Cactus in San Miguel De Allende.

Cactus (and succulents) are very much a symbol of Mexico.


From the Nopal cactus in the Mexican flag to the Agave that provides the tequila for that most ubiquitous of Mexican drinks.

Don't get me started on pulque, a fermented rather than distilled product of the agave sap, reputed to be rather slimly in texture. Perhaps one day I will be brave and try it!

Well last week we spent a couple of days in San Miguel De Allende.
Whilst getting our tiles last year at Dolores Hidalgo, we made a number of trips to San Miguel.
We had a bit of a routine, Harry's on Wednesday nights for 2 for 1 martini night. Tio Lucas down the street for some serious beef. Checking out various shops for things for the house.
Now that the house is basically done, we had more time for exploring.



One of the places we found was the botanical gardens.
I am a fan of cactus, and if you are too, you should check this place out!
It is called "El Charco del Ingenio"
If you click on the name you can visit their website and learn more.



The gardens are over 100 hectares , boasting over 1500 species, so plan ahead.
A little sun screen, a hat and some bottled water.
Some good hiking shoes would not be a bad idea.
But if you are like me, bring your camera, and make sure the batteries are fresh.
These picture just a small sampling of what I took!



They also have an extensive bird checklist for birders, so binoculars might not be a bad idea.

Once the weather warms up here in Patzcuaro, then it will be time for me to start my own cactus garden! Can't wait!

I think the next botanical garden we want to go and check out is in Toluca.
The Cosmovitral-Jardin Botanico (click the name for a website with more info)
In addition to the plants they also have over 30,000 square feet of stained glass.

I am planning to go to the monarch butterfly sanctuary this year, and Toluca is not too far past that, so we should have a report for you before the end of March! Or who knows, I might see you there!

Colour!

We are in the final stages of decorating our new home.
Once completed we will post a full house tour for friends and family up north to have a virtual tour.

When we sold our home up north to move to Mexico we wanted to do so as quickly and as efficiently as possible. To aid us in this we hired a home stager.

Dana, helped us to sell our house on the first weekend for more than our asking price.
One part of our staging involved lots of beige, making the home more neutral in order to facilitate potential buyers picturing themselves in our home.

If you want to check out Dana's site here is the link.
http://www.sunonmybackredesigns.com


Now I think we have over compensated from that experience and are having a great deal of fun with the new house as it's just for us.


So allow me to present our new living room.
It is RED, very RED.
I am not sure what Dana would think!

When people come in we get 2 reactions
"That's incredible, I love it!"

OR

"Oh my.........ummmmmm...... that's very red isn't it?"



I should tell you that the red has come out brighter in the picture.
In person you would find it darker, more of a burnt red.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year All!

Okay, new years resolutions.

Mine?

Lose some pounds!
As I suffer for BBR (Beer and Burger Retention)
I will need to exercise more often and consistently and eat better
I have added a ticker on the right to count down 25 pounds of weightloss!

Spend at least 3 hours per week studying Spanish!

Post more often to the blog!
So expect another post tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

And before I go, I would like to share a picture of one of our first visitors of the new year.

Patzcuaro Day of the Dead Market

Over the last few days we have been busy purchasing local treasure to decorate our new home.
Artisans from all over Michoacan come to display and sell their works at the Day of the Dead market in Plaza Grande in Patzcuaro.



Patzcuaro
While, as you can see below, many villages in the area specialize in one craft or another.
Whereas Patzcuaro has a sampling of it all.




This is Mateo, manning his booth at the mercado. When the mercado closes on Sunday you will be able to find him and his wares in their regular location beside the Biblioteca near Plaza Chica.


Santa Fe de la Laguna.
At the north end of Lake Paztcuaro, just west of Quiroga, is the village of Santa Fe.
It is well know for its pottery, in a variety of styles and color, including the black ceramics seen here.





Tocuaro

Tocuaro is a village on the south end of the lake very famous for its masks.
One of our favourite artists is Sra. Enenida Castillo.




We have many of her pieces in our new home.
If you are looking to obtain one of her pieces after the market is gone, you can find her across the street from the south end of Plaza Grande.

Cocucho

Unique in both size and shape, it can be hard to communitcate the grace of these vessels if you haven't seen them so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.







Capula

Capula is located about half way between Morelia and Quiroga.






Probably most well know for its Catrina (The iconic Day of the Dead figurines) you can find almost everything you want pottery wise from full sets of dishes, striking display plates or just some macetas (pots) for your plants.



Ocumicho

Famous for its demon figurines, Ocumicho is nestled in the Purepecha Mesa.
I found the many scenes and figurines both eerie and intriguing.
To add to this atmosphere are the unique sounds of the Purepechan language, which you will find in may places in the area.



This is one piece that I had to get, I think I may have worked for her once!



Zinapecuaro

About 45 kilometers north east of Morelia you will find the sleepy town of Zinapecuaro.
Yet another town know for its ceramics, but what makes their creations stand out from the others in Michoacan are two very distinctive styles.
The first is a stylized gourds, squashes and pumpkins, the second, the distinctive polychromic style indicative of prehispanic pottery.





San Jose de Gracia

Last but not least of the pottery villages is San Jose, located 20 kilometers south of Lake Chapala, on the Michoacan side of the lake.

The distinctive "Pineapple" pottery is easily recognized by the typical shape and the characteristic green colour as shown in the photo below.


Religious items

Like most of Mexico, there is a very strong catholic presence in Patzcuaro, as you can easily see in the items at theses booths.







Stay with me folks, we are in the home stretch now!

Just a few more pictures to show you some of the .....


Textile Arts

I have to say I was completely charmed by this young lady modeling her families rebozos.




While wandering through the center of Plaza Grande I came across a full size loom that they had setup for demonstration purposes.



And a little further on I discovered at the back of one booth, a woman working away at building more inventory.




I would like to thank you for coming on this tour of the market with me, and thank you for your patience. I am not an expert on mexican crafts, or this area (yet) but hopefully in a few years I will be. I hope you have enjoyed looking at these pictures as much as I did taking them.


Before I leave, I would like to share one more picture with you.

This is young Jose, one of the performers of the "Dance of the Little Old Men"
who kindly posed for me for "solo un refresco senior".