Highlights and notables

Puerto Vallarta

• public art along the Malecon (boardwalk) (especially because you can interact with it)
• being paid $150, a free lunch, and a day's access to a stellar resort in exchange for sitting through a presentation on time shares (just in case you're wondering, time shares are not worth it, but the reward for sitting through the presentation sure was)
• tequila tasting (we even tasted the President's favourite tequila)

Leon

• great conversation, laughs, and hospitality in fabulous houses from Fabian's aunt, uncle, and cousins
• the best tacos (so far) in Mexico...marlin tacos, served at a ranch in the desert (strange, but true - refrigerated trucks make anything possible)

Guanajuato

• well, really, everything - this UNESCO heritage town is amazing!!
• the music - there is music everywhere - from 8 piece mariachi bands around the main square, to plugged-in ranchero bands on the corner, to individuals playing guitar...and a highlight of this highlight were the 'estudiantiles' - student bands who walk groups of people through the maze of streets while they sing and entertain the crowds with old Mexican tunes
• the structure of the city - everything is either up a hill and through a small alley (or seven), or centred around small squares with trees and fountains; this didn't bode well for Catherine's directional challenges, but it's a small enough town that you can't be lost forever!
• everything Quixote! Guanajuato has become known for its Cervantino festival and obsession over the past decades - there are statues, memorabilia, theatres, and a full iconographic gallery dedicated to the fictional character of Don Quixote. Who doesn't love idealists?

San Miguel Allende

• our lovely hosts - parents of our friend Eric - who entertained us with stories, wine and food
• a walking tour through the religion and history of this instrumental town of the Mexican Revolution
• botanical gardens focused on cacti - hectares of semi-arid terrain with species from around north eastern Mexico; and a highlight of the gardens was an exhibit of plants making music - electrodes are placed on several cacti and attached to a type of lute - the energy they create vibrates the strings in a sort of random chant
• a Stevie Wonder tribute concert by a collection of jazz musicians in a centuries old theatre