When I learned about Las Siete Luminarias in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, I only knew one of the seven craters was a tourist attraction. I did not know if any other were accessible. As we arrived at our second crater visit, Crater La Alberca, my husband turned to me and said, “Please don’t make it a goal to visit all seven craters.”
“Instead of climbing over the mountain, they blasted a tunnel right through it, but they didn’t run electricity,” our friend told us about Las Siete Luminarias. Bring flashlights stuck in mind.
One place that I really wanted to visit ever since learning of its existence was Las Siete Luminarias. The best known is called El Rincón de Parangueo. This is located near Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, Mexico.
This begs the question, what are Las Siete Luminarias or Seven Luminaries?
I didn’t expect to celebrate Halloween once we were living outside of the United States. I had heard that there is trick-or-treating in the neighborhoods here in central Mexico, but it was mentioned in an offhand way, in passing, and sounded like it wasn’t a big deal. Obviously, the Day of the Dead is the big and special holiday at this time of year in Mexico. So, why am I writing a post about celebrating our first Halloween in Mexico?
I was so scared to travel and I never even considered traveling alone. My friends never had money or time. Frequently, both. If they did, they’d go with their significant other. I didn’t know that people traveled solo simply because they could. Nor did I realize how rewarding it would be. How do you alleviate the fear of traveling? How do you fight the foe called travel anxiety?
One thing I love to do for myself is write letters to Future Me. It has helped me realize when I’ve made progress in my life and thinking. It reminds me of difficult times and that I’ve persevered through them. I get snapshots of what my kids were like at certain ages and I’ve made sure to include more about my little precious people in my future letters to my future self. The snapshot shows me where I was on my journey and where I am now.
I’ve been struggling with a very difficult parenting decision. And I thought I’d made peace with it, until we came out of a weekend where we were beautiful, model unschoolers. Or homeschoolers. Or whatever term makes you happy. I really want to continue to live the unschool life in a go to school world.
“I’m not sure if you are trying to be my friend or if you are trying to kill me,” I panted to my new acquaintance, in the middle of the torture fitness class she’d invited me to attend.
“I am a friend, I promise,” she replied with a laugh. We were both sweating, but I felt like I was the only woman in the room who couldn’t get her breath. The women were like goddesses or Wonder Woman (Wonder Women?) The older gentleman assistant said, “Calm,” to me. As in, it’s okay to slow down. Maybe he was worried I was going to keel over and die. I was worried about that!
The following is an excerpt of the first email I sent to a friend, when I was really struggling with all the newness of living in Mexico. I didn’t realize it, but I was culture shocked. At the time, we hadn’t been here for two weeks yet. I’ve added some updates to the text to highlight the changes that have happened in half a year.
How long did it take you to adjust to life in Mexico?