We came to central Mexico with no set plans. We had some ideas of things we wanted to see or do, but only our first few nights of accommodation booked. One of the things we wanted to do was go to a Lucha Libre. There appeared to be none during the time we were in Querètaro. We asked the guides that took us to see the butterflies about it, but they couldn’t find any information. At one point we thought about going to Mexico City where we were certain we’d find it, but that plan was set aside. We had pretty much given up on the Lucha Libre idea when we decided to go to San Miguel de Allende. Once we arrived, DawnO came across an interesting event happening the last night we’d be in the city. You got it … LUCHA LIBRE!!
The only thing I really knew about Lucha Libre was from watching the Jack Black movie “Nacho Libre” So … not much! However, I was super pumped to check it out. We had some problems figuring out the exact location so arranged an Uber and set out for the big night. We thought it would be held at a stadium of some sort, but after our Uber driver asked around for clarification, we found ourselves at a small neighbourhood football field with a ring set up in the centre … awesome!! We arrived a bit late, grabbed a couple of interesting snacks (think taco in a bag but on veggie straws), and caught the tail end of the pre-show – a kid’s club training in the art of Lucha Libre.
Lucha Libre is Mexican wrestling, but think Stampede wrestling or WWF/WWE as opposed to the Olympic style of wrestling. There were lots of flips and slams on the ground, but my favourite was the simple chest slap. That one always made me giggle! Needless to say, DawnO and I had a lot of fun and laughs as we experienced real Mexico with a small community event in a neighbourhood football field … pure magic!!
Our last stretch of time has been spent based in the city of San Miguel Allende. San Miguel was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 and was included on this list for, among other things, its Spanish architecture and importance during the Mexican war of independence. We stayed in the centre and spent our time wandering the cobblestone streets, marvelling at the architecture, enjoying the typical colours of Mexico and simply taking it all in.
Though San Miguel is a beautiful city, I did find myself missing the more simple charm of Querétaro – not as many tourists, not as much English spoken, but still charming and lovely in its own way.
One day we decided to take a day trip to Guanajuato. Guanajuato is another city that was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. It’s a former silver mining city with a tunnel system and winding (sometimes super narrow) pathways. We also happened to visit this city on Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe (the day of the Virgin Guadalupe). This is a special day for Catholic Mexicans (which is the majority of the country) which meant that the city was extra busy, but there were also festivities and traditions to witness. We saw all the street food you could imagine, children dressed up to honour the cultural group of the man that originally witnessed the virgin (complete with little boys sprouting drawn on moustaches and side burns), and a very long line of people waiting in line to get into the church to pay their respects to Guadalupe. Like in San Miguel, we simply wandered around, took in the festival and wandered the streets.
I love how cities and places have there own unique feel, and I really liked the feeling of Guanajuato. Unfortunately we only had a few hours here, but we were there long enough for me realize I want to come back to explore it a little bit more.
Central Mexico has been amazing and an area I’d love to come back to. “But isn’t it dangerous?” is a question I’m sure will come up. At no point in our travels did I feel unsafe, and people here for the most part were very helpful and kind. However, we didn’t travel to the areas the government of Canada has listed as dangerous, we didn’t go looking for drugs, we aren’t party people who stay out late at night and if something didn’t feel right to either of us we either didn’t do it or changed the situation we were in. Pretty much a basic equation I follow anywhere I travel! This trip was also made slightly easier with the help of my travel bud DawnO. Huge kudos to her always for her navigation abilities, skill at finding the most obscure things to try out, and sense of humour, but this time around I was extra grateful she let me tag along as she mastered her Spanish and translation skills. Definitely check out her and her husband’s travel blog at robodawno.com as they do some pretty cool things and I know they have some exciting adventures coming up.
For now, all I have left to say is México es mágico!! Viva México!!!
Guanajuato is where the World Rally Championship goes every year. That’s two places Dawno has been in the past six months where a major motoring event is held, the first she was there during the event!!!
That’s so B-Rod!!! 🤣