August is a nice time to visit Guanajuato. It's the off-season so the locals remark how uncrowded it is. My goodness, I'd hate to see it any busier – the streets and the sidewalks were just packed. It is a hilly city, and its historic district is full of narrow streets and a network of…
Guanajuato is an old Spanish Colonial silver-mining city that is located near Mexico's mountainous geographic center. The climate is cool, dry and sunny; and the buildings and their surroundings are so pretty and colorful it's hard to recall Guanajuato's bloody past. Guanajuato was at the center of the Mexican Revolution of 1810 – the revolutionthat Mexico celebrates…
The Sanctuary at Atotonilco, about 8 miles north-ish of San Miguel de Allende, was started by Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro in 1740. An artist from Querétaro, Martin Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, painted Father Neri's poems and sermons on the walls of the sanctuary. And on the ceilings. And the doors. Inside and out. What's…
About a month ago when we thought it was as hot and humid as it could get in Mazatlan,* GB decided on a trip to higher (cooler, drier) ground. We took an 8-day loop by Primera Plus bus to explore the old Spanish Colonial towns of San Miguel de Allende, Atotonilco and Guanajuato. All are located…
Sis took us for a bit of tourism to see the world’s largest and heaviest bronze equestrian statue, located at El Paso’s airport. The statue, entitled “The Equestrian” but actually depicting the Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate y Salazar, is breathtaking in both its size and its detail, but has been the subject of much…
The visit to El Paso in July was good – the summer rains had arrived so temps were about 5-10 degrees cooler than Phoenix – what wasn’t to like? My sister very kindly took us everywhere we needed to go for boat-supply-procurement and other errands. GB and I had lots of laughs with the family, and…
The time in July we spent in Phoenix visiting my brother and sister in law was great. J&M have a very nice house – spacious guest rooms well separated from the action of the master suite; vertical walls; air conditioning; copious use of ceiling fans; two vehicles in the garage full o' gas - you get…
– or, tips for bringing equipment and parts from the US to your boat in Mexico. Tip #1: Individual results may vary. Tip #2: Plan well in advance. In our case, when we entered Mexico in October, 2007, and paid the modest fee for a bilingual employee of Hotel Coral Marina in Ensenada to help us with…
So last month we spent 3 weeks in Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, for a long-overdue visit with the family and to do assorted bits of business plus procure lots and lots (and lots) of boat parts, supplies, and various other items we’d coveted for a while. If you believe you can sell all…
The tropics are hot and humid. Many cruisers who live aboard their boats during hurricane season or other long periods tied up in marinas, make life a bit more comfortable by judicious use of good old American air conditioning. Here’s how it’s done in Mazatlan, where most all the liveaboards run AC at least part…