PISA LIGERO Y DEJA NO HUELLA A TRAS DE TI

"Step lightly and leave no trace."

The Mexican government is trying to promote ecotourism so there are various groups which are helping small communities learn to preserve and develop their natural resources. This past weekend I went with a small group from the Queretaro Language School to explore some of these natural treasures in the Biosphere north of Queretaro in the Sierra Gorda. And treasures they are!

Fourteen of us and a pile of camping gear left from the school in a van driven by Andres very early Saturday morning. Don't worry -- I was among the half of the group which had opted to stay in a hotel nearby rather than camp (I missed the full moon and the babbling river, but enjoyed a hot shower and a very warm bed). The road through the Sierra Gorda was an adventure in itself. One hairpin curve after another and few guard rails. We traveled from the semi-desert plateau around Queretaro to, through, and around the mountains to different climate zones and very different vegetation...... from cactus and maguey to conifers and deciduous trees. As we climbed the mountains, we could look out the window and straight down over the edge to very tiny rivers and pueblitos below us. We speculated that many of these little remote settlements had been there since pre-hispanic times. In those days, each little group of families could be self sufficient growing food, hunting for small animals, and carrying water from springs.

Our first stop was Cuatro Palos (4 sticks), the highest village in the state of Queretaro. We walked from there to an even higher point for a great panoramic view.

I was dismayed to discover that even this short walk -- granted it was very steep at first -- was really hard for me. Four weeks of being sick had really taken its toll. But, vale la pena ( it was worth it). Spectacular views and lots of pictures -- I've chosen only my very favorites here.After Cuatro Palos, we went on the Campomento de Pena de Gloria (the campgroup at Pena de Gloria). We were supposed to stop at a roadside taco stand that our guide, Robin, a young guy from Australia, knew about but we missed it, and rather than backtrack decided to make do with lots of snacks. We needed to leave the main road and descend to the valley floor by way of a very rough and even curvier dirt road.... I think we went all of about 5 miles per hour all the way. And it was real thrills when we met a car -- or truck -- coming towards us from the other direction. But we made it and again, vale la pena!

We walked for about an hour along a river which had once been an ancient underground cave. The cave was pushed to the surface eons ago by the earth's movement, but you can still see evidence of old stalagmites and stalagtites on the cliffs rising above the river. It was a stunning walk! We didn't have to do any climbing but we walked over river stones, crossed back and forth on little wooden ladder bridges, and at a particularly narrow and deep part walked on a narrow walkway that had been built into the cliffside. The walk ended at the last remnant of the cave stretching across the river with cascades of water falling through the rocks above.

After returning from the walk, we left half of our hearty camping fellow travelers with their tents and sleeping bags and traveled back up the dirt road (more traffic this time, by the way). Andres took us to a lovely little hotel in the town of Pinal de Amoles where we enjoyed dinner with beer. I tried the local speciaty, cecina -- a sort of beef jerky but better. The "we" was a couple from Amherst, MA, Jaymie and Mike, a couple from LA, Karen and Ray and 2 young women, Jerry and Megan, all studying at the Queretaro Language School.

The next day after Andres picked up the intrepid campers, he picked us up. But we had time to have a leisurely breakfast and visit a little museum of the area that a local doctor had set up temporarily in borrowed space. Very interesting to see lots of photos of the area and people from all the way back to the turn of the century. Our next destination was the Cascades de Chuveje. This was a very easy walk along a beautiful river to the waterfall. We could have been walking through the woods in Vermont -- very green and lush and clear, cold water.

Our last stop before returning to Queretaro was the town of Jalpan which is the site of one of the 5 famous Franciscan monasteries in the Sierra Gorda. It is said the Brother Juniper walked to each of these five places to establish the monasteries.

It was a grand trip and exhausting so I hung out at my house the entire next day without going anywhere or seeing anyone! And now I'm back on board with the blog -- I'll write more next about what's been going on with me for the last 6 weeks.