SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN THE COUNTRY

Yesterday we decided to take a little road trip to the country.  We have read about a place called, Las Terrazas and Casa de Aves.  It is just outside of San Miguel de Allende.  Las Terrazas is a restaurant that is open Thursday - Sunday and Casa de Aves is a hotel.  It only took us about 25 minutes to get there taking the back roads to Atotonilco.

It was a nice drive.  Everything is green because we are just at the end of the rainy season.  We passed through the small communities of La Esperanza, Los Lopez, and La Cieneguita.  Along the side of the road in La Cieneguita was an outdoor Sunday market called a Tianguis.  Here in San Miguel the local Tianguis is on Tuesday.  The Tianguis in San Miguel is much bigger.  This one in La Cieneguita had various food carts, a fresh fruit stand, and numerous blankets on the ground selling used clothing, CD's, household goods, etc.

As we continued our drive, we crossed the Rio Laja.  Children were playing or bathing in the river while a mom or grandmother (abuela) was washing clothes.  She had a wheelbarrow that was full of wet clothes that she had cleaned. 

We followed the signs twisting our way through a small village (not sure of the name) and came upon our destination.  We parked our car and looked around taking in the beautiful green grass, flowers, smells and sounds.  After living in our last home for 25 years with 2 1/4 acres and a bridge over a stream with lots of ducks and wildlife, it was a welcomed view.  Even though we didn't get a picture of the ducks, we did see them and they are huge.  There is even a special sign for their crossing.

We roamed around the grounds.  We entered where the outdoor restaurant, Las Terrazas, is located on the water.  This time of the year the water is muddy (lodosa) because of the rainy season.  The waiter told us other times of the year it is clearer and is fed by a natural spring.  We walked over by the hotel, Casa de Aves, and looked at the pool which was small, very clean, and had a bar.  We could picture ourselves relaxing by the pool and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.  Sam felt the water; it was warm and was being heated by solar panels.

We strolled back to the water and found kayacks and a zipline.  Having had a late breakfast, we really weren't hungry for a full lunch.  We decided to have a drink and enjoy the view.  Sam had a margarita and Bob had a glass of vino tinto.  The waiter brought us each a quesadilla with two different salsas, salsa verde y salsa rojo.  Both were picosa.  We watched while the cook pressed the fresh masa to shape the tortilla and put it on the hot griddle.  She topped it with cheese, folded it over, and there it was...a fresh hot quesadilla. 

This place will definitely be on our list of places to frequent when we want to get away from the city.