Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Sunday 2nd of July
08.13 It is Sunday and the last morning at City Express Junior hotel in Aguascalientes is here. A question is being debated by me. Why do I wake up refreshed and ready to get up at 6am only to wake up tired and anything but ready two hours later when the alarm goes off? Does it have to do with the time change or my age?
08.58 The WiFi connection at the hotel is weak today. An upcoming accommodation in Guanajuato has sent information to Christer about what to say to the taxi driver and that there are 165 steps to the accommodation. We will solve these things tomorrow. Today we will first go to León.
09.43 No toppings were offered this breakfast and the internet connection is still out of order. It's time to say thank you and goodbye to this hotel. We hope for better internet at the next accommodation.
11.00 It went well to go to the bus station here in Aguascalientes. We're not too sweaty. Now we will get the backpacks ready for travel. The back pieces must be fixed to hide the carrying straps.
11.31 The backpacks have each received a note and Christer is responsible for the receipt. Once again we travel with Primera Plus, the bus company we were so happy with during the trip here. It would be nice to have AC in the bus, but it kicks in when the bus starts.
11.45 Goodbye Aguascalientes! You were a quieter place than your Peruvian namesake at Machu Picchu. Speaking of which, we are now on our way to a different name for a place we have been to before.
12.43 Between our road and the oncoming road is a grassy area. It's nice and cool in our bus. The landscape is dry and flat. Now we passed under a crossing road. Some of the fellow passengers are sleeping.
13.05 The melody I have as a wake-up call on my mobile phone is heard over and over again from another phone here in the bus. Wait, now it was quiet. Has the person woken up? An increase in buildings disrupts the natural views.
15.55 A tree-lined pedestrian street between two streets is the location of our first bench break in León. Calzada de los Héroes is the name of the two-part street. The girl who checked us in at the hotel just passed by. Is she going home?
17.52 We are back at the Templo Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús to take some more photos and for Christer to make a video here. There is no shortage of heat. It's a little worse with tourists.
21.00 It has gone quiet out there and here on the TV, Qatar is still leading against Mexico. The match is played in Santa Clara, California.
Monday 3rd of July
A footbridge takes us to Central de Autobuses in Aguascalientes.
Waiting in a bus terminal.
Our bus passes Estadio León.
Hoteles Único Express, León.
Peter in room 409.
We look out over León.
Camellón de la Calzada de Los Héroes.
Christer gathers strength for the sightseeing in León.
Arco Triunfal de la Calzada de los Héroes.
Templo Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús.
Everyone wants to be photographed by the city's letters.
Tacos are offered here.
Christer in the restaurant Basta Pasta.
What do you eat?
Plaza Principal de León.
Ayuntamiento de León, the city hall.
Peter in León.
Parroquia del Sagrario y la Tercera Orden.
Cathedral of León (Basílica Metropolitana de Nuestra Madre Santísima de la Luz).
Christer at the Mural de Bronze León.
On the way home, we pass the Arc de Triomphe.
Puente del Amor, the bridge of love.
Two hotels and the left one is ours.
Rainbow in León.
08.22 The night has treated us well. We hope the day will be just as pleasant. Now we will see what a breakfast means here at Hoteles Único Express.
09.20 The breakfast was not a positive experience. Tacos or tortilla chips were offered with side dishes, a few different sauces. For this we got coffee and juice with an interesting taste. There was simply not much substance in our breakfast, nothing that fills anyone for a long time. We go to the nearby Shell deli and buy an extra breakfast as a refill. 09.35 Now we have arranged a classic, breakfast refill. So we have a little more in our stomachs. It's just idiotic to start a day with a half-empty stomach. We need all the fuel and energy we can get. 09.54 Now it's topped up. It's time to take it easy before we get started. 10.18 It went well for Christer to write a note that we will show the taxi driver at the next bus station. We don't want to walk to the next accommodation. It is worse, it is not possible at all, to book bus tickets from the next destination via the Primera Plus website online. 10.35 Christer has tried to buy tickets with another bus company and received the message that the bank Nordea does not accept the payment. Maybe my VISA card will do better? 10.46 We don't try with my card but hope everything works at the next accommodation instead. 12.08 We checked out of the hotel here in León and took a much smoother route back to Central de Autobuses de León. A decision has been made. When we arrive in Guanajuato, we are the ones who go to a ticket booth at the bus terminal and buy a ticket. This way of buying tickets has worked well in the past. 12.14 Our bus from Primera Plus rolls out of León. It will be a fairly short trip today.
