Sunday, August 18, 2019

RV Park Living in San Miguel de Allende, Trolley Tour of the City, and Hiking the Botanical Garden

At the San Miguel de Allende Mirador (Lookout)
      We finally got to go on the Trolley Tour of San Miguel de Allende! On our third attempt, we arrived early enough to purchase a ticket before they sold out. We had to settle for a Spanish-only tour as there is only one bilingual tour per day in July, but it was fine. It was actually good practice for me to learn to hear Spanish and Jon could interpret most of the information that I couldn’t understand.
     Much of the tour we had already experienced while walking around downtown, but the view from El Mirador (the outlook) was worth the 40 pesos ($2 US) per person, providing a panoramic view of the city. It was especially breathtaking to see the Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel, the magnificent neo-Gothic 17th-century church, from this mountainside vista.
     There are so many beautiful old churches in San Miguel de Allende, I could do an entire blog post on that topic alone. Designated a World Heritage Site in 2008 by UNESCO, San Miguel de Allende's well-preserved historic center is filled with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries.
     One of my bucket list items was to visit the El Charco Botanical Garden in San Miguel de Allende. We finally made it a day trip and hiked almost all of the trails. Since there is little rainfall in this area, the garden exhibited mostly cacti, agave, and other drought-tolerant plants. The trails led us down to the reservoir, a wetland for birds, turtles, and various aquatic plants. It was a more strenuous hike than I expected, mostly because it's in the mountains at 6500 feet and, even after spending three weeks there, I had not completely adapted to living at this altitude.
     The San Ramón Hotel & RV Park in San Miguel de Allende was a pleasant place for us to live in our motorhome for three weeks while we explored the city. We parked on a level concrete slab with full hookups, surrounded by shade trees and lawns. Our view was of a lush green pasture and trees where beautiful horses and frisky sheep played and grazed during the day. We felt like we were out in the country but we were only a short bus ride from downtown San Miguel de Allende. Uber was also easy to use and inexpensive, so we often bussed into town for dinner and took Uber home.
     The variety of RVs parked at San Ramon RV Park, even during low season, was interesting. We especially liked the old, renovated green Winnebago with flowers painted on the body. No, it wasn't owned by hippies, but by an elderly Mexican couple. The swimming pool was emptied and refilled daily with fresh warm mineral water, a nice place to spend an hour on an 80-degree afternoon.  
     We'll definitely return to San Miguel de Allende. We can't get enough of the various views of the churches and the wonderful restaurants. Maybe this will become our summer home. Its cooler, drier summer climate is a refreshing break from the humid, hot rainy season on the Pacific coast.
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4 comments:

  1. I really like the looks of that RV park! It sounds just about perfect. How was the electricity? I have read/heard about really iffy (and 15 amp, if you are lucky) hookups at Mexican RV parks. You are making me consider wanting to RV here in Mexico, which I've been too nervous to do in the past. Seeing that other Americans are managing it gives me more confidence! Looking forward to more of your experiences and enjoying your blog. Thank you for that!

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    1. Hi Emily,
      The electricity at San Ramon Hotel and RV Park was good and so was the internet. You're right, a few RV Parks in Mexico have very poor electrical hookups. In fact, Bugamville RV Park in Guanajuato is one of the few we've found that had a serious problem with their electrical system. We were the only one in the RV Park and blew out the entire park when we turned on our air conditioner. We have to be able to trust that our air conditioner will work when we leave our dog in the RV when it's warm or hot out and go to town for dinner. The RV park owner even charged us extra for electricity, but it didn't work right. We won't go back to that RV Park again, especially in the summer. But that is the only one we have had a problem with so far. RVing in Mexico is fun, especially with a 28-foot or smaller rig. Thanks for reading and commenting on my article.
      Terry

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    2. Thanks for the information, Terry! If we do decide to RV again, it would definitely be in a smaller rig. We sold our 33' Class A before returning to Mexico last fall. Although comfortable for living, it was getting a bit long in the tooth and needed more repairs than we were comfortable with, and it was not fun to drive. We would not have wanted to bring a rig of that size to Mexico, and even in the eastern US, it was a challenge. I appreciate you sharing your experiences!

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    3. Thank you for your comments, Emily. Every time Jon and I discuss selling our RV and flying to the US instead when we need to, we realize how much we would miss traveling around in Mexico. So, it will continue to be our nomad-home for 4 months each year! It's worth the little inconveniences. Terry

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