To get from Peru to Mexico, we took a 6 hour flight from Lima to Mexico City. We only had a week to spend in Mexico, so our time there would be short, but it felt wrong to not visit at all. We had debated if we should even go given the dire warnings on the State Dept. website, but I love Mexico, and wanted to see it, even if it was just a short visit.

We arrived in Mexico City late at night, and stayed at a hotel that was right next to the bus station we’d need to go to the next day. Given the dire warnings and it being late at night, I was a bit scared heading to our hotel, but everything was fine.

The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, where the TV had national news playing, all of which was graphic and violent. John and I began to question our decision to come here, but we were already here now!

Busing to San Miguel

After breakfast we walked a block to get to the bus station, and made it just in time to hop on the next bus to San Miguel de Allende, for what would be a 3-4 hour trip. We weren’t too excited about sitting on a bus for that long, especially after sitting on a plane all day the day before. But we headed to our bus, and were immediately wowed. The bus was a double-decker, with the best views being up top. But, since I’m prone to motion sickness, I’d requested that we sit on the first floor. Turns out, there are only 3 seats on the first floor, and we were the only two there. We had the bus to ourselves! Our seats were huge, reclined back, and had a foot rest. The bus also provided a snack – a Krispy Kreme doughnut and a Pepsi. Que lujo! We set off on our way, and thoroughly enjoyed our ride to San Miguel.

Once we arrived in San Miguel de Allende, we were immediately knocked over by the heat and humidity. We’d been in a desert environment for over a month, so even a little bit of humidity felt suffocating, but my skin totally drank it up.

As we rode our taxi into town, I was relieved at how real San Miguel de Allende seemed. I’ve been dying to go there for years, as I’d heard it was a cute, artsy town in the middle of Mexico. But as John and I started to research the trip there, I was beginning to get concerned that it had just become a tourist trap, flooded with rich Americans, many of whom had retired there. Conde Nast had ranked it their #1 place to go the year before, and based on our research, the sky was the limit in terms of what you could spend there. But driving into town, we could tell the streets weren’t flooded with gringos, and most of the store fronts were geared towards locals.

Exploring the Town

We settled into our adorable hotel, and then hit the streets for some exploring. San Miguel de Allende made a push a couple years ago to paint the whole town various shades of yellow, orange, tan, and maroon, which with the cobblestone streets, makes the town the cutest ever. We were excited to explore it, see the churches and picturesque streets, and most importantly, eat all the food. I love authentic Mexican food, and the entire point of my week in Mexico was to eat as much of it as possible. Spoiler alert – I was successful.

So off John and I went looking for lunch, specifically tacos. It was a bit late in the day for lunch, so many places had already stopped serving. But about 2-3 blocks from our hotel, we passed a woman sitting in her doorway with a comal set up where she was grilling some vegetables. I asked her if she had any tacos, and she said no, but she did have gorditas.

John and I each ordered a gordita with beans, cheese, and nogales. And it was delicious! And the atmosphere was perfect – sitting in the front room of a house that had been converted into a makeshift restaurant with 3 stools and one menu option, whatever the owner decided to cook that day. I was in heaven! It reminded me of so many places I’d eaten while living in Honduras or traveling through Central America.

And I’m so proud of my husband. I’ve traveled quite a bit through less developed countries, but prior to this trip he’d only traveled internationally to Europe and the Caribbean. Every once in a while I’ll look at him while we’re traveling to make sure he’s ok and not freaking out, and every time he looks completely comfortable and at ease with whatever we’re doing and wherever we are. I love that about him – able to go with the flow while traveling! At any rate, sitting in this woman’s house eating food he’d never seen, my husband once again looked totally at ease.

After we finished our lunch, our next food mission was to find horchata, a sweet, cold beverage made from rice milk. We found some, and then walked the town while getting hydrated by its sugary goodness. We passed a couple cute churches that would’ve been amazing enough in their own right, but the star attraction in San Miguel is the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel cathedral. Towering above the square, it’s equal parts church and Disney castle.

Taco Stand of the Gods

For dinner that night, we were really excited to try the taco stand that sets up every evening in front of our hotel. We knew to expect this because when I was reading reviews about the hotel, many patrons complained of the noise from the taco stand right outside their window. Given my food goals, this was a selling point for me, and part of the reason I booked the hotel!

John and I went downstairs, and as we got to the door, there was a huge crowd around because there was the taco stand to the left, ice cream stand to the right, and street performer in the middle. The street performer had a marionette skeleton in front and behind him, and all three were dancing around to music, including grinding up on John. I love Mexico!

We started our taco ordering by each ordering 2 tacos pastor. These were incredible – pork cut off the spit, pineapple shavings, onion, cilantro, lime garnish, and salsa that was spicy, but not too spicy. We ended up ordering more and more tacos, topping out at 11 total (they were small, I swear, and only $2 total!). So good and such a great atmosphere. I was reminded of the 2016 election threat of a taco stand on every corner. God, yes please!!! We had also planned to patronize the ice cream stand, but sadly they packed up before we finished our tacos.

To the Market… for Food!

The next day we continued our strolling, picture taking, and eating tour by buying horchatas and wandering the streets again. Once this became too hot, we went over to the local market and wandered through the flower, fruit, and vegetable stalls before settling down at the lunch stalls. I ordered the chile relleno, and John got the chicken enchiladas. Both were good, but John’s enchiladas were mouth-gasmic. So good!

After stuffing ourselves, we walked through the craft market, where I longed to have a house to decorate with everything we saw there – tapestries, yarn design pillows, pottery, and metal lights/lanterns. My favorite was the metal Christmas tree that lit up and was as tall as me. John said no.

Mezcal Happy Hour… before Tacos!

Our next food stop brought us to a bar to sample some margaritas made with mezcal. We made some travel plans while sipping. But of course we didn’t eat dinner there. Our taco stand was so good and so cheap, we obviously went back to them again! I’m pretty sure they recognized us.

The next morning was basically a repeat of our previous days. Get our aguas (this time I opted for jamaica instead of horchata, and also added a paletita to my order) and walk the gorgeous, hot streets until lunch time. For lunch we went back to the same stand in the market that we’d eaten at the day before because I really had to get my own order of those chicken enchiladas. They were just as good as the day before!

Did you hear a rumble?

Again, we went through the craft market, this time planning to make some strategic purchases we’d already discussed. As we were negotiating our first purchase for a small painted cat figurine, I felt the first rumblings. I wanted to ignore it, but the rumble became very insistent, very quickly.

Montezuma’s revenge.

We power-walked the rest of the market, turned the corner onto the road, and I picked up the pace. Then I picked up the pace again. I looked back at John who was falling behind, and in unkind language let him know he either needed to catch up or throw me the keys. I practically jogged the final block, and made it back to the hotel just in time! (Side note – we’ve been super fortunate that we’ve really only had isolated incidents like this during our travels, and not long bouts of E.coli or giardia.)

A Drink with a View

We spent the rest of the afternoon resting, which made me feel well enough to head to the bar! The Rosewood hotel is a fancy hotel at the edge of town with a fancy rooftop bar. This isn’t really our scene while traveling (or not traveling), but the view of the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel church and surrounding town was supposed to be incredible. And it was! The drinks were fine, the appetizer ok, and the surrounding customers fancy. We drank our drinks, and headed back to our side of town. To eat at our taco stand. Because of course we did. Stop judging – it was the best food in town! I still dream of those tacos. And this time we had enough time for ice cream too!

What’s Next?

The next day it was time to hit the road again. Back on the bus we went to spend a whirlwind day in Mexico City. Check back to read about our time there!