Sunrise in León.
A light breakfast to say the least.
In a taxi on the way into Guanajuato.
Clearly marked that we are heading in the right direction.
Beautiful view from the stairs/street Callejón de Zaragoza.
Our colourful room.
12.35 Today's journey takes us past residential buildings and businesses. There is not much nature. But it can't just be beautiful nature in the world. If so, where would we live, live, work?
13.27 After about an hour's bus trip, we arrived at the outskirts of Guanajuato and at the Terminal Central de Autobuses de Guanajuato. The upcoming transport problem was solved by buying tickets over the counter. However, it took a lot of time. The party ahead of us seemed to buy enough tickets to fill a whole bus of their own. Current transport is finding a taxi through Guanajuato. The note we prepared is in strike mode. 13.36 Guanajuato with 72,237 inhabitants is a hilly city to say the least. This has been solved by building a long series of car tunnels under the city where traffic can flow more efficiently. We are not going to the center and do not need to use so many tunnels. The city is wedged in a ravine and has been an important mining town with large silver and gold mines. Guanajuato and its surroundings were important areas in the rebellion against the Spanish in 1810. 13.54 Our taxi driver was helpful, pleasant and charged a modest price for the trip. We were dropped off at the top of a long flight of stairs. We slowly walked down the 165 steps and then checked in at Hostal Casa de Dante (https://www.casadedante.com). Our hostess is an elderly charming lady, Irene. Now we're going to get in order. As soon as we have WiFi connection I will pay my debt of 1050 pesos. We stay in room 4 called La Llorona. The rooms have different themes based on Mexican legends. 15.32 After we consumed some packed lunch and listened to a thunderstorm outside, I took an afternoon nap in the room. 16.03 Soon we are ready to continue down the stairs and out into the city streets. This time there will be closer to 200 steps. It has just thundered and rained. We hope not to get wet. 16.20 Outside the room, we found the WiFi code on a sign and connected. Happy in the mood, we thought we'd go into the room for a bit of surfing and fact-finding. It was then that the key to the lock was broken. We can not enter the room. 16.26 We have walked around here at the accommodation but have not found any living people, no dead ones either. However, we hear sounds one floor below us. Hope it's the hostess and not some guest down there.
La Llorona - a Mexican legend.
Peter outside the Casa de Dante.
Hostal La Casa de Dante, Guanajuato.
A dog rests at Jardin Embajadoras.
Monument to the Bandera, Guanajuato.
Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza.
16.39 After a while we caught sight of our hostess. The broken key was shown to her who wisely concluded that it was broken. She retrieved a new one from a large bunch of keys. She took it all with patience. Good, now we make another attempt to get out of Casa de Dante.
17.17 One step at a time we have made our way down the wet steps down to a cozy and vibrant city with wet streets, people and car traffic. 17.20 Down or is it up the slopes creep colourful houses. In front of us on Plaza Allende we have the knight of the sad guise, Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza. We have seen these before in the Spanish-speaking parts of the world. Guanajuato has a special relationship with the writer Miguel de Cervantes. Since 1952, the university's theater has performed short plays by Cervantes in the city's streets and there is also an international Cervantes festival held here. Next to us here in the square is also the Teatro Cervantes. 17.31 Soon there will be food at Santo Café (https://www.santocafegto.com). A meal will be good and necessary. 18.05 It was good and in my case also spicy to eat. No glasses are served when drinking beer here in Mexico. The beer is dark and from the Modelo brand. Now we wait for the coffee. I hope we get cups to drink out of when it comes to that drink. 18.41 The coffee, in cups, was as usual worth the wait. Outside the restaurant stands Jorge Negrete, 1911-1953, statue with sombrero and guitar. During his lifetime he made a living as a singer and actor. Now we take a bench break before the first city tour ends.
Christer at Plaza Allende.
Santo Café, Guanajuato.
Christer is having dinner at Santo Café.
A musician and a tourist.
The terrace of La Casa de Dante.
A rainy city view just before sunset.
