September 25 San Miguel De Allende
Spent the day wandering around the city, enjoying the sights and sounds, antique shops, cafes, bars and garden squares.
Still very tired, wide awake at 3.00 am and nodding off at 3.00 p.m!
Interesting observation from our guide that there is only one public train line in Mexico, with lines only carrying freight.
The countryside is quite green, with wild prickly pear, wild sunflowers, and strange low trees with very flat tops. Donkeys seem to be in every second field, and there are herds of cattle which can be seen from the car.
Have learned the name of the beautiful black stone with the high shine - it is Obsidian.
The prickly pear grows wild in the fields. It is used as fruit, and the leaves are cut up as a vegetable. Two crops are grown in a field over a year - first corn, and then wheat. Vegetables can be planted for up to four crops in a year.
The walls in our room have interesting colours - apricot curtains, one wall a very bright lime-lemon paint, and one a vivid royal blue. Sounds terrible, but somehow it works.
Had dinner at a restaurant recommended by our guide, which provided caesar salad made for us at the table, followed by diagonally thinly cut fillet steak with vegetables and a crisp roll. Delicious.

September 26 San Miguel De Allende
Travelled by car to a city 1.5 hours away, Guanajuato. This is a university city, with picture-book colours and beautiful to wander around. Under the city is a road about 2 km long, which follows the course of a river which flowed there prior to being deflected away from the city. Visited a church, many other important buildings including the university, and also an Art Gallery which houses about 100 paintings of Don Quixote by numerous artists.
Highlight of the day was the Museum of Mummies. Many years ago (but not that many) they dug up an old cemetery which contained the bodies of people who no longer had relatives to claim them. To their astonishment, the bodies had been mummified (some in only a five year period) and were perfectly preserved. These have been taken to a special museum where they can be viewed through glass - one of the most interesting sights we have ever seen. One was a very tiny baby beside what was obviously the mother who had been cut open and stitched up. Another had been stabbed in the chest. One woman had apparently been buried alive, because she had been scratching her face in an attempt to escape. Most did not look happy, and none appeared to be very old.
Considering how nervous we were about safety and security before we left home, we feel surprisingly safe here. Of course we are still being very careful.