Tag Archives: San Miguel de Allende

photography, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way: Day 8, into the land of the gods via lochs, munros and moors

Scotland’s most photographable structure: Black Rock Cottage (now known as The Ladies’ Scottish Climbing Club). Behind it rises the formidable-looking Bauchaille Etive Mor (“Great Herdsman of Etive”).

In Scotland, there are beinns and munros (hills and mountains). Hills are most anything below 3,000 feet and that is what we’ve been mostly skirting on the West Highland Way. They are impressive as you walk trails carved into their lower regions. They form majestic, sloping walls on either side of gentle glens.

Today we are heading into munro country but to reach it, we must cross 50 square miles of the Rannoch Moor, a boggy region of grasses and heather and scores of small ponds and lochanes. I don’t think anyone who wanders off across the moor would ever be heard from again. It is a beautiful and unforgiving place.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way, Day 7: I’m no Ansel Adams

The infamous Green Welly for all your laundry, camping, and souvenir needs in Tyndrum.

I spent way too much time in the Green Welly mega-plex yesterday. It is right next door to our hotel, The Tyndrum Inn, and among other enterprises, it offers two coin-op washing machines and a dryer. By the end of Day 6, I was badly in need of both.

Surprisingly, the machines were available — maybe because they are outdoors and the wind and rain were formidable or maybe because the bigger washing machine charges 10 pounds per load. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures — or maybe just digging in deep for some cash.

The washing machine quickly ate the money and refused to work. (That begs for a joke but I’ll refrain.) The shop’s maintenance man, Frank, was there in minutes and got my load spinning.

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Memoirs -- fact and fiction, photography, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way: Day 5, the cinematic splendor of it all

My hiking companions Brian Connors, Susan Shors, Kim Scholefield, and my beloved Rose Alcantara set off to discover their own infinite possibilities this morning.

If Van Morrison had taken the walk with me today from Inverernan to Crainlarich, he’d surely want to write a song about it. He’s not a Scot, sure, but I think he’d get it in his Celtic heart. Titles like “A Sense of Wonder,” “Into the Mystic,” “In the Garden,” and even “Cyprus Avenue” were in rotation in my head as I walked beside the River Falloch.

This was a gentle one — thank God, after yesterday — no rock piles to climb, few inclines to surmount, no risk to life and limb.

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Memoirs -- fact and fiction, photography, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way: On Day 3, a bit more than a stroll beside the loch

I would like to report that the chubby red squirrel navigated its way up the pine tree to the fifth level of branches with no assistance from me whatsoever.

You may be amazed to learn — as I was to see — that Red carried a small pinecone in its jaws while performing this feat.

Look, I know squirrels do this sort of thing very well without me. But it just seemed so important to me at the moment.

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Memoirs -- fact and fiction, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way: On Day 2, isn’t it eye-conic?

After waking up around 8 a.m., leisurely packing, and enjoying a nice breakfast, it occurs to me that our strategy for hiking the West Highland Way here in Scotland is a good one.

Instead of chewing up the entire 96 miles in 6 or 7 days, we are taking ten. This means later starts most days, a leisurely pace, side trips to curiosities, and an early arrival at our destination. Best of all, time to recover from the previous day’s exertions. Oh, yes, and a wee bit more pub time after we cross the finish line.

Take today for example. We set out to cover the nearly eight miles between Drymen and Balmaha. It is mostly a leisurely uphill stroll through farmland, fallow fields, forests, and fern breaks — until you reach Conic Hill.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Uncategorized, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way: On Day 1 we learn that everyone walks to the beat of a different drummer, and that is just fine

Day 1: Milngavie to Drymen. Distance: 12-13 miles. Level of difficulty: Child’s play.

How long did it take? Maybe less than a mile. No, easily less than a mile.

But, technically, I wasn’t lost.

I just didn’t know where I was headed.

And I did feel … what’s the word I’m reaching for? Ah, yes: Foolish.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Hiking the West Highland Way: Ease on down the road

Well, we’re off to see the Wizard.

Or very soon.

Our bus left at 1 p.m. for CDMX, the airport in Mexico City.  Our British Airways flight takes off at 10 p.m. for Edinburgh. There has been discussion over whether nine hours is leaving enough time to make our flight, given the capricious and precarious nature of highway travel in Mexico.

Our first roll of the dice. First of many in the next couple of weeks, I imagine.

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San Miguel de Allende, The Week in SMA

SMA Events, Aug. 25-31: Woody is leaving, Angela’s back, party in the Jardin, fundraiser for chess prodigies — a peek at next month

Look, it’s not that I don’t love you. I do. I adore you. I love how you get out and make the most of all the wonderful things that make up San Miguel de Allende. Our relationship to date has been a bit one-sided. I get it. You’re busy. You don’t write. You don’t call. But that’s OK. You’re page views tell me I’m getting through.

It is just that, well, we need some time away from each other. Put it another way, I’m going away for a while. And where I’m going, you can’t reach me and I won’t be able to reach you. That’s just the way it is. Just the way it’s got to be.

We’ll always have Scotland.

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San Miguel de Allende, The Week in SMA

San Miguel events, Aug. 18-24: Spend a day on the farm, check out cool cars, music, art, opera — just do it

Sunday, August 18

8 –10 a.m. OK, what’s a “botarga”?
I’ll tell you: It is a full-body costume often of a cute animal, vegetable, or a sports team mascot — or Spiderman and Deadpool. Put yours on, zip it up, and join the first Botargas Race at Plaza La Luciérnaga. Be your anthropomorphic best as you “Run, jump, and laugh.” Those are the rules. That’s all we’ve got. Registration is $100 pesos.

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San Miguel de Allende, The Week in SMA

SMA events, Aug. 11-17: (Fresh updates!) Walk for art, watch birds, catch ‘Carmen,’ or see ‘Office’ & baseball!

Sunday, Aug. 11

10:30 a.m. – Noon — Ecstatic dancing
San Miguel’s longest-running ecstatic dance community Danza de Alma meets at The Nautilus Chamber with the music of DJ Grandpa setting the swirling dervishes in motion. Here’s a map to Nautilus.
Danza del Alma is a scent free zone. Suggested donation is $150-$400 pesos ($8-$20 usd). paypal.me/JoanElenaGoldberg.Can’t make it in person? Zoom in: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6777780270 (Zoom Passcode: Danza, Meeting ID: 677 778 0270)

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