19.02 We save a little for tomorrow when we have a full day here in Guanajuato. Then we will see the most central parts of this gem of a city. The pace is calm, the environment is beautiful and there is an international atmosphere here due to the university and many tourists. One could stay here for a long time.
19.38 We stopped at an OXXO store before taking the long stairs home in the beginning of rain and in my case with heavy breathing. We have walked up and inspected the terrace where we met one of our neighbours, an elderly American lady. Now let's sum up the day. 21.09 Our colourful room has a mural/painting of the legend La Llorona. It shows a young woman in a river. The Mexican legend of La Llorona is about a vengeful ghost who is said to roam near watercourses and mourn her children whom she drowned in a jealous rage after discovering her husband was cheating on her. Let's hope the room isn't haunted tonight. 23.07 It is a quiet evening in the room with Roberth's film from the trip in Finland as entertainment. We have also been entertained by other film clips on comical dogs and now the evening is rounded off with reading our books. It has been an eventful day with a meager breakfast, bus journey, lost key and a good dinner. What happens tomorrow? One thing is certain, there will be many steps tomorrow as well.
Tuesday 4th of July
08.13 It's good to sleep in the room La Llorona despite a slightly hard bed and the female ghost on the wall looking towards us. A new exciting day must be prepared and implemented. In his Finnish time zone, Roberth has biked to Vaasa in Finland nine hours ahead of us.
08.47 In the time from our awakening until now, we have heard voices and someone trying to sing. We're not going to sing, we're going to have breakfast in the kitchen, which is on the ground floor of the house. According to the reviews, a homemade Mexican breakfast should be offered. 09.33 This was clearly the best breakfast of the trip. We got omelettes, sausages, beans, tortillas and other goodies. Everything was prepared live and on the spot by our hostess. The elderly lady we met on the terrace sat at the table at the same time as us and talked about a little bit of everything, including worms that can eat and break down plastic. She had just seen a documentary about it. The lady herself did not eat plastic but stirred four tubes of dry cream into her coffee. 10.55 The dogs are barking outside where we are soon ourselves. There are quiet steps down the stairs. There is no panic. We have a full day in Guanajuato ahead of us. 11.15 There is life and movement where we are in the Jardín Embajadoras park. On the way here we saw a girl with a cat in her backpack. We saw the cat through the plastic on the transparent backpack. Let's hope it had some breathing holes. 11.50 We have walked the same route as yesterday afternoon and are now back at Plaza Allende. Soon we will see new streets and new buildings in our continued walk towards the center.
Welcome to La Casa de Dante.
Mictlāntēcutli, the Aztec god of death.
Breakfast at La Casa de Dante.
A cat in the backpack.
On the way to the center.
Temple of San Francisco, Guanajuato.
11.55 We and many other tourists have gathered at the beautiful red church Templo de San Francisco. It is one of many beautiful buildings in this attractive city.
12.03 Two men in traditional clothes beat/drum on tambourines. The branches of the trees form a dense green roof over everything. We are at the heart of the city, the Jardín de la Unión park. Near the park is the beautiful Teatro Juárez, which is the central venue for the city's Cervantes festival, the Festival Internacional Cervantino. 12.17 Near Jardin de la Unión, we have bought coffee at Starbucks Coffee. Due to remodeling, there were two different premises. Via a door you could buy your coffee. Then it was just a matter of going out into the street and entering through another door to find tables and chairs. I break the trend with double espresso. They only had brewed coffee here today. 12.32 We were surrounded by loud school kids at Starbucks and were motivated to move on to the city streets again. 13.04 After passing the square Plaza de la Paz and the yellow church Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato, we now take a bench break by a statue. 13.14 We sit here enjoying life on the bench by the statue representing the city's son Diego Rivera, the famous artist who was married to another famous artist, Frida Kahlo. 13.20 It has started to drizzle and we and others have sought shelter in one of the city's car tunnels, the Santa Fe tunnel. 13.38 The rain eased and we then passed the city's university, Universidad de Guanajuato. Now we are at a church, Templo (Iglesia) de la Compañia. 14.26 Via a stop at an OXXO store, we have made it all the way up to La Casa de Dante. The legs can handle the stairs but the lungs protest. Is it because of the high altitude? We are approximately 2045 meters above sea level. Now there will be a shower and then a snack here in the room.
