http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4357 4357 It's free range time as I see the last sights of the bustling small GringoTropolis of San Miguel de Allende. It's a fantastic place, don't get me wrong but it is also carefully blended to meet the needs of all but the most demanding and/or spoiled Gringo http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4361 4361 I look at the beautiful lake and first think what a shame it is polluted but then again consider what commercial pollution would be built around this rare reservoir if it were not. A lose/lose sort of proposition; fortunately, the imagination still holds http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4364 4364 Strange further yet, I think, as I wonder how any city at all can exist from Laredo to Oaxaca; this dry dusty land seems endless. How could the early inhabitants have carved such beautiful cities out of this nothingness? Ah yes, the silver mines a few h http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4367 4367 For a moment I gasp at the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen, engulfing the entire horizon but unfortunately not bright enough to enlighten a steady image on my moving camera. With knowledge often comes sadness and my awe of this beauty quickly be http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4370 4370 The ordeal of my hotel entry has been spared from my photo collection. Climbing 55 stairs and a couple of hundred feet with 100 lbs of luggage doesn't lend itself toward self photography. The 10 minutes missed bus lands me on the 5:30 bus, the 7PM arriv http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4373 4373 It's my idea of Mexico's Mexican nirvana. This restaurant Truco7 (troo-koe-see-et-ee) is lighted and decorated to take you to somewhere you've likely never been before. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4376 4376 Guanajuato, home of one of Mexico's most famous artists, world known Diego Rivera, seems to still have a lingering aura of his presence here after nearly a century, and if not city-wide, certainly here tonight in this restaurant. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4379 4379 And as always, a sure route to pleasure in my mind, a $7.50 steak dinner plate and a buck and a half beer. Oh, did I say melt in your mouth good. Viva Carne Asada! http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4382 4382 Sitting next to me I strike up a conversation with a young couple as eager to practice English as I am to stumble through Spanish, it's Claudia y Hugo, 2 cousins who attend a university in nearby Leon and have come here for a weekend outing. Very nice yo http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4385 4385 http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4388 4388 I could stay in here all night but while I head to the bano, I grab some candid shots of the many rooms. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4391 4391 http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4394 4394 It's a labyrinth of complicated and narrow calljones (alleys) to make your way anywhere in this city. With only 2 streets crossing through town and 2 more underground going the other way, to get around your choices here are to walk or walk. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4397 4397 I left the restaurant a little earlier than I wanted because I had not yet gotten the feel of the city at night, something always a good idea in an unfamiliar place. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4400 4400 Before bedtime, I push my legs firmly up 3 more flights of stairs to the hotel's rooftop terrace where I am stricken with awe at the sights of the city below. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4403 4403 On the rooftop I meet 66 year old retired Dennis. He explains his wife is not crazy about Guanajuato and gladly sends him on his way to live here a couple of months each winter. Am I looking at a reflection of my future, I wonder? http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4406 4406 The view is just amazing. All this for a $15 per night fee. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4409 4409 There are 3 beds and a private bath with color TV. What's the catch. I know what you are thinking - I am the only bug in this bed tonight ;-) http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4412 4412 There are some limitations to this place I am learning. Hot water runs from only 8AM - 11AM. But if you want it outside this window, simply yell downstairs out your own window "agua calliente" and in 10 minutes it will be flowing again. (Good http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4415 4415 It's a cozy room. Some quirks, as I lie in the bed close to the door to read with the single desk lamp and sleep in the bed in the corner to minimize the occasional late night stair clonker. Oh, did I mention I have free wireless here too? http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4418 4418 OK, next morning I wake up, spend about 3 hours working on photos and captions and take a walk to the terrace on the roof. WOW! http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4421 4421 Dennis explains to me that there are rooms available down in the valley at the Sheraton for over a hundred a night. I like my little place now more than ever. Very cozy! http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4424 4424 I'm not sure how many lifetimes one could spend up here. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4427 4427 Over on the side of the terrace is a covered area with full public kitchen for guest's use. There are 2 refrigerators with mini square plastic baskets labeled with our room numbers. No one stole my Leon beer in 24 hours - this place is growing on me. http://gallery.donanthony.com/main.php?g2_itemId=4430 4430 Dennis seems anxious to show me around. He takes me to a favorite place of his for lunch.