Saludos de San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

We land in León, Mexico, west of Guanajuato. TSA has left a greeting card inside my bag, which I notice when Mexican Customs opens it up to paw through yet again. A private car drives us through beautiful green terrain, passing slow trucks and buses. In the direction we are headed, lightning (relámpago) arcs through the clouds as rain begins to spot the windshield.

Four kilometers from San Miguel de Allende, the rain picks up as we pass unfortunate locals slogging through on bicicletas while trucks send giant sheets of water spraying to both sides. We enter from the east, near the mall, passing under a plastered brick arch displaying La Colonia de Atascadero, colonia being a suburb or neighborhood.

The car shudders atop the cobblestone streets, stopping a few yards from a gushing waterfall created by a pipe draining from a higher elevation. The street is under two inches of water, but Casa Angelitos is dry and welcoming. Soft lights illuminate the tiled floors and beautiful art fills the walls. Rosana is so kind to make us a chicken salad for dinner and her daughter Isabella tells us fun stories about life, books and adventures beyond San Miguel.

We sleep deep, awaking at 9:45am (7:45am PST). I gather that time will become less important as our four month stay in Mexico deepens. Coffee and muffins in the round room, under the watchful gaze of Buddha, Jesus, Mary, John and Yoko.

We lunch at La Mesa Grande, walk for a couple miles, marvel at the 503 year old church on Canal, make our way to the amazing Via Organica, owned by Rosana and Roger who also own the boutique hotel in which we are staying. Organic food and products are alive and well in Mexico.

I take a few photos with my iPhone as we walk through muraled streets. It is mostly cloudy and it sprinkles, but the skies will not open up today. Walking east, we find the next place we have booked, right down in the middle of it all for Independencia on the 16th of September. We will hear El Grito, the emotional cry of Viva Mexico, shouted to the rooftops at midnight.

Back at our room, the sky dims and the lights twinkle below.