OUR SIMPLE LIFE IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

Our friends and family are always asking how we spend our days in San Miguel. It is very hard to explain unless you have been here. But, we will try.


Our day begins with the crow of the rooster telling us it’s time to rise and shine and by the beautiful sound of the morning church bells. Of course, there is also the barking of the dogs and the music of the song birds. We turn over a few times and finally Sam gets up. Bob is hoping for a few more winks.

Leaving our bedroom you must step outside and then enter an internal staircase to the living area below. Sam makes this venture each morning. She then turns on the computer and gets the day going by reading the morning emails, the Detroit News, etc. A while later, Bob comes down, greets Sam and puts on the coffee. By 10:00 a.m., it’s time for exercise, a shower and then breakfast. One certainly does not want to rush the day.

By 11:00 a.m., Sol, our five-day-a-week housekeeper, has arrived. Usually at this time we are ready to leave the house with our list of errands. Today was one of these typical days. We walked up Canal Street to the Jardin in Centro; this is the town square and about a 20 minute walk from our home. We get to the Jardin and walk around to see if any of our friends are “hanging out”. If so, we spend some time chatting with them. If not, we may sit and relax and observe the general surroundings and people watch. We also purchase our weekly newspaper, Atencion.

Now, we are off to do some shopping at our favorite stores. First stop, the meat market on Masones. Then Bonanza Market…they have a variety of “gringo” products. Two doors down is our produce market. Then off to our favorite wine store, La Europea. Of course, there are many other places we shop for flowers, baked goods, etc. Very close to the house is Mercado de San Juan de Dios. Across the street from San Juan de Dios is another market where we can buy fresh flowers.  We also buy as many fresh eggs as we need, fresh squeezed orange juice, and anything else we may desire or want.

By the time we get home, we have been gone about 3 hours. Remember, this is all on foot, carrying a backpack and shopping bags, up and down the hills of San Miguel. When we get home, it is time to clean all the fruits and vegetables. A quick lunch and it is definitely time for a siesta.

This afternoon we heard the familiar, ding, ding, ding, of the garbage man’s bell signally the arrival of the garage truck. Everybody hears it and brings their garbage to the truck. It is quite a social event with all the neighbors bring their garbage, bags, pails, buckets, etc. We all wait our turn then hand our container to the garbage guy who tosses it up to two other guys high above on the truck. It’s a good chance to chat with neighbors and spend a few moments together. If it wasn’t for the trash guys we wouldn’t know the day of the week.

Form our very small balcony overlooking the street we say hello to the neighbor kids and their mothers as the play in the street. We even get to know the neighbor’s dog. Tonight we met, Tino, an eight year-old dog that lives next door.

Before dinner we may go to the large rooftop with a glass of wine to take in the beautiful views of the city. We may have dinner in, at some friends, or at a local restaurant. It all depends how we feel at the moment. After dinner we may go to the large rooftop again with a glass of wine to take in the beautiful views of the city.

This lifestyle is totally different from Michigan. Here it is simple, relaxing but tiring, very rewarding, and we love it. Remember, this can only be done on a day that we are not teaching at Los Ricos, which means about six days each week.

How was your day today?