Cabin Fever

Cabin fever is this week’s Word Prompt so see more at https://weeklyprompts.com/2019/02/13/word-prompt-cabin-fever/

Not to be a spoiler, but in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico cabin fever isn’t in our vocabulary.

Visitors and residents spend countless hours outside: working, walking, playing, relaxing, visiting, buying, selling, photographing, living.

Part of this ‘under the sun’ lifestyle is due to the year round sunshine, and no doubt the poverty level. Although there are hundreds of worn and battered autos, scooters, bicycles, buses  and four-wheel dune buggy-type transports, the most used form of getting around is ‘hoofing it’, that’s walking for non-Okies.

The cobbled streets create a challenge to everyone whether walking or riding, but it does not halt the constant stream of sidewalk and street strollers. Women in spike heels, tennis shoes, flip-flops, sandals, and men in loafers, boots, and tennies all take to the streets to navigate the byways of this teeming city while putting their life and limbs in danger. Cobblestone is not the smoothest surface for transport, but it adds a sense of excitement and danger to one’s daily outings.

It is not unusual to walk several miles each daily, especially if you don’t own a car. I would guess most folks will average 2-4 miles of footwork daily. Granted, many utilize the services of a busy bus system, but getting to and from a boarding points requires some effort and distance.

And rain is not a deterrent to outdoor activities. Umbrellas are utilized, and the folks in SMA even have rain coats, so the number of people on the streets does not diminish much during the rainy season.

It may be cabin fever drives those living in snow bound communities during the winter and those in hot and dry desserts during the summer to the year-round mildness of the highlands of San Miguel de Allende.

As I said at the beginning of this musing, from my perch in the heart of Mexico,  I know nothing about cabin fever.