429 km/266 miles – Today to our destination is the Bugamville RV Park (GPS 20.94559 N, 101.25844 W) for our visit to Guanajuato, this will be alongerdrive. The route planned is the most direct, and we have done our best to avoid Guadalajara and Leon. Have a good breakfast, we do expect to stop for fuel shortly after leaving the RV Park, later a body break that will include lunch on the road. We should arrive at the campground in the afternoon. Thankfully our route will largely be on a very good toll hwy. This is full service RV Park that includes Wi-Fi.
We have nothing planned on our arrival, although we may need to sort out laundry, water or propane. We have number of excursions planned during our stay in Guanajuato. These will include a private Guided Bus tour of Guanajuato, transport to San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo Factory tour and the Revolution Day Parade.
Guanajuato is both a city and the capital of the state of the same name. The historic center has numerous small plazas and colonial-era mansions, churches and civil constructions built using pink or green sandstone. Located in a narrow valley, the streets narrow and winding, cars cannot pass through most alleys and long sets of stairs up the mountainsides are not uncommon. Uniquely, many of the city’s thoroughfares are partially or fully underground.
San Miguel de Allende: At the entrance of the city stand the statues of Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, Miguel Hidalgo and Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, with one of the Archangel Michael in the center. While the outlying areas of the town and municipality have changed over time, the historic center remains much as it was 250 years ago. The layout of the center of the city is mostly a straight grid, as was favored by the Spanish during colonial times. However, due to the terrain, many roads are not straight. There are no parking meters, no traffic signals and no fast food restaurants. These roads are lined with colonial-era homes and churches. With a few exceptions, the architecture is domestic rather than monumental, with well-tended courtyards and rich architectural details. The houses have solid walls against the sidewalks, painted in various colors, many with bougainvillea vines falling down the outside and the occasional iron-grated window. Many of the larger structures have large entrances that once accommodated horses and carriages.
