Mexico 2007 - Days 1 & 2 - El Potrero Chico
After meeting at the Dallas airport from Iowa, Chicago and Washington DC, the 4 of us took the same flight into Monterrey, where we had a very difficult time finding the rental car office. Eventually I found it in the domestic terminal by getting permission from security to enter.
After much more hassle, we finally got our car and drove to Posada El Potrero Chico (shown right) a popular rock climbing destination.
The next morning we began by mountain biking into the natural preserve El Potrero Chico with our guide Jose-Juan. I had conveyed to him we would like to do a moderate ride in terms of difficulty since it was Kerry's first time mountain biking.
After riding through the narrow canyon, the main valley of the reserve opens up into a massive box canyon - no way out except for the way we came in.
...and at the entrance there is a mexican with a gate demanding his 5 peso's apeice...
Kerry starts having trouble on the loose gravel jeep track as we enter the park. There are medium and large rocks on the trail along with regular gravel sized rocks. These conditions are moderately annoying for someone with moutain bike experience, but can be hell for a beginner.
After the track begins to climb he decides to turn back and hang out at the Posada.
Smart move....
Soon after we turn off the main track and start ascending steeply up an even more rocky trail.
The trick was avoiding the big rocks while maintaining your speed on the steep hill.
Jose-Juan (shown at right) easily ascends the track while Pascal has to walk.
We find out (in broken spanish/english) that Jose-Juan is Mexico's national mountain biking champion.
A view of the valley at the top of our ascent.
This is the mountain Michele and I climbed in 2006. The trail was so steep and rocky Michele's ankles were not the same for almost a year after.
Day 3 - Cuatro Cienegas
After we returned from biking (gabriels pedal fell off during the ride back and he almost castrated himself) we drove to Cuatro Cienegas a few hours away in the desert in the afternoon and stayed overnight.
The next morning we hired a local biologist? to show us around the valley, which is covered with numerous hot and cold springs full of wildlife - fish, turtles, birds, rabbits... and snakes that carry enough venom to kill 40 people in one bite.
Our guide told us that bears lived in the desolate mountains surrounding Cuatro Cienegas and that several years ago 15 bears wandered into the city which is odd considering the extremely dry landscape. According to him there are forests near the tops of the mountains that provide habitat.
Next time I want to catch a glimpse of a bear in the desert.
In another section of the valley we explored a gypsum white sand desert.
After wandering around on my own for awhile I returned to the parking area to find the other guys surrounded by english speaking mexican college students. Check Gabriels site for the pictures.
Swimming oasis.
The air temperature was in the high 80's and the water temperature was even warmer... so we passed.
Checking out indian cave paintings.
Our guide lead us into the cactus pointing out what this and that cactus was.
Out of curiousity, and not really expecting an answer I asked if there was Peyote in the area.
"Yes, right this way." he replied.
I had been interested in Peyote since my early 20's after reading about Don Juan and Carlos Castaneda.
I had tried, unsuccessfully to find it in different areas of the american desert over many years.
So you could say my interest was piqued.
Within about 50 feet of where we were he showed us 2 buttons of peyote, incredibly growing on a rock.
I searched some more on my own and found 6 more buttons. (shown at right)
I didn't take any because it wouldn't have been appropriate, given our guide was a conservationist.
He took us back into town to his aquarium, where there were many foul and vile creatures such as tarantula's, snakes, and scorpions.
He was a very nice and infomative fellow and I would recommend him to anyone travelling through the area.
You hear about how pet owners and their pets look the same. After seeing this image I couldn't help but see the resemblence of our guide and the picture of the frog on his establishment.
I'm not sure if these were our guides daughters or not but it was quite a sight.
