El Charco 

  On the road from Guanajuato to San Miguel de Allende the land undulates with cattle ranches and small villages.  On both of these roads the land was plentiful with cactus, some budding with fruit. And on both I had a strong urge to get out and wander and explore.  I imagined someone picking the fruit from the cacti just as I picked the apples this summer from our apple tree.  So enough with stumping the cobblestone streets of these colonial towns! We needed something different.  That something different would be the botanical gardens, El Charco del Genio and the thermal waters and hot springs called La Gruta.

Our second day in San Miguel we hailed a taxi and took off for the hills above San Miguel and to El Charco del Genio  http://www.elcharco.org.mx/.  We were told it would take us  an hour and a half to cover the paths but we were there a lot longer.  It is not only a garden but a nature preserve and there is much in the surroundings to take in. There is a long winding and open trek through the hills and by a large lake, with scenic outlooks over the canyon and to the city of San Miguel.  It was a great morning, to relax from our usual and intense walks in the city and to be alone, exploring the landscape of this area of Mexico.

La Gruta

San Miguel is surrounded by areas of thermal waters and hot springs. I was so looking forward to soaking my body and to the treat of real relaxation.  It was someone’s opinion that there are better hot baths and spa treatments in the city proper, but I was also told that La Gruta was one of the favorites among the local population.  That was for us.  Besides, we wanted to be outside of the city for our day of hot springs.  What a beautiful place!  The grounds are quite large and meandering between pools and shaded with  tables with umbrellas.  There are private rooms for changing and lockers, too.  Just don’t forget a towel (I had to buy one). We were there in off season, or maybe it was because of our (only) overcast day, but the pools were not at all crowded.  I most wanted to see the grotto for which the property is named.  It is connected to another inner pool by a covered very white Greek-like tunnel.  The interior  is covered by a high bowed ceiling  made with more of the same white rocks.  You can look down the tunnel and see the sunlight streaming in from outside, touching the white walls and blue water.  We didn’t hurry when we were ready to go.  At the entrance they called a taxi for us to return to San Miguel and we waited on a rock overlooking the gardens.  So relaxing and so beautiful.