Walking around San Luis Potosi

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AROUND SAN LUIS POTOSI

“The most beautiful things in life are not things; they are people, places, memories, and pictures. They’re feelings and moments, smiles, and laughter.”

This post is a bit of a smorgasbord with some things I noticed from my wanderings around San Luis Potosi. There is so much to see and do.

We walked to one of the large mercados in Centro, Mercado Hildago.  I love walking around these places. They sell everything! Fruits, vegetables, meats, clothing, flowers, decorations—you name it, and they probably sell it. They also have lots of tiny restaurants there. It is very inexpensive to eat at the Mercados.

This time, we decided to try Mundo soup. It is made from stomach linings, etc. It sounds gross, but it was actually very good. The restaurant is called Menuderia Lidia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking back from Centro, we spotted a small store, Ron Huasteco Potosi. They sold all types of rum and tequila. As you can see from the photos, it appears to be a tasting room as well, but when we enquired, they said no, it wasn’t. I think something was lost in the translation. I will check it out another time and let everyone know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the newer restaurants in Centro San Luis is Fork Restaurant. Despite its opulent appearance, the prices are reasonable, and the food is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sundays, one of the main streets in San Luis is closed to traffic until 1 or 2 p.m. People walk their dogs, bicycle, walk, run, and stop for beverages along the way. It’s a great way to meet people and get together with friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, on Sundays in Tequis Jardin, there are artwork displays in the form of paintings, jewelry, etc. At night, a group of people dance. The women are dressed up, and some of the men are wearing Zoot suits. I am not sure what form of dancing they are doing but all of them are in sync. They must go to the same dance studio.

Wikipedia

A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit[1]) is a men’s suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. It is most notable for its use as a cultural symbol among the Hepcat and Pachuco subcultures. Originating among African Americans it would later become popular with Mexican, Filipino, Italian, and Japanese Americans in the 1940s.

There is quite a history to these suits. If you want to know more, just go to Wikipedia. Very interesting.

https://youtu.be/AXdELifka6w?feature=shared

 

For more than two weeks, a carnival of sorts was held at the Jardin Tequis. We are unsure what the occasion was or if this is a regular event, but the kids were having fun.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Uy4JyPBZhq8?feature=shared

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On another walk to the Mercado Republica, we ate again at a small restaurant inside the Mercado. The restaurant is called Gorditas Lupita.  Lupita’s son Luis was our waiter, and he suggested one of the meat gorditas. It was delicious. We definitely need to go there again. Looking at the picture closely, you will see how tiny her stall is. She barely has room to move. If I understood Luis correctly, she has been cooking in that spot for 23 years. You can order her delicious gorditas at 443-330-2096. They are also on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico has elected its first female president. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the next few years. Elections are held on a Sunday. A fun fact. Mexico does not allow the sale of alcohol on the previous day, Saturday nor election day. Here are photos of the alcohol section in Costco roped off. We were there on the Saturday.

 

 

 

While walking through the park, we noticed a bandstand erected, and live music was blaring from it. We discovered later that the man singing (a little offkey) was one of the candidates for president (mayor). Then he steps down and works the crowd.  Now, that is a different and more entertaining way of campaigning.

https://youtu.be/SiLT76j7e4M?feature=shared

 

 

 

There is a group of people who get together and perform every few months or so. They are not professionals, but they are certainly enthusiastic. We love seeing their performances even if, at times, they are a little offkey. For 150 pesos (12.00 CAD), it was well worth it.

 

https://youtu.be/jPqjVtUxIpM?feature=shared

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a huge store in San Luis Potosi that I have been wanting to see. We did manage to go one day with some friends. This place has two floors, and they sell… well, I am not sure what you would call it. I will let the pictures tell the story.

 

 

Finally, if you ever need a hookah pipe, just go to your local grocery store.

 

San Luis Potosi Part 3

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“A photograph is the pause button of life.” Anonymous

One thing, among many others, that we love about Mexico is the enthusiasm that the people show for life.

Our landlord gave us tickets for a soccer game. My husband and I are not sports fans, but we thought watching a game in person might be more interesting. On the night of the game, we headed to the stadium. There were a lot of military and police present, and the military took part in the opening ceremony.

I must apologize for the poor videos. I was so excited that I did not take the care necessary.

Unfurling of the flange by the army.

Watch the guy in the white hat.

 

We enjoyed it immensely, which I think partly was due to the spectators’ enthusiasm. I loved watching the “fake falls” from some of the players. It was very entertaining. One player fell, and when no one came to help, he jumped up and started playing again. Too funny. In the first hour, the weather was perfect, but in the second hour, the temperature dropped, and the wind picked up.

Would we go again? Absolutely, but in warmer weather.

Our next experience with the enthusiasm of the people was at a Beatles Tribute concert. I haven’t had that much fun in ages. The audience, mainly Mexican and many of whom I am sure did not speak English, sang all the songs in English. I think they knew more lyrics than I did.

I went with a few friends on my birthday to one of our favourite restaurants. There was some military ceremony happening at the square outside of the restaurant. I preferred to think that it was happening because of my birthday!!

