Goodbye Guanajuato

Recently I said “goodbye” to Guanajuato. Beginning my time there in early January, I can hardly believe it’s already late April, and time, now, to deal with another life transition. But, in the same breath, I’ll also say that life has been a whirlwind since December, and thinking about all that’s happened these past few months, I feel a world away from where I was at the end of 2023.

I’ve neglected blogging recently, both because March and April have felt insanely busy and also because I’ve been devoting a lot of time to writing about and preparing for a major bike ride I’ll be taking across Germany in June and early July. More to come on that in the upcoming weeks. For now, I’ll simply mention that this post will be one of my last on this particular blog site. In the near future I’ll be migrating my posts from A Far Kreie from Home to a new site I’ve created and entitled, A Connection Story. I’m doing this in an attempt to broaden the scope of my writing and to consolidate some ideas I have for future “projects,” my Germany bike ride being one of them. I hope you’ll stick with me during this transition and, if you haven’t already, that you’ll consider subscribing here or at A Connection Story to receive updates when new posts are published.

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With that out of the way, I wanted to write one final post to reflect on my time in Guanajuato. As I begin to write, though, I’m struggling a bit with how to do this and with what to include. It’s never easy to try and summarize six to eight weeks of life events in one single post, so maybe it’s best I don’t try. Or maybe this will end up being a “mile wide, inch deep” type of thing. Long on facts but short on details. As you can see, I’m thinking and writing simultaneously, so I’m not really sure what I’ll end up with. But here goes.

One aspect of the last couple of months I definitely want to write about is the people - all the incredible people I met during my time in Mexico. So, if I don't get through all the shit I’ve done in March and April, and this post becomes just about the people I’ve met, I guess that’s what this post was meant to be. We’ll see.

To put it as plainly as possible, the true gift of my Guanajuato experience was the people. From my life-long Guanajuatan neighbor two houses down, Martín, who invited me over to his place a couple times for dinner, drinks and super interesting Spanish conversation. To the wonderful teachers and staff at Escuela Mexicana who showered every student who came through their doors with kindness and generosity. To my housemates at Del Espinazo 52 whose morning coffee conversations, and friendship, I treasured. To my many new friends from Alberta, British Columbia, Wisconsin, California, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, and Montana who I absolutely loved spending time with and with whom I hope to stay in touch for many, many years to come. To France and Sylvie from Ottawa who I met in Guanajuato last year, and then reunited with for three fun weeks in February. To Jette from Denmark who’s only transgression was giving me too many mezcal shots one night, and who I’ll have the pleasure to spend time with in Denmark leading up to my Germany bike ride this summer. To Sheri and Page, two super interesting, fun, caring new friends who made the last few weeks of my trip really special. To Min and Billie from Korea who kept our community kitchen smelling like a gourmet restaurant and who I hope to see again at the tail end of their year long travel adventure somewhere in Europe this summer. To Laura, from Guanajuato, whose friendship and time together I’ll cherish forever. To Arnaud from Paris, who I connected with easily thanks to our shared experience of mid-life searching, wandering and discovery. And finally, to Aidé from Escuela Mexicana whose kindness, humor, friendship and generosity I feel extremely lucky to have had the honor to know. When you choose to take an adventure of the kind I’ve had in Guanajuato the past three months, it’s truly amazing just how many brilliant, kind, funny, spirited, interesting, like-minded people one can have the great fortune of meeting.

Impossible as it is to summarize, with any detail, what I got up to in Guanajuato that last month and a half, I guess I’ll give it a shot. In March…. We celebrated, along with hundreds of bad ass U of Guanajuato women, “International Women’s Day.” One late afternoon I took in a super fun Liga Municipal de Béisbol Guanajuato game just a couple short blocks from my house at Estadio José Aguilar y Maya - complete with a couple of Modelos purchased from a guy walking the stadium stairways selling beers out of a white plastic bucket.

I enjoyed several nights of the Guanajuato Book Fair Film Festival, watching “Strangers on a Train,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” and “The Arrival” on the university steps with Laura, Marta, Page and Sheri - free popcorn provided by U of G students. I spent the good part of a sunny Saturday in March hiking nine miles to the nearby village of Santa Rosa de Lima - mostly on dusty gravel roads, past dammed-up rivers, through even smaller villages and ending in a feast of chilaquiles rojos with fried eggs, beans and two cups of sweet, hot café de olla at a packed family restaurant in Santa Rosa.

