Subject: Last Of Mexico....:-( Hola one last time, It's Thursday night, April 29th, and we're in Matehuala, about 550 miles from the border.....and we're leaving tomorrow for halfway to Texas and then on Saturday the rest of the way. Our phone will work on Saturday night from Texas......I haven't missed it much, especially with Skype. I will miss Mexico, but we will return, and we are looking forward to the US stuff and also Canada later this summer. We left San Miguel after having one more really great day just doing things that needed to be done on the camper (house) and then we went out for evening one last time. We had no plans.....just to enjoy the town one more time and in the evening for a change. We walked to the zocolo (town square) and had a drink and watched the people....always entertaining. The we walked down to a restaurant we'd seen a day or so before called Harry's Bar (I think). We'd stopped by for a beer before and even met Harry and it seemed like a great place with a good menu.....New Orleans style. So we went in and it was Taco Tuesday.....it doesn't get any better than that! So we ordered a couple tacos while we looked at the menu. Wow! We ordered Carpaccio ( it's raw steak with a wonderful sauce and toast points), a Rueben Sandwich (with to die for homemade warm potato chips) and a piece of frozen Key Lime Pie. It was one of the best meals either one of us have ever had....ever. We wish we'd eaten there sooner so we could return a couple dozen times. Oh well....another year. Then we walked back to the zocolo and the mariachis were playing so we hung out for a bit and enjoyed. It was a great mariachi band with the spangles down the pants, 3 violins, 3 guitars and 2 trumpets. People were dancing and it was wonderful....with a full moon over the clock tower and the French gothic cathedral.......nice way to say bye bye to San Miguel de Allende for now. We drove towards Dolores Hidalgo in the morning because we wanted to look at the pottery this village is famous for. We actually didn't get all the way to the town but did manage to stop by a couple places that were selling the Talavera pottery......it's beautiful and we bought some. We have stuff to ship home and we're hoping that we don't have to make mosaics out of our flower pots!! We also stopped at a town named Atotonilco which is tiny and nothing much going on except for their cathedral. It's the Santuario de Atotonilco and is impressively decorated inside and is a pilgrimage destination from all over Mexico. The Mexican war of independence originated near here at Dolores Hidalgo. We drove the quotoa roads North (toll roads) all the way the Matahuala. We're currently here at a very nice RV spot behind a very nice hotel/motel. There is a huge WalMart across the street and we're enjoying the very best of the best bathrooms we've seen in this country......at RV parks that is. I'm sure that is you stay in hotels you get good bathrooms!! Anyway, we are here because when we were in La Ticla, on the Michocan coast, we met a super nice guy who told us about Real de Catorce and said we HAD to see it. So we did today. Now, if you want, you can google this place. There is info about the town in abundance. It is also the site of the filming of "The Mexican" with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. But what it is actually is a totally unique place. The photos I've taken do not do it justice at all. For one thing, it's way up in the mountains.......it was a silver mining town originally. And you get there by going through a two mile tunnel (not a big tunnel....we're talkin' a one way traffic and low ceiling spooky kind of tunnel!). We took a bus from the city of Matahuala. It's about 35 miles from here. We were on a regular size big bus. So it goes part of the way there and then we get on this cobblestone road that has groves in it.....like five groves. I guess it was for the carriages and carts....not really bus size. Anyway, it's about 15 miles UP this road and it gets steep and windy as it climbs. So, I'm thinkin' that the bus driver is a woos because he is driving this bus so slow.....it's like he goes 3mph and then shifts to 2nd gear and goes 6mph and shifts to 3rd and so on. Yawn, yawn......But on the way back down this treacherous road, he's like going fast and trying not to let the grooves throw him off....and it's steep. And both ways we sat right behind him.....It was something. I actually crossed myself after we made it down.....and I'm no Catholic it was a kind of "when in Rome" moment!! Then he went back to driving like a little old lady......but we're still alive and for that I'm thankful! I forgot to say, that when you get to the beginning of the tunnel, you get off the bus you came on and get on this shuttle bus that is way smaller and takes you into town through the little scary tunnel. Then you have to try to catch this bus back in time to catch your big bus...it gets confusing. The tunnel is one way and we just barely made it back in to to catch our Big bus back....We'd have had to wait for two more hours if we'd missed it so it was a relief for sure. But the town......it's amazing. Photos don't do it justice. It's set in all these mountains and it's old and hilly and interesting as all get out. We bought t-shirts to prove we've been there. Just google it and watch the movie and come see it yourself. We're glad we did.
So, we're leaving in the am for about halfway back to the US......we spent the evening cooking practically all the meat we have so we don't have to give it to the customs people. We will probably just stay at a Pemex (only gas stations in Mexico) tomorrow night and be out on Saturday. We're going to see friends in Texas and then head out for Big Bend National Park. Also have about a zillion things to buy at Costco, Walmart and the camper store. First thing will be a GPS so we will always know where we are going!! All good. I can see a big full moon out the back camper door right now. NICE. I'm going to bed (where Mike is already snoring away, of course) and tomorrow we will hightail it outta here! Viva La Mexico!!! Gayle
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