Sesenta

Milestone birthdays are celebrated in a variety of fashions. For my 50th birthday, nearly a decade ago, I celebrated mine by swimming in 50 different pools in the year. Much more challenging logistically than I would have thought.

Shannon is celebrating her milestone birthday this year—sesenta (aka 60)! She doesn’t really have anything swim related on the docket however in Shannon fashion she has a year long fiesta planned with unique trips and experiences. Some of which I am welcome and some well…

This short blog is about her first adventure. I was able to tag along and was able to get some “light” pool time in and I mean “really, really light.” Enough, kinda to post a quick blog to share some pics.

We were off to Mexico! Not coastal Mexico but landlocked central Mexico. Where was I to find pools there? First stop on the trip was Cuidad de Mexico.

Guau-Mexico City far exceeded expectations! It was as nice as any large cosmopolitan city in Europe or the United States. Beautiful city parks, museums and good restaurants. While there wasn’t any swimming we had some great meals in particular at world renowned Pujols, an informative visit to the Frida Kahlo museum and a fun bike tour through the Coyoacan district.

It was then off to San Miguel de Allende about three hours northwest of the ciudad. Before hitting SMA we had a quick two night rest-bit at a truly unique house. This is where I had my first pool experience.

Casa Eterea is a unique one room mirrored house in Alcocer about 20 minutes outside of SMA. It was very cool and hip with massive huge sliding glass doors that looked out at the desert hills and a plunge pool.

We had chef come in and cook for us for one night and went on a fun horse back right up into the hills.

For a swimmer the highlight would be doing laps in the plunge pool. It got real repetitive real quick so I didn’t last long. It did the trick though.

San Miguel de Allende is a UNESCO World Heritage site, that we have heard about for years and it didn’t disappoint. The Spanish colonial town is an expat community and is known for its beauty, arts and culture.

The weather was perfect. The narrow cobblestone roads and the brightly colored adobe buildings all lead to the main square (jardin) and the Parroquia.

We stayed at the fabulous Hotel Matilda in el centro district close the the jardin and the parque. The vibe was great, the staff was amazing and…they had a really cool pool! I jumped in and swam a couple times. I think it was 13 strokes from end to end. That’s ok…its vacation!

We walked and walked and walked, went on a taco y tequila tour, and sampled fancy tequila at Casa Dragones. An unexpected highlight, as we there on the first Friday of March for the Fiesta Del Senor de La Conquista. It’s a celebration that has spanned over 400 years celebrating a life sized statue of Jesus in the Parroquia and his 33 years on earth.

There was music and dancing that went from dawn to dusk with indigenous people dressed in traditional ceremonial attire. The constant loud drumbeat and colorful feathered costumes was mesmerizing. Our timing was right to have a very special unique experience in a very special town.

Reflections from our last night dinner at Amatte (great meal and setting) was that Central Mexico was so much more than we ever expected. History, culture, food, and the people, we have just scratched the surface. Volveremos pronto!

Not sure what I will do to celebrate my sesenta anos. Will it be traveling, will there be swimming (si), will it be a point of time or a full year fiesta-no se? This fiesta will be hard to beat! What I do know is that everyday and every year we must vivir es incredible!!!