Christmas Day 2007

Christmas Day 2007
San Miguel de Allende


I just returned from a trip to the famous “Tuesday Market” way up on the hill outside of town. (taxi both ways - $5us) I’m told it was scaled way back because … duhhhhhh it’s Christmas Day! It opened at 8am but lots of vendors were still just setting up at 11:30 when I left. You name it and it’s probably out there somewhere. Mounds of clothing piled on tables with hands shuffling through exchanging one pile for the other. Garments for $2. Lots of ‘designer’ labels that had been “knocked off” and some miss spelled on the shirts. Fresh produce stacked neatly sitting beside auto parts beside a vendor selling Pig portions. The smells changed with each few feet you stroll. Too many pirated CD and Movies to count. Loud thumping music competing with the guy in the stall across the aisle made for some ‘energizing’ areas. (read: loud) Two stalls of Mariscos. Large Shrimp, Red Fish and Talapia on ice. Must be seen, heard and smelled to be understood.

Yesterday I was a total tourist. After breakfast I took my map and walked a new direction. My plan this trip was to go down a street then over a block, then back up and snake down again. The careful zig zag pattern. Saw lots of new territory and two new churches… Ran into some friends from the hotel and shared a lunch. Finally Mexican Food. I had Chicken enchiladas with beans. They had salad. (waste) then for desert some pastry thing. Like a donut it’s batter that’s ‘squeezed’ from a machine into a rope then deep fried and covered with Sugar. This is served with Hot Chocolate. The hot chocolate is ordered: sweet, semi-sweet, or plain. It’s dark chocolate, thick and rich. I chose semi-sweet. It tasted like a Hersheys candy bar melted into a cup. Perfect for dipping the pastry into.

After lunch, one of the guests needed to walk to the bus station to get her ticket for travel today. So, we walked across town, down the industrial area and then out of town. (where they put busses) It was quite a hike. Then we hailed a cab and had him take us to the ‘top of the mountain’. Another mountain I had not seen before with a new glorious view of the valley. (this is where we saw the clouds and rain on the horizon.) Fortunately it turned out to just be a sprinkle and we made it back to the hotel in about 20-25 minutes of straight down hill walking. The front cooled everything off and refreshed the air to a cool 60 degrees last night, but today it’s clear and warm again.

That’s about it for yesterday. After dinner I walked to the Jardin to find plenty of families with kids swinging 30” flaming sparklers running and laughing around the square. At some random pattern they would ring church bells. (which are still ringing today at some celebration pattern that escapes me.) today I hear them like you would hear your neighbors car alarm. Persistent and prolonged and then suddenly stopped. Last night they were very very Loud. (Not rung like in the movies, slow and deliberate so you can count the rings. Not, ‘for whom the bell tolls.’) These were ringing all over town. (remember there are churches everywhere) Plus I was in the Jardin sitting just in front of the largest church. They would just ring and ring and ring. You could see little men up in the towers ‘spinning’ the huge bells. You could actually feel the noise in your chest. That kind of ringing. Now do this at random intervals from about 7pm till about midnight. Then have churches all around you participating. Get the picture? Now add the loudest fireworks in Mexico to the off beat times. (not firecrackers. not "pop, pop".) Explosions. (think: tremendous rumbling like canon fire from something huge and overwhelming) Not ‘rockets.’ Not something visual it’s something to hear. Something to celebrate. (akin to a thunderstorm, with thunder way off, then close, then on top of you. Totally random, very loud and impossible to ignore.)

I’m sorry to say I missed midnight mass again this year. I came back to the quiet of my room and dozed off just after midnight. Cant tell you how long the fireworks lasted but im sure it was many hours. I did hear them again this morning just after 7:30 when I got up. It’s quite an adventure!

Today at the Hotel there is some ‘big party’ followed by Christmas Lunch at 2pm. I’m told to expect: music, dancing and about 60 people. (instead of the usual 12 or so)

The bells are ringing again now. I can also hear the clip clop, clip clop, clip clop of the mounted police walking below my window. the horse on cobblestone is a music all it's own. Now other bells from a different church. Now others slower from a different direction. Each a different pitch, tone and coming from a separate direction. Now a far off tinkling bell sounds like someone in the kitchen ringing it by hand. Childrens laughter down the street and dogs barking off down the hill. It’s 12:32pm and the town is wide awake.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas time!

From San Miguel. Xo Skip

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