Caldo de Pescado at the mercado

This is so good, we came back to Pancho’s the day after we had it the first time. Chunks of white fish, small bits of other fish including octopus, tomato-based broth with cilantro, basil, oregano, avocado, onions, lime, a crunchy hard roll or tortilla. Slightly spicy and piping hot. Cost: 35 pesos for a huge bowl, about $2.60 US dollars.

Mariscos Pancho's in the large Guanajuato mercado

La Crema

This cream is slightly thickened sweet cream, not sour cream. We always have some on hand for dips or to drizzle onto a spicy dish.

Century plant from the hills above Guanajuato

Burros farmers use to haul soil, etc. to town

Hills and trails above Guanajuato

One of the many statues of Don Quijote in Guanajuato

Guanajuato celebrates Cervantes and the story of Don Quijote with art, museums, festivals, and place names.

The tree-covered plazas with park benches

Long-time friends

What better place to be than with friends on a park bench. We have a spot saved for you!

View to our left from Casa Bertha

Guanajuato is a gorgeous colonial city (pop. about 115,000) in the mountains north of Mexico City. It is the capital of the state of Guanajuato. Take a look.

Greg in Guanajuato streets

Poinsettias in Jardin de la Union

An entrance to underground street network

Part of Universidad de Guanajuato

Virgin of Guadalupe parade on December 12

Guanajuato at dusk

On the dairy farm where I grew up, we called it corn smut (top photo). In Mexico, it’s a prized food called huitlacoche (pronounced like wheet-lah-coach- hay). I was surprised by the taste. When cooked, the fungus is very black and has a surprisingly smooth, almost creamy consistency and a very earthy taste. Excellent food adventure.

Public laundry in San Miguel de Allende, moved from a higher hill to this location in 1901. Currently used. Photo: Greg Fischer

El tendedero in Spanish is more fun to say than clothesline. Not that the word clothesline is even heard very often. The taut ropes or wires stretched between poles have been against many suburban codes for years. Many children in the US have never seen one.

Here in San Miguel de Allende, los tendederos are on our rooftop garden and we can see many lines of clothes drying in the breeze on many terraces across the town. Every few days, I take a basket of wet clothes up the stairs and find myself enjoying the morning sun, carefully shaking out the shirts and towels, and deciding how to neatly clip corners and waistbands. Pinning the toes of socks side-by-side feels like meditation.

After drying in the sun, the clothes have a pleasant scent of outdoor air, not the fake smell of dryer softeners. Pants, underwear, and socks have a pleasant stiffness or crunchiness when we first put them on.

The day I learned the word el tendedero, I tried to use it in a sentence.  “Quiero colgadar mis camisas en el tendedero.” My Spanish teacher corrected me by saying, “Colgadar means to hang clothes in a closet. Tender is the verb used when you mean to hang clothes en el tendedero.”

Certainly, to hang clothes in a closet is a totally different experience than hanging them en el tendedero. What makes a clothesline offensive, I’d like to know? Not a thing. Now I’d fight for the right to have one in my backyard.

Iglesia de San Miguel Arcangel - Day of the Dead - Photo by Greg Fischer

Crypt under Iglesia San Miguel Arcangel - Day of the Dead - Photo by Greg Fischer

Traveling Light photo by Greg Fischer

Looking back, we started mentally packing for this Mexico trip long before May 2010 when we had our first garage sale. The first time I cried while letting go was when a woman loaded my trusty, old sewing machine into her car. That olive green machine had served me since I had sewn peace symbols on my bellbottoms in freshman year of college.

We sold our house and most of its contents in March 2011. Every single item had at least one decision tied to it, often more.

I’ve discovered it takes several decisions to undo an impulse purchase. Hundreds of books (my weakness) moved from one shelf to another, then to boxes upstairs near by desk, then to the basement to “check” my emotional connection and heavy guilt for not having read all of them. Books were in the dark underbelly of our house for months before I was sure I could let them go. Then, book by book, I had to decide whether to give them away to specific friends, to the library, or just donate to Goodwill. It was not easy. It often felt like a form of death to face the skeletons that possessed me.

Greg and I now have four boxes and some extra clothes stored at my sister’s house. That’s it. No hidden items anywhere else. Now I don’t miss or regret anything. I feel free and light.

In our possession as we travel, we each have one large suitcase and one backpack.

What I (Jari) packed for this 6-month trip:

1 laptop with case

1 camera

1 Kindle

1 iPod Shuffle

2 paper notebooks

12 pencils & pens

3 skirts

3 pairs of pants (not jeans, too heavy), 1 pair converts to shorts

1 pair capris

1 pair shorts

1 pair tights

1 pair hiking boots

1 pair Keen sandals

1 pair black flats

1 pair leather sandals

1 rain jacket

1 down jacket

1 cotton jacket

1 thermal athletic shirt

1 sun hat

1 belt

1 small purse with shoulder strap

1 shawl

1 shirt dress

1 linen jumper

14 blouses, shirts

1 dress jacket

2 wool sweaters

3 scarves

1 watch

1 travel alarm

1 pair pajama pants

1 t-shirt for sleeping

1 mosquito net

1 blacklight to spot scorpions (we don’t need it in the city)

1 necklace

1 bracelet

8 pairs of earrings

1 water bottle

1 textbook for November CELTA certificate course in Mexico City

3 pairs reading glasses

1 swimsuit

1 swim cap

1 pair swim goggles

1 pair sunglasses

1 hair brush

2 combs, a few hairclips

2 toothbrushes & toothpaste

1 bottle grapefruit seed extract (for washing vegetables, fruits, drinking to kill bacteria)

vitamins & prescription pills (includes antibiotic for major digestive tract issues)

Immodium

small makeup case (lotion, tweezers, clippers, mascara, blush, lipstick, Q-tips, eyeliner)

socks & underwear

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– All this equals about 45 pounds. We cleared space for our amazing experiences. Just like skin cells sloughing off, every person releases something everyday. We’d love to hear about your experiences of unshackling your life.