Teatro Juarez, Guanajuato.
The greenery of the Jardin de la Unión.
The park's trees are like a roof.
Templo de San Diego de Alcalá, Guanajuato.
Christer visits Starbucks Coffee.
Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato.
15.17 Both a shower and a snack were needed to find the right well-being. Now we will mostly do nothing before continuing the day.
17.41 The last two hours have been wasted in this room. Not much has been done or decided. Maybe this is what vacation is all about, just unwinding and relaxing. Now we have to decide if and how we will do with the dinner. It must be eaten, the question is where? In any case, we need to return to the center. There is not much in the way of food near the accommodation. 17.51 Before we left our home, we went out on the terrace again. This time it was easier to take good pictures. It didn't rain and it was also brighter than yesterday's visit. 18.08 We go from restaurant to restaurant and think about which is the best option for tonight's dinner. Should we choose somewhere nicer or do we settle for a simple meal? The sky is getting darker. Can we make it to a restaurant before we get rained on? 18.23 In the beginning of rain, we have walked to Peters Pizza restaurant on Calle Ayuntamiento. Despite the name, I choose hamburgers. Christer has ordered pizza. It's lucky that we're sitting under a roof because outside it's currently pouring with full force. 19.02 It was simple but it was good. I got a half lime for my hamburger with strips. Christer got a good pizza with fresh pineapple. The rain that just poured down has calmed down enough that we dare to move home again. 19.46 We made our way home in the dark, in light rain and on wet pavements. Now it will be an evening shower before tomorrow's trip and activities are planned.
Plaza de la Paz, Guanajuato.
A car tunnel is useful when it has started to rain.
University of Guanajuato.
Iglesia de la Compañía, Guanajuato.
Christer is ready for the stairs.
Dinner at Peters Pizza but it is Christer who eats pizza.
21.21 Here in the room not much happens, but sometimes that is also needed. Today there have been uphills, downhills, straights and sometimes clean stops and parking lots.
22.48 After sharing and taking part in Roberth's last hours in Finland and also the journey by ferry from Finland, we ended the day by reading a little in our books. 23.15 We have one breakfast and one check-out left here at Hostal La Casa de Dante but we can already recommend this accommodation. It is an amazing house with decorations and art based on local culture and Mexican legends. We get homemade breakfast and it's a perfect place to meet other travelers. Besides the American lady, there are two students from Canada living here, one of German origin and one of Indian origin. The only downside is all the steps to and from the accommodation. We wonder but still don't have the answer to the question of how the elderly hostess manages to get here and from here. Does she leave the house sometimes?
Wednesday 5th of July
08.34 We have slept our second and last night in the room at La Casa de Dante in Guanajuato. At home in Europe, we can state that Roberth and his bike are at home in Överbyn again. From Umeå, he has traveled by train via Sundsvall the last distance. In France, they cycle further in the Tour de France. Christer and I are also going away today, but we are not cycling.
09.33 Today's breakfast was good but not of the same quality as the one we got yesterday. Oh well, we'll make it. During the meal we talked a bit about our travel plans with the two students from Canada who then checked out and disappeared towards the next destination. The elderly American lady seems to be staying here for a long time. She was in no hurry. 11.18 Soon it is time to leave our room number four and Dante's house. 11.27 The key, the new one, is returned to our hostess and she has ordered a taxi for us. It is reportedly waiting below the stairs. Thanks for that! What anxiety if we had had to go up the stairs with the backpacks on our backs. 11.44 We have made it down the long stairs and are standing at Paseo de la Presa street. We're waiting for the taxi the hostess ordered, quote "Two Swedish boys with backpacks". Now it's here. It feels good that we are still called boys despite the increasing age. 12.01 It costs a modest 80 pesos (just under SEK 50) to go to the bus station. Nothing to complain about. We traveled on the fast shortcut Boulevard Diego Rivera. Now we are inside the bus terminal and have sat down at El Figón Restaurant. We will treat ourselves to something to eat and drink before we go on the bus. Partly it is to kill time, partly it is good to have had some form of lunch. 12.27 We ordered freshly squeezed orange juice and three quesadillas (cheese-filled tortillas) for just over SEK 30 per person. We thank you very much for that. 12.50 After a bit of a wait inside the bus station, we are now in Primera Plus own waiting room outside at the bus stops.
