VINTAGE MEXICO!

 Hola!  Off for the next adventure!  

The tour starts on Monday, Oct 25 and Juan and I have come down a few days earlier to do some exploring for possible future tours.  We're in the state and city of San Luis Potosi.  This is a new state for me.  It is great!  Really excited about looking at ways to incorporate it into a tour.  

San Luis Potosi is an old colonial town that got it's orginal wealth from mining.  In fact "Potosi" is actually a word from the Quechua language in Peru which means "abundance."  When the town was named they combined the saint name with the hope of abundance.  

Lots of churches and the historic district is quite expansive and well maintained.  On a Saturday night the main plaza and area around it are alive with people dancing, street musicians, kids playing with balloons.  So much of what I love about Mexico!

Starting to put up decorations for Dia de los Muertos!

That's a little preview of the city of San Luis Potosi,   But there is soooo much more in the state os San Luis Potosi!

Our first day, we rented a car at the airport and drove from Mexico City to San Luis Potosi which was about a 5 hour drive.  The traffic wasn't bad and being from Atlanta, I'm used to driving in traffic.  Waze is good in Mexico and was certainly a huge help!

The next morning (Oct 22) we got up and drove to Xilitla.  It was about a 5 hour drive but very pretty!  Since I was driving, I didn't get pictures of the countryside.  Juan took some pictures that I'll try to add later.  We went through an area that had a variety of a palm tree that branched and to me looked like a Dr Seuss tree.   Crossed over mountain passes with wonderful views of the valley below, all green and fertile.  Once we got off the autopista and down into the little towns, we discovered that all of that lush green is sugar cane.  

We stopped for lunch at a little town.  That's often where the best food is and this was great.  I had some shrimp.  Since this is an area of waterfalls and mountains, there is a good deal of extreme sports going on.  Hmmmm.  Not for us or for our tours. That's a different crowd.  But, we did see numerous 4X4 vehicles going by that were full of young people and all very muddy.  

Our destination for the day is the Las Pozas, the surrealist garden of Edward James.  Oh WOW!  Edward James was a Scot distantly tied to the British royal family.  He wanted to get away from the royalty demands, moved to California and then to San Luis Potosi where he built the fantastical garden.  It was begun in 1962 through 1984 when he died.  I think he would have kept adding things and it never would have been "done."    In the day, it was painted with bright colors.  Now, those have faded and according to his will, the place will return to nature after his death.  The locals called him "Gringo Loco." He was fine with the loco part but really didn't like the gringo part. 

Yep.  Never seen anything quite like this before!

We drive about an hour back to Ciudad Valles where we have dinner and spend the night.  

The next day (Saturday, Oct 23) 

Today is our day to see waterfalls and drive back to San Luis Potosi.  We visit 3 different ones that are pretty much on the way back.  There are many more waterfalls in the area but we have to limit ourselves somewhat.  

The first ones we visit are Cascada de Micos.  These are very popular with Mexicans who come here to play.  Oh yes, these have to be on the San Luis Potosi tour!  The water is a beautiful tourquoise.  

There are lots of places to sit and picnic and vendors who are smoking chicken to be ready for the lunch time demand.  You can do rappeling, jumping from the waterfalls, swimming below the falls.  In my earlier days, I might have been tempted to do some of the jumping but now swimming below the falls is what looks inviting.  

On to the next falls - Tamasopo

They are bigger and more impressive.  Same beautiful water and tempting places to play in the water.  Here they have several obstacle courses where one can easily fall into the water below.  

Definitly another tour stop.  Probably with lunch here.

The third falls is quite close, on the other side of town.  Puente de dios, which means God's bridge.  

We walk a couple of blocks to the entrance and start down the steps.  Oh, they just keep going and going and there are places to rest along the way.  Oh, and we're going to have to climb back up all of those steps!   Yikes!  I'm sure glad I had my knees done but even so, it's a lot! 

We finally get to where the falls are and find out that it is 326 steps down!  Hmmmm. No matter how beautiful these are,  I don't think this one is going to make it on to one of our tours!

Yes.  They are nice but not worth the steps!  The vegetation along the path is really nice.  We follow along the river a little ways and see a "salida" sign.  I guess we don't have to go back out the way we came but whatever way we go, it's going to include a lot of up.  

  

The path up wasn't as bad as anticipated.  We came out about 1/4 mile up river along a railroad track.  Even though we had to walk further back to the car, it was flat and we were grateful.  

And there was a woman selling the absolute best quick breads I've ever eaten.  The day before Juan bought a special variety of bananas.  When I ate it, I said how I thought it would make really good banana bread.  Yes it does!   Juan had some zacahuil tomales. 

Now for the drive back to San Luis Potosi along that beautiful road.  

I haven't said anything about how my suitcase was lost somewhere between the airplane and the conveyor belt in Mexico City.  I've been wearing the same clothes, washing out my underwear at night hoping they will be dry in the morning.  The biggest concern is that my supply of daily wear contact lenses and glasses and my hearing aid charger are in that suitcase.  Those are things that I can't just replace.  In Ciudad Valles, we found a women's clothing store that was open late (It was about 8 PM when we got into town.)  The fastest that I've ever tried on clothes and bought stuff.  Two pairs of jeans, 3 tops, and a dress.  Since they were about to close, there were 3 women helping me try on the clothes.  I asked if they would come along with me on the trip to dress me.  No such luck.  But, the store didn't sell underwear so I was still washing out my underwear every night.  Back in San Luis Potosi, there was a Sears.  Bought some underwear and a belt to keep the jeans up.  Still need a swimsuit and probably some shoes or sandles.  The contact lens deliema -  Nick is meeting someone who is coming on the tour down near the airport and giving her some spare lenses to bring down.  I just need to nudge this pair to last one more day!  

We will meet the tour group at the airport on Monday.  Stay tuned!