When to Leave Well Enough Alone

The previous post brings me up through the end of 2016.  I have been in Mexico for well over a month now, escaping the brown of winter.  Though I aspire to get caught up on the blog one day, Mexico offers timeless days and rich distractions.  I vow not to “fast forward,” as I want to remember them all.   And so begins 2017…

Transportes San Miguel, the trans-border bus that goes from Dallas to SMdA has brand new Volvo buses this year. Nice and clean, but they crammed in a few extra rows and took out the arm rest in between the seats. Sad!

Transportes San Miguel, the trans-border bus that goes from Dallas to SMdA has brand new Volvo buses this year. Nice and clean, but they crammed in a few extra rows and took out the arm rest in between the seats, no longer offering the same comfort as the inner-country buses. Sad!

My casita rental for the week between Christmas and New Years.

My casita rental for the week between Christmas and New Years.

Beautiful apartment with koi pond in the courtyard. Great location of you don't mind climbing the hill.

Beautiful apartment with koi pond in the courtyard. Great location of you don’t mind climbing the hill.

I’ve been coming to San Miguel de Allende almost every holiday season since 2007.  As one might expect, each year brings changes.   In the case of SMdA, those changes are being rapidly accelerated by media coverage    The climate, culture, and cost of living warrant reviews like International Living magazines designation as  “Top City to Retire Abroad.”   In 2013, Conde Nast even named it  “Top City in the World.”  While all that brings around a lot of stimulation for the local economy, it also contributes to what locals refer to as the  “Disneylandification.”

View of "Disneyland's Castle," the Parroquia from the outdoor terrace of the restaurant, La Posidita.

View of “Disneyland’s Castle,” the Parroquia from the outdoor terrace of the restaurant, La Posidita.

Looking down from one of the narrow streets leading to the Mirador, or scenic overlook.

Looking down from one of the narrow streets leading to the Mirador, or scenic overlook.

Not a good sign...

Not a good sign…

San Miguel’s only saving grace at slowing growth is the lack of a local airport. The nearest access by plane is in Leon, a two hour ride away, or Mexico City at four to five hours. Shuttles are easy and inexpensive, but hopefully just intimidating enough to keep the weekender crowds at bay. Though most of the gringos are expats living here full time, the tourist masses during the holiday season appear to be well-heeled Mexicans, spending their holidays in the “jewel” in the crown of Mexico’s Pueblo Magicos, or “Magic Towns.”

I skipped my annual visit last year in order to help my brother Don, who was in the process of remodeling his home for sale.  In that two year span, change was more evident than ever….some good, some not so good.   The rapid changes in the name of “progress” prompt me to ponder, what is the tipping point where some place quaint and unique becomes overdone?   When should “well enough” be left alone?
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Each year, the stage for the New Years Eve celebration gets a little bigger and a little more high tech. This year, it featured a football stadium-sized diamond vision screen with multiple entertainers. As I watch the stage being erected with dizzying efficiency as is often the case in Mexico, I think back to my first New Years Eve celebration where there was only a canned soundtrack to the fireworks show. At the stroke of midnight, the chosen song was Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing.” Now, every time I hear that song, such an odd choice for a NYE celebration, I’m taken right back to my first New Years Eve in the Jardin at midnight, sparklers waiving, children dancing, lovers kissing, and the smell of gun power smoke wafting through the air. I not only “don’t wanna miss a thing,” I don’t want to change a thing!

New Years Eve sound stage.

New Years Eve sound stage.

This is Jack and Francis. He plays nine string, and she plays seven.

This is Jack and Francis. He plays nine string, and she plays seven.

New Years Eve dinner, Molcajete, named for the stone mortar bowl it's served in, which holds in heat.

New Years Eve dinner, Molcajete, named for the stone mortar bowl it’s served in, which holds heat.

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Another mark of progress, good for the expats and the local economy…not so good for us “traditionalists” is the evolution of San Miguel’s organic market.  This used to be a Saturday morning, “home grown” affair.  It was as much social as it was functional.  Gringos showed up wearing their sun bonnets on a Saturday morning to fill their Via Organica shopping bags with mesclun greens, squash blossoms, agave nectar, and the always in demand Orange Donuts from the Panderia La Buena Vida booth.   Saturday was a red letter day for foodies in San Miguel.  But that market has now been moved indoors.  They occupy a large 3-story building in what was once the Ferreteria, or hardware store.   You can now shop for organic specialties seven days a week.  But with that convenience, gone is that intimate and unique feeling of the Saturday morning social gathering.

Beautiful mushrooms in fancy new organic market.

Beautiful mushrooms in fancy new organic market.

New chocolatier, (behind the glass)

New chocolatier, (behind the glass)

Recently designed upscale food market didn't go over...

Recently designed upscale food market didn’t go over…

Unwelcome change in the name of “progress” also comes on a smaller scale.  One of my favorite stops in San Miguel has always been the little “yogurteria,” Santa Clara.  Their yogurt tastes like “real” yogurt, tart with chunks of real fruit.  Not like the cake-batter swirled with marmalade, sickening sweet of some yogurt brands.  But Santa Clara was bought out by Coca-Cola.  The owner of the little local shop chose not to fall in line with Corporate Coke, and closed his shop.  It’s now yet another farmacia along the main drag.IMG_2545

Saturday Arts and Crafts Fair at the Instituto Allende.

Saturday Arts and Crafts Fair at the Instituto Allende.

