Mexico - Winter 23/24

Trip List Calendar

2024-01-21 : Querétaro Walking Tour
Bob and Carlyn, the Vancouverites who are staying at our AirBnB, found a walking tour of Querétaro, and invited us to go with them. We met our guide, Arturo, at 10:00 this morning and were with him for two hours, learning more about Querétaro. It probably would have been better to do the tour before we spent six weeks (including four in 2022) walking around the city, but better late than never.

After the tour we had lunch at Zandunga, which was recommended to Bob and Carlyn by their Spanish teacher.

We seem to have run out of time and luck for going to the circus. We had tried to book online but their website wouldn’t work and their customer service was completely useless. So we’ve been watching for showings that have tickets available and we would just take the bus up and buy tickets at the door. Then we got sick for several days. Tonight at 8pm seemed like it was going to be our big chance. Brent checked last night and there were tickets available. I checked this morning and there were tickets available. I checked this afternoon… no more tickets. Dammit. There are more shows later in the week but we leave on Tuesday. I guess Brent will have to wait a little while longer to see his first circus.


2024-01-22 : La Cañada
This morning we took a bus out to La Cañada (which means The Canyon), thé neighborhood just past Hercules. We disembarked at Alameda El Marqués and walked toward Hercules where we hopped the bus back.

We really liked La Cañada - it’s a small, very peaceful neighborhood quite a way out from Centro. We had a good look at Templo de San Pedro, found more of the Hercules aqueduct and enjoyed all the great street art.


2024-01-23 : Sierra Gorda Day
We moved today from Querétaro to Jalpan de Serra in the Sierra Gorda. We didn’t want to just zoom to Jalpan - we wanted some Sierra Gorda experience, so we got Uriel and Ana from Bike Tour Querétaro to take us.

We drove the winding mountain highway into the Sierra Gorda. We saw the painting of the virgin on the hill at Camargo. Uriel says that the way the water dripped on the hill made a shape that looked like the virgin so the locals just went with it. Then we had a little stop at Pinal de Amoles, which is a really beautiful little Pueblo Magico.

Our first significant stop was to hike Cañon de la Angostura, which was spectacular. To get there we turned off the highway and drove down a very long, narrow, winding gravel road. In terms of specs - distance, elevation, stream with multiple bridge crossings and a waterfall at the end - the hike is very similar to Heart Creek. In appearance, though, in feel and appearance it reminded us a little more of Plitvice in Croatia, and Walk-Behind-Falls.

Next stop was a hike to the El Chuveje waterfall, which required driving out the long narrow winding gravel road back to the highway, then exiting the highway a short distance later to drive down a shorter narrow winding gravel road. The hike is shorter than the first one and Uriel and Ana sent us off by ourselves. It is a very pretty, well-developed trail through forest with a creek and some green pools, with a very tall waterfall at the end.

At last we continued on to Jalpan where we had lunch at La Casita de Alex, which is owned by a friend of Uriel’s and then checked in to our AirBnB. Uriel and Ana were planning on staying over someplace rather than driving all the way back to Querétaro and they ended up checking in to the same place as us. We all went for a walk and they introduced us to Mestiza, the signature bread of Sierra Gorda which is a delightful cross between bread and a giant cookie.


2024-01-24 : Jalpan de Serra
Our first day in a new place is usually spent doing some errands and recon. We had an easy recon day figuring out how we’ll get to Tequisquiapan next Tuesday - take the bus toward Mexico City, which has a stop in Tequis, or if that plan fails, we will grab a cab which should cost less than $200CAD.

We also did some exploring of the town but we didn’t do our main errand of grocery shopping. The kitchen and rooftop here are undergoing renovations which we’re supposed to be finished by this morning, but… aren’t. Those are two of the criteria for me booking this place so it’s a little distressing that they’re not available. Our room is small and spartan, which is fine, if we can enjoy the kitchen and rooftop, which, so far we can’t.

One of the highlights of visiting Jalpan is to see the two Franciscan missions in the area. There is one right in Jalpan, Mision Santiago Apostol. Sadly, it is under construction and we can only see the outside (through scaffolding) and not the interior (except for the side courtyard).

