Life at the Bagel Cafe

San Miguel has many wonderful places to have a coffee, snack, a meal, or to meet friends or strangers. One of my favorites is the Bagel Cafe just a few steps from the Jardin. There is usually a lady selling flowers on the entry steps, and a nice man sells lottery tickets, canes, and newspapers in the foyer. Beyond, there is a small courtyard with tables and then a cozy dining area inside and a counter made from some ancient doors. It is the sort of place where they know your name and owned by Jennifer, an US ian who has spent her career working places like Albania and Mongolia on projects related to building the institutions needed to establish a working democracy. Her Mexican staff are wonderfully cordial and the place hums with quiet fellowship and local and foreign clients pass in and out. Jennifer has 8 kinds of bagels, superb carrot cake, and a nice menu of simple dishes made with fresh ingredients. With a meal comes good talk from the host, and from patrons about life in San Miguel de Allende, and in the larger world. I always feel good when I leave, or enter this cafe that Jennifer calls her “salon”.

Connecting With "Home"

Staying connected with events in the USA is easy from San Miguel.. I told you about my little Grace Internet radio, and I also have cable TV that brings in PBS and its talk shows including the Lehrer Report. I love seeing those old friends try to make some sense of the world. But most important is the little laptop I have in a small room off the terrace. Through Yahoo, Google, and Pal Talk, I can connect with the rest of the world. This was especially important to me during the democratic party national convention. The DNC created an HD live video stream so I could watch the whole convention in real time and I really got into it. I cried more than a few times – Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Hillary, Bill, Jo, and Barak. I never thought I would see it. I even cried when I saw Howard Dean! Imagine. Anyway, I loved it.

Curious Ant Hills of San Miguel

I remember and old science fiction movie in which the tension builds because the “professor” is standing in the track of Godzilla but does not see it because it is so big. That is the way it is with ant hills here in San Miguel and Bilbo and I have paid the price for our inattention. I was throwing Bilbo his ball when he let out a yelp. As I bent over to see what was bothering him, I felt the first sting on the back of my legs, followed by another on my ankle. We both began to dance around with me flapping at my clothes. I glanced down and saw that the ground beneath our feet was teeming with ants about ½ inch long. We danced home, I changed my clothes and then we returned to explore.


Alicia was on the road walking her dogs and told me about the ant hills. First, they are huge – about 12 feet across. She pointed out that someone had built a fire in the center of the hill Bilbo and I had been standing on to smoke the ants out, but clearly this had had only a temporary impact. Today they were marching about in their millions. I investigated further and found that the red fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is native to South America, is very aggressive, especially during the rainy season, and now is resident in large parts of the south east and west of the United States. The colonies (“mounds”) can contain 10–100 or more queens, which each lay up to 800 eggs per day. After 7–10 days, the eggs hatch into larvae, which develop over a 6–10-day period before pupating. After another 9–15 days, the adult emerges from the pupa. The colony has about 500000 members, and they were all out when Bilbo and I stepped into them!


We now are more observant about where we play ball and are glad the ants are not any bigger than they are! When you visit, I will make sure you don't wander into the curious ant hills of San Miguel.

Grace Radio

Isn't “Grace” a nice name for a radio? I got a Grave Wireless Internet Radio a month ago and appreciate it more everyday. It is a small table top radio and looks like tube radios of old. It has a small LED screen that glows blue, especially in the low light of the evening. For its tiny size, the sound is great and, best of all, it is easy to operate. Grace, as I refer it it, receives 5000 stations from around the world via the Internet service we are so lucky to have here in little San Miguel de Allende. I can search for stations by location, genre, or call letters. Happily, I do not feel obsessive about checking out 5000 stations even though I live a lite schedule. I have 5 presets including WBUR NPR in Boston, VPR, a wonderful folk station that somehow plays only songs I like, the Australian Broadcasting System's excellent “Classical Music for Blokes” station, and “Troubadour” that plays soft mood music from around the world. I have Grace on as I putter during the day and enjoy it beyond my expectation demonstrating once again that life's real satisfactions are mysterious and simple.

Graduating To the Neighborhood Bus

San Miguel has all sorts of streets, mostly ancient and narrow. All parts of the city and outlying areas are served by the municipal bus system that I am now finally using. The buses come in at least 4 sizes matched to their routes. Our bus is tiny because it travels the small calles of the neighborhood. Up to now, I used taxis because they are so convenient and I grew accustomed to them when I broke my foot last year. But I apparently carry some baggage from bus-related misadventures of the past that might have kept me off the buses. Once, in New York City, I confidently headed off and found myself left in the center of a vast public housing project that had the feel of another planet. In Delhi my pocket was picked, and in Jakarta I managed to end up on an express bus that wouldn't let me off! had to taxi back to Jakarta from the airport, the surprise destination. Deciding to pitch this baggage and asked Laura, the house manager, how to get to Centro.

