one more try . . .

This is the third (and last) try to get something on the blog. If this one fails, I'll wait until we get home. The internet connection is very sketchy up here in the mountains and through the thick adobe walls. Let's hope this one works.

Back to San Miguel before proceeding to Patzcuaro.

Our friend Carolyn came in on Thursday for two nights. On Friday we drove out to Delores Hidalgo, the center of the talevera universe. We visited a couple of our favorite resources and did not come away empty-handed. Mr. C espied an especially charming bathroom basin for our upstairs half bath. It got all securely wrapped before I could take a photo but will do so when we get back to the beach. Carolyn was looking for a decorative bowl in which to serve a colorful salsa and found one in a downtown shop. (The other shops we visited are on the outskirts; there must be 30 shops on the road in to town.) She also took me to another store she had been in before and, BINGO! I found some fabulous plates that I bought. Again, they were all wrapped up but I'll photograph them when I get back. Just because I don't need plates is no excuse for not buying them, right? I think I'm becoming the Imelda Marcos of plates. We went back to SMA, went to our favorite fish taco joint for a late lunch, talked, read, rested, and a late light supper and went to bed to rest up for Saturday's trip to the Instituto de Allende's arts and crafts fair.


Craftspeople of every sort some to the Instituto; the fair is set up in the central courtyard, along the terrazas and downstairs in the open-air patio and restaurant. Jewelry, clothing, pottery, carvings in wood and stone,artwork of all sorts, paper maché animals and figures, all sorts of whimsical stuff . . .you name it. The big thing this year seemed to be tiny glass beads made into necklaces, bracelets, fringed belts, sewn onto blouses and shawls. Amazing stuff.

If you wanted buttons, they had buttons. Thousands of them.

Silver anyone? If you wanted silver jewelry, there were at least 25 vendors selling every conceivable design and style.

These little bowls are made out of coconut shells. Carolyn bought me one as a "thank you" for her stay. I will treasure it. She's quite fetching, isn't she?

As we were leaving we were met by this living billboard, the soul of patience and resignation. I did not buy a ticket to the Burro Festival. Perhaps next time.

Carolyn left on the 4:30 PM bus back to Mexico City. She was due to arrive home at 7:30 and, I heard later, she did so. It was fun to have her there for a couple of days. She's an Olympic-caliber shopper with a terrific eye for design and color.

The rest of the time in San Miguel was spent walking around, dining out (Olé! Olé! again for wonderful fajitas) and generally enjoying being there. The apartment we rent is perfectly located, well-equipped, very comfortable. I will miss the morning dok! dok! dok! sounds from the tennis club next door as the early players get in their daily sets.

Tuesday morning we packed up and took off for here. There is a new toll road between SMA and Morelia that sped up the trip by at least an hour. We negotiated the various tiny streets, up and down, and found our rental casita by early afternoon. And what a find it has proved to be.


The house sits at the back of the lot, with a larger casita in front. The lovely, colorful garden is in the middle, blooming with nasturtium, roses, lots of various green succulents and cacti, plus a lemon tree laden with fruit. The fountain is actually a fish pond with about half a dozen creatures swimming around. There is one bedroom with a big, comfortable bed and lots of storage, a living room, kitchen, bath with a good shower. The three main rooms all have sky lights so there is plenty of light. We keep the doors and windows open all day to let in more light and the warm sunshine. This is the view out the bathroom window.

There is a terraza the length of the front of our house where I sit and read in the afternoon. In fact, I got a bad sunburn on the tops of my sandaled feet while sitting there, enjoying the birdsong and the warmth!



The kitchen is wonderful. Big fridge, 2-burner cook top, no oven (but we haven't even thought of using one) microwave. Wonderful colors, good equipment, lots of light. A pleasure to work and eat in.



Wednesday we strolled into the center of town to reacquaint ourselves with familiar landmarks. It has been two years since our last visit. The Plaza Grande is undergoing a face lift; it is all fenced in so we couldn't walk through it. Many of the shops were shuttered. I don't know if that's a permanent condition or merely that it was not yet 11 AM! We'll go down again on Sunday for the big market and check again. We looked in on the hotel where we usually stay; still in operation. Everything looks pretty much the same; red and white paint on every single building. If finally figured out that this is a Michoacan style; all the towns are painted like this.



Across to the Plaza Chica where the post office and public library are. Then up Ahumada to the top of the hill and the Basilica, down Serreto to Ascencion and home. An easy walk, especially if you're not carrying goodies home from the shops. We passed this little collection of shops where, in the past, I have bought many of the paper maché dolls I collect. I'll get a couple of new ones before we leave. They fade something awful in the strong beach light.

PHOTO WON'T LOAD. NEXT. TIME.
PHOTO WON'T LOAD. NEXT TIME.

I admired the ceramic plates hanging on the walls of the kitchen. I asked Richard, the chap who is staying in the front house, where they might have come from. Capula, he replied. So off we went yesterday morning to see what might be there. First we stopped in Tzintzuntzan to pay a visit to the lovely little church and surrounding gardens. The church and its adjacent convent are surrounded by 400 year-old adobe brick walls weathered to a beautiful shade of tan.

PHOTO WON'T LOAD. NEXT TIME.

Inside the walls is a garden of ancient olive trees with trunks so gnarled and misshapen they look like something dreamed up by Tim Robbins.

There are two entrances into the town of Capula. We took the second one. We should have taken the first. Ah, the road not taken. So we ended up at the far end of town. The goodies are at the near end. We did a little shopping nonetheless. I bought a, what else? plate. But before you roll your eyes, it's a gift! And some smallish clay pots; at $20 pesos each ($1.50) I couldn't pass them up. I bought 6; they'll look terrific on the wall downstairs, filled with something that I can get to bloom in the salt air. It was only after we got home and I compared notes with Richard that I realized we had missed the best part. We may to back tomorrow or Sunday.

I am so frustrated with trying to get this piece together that I am going to call it quits and either try later or wait until tomorrow. There is much more to tell but it has already taken me almost 3 hours to get this far and I don't want to spend another minute. I have to walk up to the laundry to drop off a load; they've been closed all week but are supposed to open this afternoon. We are going out to dinner tonight so no worry about cooking. Besides, I need the walk to bring back my usual excellent humor.