Alarm set for 8am, so that jobs could get done & we would have the rest of the day to explore the area! Walked through the covered market, away from the centre of town, & found a good value small restaurant where we had tortes & fruit juices or café de ollo for M$28 each. After breakfast, we walked east, out of town, up a very steep hill, past some beautifully painted (posh) houses, to the Botanical Gardens. M$80 entrance fee paid, we walked along a path passing through many native plant species to the Conservatory of Native Plants, which contained a variety of species (lots of cacti) & a small stream containing tiny native fish. The path then took us down to the banks of the reservoir, where we watched various species of wildfowl on the water. At the end of the reservoir was the 19th century dam, built to supply water to the local textile mill, for electricity production. A little further on was the older ruins of a water mill & aqueduct (colonial era), situated at the head of the (quite deep) canyon. We walked along the canyon edge to the lookout at the far west side of the gardens, with fantastic views of the town & surrounding countryside. The path curved back towards the entrance, to the Plaza of the Four Winds - a large, open, ceremonial space, amalgamating pre-Columbian & Christian symbols - & finally to the children's' sensorial garden, where the kids played on the (excellent) slide & climbing frame for half an hour.

After a cooling drink, & a rest in the shade of the café, we walked back down the hill, into town. After freshening up, back at the hotel room, we walked to the local plaza & bought empanadas as a pre-tea stopgap, & sat by the fountain to eat them. Then we went back to the hotel room, as the kids wanted to play in the pool for a (short) while. We wanted to go to the fish restaurant for tea, but it was closed, so we returned to the market for more comida corrida. After eating, we bought water & beer from the local OXXO shop, & returned to our room to get the kids to bed, drink Bohemia Obscura, & watch "Spaaaaace" channel, on TV!