After reminding me that walking is good for my health, she said to walk to the end of my street and then get on any bus headed down the hill. Don't worry, she offered, it might not look as if you are headed to Centro, but you will be left off in front of Oratorio church. She made sure I had 8 Pesos in my pocket for the round trip and I headed off. Other passengers were gathered at the corner and filled me in on all the options for visiting various parts of town. The little buss arrived in a few minutes and I had a lovely ride through the alleys of Colonia San Rafael and arrived at the Oratorio 15 minutes later. As I stepped down, the driver asked me why didn't I have my dog, and explained that he often sees us on the street. He reassured me that Bilbo would be welcome on the bus as I headed off on my errands.

Now confident and cocky, I decided to bus out of Plaza Gigante where I can get Reggiano Parmesan at a cheeze shop. This is usually a 40 Peso taxi ride so the thought of a 4 Peso bus ride was appealing. After consulting with passersby, I found the stop just as a bus pulled up – a lovely blue one bigger than the neighborhood van. I felt several arms on me as I stepped up as my route information consultants pulled me back. I had not listened to directions, they said, and was about to get on the wrong bus!! Cocky no more, I waited 5 minutes and this time read the destination information on the bus window. The interior was nice and there was great ranchero music playing as we headed for Gigante where I successfully got my cheese. I took the local and was dropped off about 2 minutes walk from my front door. How great!

Mexico has built a wonderful public bus system and I plan to use it for trips all over the country. The lower the class, the more chickens are on board with more adventures and lots of stops in villages. The first class buses are beautiful, comfortable, cheap, and includes snacks and bathrooms. They seem to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator films that are fun as well. Somehow they are more meaningful in Spanish.

Vegetables

While shopping today I appreciated again how fortunate I am to live in an area with a year round growing season. The climate is spring like most of the time – day time temperatures are in the mid 70s and in the mid 50s at night. While concerns about water shortages are real, at present there is enough rain and ground water for very successful farm. The result is what I was admiring in the market today – spectacular vegetables 12 months a year! I just like to look at them, and have found ways to use fresh many in my no/low carb way of eating. They are the coloriest vegetables I have seen in my travels around the planet.

My vegetable lady has a stall in the San Juan de Dios market and she keeps me supplied with mushrooms in addition to green beans, pea pods, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, and, of course, chilies. The vendors always put in a free bunch of fresh cilantro which is used extensively here. So good. Basil is not as common so I planted some in the garden. The only fresh spice I have trouble finding is ginger but I am confident that will be solved soon. I will tell you about fruits and meats another time!

Click on the following site if you want more details about San Miguel weather. http://www.abcrealty.com/WEATHER.htm

The Little Lake Near Casa Amistad

I met a nice little Lab mix, Pluma, and her keeper, Constance, while walking near the empty lot. Constance is originally from Whales and a resident of San Miguel for 9 years. She is a mirror artist and makes decorative frames. I enjoyed our sreet-side chat because Constance knows a good deal about the social structure of the neighborhood and I was curious about who influences life in this part of town. While we were talking, Pluma and Bilbo clearly enjoyed their play, so Constance invited us to walk at a nearby lake where she owns land. In fact, her land was in awful litigation for 5 years, and a final settlement was reached just a month ago so she had planned a visit.

So on Sunday, Bilbo and I were picked up in the morning and had a wonderful dog walk. There was lots of fetching, swimming, and rolling in stuff. The lake, actually more of a pond, is high because of the rains described in earlier journal entries. We were joined by a local dog in whom Bilbo developed an immediate and intense interest. Evidently she is in heat and Bilbo, in spite of being neutered, would not be deterred. My concern was that she would head off and Bilbo would follow, so I had to leash him for the rest of the walk. But we had a nice time anyway and I learned of a sparsely populated area only 3 Km from Casa Amistad where Bilbo can be a country dog.

Bilbo's Keen Sense of Time and the Empty Lot

Back in Vermont I often admired Bilbo's sense of time. At 4:00 pm, give or take a few minutes, he was ready for supper and made this clear. If he had an unexpected meal at 2:00 pm, he still gave me his supper time signals at 4:00. In San Miguel Bilbo's time keeping abilities have become acute. In addition to keeping track of meal and bed times (midnight), he insists that his walks be at least 30 minutes long. If less, he is reluctant to return home and whines about it.