A melon heart for breakfast.
Orange juice and quesadillas at El Figón.
Central de Autobuses, San Miguel de Allende.
Hotel La Estación, San Miguel de Allende.
Newly built apartments behind our hotel.
The rays of the afternoon sun warm the hotel.
13.12 Our bus is late. Besides the two of us waiting for the bus, there are four Asians with a lot of luggage here. There are two girls and two boys who nervously wonder why the bus hasn't turned up.
13.22 The bus appeared. We and the Asians who turned out to be South Koreans loaded the carry-on and got on board. They appear to be on a trip around the world according to a conversation we intercepted between one of the guys and an American fellow passenger. 13.44 The comfortable Primera Plus bus takes us all through a hilly and dry landscape. 13.58 After being in a traffic queue behind a slow-moving old vehicle, we have now picked up speed again. 14.24 The bus turned onto a smoother and wider road. It's rolling down. 15.04 We arrive at Central de Autobuses in San Miguel de Allende. It is a small bus terminal but we found a small kiosk. We did some shopping there before going to Hotel La Estación (https://www.hotellaestacion.mx) which is right next to the bus terminal. It can also be heard in the hotel's name (Station Hotel). Now we have moved into room 128 which actually has a coffee machine. At check-in, Christer wrote on a piece of paper that we should not smoke in the room. We should probably be able to manage that. 15.40 The purchased drink has been drunk and the biscuits paid for have been chewed. Not entirely wrong with something to consume. So we have come to San Miguel de Allende, a city that has a sizeable colony of North American retirees from the US and Canada. The city with 74,021 inhabitants was previously called San Miguel el Grande but was renamed in 1826 to San Miguel de Allende after the independence hero Ignacio Allende who was born here. 16.55 We have found the Youtube app on the room's TV. As a pastime, we watch old video clips from our previous trips. 17.37 We continue to look through the videos from the Easter trip in Romania and it continues to be a hassle when we want to book bus tickets online for this trip. 17.55 Online search regarding buying Mexican bus tickets online recommends that we pay these via PayPal. This is something Christer did so now we finally have tickets. The strange thing is that it worked great without Paypal when we were in Guadalajara and Aguascalientes. 18.07 Strengthened by the success and with a tailwind, Christer has bought a few more bus tickets.
Café Central, the hotel's restaurant.
Tonight's dinner restaurant.
Spaghetti and Lasagna at Café Central.
Roberth in Finland on a TV in Mexico.
18.31 At the entrance level to our hotel is the reception. Behind this is Café Central. That is where we will have our dinner. There are no other reasonable restaurants in the immediate area. Our hotel and the bus terminal are located a number of kilometers from the city center.
19.15 There was plenty of food, even if the selection in the menu was a bit limited. Now we're going to go out and buy a little bit of each at the chain OXXO. 19.51 Once again we have received assistance from an OXXO store. We went to a fairly large OXXO which was adjacent to a petrol station. Dinner and breakfast are purchased. An enthusiastic man stood holding the door open for customers hoping to get a penny. 21.37 On TV, CNN takes a closer look at Donald Trump's documents and the situation in Ukraine in the wake of the Wagner Group uprising. We start preparing for evening coffee, the first here in Mexico. 22.18 Our travels and coffee capsule machines simply do not mix. We didn't get it in France on the New Year's trip and it's just as bad here. All we've managed to do is get the hot water to pass through. It is certainly more than what was managed in France. Now we'll see if we can watch Roberth's last film on the room's TV instead. We have mixed instant coffee with us in the hot water so it will be coffee anyway. From outside, a rumble can be heard that resembles thunder, but it's probably something else. 22.44 We watched several of Roberth's videos on the spur of the moment when we still had a TV to watch them on. The sound from outside sounds like some kind of fireworks. It is unclear who is making the noise and why. It's becoming a Mexican tradition to sit in hotel rooms and hear sounds we can't locate. In León, we heard sounds from an unidentified sporting event.
You can see 62 photos from July 2 in this photoalbum.
You can see 51 photos from July 3 in this photoalbum.
You can see 57 photos from July 4 in this photoalbum.
You can see 18 photos from July 5 in this photoalbum.