Sierra Gorda Mountains

Word of the day: lodo

Translation: mud

For our last weekend here in Mexico, Jamie, Will, and I decided to take a trip to the Sierra Gorda mountains in the neighboring state of Queretaro.  Sierra Gorda is an ecological reserve with amazing biodiversity and changing landscape about every 15 kilometers.  The sites were absolutely breathtaking.  To get there, we rented a car and drove the 4-ish hours through winding mountain roads to the little town of Pinal de Amoles.  That little Chevy Chevy put in a lot of good work for us this weekend-- a car so epic it needed two names.

As we ventured further into the mountains, winding up and down the peaks, we were treated to beautiful views (and a dash of motion sickness for whoever was lucky enough to sit in the backseat).  When we finally arrived in Pinal de Amoles, we rented a little cabin with a kitchen for the weekend.

On Friday afternoon, we squeezed in a quick hike along the Rio Escanela before it got dark.  We took the turn off the main highway and snaked down a rocky road for a few kilometers to the valley where the river ran.  From here, a local guide-- 15 year-old Gustavo-- took us on our hike along the river.  With Gustavo at the lead, we followed the river etched in between the mountains.

 A few times we had to hop the stones to avoid stepping in the water, which of course happened to me anyways.  We wanted to make it to a cave called Puente de Dios, but the ebbing daylight would not permit us.  Despite that, it was still a perfect start to the weekend.  After the hike, we headed back to our cabin to cook up some food, drink some beers, and go to sleep before our big day on Saturday (although at the time, we didn't know how big of a day it was going to be).

After a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, sweet bread, mangos, and instant coffee, we set off on our journey to see el Sótano del Barro (translation: mud crater) outside of the mountain town of Jalpan.  Along highway 120, there are 864 turns in the road leading to Jalpan, and oh boy do I believe it.  I've never been on so many windy roads in my life.  Just outside of Jalpan, after nearly missing the sign, we turned off the highway onto yet another bumpy road for 23 kilometers.  Now, that may not sound like too far (~14 miles), but when you're averaging about 25 kilometers an hour weaving in and out, up and down mountains, forging rivers, it takes a while.  23 kilometers later + 3 km past it +3 km back to it, we arrived at Santa María de Cocos, the town with access to el Sótano del Barro.  We soon found out exactly what "access" meant-- 2 hour hike there and then 2 hours back.  Our guide, Marcelo, offered us some mulas if we would rather not do it by foot.  Ok, we thought, we came all this way so we're doing this hike the right way, and not on mules.  Maybe there was slight foreshadowing as to the strenuous nature of this hike implied in the offering of the mulas, but if there was, we definitely missed it.

So off we went in our ignorant bliss, which soon became painful reality when we realized that the hike to el Sótano del Barro was literally up the mountain-- straight up with nary a transverse.  I was huffing and puffing like I'd never exercised in my life.  The worst part was that it was incredibly muddy so every step was 10 times harder than usual as we struggled to get our footing.  It was like climbing stairs for 2 hours.  I started to question why I even like hiking, but then 2 long and grueling hours later I remembered.  The forest began to thin, replaced by piling rocks, and as I climbed over them towards the outlook all I could say was "holy moly" (or a less G-rated version of that).  The view was absolutely breathtaking and indescribable-- which is why I'm including pictures!  But even those don't do it justice.

Living in this giant crater are an endangered species of birds, las guacamayas verdes (Green Macaws), a type of parrot.  We saw them soaring in and out of the crater, diving down into its depths while emitting their characteristic call.  We sat at the lookout for nearly an hour, taking in the beauty of the view.  The hike back was far more enjoyable, minus the layers of mud I had caked on my shoes and legs, which is why the word of the day is lodo (porque había muchísimo). There were incredible views on the way back down the mountain too.  By the time we got home to our cabin, we were exhausted, looked like swamp monsters, but had thoroughly enjoyed our day.

For our final day in the Sierra Gorda mountains, we went on a shorter hike (thank goodness) where you were supposed to see a great view of the mountain ranges.  Unfortunately for us, it was extremely foggy so our view was very limited.  The hike was great though, with these beautiful mossy trees, and a vast open area at the peak.  Even the fog was pretty cool because it was so incredibly thick.  After a fun-filled weekend, we packed up and headed home, stopping to watch the World Cup final in a town on the way.