The Friday before Palm Sunday saw the celebration of Día de las Flores in Guanajuato - a huge, yearly party that celebrates the start of Holy Week and that honors the suffering of the Virgin Mary. Families and businesses hand out free fruit-infused water and ice cream to welcome guests and passersby - a sort of trick-or-treating for adults. Loved it!

Finally, March ended with Easter weekend - the end of Holy Week and a huge, huge gathering of people in the city. Thursday is a day to visit each of the seven Catholic churches and receive an offering of bread, water, chamomile flowers and palm crosses. Friday marks the death of Jesus with most churches putting on a processional to simulate his crucifixion, the largest of which draws thousands late that night to the Guanajuato city center.

April started with a fantastic, chill bus trip with Page and Sheri to the nearby village of Dolores Hidalgo, famous for being the town that sparked Mexico’s fight for independence from the Spanish on September 16th, 1810. More recently the city has become famous for the many vendors surrounding the town plaza selling all flavors of homemade ice cream from chicharrón to mole to shrimp to sweet corn and dozens more.

In early April I got hit with a bug of some kind, constraining me to the sofa (and toilet - sorry) for several days. After the fun of that, Laura and I went to another baseball game, this one an exhibition game between top Mexican League baseball teams León and Aguascalientes. I also journeyed by bus to León where I met up with a few friends to enjoy a Liga MX football match between León and Querétaro. Sadly, Club León lost, and even more sadly, because my stomach was still flip-flopping a bit, I couldn’t partake in any of the fun, greasy stadium food.

One fun day in April Aidé invited Marta and I to join her and her friend Sylvia to tour the 16th century Templo de la Merced de Mellado and nearby mines in the hills north of central Guanajuato. And on my final weekend in Guanajuato I had the great honor to join Aidé and her family for her niece's elaborate, fun-filled Quince Años party. What a way to spend my final Saturday night in Mexico! Following a few final coffees, nights out and goodbyes with friends, I was forced to pack up and say “goodbye” to Guanajuato on April 16th. Not knowing exactly when, or even if, I’d ever be back, it was definitely a sad farewell.

As I’m writing, I’m currently sitting at the Caribou Coffee on 4&5 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. My friends, Tom and Steph are graciously hosting me for a few nights at their beautiful lake home just down the road. I’ve already drained my small latte in this all-too familiar shop, the one closest to EP High School and the one I’ve been to hundreds of times before. Cozy as it is to be warm and dry here inside, looking out at the misty, cold morning weather, I’m desperately wanting to be on my bike, putting on the miles needed to prep for my summer ride.

Since arriving back in Minnesota, I’ve been dividing my time between the Twin Cities and our family lake cabin near Aitkin. It’s been fun, not only because my sister Maria and her husband David are visiting for a few weeks from Spain, but because my brother Nathan and his new bride Emily are also here. This is Emily’s first time in Minnesota - first time in The States - after their Namibia wedding last March and after she finally received her U.S. resident visa. They’re exploring options to stay here semi-permanently, but for now it’s been fun hanging out with them at the cabin and also spending time with most of the family here in the city. (Sammie, Santi and Chalin, you’ve been missed!) Emily has already experienced her first-ever, small-town Minnesota meat raffle. Unfortunately, no meat was won.

I’m feeling a little afloat these days, not having a “home” here and still being in transition mode. But, I’m looking to the future and keeping my focus on my summer bike ride. I need to fine-tune my route, find hosts willing to put me up for a night or two as I pass through their town, buy some last minute gear, do a lot of riding, get my website and social media accounts ready for an official “launch” of sorts in early May, and mostly just emotionally gear up for what’s sure to be a challenging endeavor.

As always, if you’ve made it this far, please write a brief comment or let me know you’ve read. I sincerely appreciate the follow. Please stay tuned for more info about my Biking the Euros ride, and I hope you’ll choose to get involved in one way or another. And those of you reading this with whom I spent many a fun day or night in Guanajuato, salud, peace and blessings to you. You made my winter and early spring an immensely enjoyable one!