Made in China

We headed to the bus station this morning just before 8 a.m. and were there in time for our ride. Anyone ever traveling by bus in Mexico should book with ETN. The bus was on time. Before we boarded, we were each handed a lunch bag with a sandwich and a cookie and asked what drink we would like to accompany our meal. The seats were generous even for American butts like ours and complete with foot rests so that the whole contraption was more like a chaise lounge than a Greyhound seat. In fact, I was able to extend my legs in the air in front of me without me feet reaching the seat ahead. Granted my legs are only about three feet long, but still. The "in-flight" movie was The Dark Knight, which reminded us of the time we thought we were going to see it when we were in Merida two summers ago and ended up actually going to see whichever one of the Batman movies Danny Devito was in and then only part because the film ended half way through. Good times. We got to Guanajuato and took a cab to the hotel nearest our rental and then called our short-term landlords and waited for them to arrive.

We weren't able to find our rental property on our own despite it being a stone's throw from the hotel where we waited. All of the buildings on Calle San Mateo share the same address, although that wasn't totally apparent on our arrival and it isn't totally apparent now why that's a good idea. We were waiting at the back entrance of the hotel and our place is essentially in the alley behind that. Picture an alley. Now modify that picture for geographical realism: picture a Mexican alley. The curb appeal lacks everything to be desired and it was hard to be excited at our prospects until we got inside where it was tiny but inviting. We have two rooms: a bedroom and a kitchen. It is dinky but in several ways nicer than our place in San Miguel. For instance, the bed has an actual mattress and I'm looking forward to excellent slumber and the kitchen is well equipped.

Our landlord here is a man named Mike and he showed us how to light our oven and get to the roof top terrace and then suggested since he was going back into town that we tag along to learn our way. Because our place is about 20 minutes or so outside of the main square and we didn't yet have a map, it seemed ideal. He and his wife moved here from the States in 1992 and own several rental properties. He is currently renovating a new one that they will rent or sell when he is finished. We are pretty far out so we spent a bit of time walking along with him as he showed us the plazas where the novios smooch in the evening and where to get good crepes and here live music and things like that. He said the recession has been difficult in Mexico, where there are three main industries: tourism, remittance and petrol. He mentioned that GTO is a more Mexican town than SMA and that more Mexicans vacation here than Americans. He also mentioned that the market caters to tourists, but again those tourists are Mexican and--according to Mike--Mexicans have terrible taste and so the market is filled with crap that was made in China and he said it was frankly embarrassing.

He left us off in the center of town and because we had given him all of our cash for the rental property, we immediately turned around and headed back to it for our a passport so we could get more money. Heading into town is easier than heading out. In is all downhill, and out is all uphill. It isn't actually too bad until pretty close to our place and then it is just ridiculously steep. Walking becomes a deep knee bend.

After all of our serious financial dealings were concluded, we took naps and showers and went back down for dinner, which we had in a lovely plaza with a gargling fountain and live music and people all about. After dinner, we walked a bit and there are throngs of people here. Mike said that because of the topography of the area, people gravitate down to the center and sometimes there are thousands of people in the streets in an evening. Back home, we tried to watch a bit of television and were reminded why we don't have cable at home. The American shows here don't paint a picture of sophistication and cultivation, unless you think a show called Man vs. Food in which a man competitively eats and that's the whole show is the best we have to offer. Talk about embarrassing.

Tomorrow, we will get to the market in the morning and make a plan for the afternoon. Diego Rivera was born here and there is a museum in his childhood home and there is a Don Quixote museum even though he's not real, so whatever we do it should be interesting.