New adventures – Joyce and Mary went out for breakfast breads and pastries and had an enjoyable walk around town in the cool morning air. Though, alas! They did find that overnight the sidewalk was torn up on the egret-free side of Guerrero.

We took Carl’s car (with Carl driving, of course) to campus to meet Jaime and Chuy for a visit to a talavera factory. Jaime took us to his uncle’s small factory where his uncle explained the steps in making thrown pieces and even made two small vases and a large bowl for us to see. Most of the work – beautiful in design – is sold to others who paint and finish the pieces. But he is working on some new clear glaze designs, improves his techniques through the local trade association, and has been to the US to discuss distribution. In sum, he is a sophisticated entrepreneur.

Jaime also took us to a factory and store where molded pottery is made and decorated. The owners have an amazing house with incredible tile work throughout.

We then dropped Chuy back at UTNG and headed off for San Miguel de Allende. Such traffic – we felt a bit like country mice sitting in miles of bumper to bumper traffic and streets without parking places. We had a quick, but delicious, lunch in a Sri Lankan restaurant and on leaving met the owner, who also teaches in the gastronomy department.

UTNG-San Miguel is only one year old, holds classes in a high school, and has programs in tourism and gastronomy. Like their fellow students at Victoria, these students had planned an afternoon of presentations for us. We heard speeches on Guanajuato and on dreams; we saw a mock interview and were asked to rate the candidates; participated in a blindfolded food tasting; and finished with costumed “Warriors of the Sun” dancers. Then the gastronomy students presented a sample of appetizers they had made. We spent the next hour munching and talking to individual students – many spoke quite good English and were quite confident in attempting to speak it. Although classes continue until 9:00 pm at UTNG/San Miguel, the English faculty left around 6:00 and so we headed home to Dolores.

Found a new restaurant just off the square: El Caudillo – great soups and shared a sizzling molcajete (lava stone mortar) filled with meat, cheese, nopales, onions and hot peppers.

THOUGHT

“ . . . two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I

I took the one less travelled by

And that has made all the difference.”

Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken”