My last stop outside of Mexico City was the trifecta of Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, and Queretaro.  I would stay in San Miguel for three nights but only day trip to the other places.   These were not destinations known to most backpackers, but to more traditional travelers.  I was curious to see how these cities would cater to the tastes and needs of this group vs. then backpacker crowd.  What I found was that Guanajuato is really for charming romantic moments, San Miguel is for retired English-speaking whites from the US and Queretaro, is really a place to sleep to get to more hard to reach destinations.   Queretaro, while it is a UNESCO world heritage site, only has a small historic center and an aqueduct in the distance. I got to witness their rollout of their new dedicated bus lane system, so it is indeed a modern city.  It’s just that outside of El Centro, it is a bit of an unplanned and uninteresting place. 

I loved the flood prevention tunnels of Guanajuato.  They are now repurposed as express car tunnels beneath the city.  They were retrofitted starting in the 70s.  What a fantastic idea.  They were able to keep the charming and hilly center intact and put the automobile second.  Bravo!   The view from the top of the hill can easily be reached by funicular.  The view is beautiful and colorful.  It was one of the moments where I wished I wasn’t alone and then I reminded myself that I will take my future lover here anyway, so it’s ok. 

San Miguel has architecture that rivals Morelia!  The restaurant scene is great.  The only issue is that I was hearing English everywhere.  Restaurants were filled with English conversion, some of it quite obnoxious.  I unfortunately had to overhear a group of ladies complaining about not knowing what to do with all of their cars in the States when they come to San Miguel for a few months at a time.  I mean, they each have multiple cars and you want to bring one to Mexico but which one is the best for crossing the border and for the Mexican roads?  And where do you leave the others at home?  ...So awful... And the ladies all had shawls.  That’s not how a REAL lady talks in Mexico!  So I would have a probably adored San Miguel if it was able to retain some more actual Mexican culture beyond the food.  

Queretaro, I was glad to see the aqueduct and proud that I figured out how to get out of the bus station and onto a local bus.  Unfortunately to get to the bus, commuters must walk to the very edge of the very long mall that is connected to the terminal and then past a cesspool.   Citizens of Queretaro deserve much better than that.   Beyond that, there is not much to see in this city.  I believe it is typically an overnight stay for the rainforest that's about a 4 hour drive north.  It's  a good day trip to spice things up a bit but I would not recommend staying there otherwise.

This post concludes my travels in Mexico outside of Mexico City.  Thank you for being such a loyal reader.