In other towns that we’ve visited we’ve found lots of interesting and vibrant street art. So far what we’ve found here is focused on very sad and tragic topics. Maybe we’ll find happier art while we’re here? Or maybe we won’t. Time, and further exploration will tell.
Today I broke down and bought a Mexican SIM because it seems that my KeepGo SIMs (physical and eSIM) simply do not work here. We paid for a one-month plan which should get me through to the end of the trip. I have a phone number with a Jalpan de Serra area code now.


2024-01-25 : Zona Arqueológica Tancama
Zona Arqueológica Tancama is just a few kilometers outside of Jalpan. It had a long period of occupation (200 BC-900). It has three large squares and 56 buildings. We took a taxi out this morning and had a look around, then our taxi driver, Carlos, came back to fetch us. It was a really beautiful site.
We noticed this morning that the scaffolding was off of the front of the Misión Santiago Apóstol de Jalpan. I got my hopes up that maybe we’d be able to go in and have a look but we went past this evening and it looks like we’re out of luck. The construction crew says it’ll be at least a week before folks can go back in. At least we got to see the facade without the scaffolding, and we got a pic of the crew. They seemed disproportionately pleased to pose for us.
I am finally getting good nights’ sleep. Interestingly, Jalpan is almost the exact same we Arrion as Edmonton. That might have something to do with it?


2024-01-26 : Xilitla
We chose Xilitla as one of our things to do in/from Jalpan because our friend, Laura G recommended it. We couldn’t get schedule information online so we asked at the tourist booth last night. The guy didn’t speak English but he did point us at the Vencedor bus terminal (which is separate from the main bus terminal). We walked over there to inquire, and with some help from a local who speaks a little English (plus the SayHi app) we were told that we had to go to the main bus terminal and that busses for Xilitla left every hour. This morning we got as fast of a start as we could and hoofed it over to the main bus depot. Bought our ‘regreso’ (return) tickets and got on the bus. Moments after we stepped on (8:45) we were underway. Thank goodness for the fast start and good bus karma!!

When we were pulling into Xilitla, we saw that it’s a town clinging to the side of a steep canyon. There are buildings lining the road, but at one point there was a gap in the buildings and I could see the town above and below the canyon. I said ‘oh my’ but by the time I said it it was too late for Brent to see what I was ‘oh my-ing’ about.

When we got off the bus, our first stop was to walk back to the ‘oh my’ spot and take a pic. We then explored the really cool, really bustling centro. We met some Canadians, Andrew and Catherine, and they said they were taking a tour of the surrealist garden at Las Pozas at 3pm. Apparently you used to be able to go in and walk around but now you have to do a tour. The English tour was at 3pm. We decided that we would aim to go as well, but instead of buying our tickets in town ahead of time, we decided to trust that we could buy tickets at the entrance in case we ended up not making it. Seems reasonable, right? Well the walk to Las Pozas is no small feat with all the elevation gain (and loss) around here. We walked all the way over just to find out that you cannot, in fact, buy tickets at the entrance. The people at the entrance told us we had to go back into town (a 3km walk with 500m elevation loss and 600m gain) to buy tickets. There were no taxis around to take us back and forth, so we noped out of the surrealist garden. We did see Andrew and Catherine there. They were smart and bought their tickets in town.

That was disappointing, but not nearly as disappointing as the walk back though. We decided to walk back along the highway. Longer, but just a gradual climb instead of crazy amounts of gain and loss. At one point the highway got narrow and there was almost no shoulder and lots of traffic so we took an opportunity to leave the highway and walk back through town instead. We were walking up the hill from the highway when a woman’s five small dogs charged out at us barking. We ignored them and tried to keep walking… but before we could say holy chihuahuas we both got bit on our legs. Brent kicked ‘his’ dog away (gently… maybe should have been harder) and I tried to swat ‘mine’ away but it was too fast for me. The owner just stood there and watched. After a moment of shock, we kept climbing and there were more, larger, dogs ahead barking aggressively at us. Brent grabbed a big stick and a rock and I grabbed a thin branch… sort of what I would call a switch. We kept climbing. As we got closer to the other dogs, when they barked I yelled ‘leave it!’ and smacked the switch on the concrete beside me. They left us alone, thank goodness. That was way more exciting than it needed to be.

