Arriving to Real de Catorce

After traveling through the desert for hours on the way north we decided to stop at my favorite "ghost town" and spend the night. When you leave the highway you immediately sense you are going to somewhere special as this amazing 15 MILE hand laid stone road leads you to Real de Catorce.
After passing through a couple of mining towns and climbing to over 9000 feet you arrive to a narrow one way tunnel that is a mile and half long....you pay your 20 pesos and wait until the last vehicle coming the other way is out and then you can enter. Inside the tunnel there are some shrines, mine shafts and dripping water.What lies on the other side is magical! Real de Catorce was a booming silver mining town in the 1700's and fell into ruins when the silver ran out. The little village is being renovated and is becoming a bit of a tourist trap but the essence is still there. The steep narrow streets are amazing! I knew where I was going so we made our way to the hotel on the outskirts of town across from the cemetery. We arrived a few minutes before the sun went down so we walked through town, which had pretty much shut down except for the municipal building, a couple of restaurants and a little grocery store.
This is one of the vehicles that will take you down the treacherous road going down the other side of the mountain passing by the mines, to the desert floor. I have done that trip before and its amazing!!
We settled on an Italian restaurant (the Italians were some of the first foreigners to start "renovating" the town) and had a great pizza! Laura Beth was happy. The next morning we got up early and walked to the church and the cemetery.The church was built by the Franciscans in 1775.
The wrought iron gates were adorned with Peyote buttons...the Spaniards attempt to convert the local peyote worshipping indigenous people.
This is the inside of the church in town, notice the wooden floors, we were told that they were coffin tops and people buried below but that may have just been a story.

Rancho Avándaro

We stayed at Flor de Maria´s parents house at Rancho Avándaro. My daughter, Laura Beth flew to Toluca, Mexico to drive the remaining half of the trip with me. Here is Flor with one of the horses....we are checking out the horse barns to get some ideas as we will be designing one for Laura Beth in Texas, but I can assure you it won´t be this fancy!

Scenes en route from Mexico City

Traveling west from Mexico City to Valle de Bravo.....leaving the city you climb up the volcanic mountains into the clouds....passing quaint farming communities, mostly growing corn.
Mexican Independence Day (Sept 16) is approaching and the sense of patriotism can be found everywhere! Further into the mountains there are some Christmas tree farms and clouds. It is quite cool and we have to wear long pants and jackets.....what a change!

U2 in 3D

As we were looking through my favorite magazine, National Geographic, there was an AD for a production release that I was very interested in seeing...UDin3D....so when we got to Mexico City we made a point to find the IMAX theatre that was showing it!!Wow how amazing! That Bono...he was in my lap!!! I am convinced...this is the way to see a concert!! In absolute comfort and it feels like you are right there....the surround sound, the audience was particating like it was real....the photos don't capture the 3D even when I put the glasses in front of the lens as it would need to have 2 camera lens in stereoscope vision....I did take as much video as my little camera would take though!!

Harvesting palms for oil

As we were driving out of Chiapas we passed miles of planted palm trees all in rows....they were not coconut palms but palms being grown for their oil. It is a major agribusiness here with the processing plant being in Palenque... These men told us that they worked for a company from Costa Rica and that they were making good money in this business. They said the trees were harvested 3 times a year and about 8 groups of fruit were cut from each tree. The oils are being used in all sorts of health products. We were invited to tour the facility and document it...that will have to be another visit.

Bonampak

Another ruin not far from Yaxchilan, is Bonampak. The most impressive thing about this site are the painted murals that are inside those three rooms. I ran out of camera battery just as we got there so the mural photos are not mine.......Every square inch of these interiors were painted with scenes of enthronment, war and self sacrifice.

Natural beauty in Palenque

Nature has this to offer here.....

Yaxchilan

This Mayan temple site was built on different levels above the river....famous for its terraces and stairways that connect the structures....

however the most impressive thing was the HOWLER MONKEYS!!!! There were many of them and they were really making a lot of noise....I will figure out how to include the video clip.....

Usumacinta River

Our next site to visit is Yaxchilan...it entailed driving a couple hours southeast of Palenque to a town on the Guatemalan border, then taking a 45 minute boat ride down the Usuamacinta River that divides these countries. Wow....its a HUGE river with a strong current....all the water coming from the rain in the Chiapas highlands.
There were many other boats transporting people and cargo such as corn.

Palenque more

Temple of the Foliated Cross...one of the most important ceremonial temples of the site. Restoration on the Temple of the Sun.
Inside the palace.
I am always curious about the practical aspects of living in these ancient structures. This was the toilet that fed directly into a stone "aquaduct" with flowing water that ran in from the river.

Palenque

I am in love with the place of Palenque! There is an incredible energy here! There are still descendents of the Mayas living and working right next to the ruins, carrying out their daily lives. I watched them for hours I sat under a Guayaba tree and contemplated this magical place.