San Luis Potosi:
Walked to Zacatecas bus station before dawn; cold-front passing through, 40-degrees overnight; hands are cold; eyes are watering. High will only be 60-degrees, likely the coldest day in Mexico to date. El Cerro de la Bufa, the valley summit, is illuminated by the colors of the Mexican flag (white, red, green).
Took a bus heading east to Ciudad de Mexico, arriving at mid-day in San Luis Potosi, en route. Bus was full; driver told me to store my backpack underneath. Backpack was tagged; had to surrender the matching tag to retrieve upon arrival. Landscape was unremarkable; almost willing to suggest that the landscape was ugly; geologists may disagree.
Walked 2-miles from central bus terminal to AirBnB; private room at Hostal Chesal. Had time to shop at the mercado for grocery items. Cloudy and overcast skies gave way to sunshine, and blustery wind.
San Luis Potosi is the largest city and capital of San Luis Potosi state; 825,000 people, and more than 1.25-million people in the greater metro area. City sits at 6000-feet elevation, on the Mexican plateau. City was named UNESCO world heritage site in 2010, and is considered an industrial leader, located inside the triangle of Mexico’s three largest cities, Ciudad de Mexico, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
There is an HEB grocery store; HEB is a Texas-based grocery store chain, and is the largest employer in Texas. Discussed HEB in fall 2021; the company self-funds its employee healthcare, rather than pay premiums to a health insurance company, and offers employees deeply discounted prescription prices through its network of in-store pharmacies.
HEB has good quality and fair prices; shopped there often when living in Austin and Houston. Interestingly, there are no HEB stores in El Paso, on the border of New Mexico and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. HEB in San Luis Potosi, is likely the nicest grocery store that I’ve experienced in Mexico, with many products from the US stores, competitive prices, including, Hill Country Products, HEB’s private label brand.
Visited local sights, including Museo Regional Potosino, Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, and Palacio de Gobierno. Was surprised to hear the carillon playing Strauss’ Skater’s Waltz.
Found an exercise park north of centro, at Parque Tangamanga; walk was dusty and dirty; uncomfortable with contact lenses; five-mile round trip, but, better than not exercising at all.
There is a nightclub behind the AirBnB; music shakes the AirBnB until 6:00am (TUE, FRI, SAT). Imagine that experienced monks, like Matthieu Ricard, or Stephen Batchelor, would meditate calmly in such a raucous environment. As for me, it’s a practice opportunity.
Guanajuato:
Guanajuato is capital of Guanajuato state, set in a narrow valley, at 7,000 feet elevation. City has a rich mining history, at one point, accounting for 50% of the world’s silver production. City was named UNESCO world heritage site in 1988, and is recognized as the birthplace of artist, Diego Rivera. Traffic is routed through a complex series of tunnels, developed over several decades, to protect the valley from periodic flash floods.
Trip from San Luis Potosi required three buses. First-class bus, Primera Plus ($19 USD) to Leon, local bus ($3 USD) to Guanajuato, and colectivo, for the four-mile uphill ride into centro ($0.50 USD). Didn’t wait more than fifteen minutes between buses; not enough time to use the restroom (baño) or buy a snack.
This was the first bus trip on a local, two-lane highway, without tolls. Highway fit three lanes of traffic; slower cars would often “hug” the breakdown lane, allowing vehicles to travel over the center line, and pass slower-moving vehicles. At one point, traffic came to a halt – thirty minute delay – it appeared that two tractor trailers collided. Wondered if the bus driver was incentivized to arrive on-time, or penalized to arrive late. Driver was passing traffic, including tractor trailers, on the center line; sat behind the driver, and could hear the “speed” warnings in excess of 110 km/hour (65mph). Sometimes, drive felt like a downhill ski slalom.
As noted previously, there are many auto plants in Mexico. Largest Volkswagen plant outside Germany is in Puebla. Passed Hyundai plant, en-route from Guadalajara to Aguascalientes. Passed the new BMW plant en-route from San Luis Potosi to Leon. Passed General Motors plant outside Silao, en-route from Leon to Guanajuato.