So, I have a bruise and some broken skin. Brent is bleeding from four punctures. So I guess an unscheduled visit to the hospital at Jalpan is in our near future. *fast forward several hours* Hospital visit completed. We seem to have horrified the Mexican hospital system with our complete lack of Mexican identification. They had no choice but to treat us for free and give us some antibiotics, also for free.


2024-01-27 : Jalpan - Doctor and a Museum
In Jalpan, we are staying a block away from the Mission. The mission plays a variety of recorded music at times throughout the day in lieu of just ringing bells. At 6:00 every morning they play a recorded bell version of Cieloto Lindo.

Ay ay ay ay… Canta y no llores!
So, being the delicate flower that I am, of course I got the vomiting side effect of the antibiotic we’re on. And not just a polite little barf, but a violent attempt at evicting my toenails by way of my stomach. Brent googled it and apparently if I take it with food I’m less likely to hurl. Here’s hoping.

Anyway, I feel like I got bit by a dog, didn’t get enough sleep, then had a violent vomiting reaction to a drug. Ohhhh… wait…. Yeah, that all happened.

This morning, Laura lined us up with one of her clients who is a doctor here in Jalpan. He took another look at us (mostly Brent’s bite, because it’s the worse one), confirmed that our antibiotic is appropriate and advised that rabies treatment isn’t necessary. We’ll go with that.

We then visited Museo Histórico de la Sierra Gorda, which might be all I’m good for today. I’m beat.


2024-01-28 : Jalpan de Serra
In Jalpan, we are staying a block away from the Mission. The mission plays a variety of recorded music at times throughout the day in lieu of just ringing bells. At 6:00 every morning they play a recorded bell version of Cielito Lindo. I have a love/hate relationship with this. Mostly love. 💕
We’re feeling a lot better today. Brent’s leg is still pretty shredded but it’s healing. Mine is hardly a flesh wound. I’ve recovered from the violent reaction to our antibiotic and taking it with food works very well.

So all that being said, we spent today walking around Jalpan. It’s in a beautiful location (a valley in the Sierra Gorda) but the city itself is not the most compelling we’ve been in.


2024-01-29 : Jalpan de Serra Reservoir
Today is our last full day and Jalpan and we decided to spend it walking down to the dam and reservoir just south of town.

We were confronted again a few times by aggressive dogs, but we were ready for them this time - Brent carried a large stick and I carried a switch.

The reservoir and countryside beyond is breathtaking. An added bonus, when we were walking back from the reservoir towards town we saw a van. We thought it was some kind of service van but we realized it was a campervan, and it has a CH (Switzerland) sticker on it. We stopped and said hi… which progressed to a conversation, and then an invitation in for coffee. All together we spent about 90 minutes with Jan (from Switzerland) and Marita (from Germany). They brought their van with them from Europe and have been traveling in it for over three years now. They were stuck in a small town in Argentina for nine months during the pandemic, and adopted a dog there who is now traveling with them. They are planning to visit eastern Canada before returning to Europe and maybe western Canada too. It would be fun if we could see them again.

When we got back to town we got lucky and scored lunch on one of the private balconies at Restaurante Vicky.


2024-01-30 : Travel Jalpan de Serra to Tequisquiapan
Today we took a long (4+ hour) bus ride from Jalpan through Sierra Gorda to Tequisquiapan. I had a convo today with Dawn (from Atlanta) and she might come join us in Puerto Vallarta for a few days!! Cool! She’s never been to Mexico before.
I booked most of our AirBnBs for this trip a long time ago to make sure I could score the best ones. Well Tequisquiapan blew our minds today. ‘Grandpa’s House’, as it’s called, is a heritage home with so much charm and beauty I don’t know if we deserve to sully it with our Riff and Raff presence!


‹ First  < 4 5 6 7 8 >  Last ›