Experimenting, I tried increments of 5 minutes and found I simply can not fool Bilbo. He has clearly decided we have a deal – he will be content being an urban rather than rural dog in exchange for 4 walks of at least 30 minutes duration each. If the deal is not honored on a daily basis, he will launch his “underfoot” strategy to encourage compliance.

Our most frequent walk is to an empty lot up the street. This lot is not “empty” at all – the term reflects human bias about values in land use. From Bilbo's perspective, the lot is filled with his manna – odors. Smells from other dogs, people, burros, and small animals are regularly refreshed and therefore endlessly interesting and rediscoverable. For me, the empty lot is a high desert garden with mature cactus, prickly bushes, thistle like plants, and a variety of attractive ground flowers. Bilbo likes to graze on the long grass and we both like the absence of roof dogs so we can concentrate on the sights and smells.

Bilbo asks for his walks by putting his chin on my knee and then dancing around the hook where his leash is hung. He sits while I open the front door to check on cars, people, or other dogs in our little street. On my all clear signal, he sprints out and heads for the opposite wall to make his mark, the first of dozens on the walk. He exhibits a new behavior about this since returning to San Miguel. After marking, he fiercely paws at the ground 3 or 4 times while puffing out his chest - very manly.

Unleashed, he heads up the calle toward the lot, greeted first by Jack who lives on the carpenter's roof and makes a hiccup sound rather than a bark, and then by Mauricio, the yellow lab on Don David's roof, and finally by 2 squeaky toy poodles alerted to Bilbo's presence by the other dogs. He sits at the intersection until I catch up and then we head to the not-so-empty lot to explore as if for the first time.

The Rain, the Play, and the Fuga

Yesterday I was on my way to pick up my mail at La Conexion but found all the streets closed with yellow tape, each guarded by a policeman. Small groups of people who had seated themselves on the sidewalk told me there was a fuga de gaz causing the problem. Fuga was a new word to me but I soon learned it means “leak” - so it was a gas pipeline leak. Noting my interest, I was told stories about fuga de agua and fuga de la luce (electricity) that had occurred in San Miguel. As late afternoon clouds gathered, I decided to head home to prepare dinner for my friend David who had invited me to a play reading that evening. As we sat on the terrace near the garden, the skies opened up with a truly impressive deluge. I ran to close the front door but there was flood headed for the kitchen. David and I congratulated ourselves for our foresight in building and living in stone houses and thereby avoiding wood warp worries. I confidently predicted that the storm would be over in a few minutes as we headed for St. Paul's church in the driving rain sheltered by my broken umbrella – the only one that never gets lost.

Of course the rain did not stop and we found ourselves standing outside the locked gate when a voice hailed us from a nearby van where we headed for shelter. Joanna is one of the actors in the play reading, and Tom is an accomplished stained glass who was going to attend the reading. Shortly after David's partner, Jo, joined us, someone opened the gate so we headed for St Paul's small function room where we found the electricity off. The man who was in charge of the lights found some candles and flashlights and soon the four person ensemble began their wonderful performance of short pieces by Sam Shepard among others.

The vignettes were great story telling enhanced by the sense of camaraderie engendered by the storm and candle lit stage. We felt a sense of loss when the electricity came on halfway through the performance. What talented group, and what a bargain for a 20 Peso ticket. The time passed quickly and soon we were in the rain again to hail a taxi for the ride to our homes. The driver was delighted with the heavy rain, describing in detail the benefits to his tomato plants. Bilbo was really happy to see me, and insisted on a walk, rain or no rain. The air sparkled through the droplets, and we had to avoid all the waterfalls made by my neighbors' roof drains that hang over the streets. We were both cold by the time we got home so we dug out the extra blanket again and had a good sleep.

I am enjoying the afternoon storms more and more, especially when I am in the city center and seek shelter at the outside cafes. A party atmosphere starts as people gather under the vaulted arches and ceilings. Everyone shares chairs and the coffee tastes especially good and the vendor colors come into sharp relief.

Visiting La Conexion For Mail

The other day I walked to Aldama street not far from the Jardin to visit La Conexion where I pick up my mail. The door is tiny and I had to be careful that Bilbo did not knock over the artisan items sold by the elderly senora in the small hallway that is the entryway to La Conexion. The mail room is also tiny, the wall behind the counter occupied by numbered wooden cubbyholes filled with envelopes and notices. I got a post card mailed 10 days before – the fastest postcard delivery I can remember, and several notices about upcoming events in San Miguel. Susan, the owner greeted me my name and I wondered how she could remember me as I had signed up for the mail forwarding service only a few weeks before. But this kind of friendliness is common in San Miguel where people seem to have a knack for names that I will have to develop.

