Oh my goodness, a Parade

Last Wednesday Kevin and Ruth arrived in San Miguel and parked up their RV "Sherman" at the Botanical Gardens just a short walk from our home. We set up a day together on Thursday and let them relax at their new parking spot.

Thursday morning they walked over to our house on the cliff. We gave them a quick tour of this lovely home and headed into town. Just as we arrived in town we heard marching music and we discovered a parade was in progress, along with the crowds to accompany that. This day's celebration was in honour of Ignacio Allende, a hero of the revolution who's surname was added to the city's name for his bravery. Ignacio Allende was a captain in the Spanish army but became a sympathizer of the Mexican Insurgent movement and was ultimately captured in the state of Chihuahua and executed. January 21 is now a national holiday in his honour.

Every school in town seemed to be represented with a marching band and also the armed forces and police were involved. The skies were buzzing with a foursome of vintage WWII warplanes flying in formation.

After we "had seen it" we strolled on, bypassing the Jardin, where huge crowds were gathered and set out to find the now decommissioned Plaza de Toros. The bullfighting ring had it's last bloodbath in 2013, when an end came to this cruel sport in San Miguel. It is now a venue for concerts and other large social events. Still the building remains unchanged and the infirmary is still there where the unlucky toreadors were treated when the bull actually got the upper hand. By now Shelagh was fading fast and not feeling well. When lunchtime came upon us she was spent and we hailed a taxi and sent her home. Some toast and sleep got her back on her feet later.

Entrance to the Arena

The "Body Shop"

Visiting a small cactus garden

Lunch was good for me, but no so much for Kevin and Ruth. Their order was messed up and their service less than acceptable. I wonder if the fact that there was no school that day, and therefore the kids were helping out in the restaurant, may have complicated the usual smooth running of the place... After lunch we set out to find Jerry and Paula from Nova Scotia, who were staying at the small tennis club in town which also has a few RV spaces for rent. We found the place to be sans Jerry and Paula. Later that day Kevin learned that they had found refuge at the hotel "San Ramon" just north of the city on the highway to Dolores Hidalgo.

We returned to the centre of town and stopped at our butcher shop to pick up chicken breasts and then to the market for romaine lettuce, to be spun into a dinner of Caesar salad and grilled Tuscan style chicken for our new found friends Kevin and Ruth, who's blog we have been following for years. After a wonderful evening with copious amounts of wine they said goodnight and walked over the hill back to Sherman, their cozy RV for a good night's blogging and sleep.

You can read about Kevin and Ruth at travelwithkevinandruth.com

 

Posted with Blogsy