EL Charco del Ingenio

Took a long walk yesterday, from San Miguel's Centro to the outskirts, and up up up into the foothills northeast of town to the Charco del Ingenio and botanical gardens. The route took me up some very steep cobblestoned streets. No matter how steep you're thinking now, it's not as steep as these streets are. It took an hour and a half to get there and the trip home took only an hour - that uphill was a killer.

Once there, it was a nice walk through the gardens of local plants past a few waterfalls and along a canyon rim to a point overlooking the city. For better light I'd need to be there first thing in the morning, though, and early in the summer.

The city's landmark building, the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel is at right. The dome of the Santa Escuela de Cristo is at left. This view is taken about 15 minutes into my walk, and I'm staying about two blocks from the Parroquia.

Waterfall downstream of the reservoir.

Agave plant on the trail in the botanical gardens.