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 Travel & Outdoors | April 2006 
Viviendo en México - Real de Catorce
 Korah Winn - PVNN
| | On the road to Real de Catorce. | 
| | Downtown Real de Catorce. |
By the time my friend Jana had finished talking about how fantastic Real de Catorce is, I was pretty excited to go. I met up with Jana and her daughter Ruby at our school and we traveled to the bus station together. Since this was more Jana's idea, I let her go to the ticket counter and find out the price of tickets.
I got a little bit worried when she kept telling the ticket agents the name of the lugar (place) she wanted to go to and none of them seemed aware of the location. I thought, "Just how far are we going?"
Finally, she found someone who told her the info she needed. We hopped on a bus for a four-hour ride to San Juan Potosí. We got off that bus and hopped on another one to Matehuala. That trip was another three hours. We decided to stay there overnight and head into Real de Catorce the next morning.
After waking up to the sound of eighteen-wheelers roaring down the highway, we grabbed some breakfast and then caught a ride the rest of the way to Real de Catorce. It was unlike any city I have ever been too.
To begin with, you have to go through Túnel Ogarrio, which is over a mile long. Cars pile up waiting on one side to go through because it is too narrow for two lanes. We stared at the cuttings in the stone and wondered just how long it must have taken workers to carve all of that rock out of the mountain.
We emerged into bright sunlight on the opposite side and caught our first glance at the city. It was not as big as I thought it might be, but that lended to its' charm because the streets were narrow and the buildings close together.
We let ourselves be guided to a hotel by a young boy who came up to us as soon as we exited the tunnel. We knew he would get a little kick back for getting us there but we did not mind because we were ready to drop off our mochilas (backpacks) and go get a bite to eat.
| | Real de Catorce. | 
| | A Huichole hut with a helluva view! |
We took some time to explore a little before grabbing lunch at an Italian restaurant called El Tolentino. It is interesting to know that some Europeans have immigrated to this little town because the tourism industry has begun to spring up. There are some quaint little hotels run by Germans. Hollywood has also discovered Real de Catorce. Some scenes from The Mexican with Brad Pitt and Julie Roberts were filmed in the city.
The city itself is not chock-full of things to do. It is more of an escape than anything else. Because of its high elevation, the view is incredible. Our hotel was in an area that was not blocked by other buildings, so it was nice to sit out on the patio in the mornings and soak in the paz (peace) and quiet. It was a wonderful contrast to the busyness and pollution you encounter in Guadalajara.
We explored old buildings and the open-air market, but the highlight of the trip was the horseback ride up to the top of a mountain called Cerro Quemado. At the top of the mountain it was chilly and windy but that could not beat down the awe I felt looking at a huge expanse of Mexico I had never seen before.
While there, the guide allowed us to peer inside a hut built by the Huichole Indians and see the offerings they had given. It gave me more insight into these devoted people. |
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