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Sadly, for better or worse, San Miguel is becoming more “Americanized” than ever, as US customs slowly trickle down.  Some translate culturally, while others do not.  San Miguel is working at becoming a more “pet friendly” town.   But pets are treated differently here in Mexico.  They are viewed more as “animals,” which seems to bring about the extremism in gringo pet owners.   For example, we went to a very fancy “farm to table” brunch in an Italian-style villa on New Years Day.   Two pet owners brought their dogs to the table…literally.   This was a five-course, fine dining meal complete with wine pairings, yet the dogs were allowed to sit in their owner’s laps, eat from the table and lick the stemware.    In another instance, the poor dog beneath the table barked with every single breath, while the three margarita-infused women above the table were impervious to his cries for attention.   As rules loosen with pet-friendly establishments, so do those of pet etiquette.

I love the Spanish word for pet..."mascota."

I love the Spanish word for pet…”mascota.”

Fortunately, the goats didn't come in for the "farm to table" dinner like the pet dogs did!

Fortunately, the goats didn’t come in for the “farm to table” dinner like the pet dogs did!

This guy's a little wild-eyed. Love that he has tufts of hair on the end of each horn.

This guy’s a little wild-eyed. Love that he has tufts of hair on the end of each horn.

Nice beards...

Nice beards…

But change has come for the better also.  San Miguel’s restaurant scene is hopping.  Lots of new options have opened since I last visited, some with a great deal of success.  Restaurants are receiving notoriety with the country’s foremost chefs, while other attempts like their upscale food court, now an empty warehouse did not fare so well.  One of the newer, more innovative concoctions, Don Taco Tequila, offers “specialty tacos,” strips of rib-eye nestled in soft corn tortillas, while he inner “shell” is made from a layer of cheese, sizzled to a crisp on the grill.  Oh yeah!

Don Taco Tequila Bar

Don Taco Tequila Bar

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Just when we were figuring out that the relative of tequila, Mezcal is more than clear rot-gut with the worm in the bottle, Sotol comes along. Grown from the Desert Spoon plant in the agave family, Sotol goes through the same process as tequila, whereby the core is cooked, shredded, and fermented. But the taste is not the same. Despite the fact that the overpowering bitterly alcohol taste had undertones of buttered popcorn, I did not like it. My first comment was “No one light a match.” I think I’ll stick with tequila.

Every place has its tipping point where growth and progress wipes out the uniqueness and charm.  And every person has their threshold where a place no longer holds enchantment.  San Miguel is not there yet…close, but not yet.

One institution that's consistent in San Miguel... Tianguis de los Martes, or the Tuesday Market.

One institution that’s consistent in San Miguel… Tianguis de los Martes, or the Tuesday Market.

If you can't find it at the Tuesday Market, you don't need it!

If you can’t find it at the Tuesday Market, you don’t need it!

My favorite "parfait," beets, carrots, and jicama, doused in fresh squeezed lime juice and chili.

My favorite “parfait,” beets, carrots, and jicama, doused in fresh squeezed lime juice and chili.

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14 thoughts on “When to Leave Well Enough Alone

  1. Hello, I love the photos we are headed there on the 9 th . Do you have the contact number for that cute casita? We will be looking for a dog friendly place. We are stuck here in Bend Or in the snow! No my dog does not eat at the table. He is a real Dog! Thank You Virginia vcrews97@ yahoo.com

  2. Change seems to be the only constant! Did you notice Midlothian & Mansfield when you went through Texas? I’m sure this growth and change is occurring everywhere. I don’t like any of it, but I don’t know what can be done about it. That’s one reason I live in a little PO-dunk, behind the times little place in SW New Mexico. After my occasional stints in Houston, this is indeed a breath of fresh air!!!

  3. Great Post. I used to travel a lot in Mexico years ago but never have been to San Miguel. I still would like to go there one day. I hear so much about it. And it still looks lovely altho it isnt the same as you remember it years ago. Things change . Sometimes a bummer when you like the way it was.

    • Hi Susan, the cost of my one week rental was $300. I believe he prefers to rent by the month but my timing was good, in between tenants.

  4. Love this post! Heard myself whisper to myself “there’s Don!” I like the colors you capture in your photos as well as the beauty of the whites & creams of the animals.

  5. Not sure about returning 20 years after touring central and eastern Mexico because of radical change especially my favorite Ooxacca . Yet there is way more to the country to explore. The markets grow out of proportion. I saw Mexico on the other side of the wall today at Organ Pipe.

  6. Time marches on as does “progress” as some like to call it. The reality is that we can rarely return to a place and it will remain the same. The information age is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Once posted and desired a place can be totally ruined of the charm that it once had. It can so soon be over run by the well healed tourists that want to have every modern convince of home wherever they go. So sad! Your photos are awesome.

  7. Just a quick question…do you drive your motorhome into Mexico? I have heard that this is extremely risky and have carefully avoided considering Mexico as a destination. You seem to be unafraid of the unrest there, and have little fear for your security…maybe I’m just too fearful….

    • Hi, Brett — Thanks for the question. As I just responded to another commenter, no, I do not drive the RV in Mexico for two reasons. Reason Number One, my Winnie has a Mercedes diesel engine that requires the ultra low sulfur diesel not yet sold in Mexico. But that’s just an excuse for Reason Nbr Two…I’m too chicken. But my fear is not of “unrest.” It’s of hitting an unmarked tope (speed bump) and taking out the undercarriage.

      I enjoy the Mexican buses. They are not the stereotype “chicken buses,” but rather luxurious with reclining seats, footrest, large windows, and wifi. I prefer leaving the driving to someone else when I am in another country were my language skills are marginal.

      I wouldn’t say I have “little fear for my security.” I would prefer to think I am an “informed traveler.” I typically spend a couple of months per year in Mexico, and so far the only “unrest” I have experienced was some very apologetic taxi drivers on a day that Zihuatanejo decided to strike in protest of rising gas prices.

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