Slowing down in Guanajuato

In the short vacations we've had, we've never rented a house for a month and really got to slow down and get to know a place.  We figured with all the stress of packing up a house and quitting jobs that it would be a good idea to reset for a month in Guanajuato Mexico.  

We chose this city as it was highly recommended in a book we read and from some good friends with disconcerting taste as a sweet place to hunker down.  And I think we chose well!  

We've enrolled in La Hacienda Spanish school (aptly named as it's in a beautiful old hacienda) where ourselves and about a dozen students from all over the world learn how terrible our accents are together.  We go from 9-11am for our brain melting session, and then usually have some homework.  It sure feels good to be in a real classroom again.

Of course our brains need fuel after class which becomes our most dangerous time of day.  I mean do people ever really out grow 'after school snacks?'   Megan devours a 'palette' which isn't very sweet and tastes like frozen yogurt with lime while Gordon stuffs his cheeks with fresh street churros coated in cinnamon and sugar.

Then there's the bakeries with some tasty temptations calling us.  We also appreciate that these items aren't labeled with big 'calorias exessivos' like most other packaged items are.  

And if Gus had money he'd spend his at the Oxxo's dog food dispenser station.  

Our route also has fresh, warm, melt in your mouth corn tortillas for about $1.50 a kilo. Yes, you buy them by the kilo, not in packs of 10 or 12. Someday we will be sick of tortillas but for now they are the perfect vehicle for any delicious food, morning noon or night.  

We're also really trying to slow down and enjoy some puzzling and guitaring, since thankfully we traveled in a van here and could fit some extra comfort items.  

For imbibing a little - Mexican wine is a thing did ya know? Mexicans just drink it all themselves mostly and don't export it, with Corona and tequila.  Their little secret!

We've been trying all the restaurants and here is a local dish called the Miner's Enchiladas, which is just enchiladas with carrots and potatoes on them served to the hardworking men mining in the formation of Guanajuato.  

We made our first friends too from Canada who are doing the same thing we are but on motorcycles!  It sure is lovely to enjoy people who you know you already have alot in common with and we both have alot of free time to grab a dinner.  

We have hit up the amazing markets here and just soak the veggies with a few drops of microdyne for 15 minutes (as do the locals) and we're ready to make some soup to last the week.  Gotta balance out all the sweets with a veggie or two... I guess...

I just love how it's easy to get those 10-15k steps in without really even noticing when you travel. Have we mentioned how hilly Guanajuato is? It's seriously crazy how people, let alone cars, travel the narrow streets at 45 degree angles every day.

Besides being hilly, the city is built on top of an extensive tunnel system. This was originally built to manage water runoff, but has been repurposed into a highway system under the city. It keeps a lot of traffic out of the tiny roads. Driving through the tunnels in a taxi is like a Disneyland ride as the drivers swerve from one tunnel to another, under other tunnels, and then peek out to sunshine just before diving into another one.

We are feeling really fortunate to connect with a place and travel with our dog who is our home on the road.  

And just in case our willpower on the way home from school was strong, there's a bakery right next door to our airbnb wafting delicious smells for the final unresistable push.  We've been getting fresh bread for about $.50 here almost daily.  Just call us the gorditos of Guanajuato!  Us 'little fatties' may not be fluent in Spanish but we darn well are becoming proficient in bakery & food lingo!  Es muy importante en la vida de una gordita!