La Conexion provides members with an address in Laredo, Texas. Each day, the mail is collected there, cleared through customs, and brought to San Miguel where people like me can pick it up. What a wonderful service this is! The Mexican mail system has many strengths, but speed is not one of them. The service means that I can order items for shipment here, and Vermont mail will find its way here without any problems or delays. The other pleasure is passing by the wonderful colors and designs of the rugs sold by the senora in the entryway. Stopping by a nearby cafe for a coffee and mail read makes the whole experience nicely satisfying.

La Biblioteca Publica

One of my favorite places in San Miguel is the Bibliteca on Inurgentes street. I went there today and enjoyed a fine mixed salad and a great coffee at the cafe. I like the place so much because of the quiet, relaxed atmosphere and because it represents the successful cooperative relationship between the Mexican and expatriate communities in San Miguel. The library opened in 1954 in a private home, now is one of the finest bilingual libraries in Mexico with over 75000 volumes and is run by volunteers. Last year it provided scholarships to 300 students from rural areas.

I first heard of the scholarships when I learned that Norberto, the general contractor for Casa Amistad, received one of the scholarships so he could go to college 25 years ago. It is really nice to see so many young people hanging out in the courtyard or in the reading or music rooms.

There are good movies in the library's Santa Ana theater several times each week, and last Monday I heard a great local performer, Sergio, play guitar and harp. I learned to count in Mayan there as well - base 19. I included a few pictures of the Sala Quetzal where the concerts take place. Anyway, the library is a wonderful place to which I can walk, and Bilbo is welcome, as he is most anyplace in San Miguel.

Casita Amistad Rental

The Caista Amistad is ready for rental. It is a nice one bedroom apartment attached to the house and is about a twenty minute walk to the city center Jardin. Click on the web page I made that provides the details and pictures. Share with your friends who might want to visit San Miguel with its 300 days of sunshine each year! Check with me for availability at

polarbearprofessor@gmail.com

http://polarbearprofessor.googlepages.com/casitaamistad

San Miguel's weather is wonderful all year round so one can escape from muggy hot summer or deep cold in winter. There are festivals every month with September topping the list. Eight language schools provide all the facilities needed to learn Spanish with many short term programs for adults and children.

Here are some links to view:

http://cookjmex.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

http://www.ourmexico.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100&catid=34:travel&Itemid=81

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/ganderson/gasemana.html

Gracias!

Meet Mimi, Bilbo's NewFriend

Fabian, the 8 year old boy who comes once a day to walk and play with Bilbo, brought his cousin a few days ago. Brianito brought his dog, Mimi, with him to meet Bilbo and what a meeting it was. They sniffed, danced in circles, sniffed, and then Bilbo searched for and found his ball. This led to a lot of rolling around with total disregard for size. They now walk together and run free in the empty lot up the street. Mimi is so very tiny, sweet, and excited to be with Bilbo and the feeling is mutual. Mutt and Jeff are alive and well in San Miguel.

The Big Storm

I love the sense of changing weather, especially the hour before a big storm. A few nights ago around 9:00 pm the atmosphere changed dramatically as the air temperature rose and the constant high mountains winds stopped. I thought the normal rainy season 30 minute thrice weekly downpour was about to begin. Instead, rolls of thunder ushered in brilliant lightening bolts accross the sky and the wind roared as if we were at sea in the North Atlantic. Bilbo and I retreated from the rooftop terrace to wait out the storm when the whole house was enveloped with a deafening popping sound that really startled us. This was a granisu (hail) storm!

Casa Amistad has several large roof windows so the quarter sized hail made a wonderful racket that caused me concern that the wondows would be shattered. Bilbo and I found ourselves staring at each other in the dark house with my dog giving me that "I hate the sound of jet airbrakes look". Since there was nothing we could do, I made a snack of sliced apple and cheese and we sat down to watch the show. Waves of hail bounced around the rerrace and in the garden where I was certain few plants would survice. In 20 minutes it was over - the roof windows did not break and the ringing in my ears affirmed that the noise really had been powerful. We inspected the garden and found only a few large leafed plants with holes where the hail had penetrated.

