Getting Settled in Guanajuato

Last week, we scheduled our usual mini van for the 6:00 am airport run... which we had to cancel at 5:30 when Mae was sick. The driver wasn't suuuuper happy with us. So this time, we call another guy, but he only has a sedan. We suggest he just drive us in our Sequoia with the car seats and big bags and then return it to the house. Then he ends up needing to bring two more people and asks if they can squeeze in the third row. We'd of course get a discount. Fine by us.
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He shows up at the house at 6:00 am, but had told the other people 6:30. Fine, we have a little cushion built in. Then traffic is bad and he "takes a shortcut,” even suggesting a route way out into the East Bay which I overrule. Back on route, he takes another weird exit, heading again toward the East Bay, at which point I say, “You do know we’re going to SFO not Oakland, right?” He doesn’t. Of course, the strangers jammed into the way back of our car ARE going to Oakland. I'm like uhhhhhh... We figure out the mistake, drop the stowaways off at a gas station and call em a Lyft (on the driver's bill) as we speed off towards SFO.
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By now, we're an hour behind schedule but manage to divide the contents of the three checked bags so that they’re all under the weight limit, sail through security, grab a snack and hit the gate just in time for boarding. Zim's out!!!
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#travelwithkids #familytravel #uberbigmistake #lostlyftie

Turns out our Airbnb host is pretty well connected with the World Rally Championships Rally Mexico stage that runs through the streets (and tunnels! But more on those in later posts) of Guanajuato. I ended up with a front row view of the cobblestone roundabout where each car does two laps of high speed drifting! Tons of people out in the streets and on every bridge over the course. Not a bad start to the trip! #likemeinarentalcar

A 10 minute walk down narrow stairways, and we’re in the Plaza de La Paz in front of the striking Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato. $6 at a cafe for yogurt, fruit, granola and a bottomless breadbasket for the girls and a plate of chilaquiles verdes and coffee for me. A little wandering between the shady plazas then stops at a panaderia for more rolls to bring home and the wood-fired oven for a rotisserie chicken right off the spit before trying to find a new combination of alleys to get us back up the hill. #andrepeat #okayfinewegoticecreamtoo

Street performers in front of Teatro Juárez while the Saturday night mariachi battle is heating up behind us in Jardin de la Union. Guanajuato knows how to do the weekend.

If it gets too warm in the sun, find a bench beneath an immaculately pruned Indian Laurel and watch the people stroll by. #sombra #indianlaurel #guanajuato

Psst, for this trip, we’re posting the more personal content over on the @smallhousedna account. If you’re a friend (physical or virtual), home/road/worldschooler, nomadic breeder etc, request to follow (and drop a message to introduce yourself if needed).
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Otherwise, stick around here for the general scenic travel shots like this one of the stairs of the University of Guanajuato or let us know what else you’d like to see/know (or storm off in protest of the lack of Airstream pics 😜).
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#familytravel #travelwithkids #nomadicbreedersunite

Guanajuato was one of the richest Spanish colonial cities with one of the mines discovered in this “hill of frogs” at one point responsible for more than 2/3 of the world’s silver. We took the funicular up one of the steep hillsides for an amazing view of the town and shot this video on the way down. #didimentionigotagopro#guanajuato #funicular

Our neighborhood in Guanajuato is a mix of everything from run down lots complete with cars on blocks and a dog on a chain to refined stucco homes with electric gates and rooftop patios. Neighbors return a shy “Buen día” in return to ours. We’re definitely a novelty, and though I do think the 5 yr old boy who rings our buzzer every couple days yelling “¿Basura?!” does it for everyone, not just the gringos, either way he definitely deserves the 5 pesos (25 cents) for carrying our 30 lb garbage bag the 3 blocks to the dumpster. #youngentrepreneur

One from the #itsnotall🌈and🦄 file: While the town is as beautiful as the pictures and there have been some highs, out first 10 days have also been a challenge. Ann spent the first few days completely knocked out by the virus she’d just finished nursing the kids thru, then I went down for a couple days after that. We’re both still up throughout the night with a persistent cough and sore throat, and despite layering it with every blanket in the closet, the rock hard bed hasn’t been conducive to sleep. The lack of parks or playgrounds (we don’t really see kids around playing other than at school) hasn’t given us a lot of time off.
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Then, finally healthy enough to start a routine, the Spanish school we’d been planning on for the kids was less than inspiring, and we’re getting tired of the same dinner every night from whatever is available at the tiny corner market when we don’t make it downtown. Even my visions of side trips to remote little pueblos are turning out to be longer and more complicated than I’d expected. Fine, first world problems and delicate snowflake and all that (don’t shame me, @zanosaurus 😜), but my mood has been circling the drain.
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Enough of these experiences in the past (yeah, bed bugs and leaky toilet in Europe was one) have taught us to find the reset button. First, a re-evaluation of priorities. The kids are already picking up words and phrases all the time. They see us speaking Spanish and hear it all around them everyday. We’re on target. There’s another school in town that looks even better, and we’ll try it next week. If not, we’ll put up a note at the university and find a student to come play with the girls.
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[#captionovel continued in comments]