Real de Catorce: México Mágico

[a la izquierda]

Ogarrio Tunnel, playing with the camera to keep from freaking out.

Capilla de Guadalupe

Painted ceiling inside the Capilla

Real de Catorce cemetery

Me, overlooking one of the many canyons

One of the ghost towns of Real de Catorce

Same ghost town, from higher up the mountain

Sun setting over Real de Catorce

[NashVegas]

1. *sigh*

t-shirts. I remember wearing t-shirts.

Those are great shots. Tell a little about the town?

[a la izquierda]

2. Yeah, t-shirts are great.

Luckily, I'm a grad student, so no one cares about the tattoos. There will come a day when I'm a professor and won't be able to wear them as much.

I appreciate them now.

[a la izquierda]

3. As requested, a little about the town

Real de Catorce is a tiny town, tucked away in the mountains of the state of San Luis Potosí. It was founded in the 18th century by Spaniards looking for precious metals. It boomed and then faded, booming again in the 19th century to several thousand residents, before slowly becoming the place it is today. It is a real trip getting there, if you don´t like heights, and are a bit of a control freak, as I am: basically, you climb to about 9000 feet along a cobblestone road. I wasn't driving, so I was a nervous wreck.
Then, once at the top, you pass through a one lane tunnel, built at the turn of the century. It's nearly 3km. long. If you don't like tunnels, well you're sort of out of luck...there are other ways into town, but they are...um, treacherous.

Okay, so you get into town, and it's a small one, wrapped by towering mountains: and keep in mind, you're already at about 9000 feet, so the peaks are quite high. It's desert, so the peaks are covered in nopal cactus and other desert plants, like yucca. The road is cobblestone and very rough. The air smells like donkey and horse manure, but it's not bad. Not used to the altitude, I was dizzy (moreso than normal, on account of a medical condition) and a bit nauseous. And it's chilly, despite it being warm down below. Many, many buildings are abandoned and crumbling. There is one ATM in town, and one grocer. There are a few hotels. The people are extremely friendly and, unlike in some Mexican tourist spots, delightfully not pushy. Oh, apparently, the movie The Mexican was filmed there, so famous folks show up from time to time to get away from it all. And get away, you can.

I went there for a specific reason: I study an indigenous group that makes pilgrimages to the area to collect peyote. I went to see the place for myself, to see what they see (not in some metaphysical sense--I just wanted to see what the place looked like in 3-D). I hiked to near the top of the sacred mountain, El Quemado. It was lovely and peaceful. The sounds of barking dogs, baying donkeys, roosters and goats was relaxing. Not having a TV was fine (though admittedly, I'm addicted to the box). However, the whole time I felt physically like crap: I couldn't sleep, I have quit smoking (so hiking was hard, as my lungs are slowly adjusting), I had digestion issues and headaches--all as a result of the altitude (I'd make a crappy climber). And, I knew the drive home would be scary, so I was a little nervous.

But, I took about 100 beautiful shots. And it was worth every minute.

[Mira]

4. Thanks for the story behind your photos and the town - I appreciate you took

the time, and you made it a fun to read. The photos are inspirational and wake my Wanderlust.

I once was in Peru, I was still chain smoking at the time. It took easily a pack of matches to light one cigarette there simply was not enough oxygen to spark a good flame. The native Indian men had large barrel chests from the deep breaths it took to keep their bodies going.
Soroche, the altitude sickness, takes a lot of spark out of you, and a smoker has NO chance at comfort, Cusco, the city you have to go to to get to Macchu Pichu is 11 000 feet high.

[JeffR]

5. Thanks for these!

Looking at these is as close as I'll get to a vacation this year.

[a la izquierda]

6. If I wasn't going to Mexico City...

for more research in July, this would be it for me.
Luckily, I research in one of the most diverse and beautiful places. And yes, despite people's handwringing in GD, it is still safe in many places.