The atmosphere changed again - this time the temperature dropped and the air felt and smelled crystal clear, and, of course, the moon illuminated with its special light. An after the big storm feeling make me feel I had arrived in a safe harbor. It was great. Bilbo and I found an extra blanket and went to bed.

The next morning I was anxious to talk about the storm with neighbors, but Mexicans don't seem to talk about the weather nearly as much as New Englanders do. Such storms occur a few times each year I was told, and are just to be lived through. I look forward to the next one.

The Dogs of San Miguel

Dogs are a big part of life in San Miguel. Most families have a "roof dog" that lives, of course, on the roof and barks at passers by. The barks warn the house owners that someone is near the house but the barking is so common, I doubt anyone pays much attention. One Gringo told me he complained to a Mexican neighbor about the noise and was asked, "Why do you listen so hard?" Personally, I am amazed that my ears are growing used to the sounds again, and I seldom notice the barking except from Negra next door whose bark echoes around in Casa Amistad's stone construction. I am in negotiations with my neighbor about this but I don't hold out much hope, partially because Bilbo and I like Negra and often ask her to walk with us for a play.

Roof dogs are not just watch animals and are much admired by their owners in most cases. I asked Jorge, the corner blacksmith, why there are so many dogs in San Miguel and how people feel about them. He explained that San Miguelese just like dogs, especially poodles, which explains why there are hundreds around the city. Jorge also told me about the founding of San Miguel and the role dogs played in it, and in various battles that swept through the region over the years.

The story goes that San Miguel was founded by thirsty dogs. Friar Juan de San Miguel had founded a mission in the mid-1500s in a river bed that, like many in central Mexico, had water only occasionally. One hot day, his beloved dogs wandered off and the Friar found them relaxing on the edge of a spring of sweet water. The Friar was so taken with the site that he moved his mission. Regarding dogs involved in later battle that whirled through San Miguel, the dogs barked long before city residents heard on coming soldiers, thus providing advance warning. So, dogs have a positive image in the stories that are still told in San Miguel.

Most noticeable is the wide variety of dogs even in my neighborhood. Starting in the late 1940s, GIs used their GI Bill education subsidies to study Spanish at the Instituto Allende while enjoying the sun, lifestyle, and pleasures of San Miguel. More than a few stayed on, formed an expatriate community, and contributed to the arts community that is still strong today. And they brought their dogs with them. Interbreeding with the local street dogs has produced some interesting and sometimes wonderful results. I have included a few pictures so you can see the results.

The nice thing is that once Bilbo and I established our regular pattern of walking, the neighborhood canines began to recognize us, the sound of our steps, and our smell and now give us a few barks of greeting. In a way, we feel welcome. I will join as a volunteer with the Sociadad Protectura Animales (Animal Shelter) and will be doing basic social skills training with dogs to increase their chances of adoption. So far, that means me learning how to avoid being bitten. Bilbo is looking forward to when there is an opening in a local canine play group that meets at a ranch outside of town.

St. Patrick's Battalion

I met Don Leonardo at a small function and he explained to me why I keep hearing bagpipes around San Miguel. Don Leonardo is a musician and a serious dance teacher and is about 70. I love the pipes and will never forget how much Laurie and I enjoyed the bagpipe festival we attended the first year we came to San Miguel. It was so odd to be high in the Mexico mountains watching Mexicans march around with bagpipes.

In 1846 the United States was assembling troops along its border with Mexico in anticipation of an invasion. At that time, the army ranks were filled with Irish and German recruits who were offered citizenship and benefits in return for service. The officer corps was primarily comprised on southern elites. The soldiers were mostly Catholic at a time of widespread anti-catholic sentiment in the US and were treated miserably with their officers. Brutality finally led to desertion - several hundred make their way into Mexico just before and during the Mexican-American War of 1848. The deserters were warmly welcomes into Catholic Mexico, offered land for service, and some were given officer status. These AWOL soldiers stayed together and formed Saint Patrick's Battalion.

They fought several actions against Zacary Taylor, and then Winfield Scott at the battle of Veracruz where many were captured. Scott ordered them branded or hung depending on when they deserted. Mexico sent a delegation asking for mercy as the soldiers were now Mexican citizens but Scott, who wanted publicity for a presidential run, refused and the sentences were carried out. The suvivors lived out their days in Mexico and is one reason why there are so many Irish related family names in Mexico.

Some members of the battalion formed an honor guard for fallen comrades at St Andrews Church in Mexico City. Later, they began to join in commerative ceremonies in San Miguel and voila - I hear bagpipes. This was Don Leonardo's response to my question.