AirBnB had a nice mattress; it’s not that great, but, don’t feel bed springs in my back, and actually slept well for the first time in three months. There is a nightclub in town, if I strain, I can hear “thumping” in the distance. But mostly at night, hear crickets, and perhaps a stray rooster, excited for dawn. Mexican singer and actor, Jorge Negrete (1911-1953), was born at this AirBnB; bronze monument of the actor is located near a fountain, outside the front door.
Awoke one morning to make coffee; stepped in a puddle of water in the kitchen. Found the source of the leak, turned off the water line, and found a rag to wipe the floor. Living three months in an AirBnB, things seem to break; perhaps I could host This Old House on PBS.
There is a funicular – a cable car – that takes tourists to the city summit, and the Monumento al Pipila, offering great views of the Guanajuato valley, and a nice iPhone panorama photo. If a person is physically fit, it’s also possible to climb stairs to the summit, twenty stories.
Dolores Hidalgo:
Located in Guanajuato state, just north of Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo is recognized as the birthplace of Mexico’s independence, inspired by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1810.
Enjoyed bus ride ($4 USD), twisting local road through mountains and rural community. Ninety-minute bus ride; arrived mid-morning. Dropped off backpack at AirBnB and explored city center. Appreciate visiting smaller city; less to see, less to do, less overwhelming.
Used bathroom at AirBnB Sunday morning. When it was time to leave, the door knob broke, leaving me stuck in the bathroom. I quietly knocked on the door, trying to get the attention of the guest in the next room. Lucky for me, he spoke English, and he had tools to take apart and remove the door knob.
Migraine on Sunday; completely incapacitating. Would vomit, but toilet isn’t clean. Neighbors to the left have manic toddlers; screaming for joy, or just screaming. Neighbors to the right are practicing drum set. Ice cream truck is driving through the neighborhood, playing creepy music; wonder if the driver is dressed up as Pennywise the clown.
Budget:
Living in Mexico three months; total trip cost $2052, $22 per day; annualized cost $8140. Will share final budget update at end of April; after four-months, 17-weeks, in country.
- Lodging: $1431 total | $16 day (AirBnB)
- Transport: $355 total | $4 day (United | train | bus, subway)
- Food: $143 total | $2 day (market | groceries | street food | water)
- Other: $123 total | $1 day (foreign exchange | Fortaleza tour | gifts)
Other thoughts:
It’s been suggested that the blog is light on rainbows and unicorns. Intention of the blog is not to scare or alarm people. Not trying to convince or persuade; not seeking to change a person’s opinion; not seeking agreement or consensus. Not seeking concern, sympathy, empathy, or attention. I’m just writing.
Writing about what I know; and writing authentically, which likely means to make myself vulnerable. Until now, often hide dysthymia, self-hatred, suicide ideation from others.
Author Neil Gaiman suggests, “the moment that you feel that you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind, and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.”
Imagine that when I return to United States on April 27th, that I may have slowly adjusted to long-term travel. It’s likely that I spent February and March in the doldrums. When read other blogs, get the impression that travel is glamourous. Reality, at least for me, is that it’s less glamorous. I don’t regret the experience. Most valuable part of this trip, this journey, is that it completely shatters habits, routines, assumptions, and beliefs.
Long-term travel is likely ordinary and mundane; likely a reflection of me; pretty boring.
LinkedIn profile suggests that I am “on pilgrimage” a journey of sorts. Borrowed this suggestion from my friend, Greg. Maybe I’m on this journey because I can; no spouse, no house, no stuff, no kids, no mortgage, no consumer debt, no career, no life. And likely, no one cares what I do, anyway.
Feel lonely, alone, isolated, and irrelevant; to quote Zen Buddhism, a stinking bag of skin.
Mexico City Loop: MON April 4th – MON April 18th 2022
San Miguel de Allende to Santiago de Queretaro (MON April 4th)
Queretaro to Pachuca Hidalgo (WED April 6th)
Pachuca to Ciudad de Mexico (FRI April 8th)
Ciudad de Mexico to Tepoztlan Morelos (SUN April 10th)
Tepoztlan to Cuernavaca Morelos (TUE April 12th)
Cuernavaca to Taxco Guerrero (THU April 14th)
Taxco to Toluca Mexico (SAT April 16th)
Toluca to Ciudad de Mexico (MON April 18th)
garthmonroe 