The other video is at our Spanish English group. I was sung Happy Birthday in Spanish. He has a beautiful voice.

Catching up in Mexico – Part Two

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Life is about the adventures you take and the memories you make. So travel often and live life with open eyes and an open heart.  Author unknown

Catching up Part Two

We finally got settled into our apartment in Melaque. Unpacking what we needed here and leaving the rest to be taken to San Luis Potosi (SLP). It was hot and humid, but little did we know that it was going to get worse.

Our friends came for a two-week stay. We didn’t do a lot because of the heat. We spent an hour or more in the pool, which was not that refreshing. Frankly, it felt like bath water. The ocean wasn’t much better, with temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius.

A rare picture of my husband in the pool

Walking around was not comfortable. So, we spent time in the pool, in our air-conditioned apartments, going out only to eat.  One of the restaurants we chose was Kraken—excellent food and service.

Mango margarita. Yummy

Our friends left after a week because it was not much of a holiday for them. We didn’t blame them. We only wished we were going with them.

CUZALAPA COFFEE PLANTATION – COLOUR OF THE EARTH

We booked the tour with Flip Flop Tours https://flipflopnomads.com/ Dan, the owner of Flip Flop Tours, is an awesome guide. The trip to the plantation is about an hour or two. Dan talks about the vegetation, local history, and background of the names of the towns we travelled through. He answered all questions. It was so informative and interesting. The time flew by.

I have been to this plantation many times. Dan and I thought at least 6 or 7 times. Always interesting and always new things to learn and discover. Check out my post on the plantation.

https://www.thetravellinglady.ca/color-of-the-earth-the-cuzalapa-coffee-plantation/

Rosy, the head of the co-op, remembered me! There were a few changes which was nice to see the progress that has been made. The number of products that they sell from the surrounding communities has increased. This was good to see; as you know, it is helping not just the coffee plantation but also the communities.

We had planned a trip to the coffee plantation in Cuzalapa. We decided to go anyway. There were a few more friends that came along.

Please note the horsetail for sale. Apparently, it is brewed as a tea and is good for a lot of things, including digestive problems. I spent a huge amount of time trying to get that weed out of my garden!

 

A clay oven used by the owner.

This little guy came running out of his house when he saw us. He grabbed a broom because that was what the guide was using, and this little pretended he was the guide. He would find fallen fruit and share it with us. So cute.

 

Our landlords’ son had his 3rd birthday party on the road outside of the apartment. In Mexico, it is common to see celebrations on the street.

I am not sure what they used for the pinatas, but they were tough. As you can see from the videos, even the adults had problems.

Theme Backup – Enfold – 4.4.1

Yes, those are dark clouds, you see. Just as the food was being served, the sky opened up. There was a big scramble to get inside. Within minutes the dirt road was a mud puddle.

Last Friday, we applied for our 3-year temporary residency and got it! All we have to do now is wait for the cards to arrive, which, with any luck, with be in a week. If not, then two weeks. As soon as we get the cards, we will make travel arrangements to go to SLP.

In the meantime, this week, we will apply for our drivers’ licence. I will let you know how that process went.

Until then.

 

 

 

A New Adventure

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MEXICO

It has been quite a while since I have written anything for my blog. Of course, the pandemic reared its ugly head and continues to do so on a smaller scale. Some people chose this time to start or finish a project. Me, well, I went into shutdown. No projects, no writing and of course, no travelling. That, for me, was one of the hardest things. Thanks to my friend and writing coach, Kathrin Lake, she gently prodded me to start writing again. I am writing a murder mystery book and I have decided to continue with the blog but in a slightly different fashion. Since I am not sure whether I will be travelling overseas I have decided to focus on Mexico. In particular, our thoughts and final decision on moving to Mexico. We are going to be exploring new areas to hopefully find one where we would like to spend the majority of our time. So, let us begin!

To live or stay in Mexico longer than the usual 6 months, we needed to apply for a Temporary Residency in Mexico from the country you are a citizen of. The process, if you are prepared with all the required paperwork only takes about 2 ½ hours and that includes going for lunch while waiting for the approval. The cost was minimal, $62.00 Cdn. It will vary slightly from month to month. You do have to qualify financially but if my readers want, I can go into that in another blog. We were approved for the first part. Now we must return to Mexico within 6 months of being approved to finalize the paperwork. Once that is done, we will receive a Temporary Residency card which will allow us to remain in the country for up to 4 years. After that, we can apply for a Permanent Residency. At this point, there is no financial requirements for the permanent one.

As some of you may know, we stay in Melaque ‘for the winter’ which is on the Pacific coast, 4 hours south of Puerto Vallarta. Why not stay there year-round? We think it would be too hot and humid. Also, they tend to have hurricanes and tremendous amounts of rain which brings on flooding. So, we have decided to try inland. We have not decided on our final choices yet but here are a few that we are considering.

Jocotepec

Morelia

San Louis Potosi

Aguascalientes

Comala

 

Do any of you have more ideas?