Thursday, June 02, 2011

I've Had It!

I'm not quiting blogging. I can still put up with the roof dogs. I still like the bells and fireworks (most of the time.) I know I'll make it until the rainy season this year. So what brings on "I've had it." Cobblestones. That is right, cobblestones.

We got back to San Miguel about two weeks ago and yesterday while walking into town two times I realized that I've got my legs back. My ankles are limber, my legs are moving well in the hip sockets, and my feet and legs have readjusted to walking on the hard surfaces. The altitude isn't bothering me going up hill, at least not too much,  but what is bothering me are the cobblestones. Oh, I can walk on them but I've finally admitted to myself that they are not the charming aspect of this colonial town that I once thought they were. While they are still charming to look at, they aren't charming to walk on. It is like some little aggravation that you ignore and ignore but then one day it hits you.....POW.....just like that. Enough already.

I don't want to walk on cobblestones. The sidewalks are better even if they are two feet wide (sometime 18" wide) and uneven but unfortunately there are places in the Mexican colonias where there are no sidewalks. As you can see from this picture with my house at the top of the street, I can't avoid ever again walking on cobblestones in San Miguel but I'm going to choose the sidewalk route when I can even if it means having to go a little further.

12 comments:

Jonna said...

I've always thought that cobblestones are highly overrated as a walking or driving surface. The ones in SMA seemed a little better than the ones in Ajijic which are just dreadful. I much prefer the more even block squares that are used a lot down here. Those river rocks - having no rivers in Yucatan probably saved us that ordeal - are brutal. However, we still have the huge holes in the sidewalks, cracks, open street drains and various other obstacles that make walking a full sensory experience.

Billie Mercer said...

Jonna, we have all those problems with our sidewalks here. Ya gotta watch where you are going every minute. I speak as the voice of experience since I've had a broken ankle.

jennifer rose said...

Remember that tale circulating a few years ago about how cobblestones kept the Chinese people from having back problems, bunions and ingrown toenails -- not to mention heartbreak of psoriasis? You've got to know damn well that no Chinese people who actually had to walk on cobblestones were consulted about that piece -- yet gringos gobbled it up, hook, line and sinker.

Bob Mrotek said...

Thanks for the comment about cobblestones Billie. I thought I was the only one who doesn't like them and I wouldn't mind it a bit if they were paved over with good old concrete. "Quaint" is nice on Christmas cards but this is 2011. It's "da future" for goodness sake. The cobblestone quaintness is one of the things that make me reluctant to take up residence there. That and a few other small details like the all terrain moto drivers and their death defying driving stunts. Nothing like tire tracks running up and down your backside, eh :)

Steve Cotton said...

My last brief visit to San Miguel did not leave me impressed with the cobblestones. And that comes from a guy whose village streets are "paved" with sand, dirt, jagged rocks, and cavernous holes.

Trinidad Salamanca said...

Oh my goodness I totally agree! Highly overated and try walking on those streets in heels! Anytime there is a big fiesta and a girl get all dolled up she pays for it dearly if in heels! I always think twice when I am getting dressed in Mexico because I have to think of comfort before beauty.

Heather said...

I agree. Cobblestones are annoying. There are areas of Philadelphia that have cobblestone streets and I remember hating them.

Billie Mercer said...

Oh my, lots of responses this morning. I guess I'm just a little slow on getting fed up with the cobblestones. I'm glad to read that so many of you agree with me.

Trinidad, I don't think I've seen a comment from you before. I went to your blog. Very nice. I'll be back.

Bob, I agree about the Motos although during the week we don't see much of them. The weekend flood of young people coming from DF and other big cities brings the problems. Drinking and driving....they are cowboys on those things.

Anonymous said...

Billie, 100% in agreement. I'd a million times rather have lajas (those square flat stones that Jonna mentioned), as they do in Zacatecas, than ANY kind of cobblestone.

Here in La Condesa our sidewalks can be like busted-up goat tracks, but I'll take them any day over the cobbles in quaint San Ángel.

Cristina

Linda Lou and Senor, Too said...

Alamos also still has many cobblestone streets. We also have the new cement blocks on some of our streets. The sidewalks are up to 3 feet tall above the street in some places, narrow and uneven in some places. So, yes, it is sometimes hard to choose....

Michael Dickson said...

The cobblestone streets of Pátzcuaro are generally far superior to those obstacle courses in SMA. And our sidewalks are wider. Much easier to get around here.

Billie Mercer said...

Felipe, I agree with you.