode downtown this morning. It is so fuzzy because the bus ride was really bumpy but so fun and interesting. Tomorrow we are off to a folk festival in the main square with lots of dancing and music. Can't wait!

Location:San Miguel de allende

Down Mexico way

Here I am soaking up some sun in central Mexico. The weather is beautiful and the birds are singing. We are staying in a house with a couple of cats. It is nice having a whole house to ourselves.

Our patio










Today we went out to explore the neighborhood. I ate tacos cochinita pibil with a frosty Victoria beer for lunch at a lovely sidewalk cafe on the plaza. Here are a few pics. Very laid back here, tons of expats everywhere and the local folks are all so friendly.

The monks who live here in the church pictured below make and sell Rompope (a creamy alcoholic drink kind of like eggnog),cakes and cookies etc. can't wait to try it out. We went to a bakery today and had a blast buying one of every kind of pan dulces, Mexican sweet breads. So good! They had lots of kinds I had never seen before.



There were venders selling fresh flowers around the plaza today.


I have been told by a couple of snow birds from Vermont that I met that these taco stands are super but haven't tried them yet.



Many of the inner courtyards are just beautiful.


I am having fun speaking Spanish. The folks here are so patient and used to speaking to people with limited Spanish. It's great! I feel so competent! It is all an illusion though, as I still struggle to understand the natives speaking to one another at normal speed.
Hasta luego folks!

Location:San Miguel de allende, sunny Mexico

We stayed at a couple of National Park lodges and it was a great experience. What made it even better was the fact that we could split the cost of the room three ways since they are certainly not bargain priced.

This is Lake Crescent Lodge where we would have gladly stayed, except that they had no vacancies. It was a simply gorgeous setting on a crystalline lake. At least we got to eat dinner there and enjoy the sunset.










Another booked up Lodge was Sol Duc. It is famous for the hot springs. The sulphur smell was so intense that I was just as glad we decided to forgo taking a dip.

Location:Lodges of the Olympic National Park

Beaches

We visited the beaches and admired the mighty pacific ocean. The tides were running three feet high so we did not get to view any tide pools unfortunately. We did see huge pieces of driftwood and even a couple of structures made out of driftwood set up by beachgoers.



On the Indian Reservation at La Push.


This driftwood house was very elaborate and has hosted quite a few parties.

Location:Olympic peninsula

Banana slugs are real! So are flying fish!

I had heard about banana slugs but never thought I would be lucky enough to see one! We took a hike on a trail called the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rainforest.


It was quite beautiful.


It was very mossy.





This stuff is called chicken lichen. I suppose because it kind of looks like chicken skin.



Then climbing up a tree, there it was! I think it was kind of dehydrated, though, because it was not too yellow. Still plenty slimey though!



We also visited a fish hatchery where they were raising hundreds of thousands of coho salmon to be released into the nearby river. After going all the way out to the ocean for a few years, they return right back to the fish hatchery to contribute their eggs etc. And so the cycle goes.




These are some models they had in the interpretive center. The salmon are so colorful!



Later on we actually saw fish jumping up the cascades in the river. On their way to spawning grounds.

I only wish I had been quick enough with my camera to get a picture of an actual fish flying through the air trying to go upstream. It was pretty amazing.

Location:Olympic National Park

The rainforest by the beach

Today we have ventured up the Olympic peninsula into the National Forest. We are staying at this lovely lodge on beautiful Lake Quinault.






Our room is actually down closer to the lake in a newer section. It is a great room with a pretty view and even a little private balcony. I love it.


We hiked one of the rainforest trails today and saw lots of ferns, moss, and giant trees, but no banana slugs unfortunately.












We also spent a little time out on a broad beach we found on the way. Tomorrow we hope to visit another rainforest and some tide pools!



Itty bitty beach birds only a little larger than a hummingbird.


At the end of they day we played a spirited game of ping pong in the game room and worked a jigsaw puzzle while we watched the evening fire being built in the main lodge.



The weather was great today. I hope it holds!

Location:Lake Quinault, Washington

Bigfoot Country

For the last several days we have been in Bigfoot country. I have been expecting to see Sasquatch step out of the misty woods into the road. The closest I have come was a Bigfoot gift shop with a Sasquatch replica outside. Behold.









The real destination was Mount St. Helen's. I think it was my first time to see a volcano and it was cool. They have a nice interpretive center there with interesting movies showing actual footage of the eruption in 1980. The ranger talk was fascinating and I learned a lot of new things.



There was quite a bit of ash blowing around the mountain so it looks kind of hazy. It doesn't look like much in this picture. You had to be there to get the full impact of what a dynamic event it was.


Miles away down the river valley you can clearly see the path of destruction though it happened over thirty years ago.



All in all we had a great time exploring the area. Here is the place we stayed. We got a big room with three queen beds, a recliner and a dining room table for 6. You don't find that too often!



Today we crossed over the Columbia river on an enormous long and high suspension bridge and ate lunch in the little town of Astoria. That is where the movies Goonies and Kindergarten Cop were filmed. It was very picturesque! Tomorrow we will move up into Olympic National Park. That ought to be interesting. I am still on the lookout for Bigfoot. My grandson would be so impressed if I saw him!

Location:Mount St. Helen's