ArcaMax

Watch Out!

When you are about to leave for a Mexican vacation, well-meaning people tell you what to watch out for. They say:

“Watch out for dangerous drug wars.”

“Watch out or you might be kidnapped and held for ransom.”

“Watch out for pick pockets!”

“Watch out for those pestering people who try to sell you time-share.”

And they also tell you to watch out for, snakes, lizards, spiders, unwashed vegetables, the water, roving bands of rowdy teens, and more.

What I saw on this trip to Mexico took my breath away. San Miguel de Allende (or SMA for short) is a sleepy, colonial, Mexican town in the sierra highlands of south central Mexico. It’s hours to the coast so there are no beaches; not that you’d ever miss them. There are so many other things that are so precious about this area that the Mexican government declared the entire town a national historic landmark.

I didn’t see anything on the list above except for one teeny little spider (who minded his own business) walking up and down one of the walls in my bathroom.

Here’s what I did see.

Day one we wake up to a town with no billboards, no national chains of restaurants or anything else. The buildings are all very old and most of them are fully restored. The streets are cobblestone. Some of those narrow streets date back over 450 years and they are still in working order. No pot holes here! (You have to wear sensible shoes in SMA or you might get an up-close look at those cobblestones. They jokingly call it the town of “fallen women” because those who try to wear high heels are often tripping and slipping. You learn fast.)

Like I said, every building is OLD. They are also all painted in colors of the sunset and blend nicely into the horizon. The mountains are in the distance. Everything is amazingly clean. One of my favorite scenes was of shopkeepers who open their shop every morning just after they have tossed a bucket or two of water out their front door and they proceed to clean the sidewalk out front of their business. It’s not that it needed it. They just do it.

Here’s what else we saw. (Remember, it’s still Day 1).

We get to the bottom of the first hill and we hear a Mexican marching band. We turn the corner and see the parade. We rush up to get a close look. The entire parade is little children. I mean like kindergarten or younger. They are all dressed as little signs of Spring. This is the first day of Spring and the children are celebrated as a sign of new growth. The first kids I saw in costume were dressed as a bunch of strawberries. Those were closely followed by little pineapple people. There were lots of butterflies and bees. I even saw a carrot, some peas in a pod and a boy dressed as a banana. Some went beyond the spring theme and dressed their kids as colorful dragons or fairies. Every costume was cute beyond belief. They were almost exclusively homemade from felt, ribbons and other more ornate fabrics. These people went all out with the glitter, and from the smiles on the children’s faces, you could see they were proud to wear those costumes and march through the streets with the drums banging and the horns playing. The parade ended at La Parroquia.

Did I mention La Parroquia yet? The most famous building in San Miguel de Allende?

Here it is in both day and night.

The architecture leaves you speechless. This is not the only church either. There are several; especially for such a small town. Bells ring throughout the day. They don’t really seem to correspond to what time it is. When you are looking for an explanation on what time they ring or how many rings they toll, the people you ask just tell you that that particular church is calling people to Mass. And they just leave it at that. I don’t think they know either.

There are other celebrations too. There were 10 weddings there the first weekend we were around. On Day 1 we saw a donkey draped in flowers, preceded by a band playing traditional Mexican parade music. Behind him marched a “bride and groom” that were actually people in giant costumes of a bride and groom walking on stilts. (Like Mardi Gras). They towered over the rest of the parade made up with members of the family as well as friends. That was all topped off by the real bride and groom on the way from the ceremony to the reception. They might be walking as they were on Day 1, but we even saw one cute couple cruising along on a little motorcycle; the bride’s veil blowing in the breeze.

Musicians play on just about every street corner all day long. Mariachi bands are the most prominent but guys playing guitars and harmonicas are pretty prevalent too, as well as the younger set who might be doing covers of American hits.

Every night the sky fills with fireworks. They might be celebrating that same wedding. Or they just might be having fun lighting up the sky.

There is art everywhere. This is an artist community and has been for decades. There are art schools and ex-pat artists from the US who just love the light in the Mexican highlands. They paint. They offer up their art through galleries or street fair events.

The first day we had the most glorious lunch at a place called La Restaurante. Because there are American and Canadian retirees here en masse, the quality and variety of food goes way beyond tacos, tortillas and guacamole (although they do an excellent job of those too). We ate like royalty.

Every night you can find a band in the central garden (la jardin). You can find a concert; perhaps a classical one. You can find the usual bars but you can also find salsa dancing or even a milonga.

Handmade items are for sale everywhere at prices that make you pause. You can’t believe this kind of workmanship comes at such a reasonable price. Clothing, pottery, embroidery, jewelry, shoes/sandals, hats, carvings and glass. You name it.

The temperature ranges from about 55 degrees in the early morning to about 85 degrees in the mid-afternoon. That’s when a siesta is in order because you are going to need your energy long into the evening. Evenings are calm, clear and cool. No humidity. You’re at 6,000 feet in altitude, so you stroll home after dancing and you’re not even sticky; a little breathless maybe, but you get used to that.

And that was all just Day 1.

Super Easy Baked Salmon

This dish tastes fresh and fancy with hardly any work at all. The most novice cook can handle this one.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 – 6 ounce filets of salmon
Meat or fish rub
3 tsp of Dijon mustard (no sugar)
1 tsp of dried bread crumbs
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray the bottom of your oven-proof pan with olive oil spray.

Place the salmon filets skin-side down in the pan. Spray with olive oil spray. Spread a thin layer of mustard across the top of the salmon. I just do this with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle on your favorite fish rub or even a meat rub. I just choose the flavoring I am craving. I find it really doesn’t matter if the rub was designed for fish or not. If I want Cajun for example I don’t check if it’s for Cajun fish dishes; even one for steak will work just fine.

Sprinkle on a bit of grated sea salt and pepper (optional –- depends on what rub you used. This might be over-kill).

Now sprinkle on the bread crumbs. Spray the top of the fish with olive oil spray again. This will help it crisp up the crust while it bakes.

Bake for up to 15 minutes or until the salmon is done the way you like it. Most filet pieces will be medium in 15 minutes. If you like yours more rare, back off on the cooking time and similarly, cook longer for a well-done fish. You can always check it by poking it with a sharp knife and taking a peek.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola