Just in time. We escaped the stifling heat and humidity of Mexico’s Pacific coast, got in our little beater rental car and headed for the hills! With Jesus as our guardian, we high-tailed it for Guadalajara-Tlaquepaque to be exact, for a couple of days. We would need to acclimate before going to higher altitudes. That is going from sea-level to 1870m (6100 ft.).

We love Tlaquepaque with it’s bustling vibe and tons of great shopping. It’s a great area to sit at a sidewalk cafe or stroll the wide, clean sidewalks, have some ice cream and people-watch. The little bed and breakfast we chose was cute, quirky and pet-friendly. Chance was obsessed with Bunny, the pet rabbit that, along with Turtle, had free run of the entire premises. Roxie, being blind and deaf but with a keen sense of taste and smell, was enamored with the glorious flavor of rabbit shit.

After two days of sightseeing, we drove up, up to the state of Hidalgo, and to Mineral Del Monte, at an elevation of 2700 m, or 8858 ft.  As in much of the  Mexican highlands, the lush green mountains and enveloping fog awakened memories of my beloved childhood home in eastern Kentucky in rural Appalachia. This is something I love about the Mexican highlands. The stunning landscape, along with the genuineness (is that a word?) and good spirits of its people despite their poverty.

After six or so hours following Google Maps directions, leaving the main highway and sharing one lane with a various assortment of vehicles, we arrived at a dilapidated bus, complete with a litter of puppies living underneath. As has become ritual, Jeff sat tight while I walked to the closest shack to ask for guidance. My sub-par Spanglish got me nothing but laughs before a very drunk neighbor came over and “explained” something I didn’t understand. It should be noted that this is the way of the Mexican people. In lieu of admitting they don’t know the answer, they will tell you something, anything, to make you feel that you have, indeed, been helped.

Eventually, we backtracked to the nearest motel (Jeff was ready to book a room), and they pointed us to the home of our host, (tiny village, where everybody knows everybody-again, reminding me of home) At last.we found her, and followed her back, past the abandoned bus, and up a rutted, rocky road that led us to our cabana. Since the driveway was too steep for our under-powered rental car to ascend, we busted our lungs making 97 trips lugging our crap up the hill, in the drizzle.

Arriving at the cozy cabana with the vast views, we took a deep breath.

DAMN! It’s freezing!!!

I never thought I’d bitch complain about the cold, but alas, shortly after the sun set, it was in the low 50’s, dipping to the low 40’s by early morning. Fortunately, I had planned ahead, and immediately donned my down jacket, jeans and fuzzy socks. Jeff had scoffed at me when he saw me packing back aboard El Gato, but, alas, yours truly had the last laugh.

There was a fireplace with plenty of wood, so while it burned each night, we stayed cozy. The cabana, however, had zero insulation, so the heat was sucked outside to keep the myriad of critters in the surrounding forest warmer. But the crisp, clear days were perfect for hiking, one of our favorite activities. We could hike right from our cabana to a tiny village, or up a steep path to an old farm.

Mineral del Chico, as the crow flies, is pretty close to where we were staying, but by road it took us nearly an hour. Narrow, winding roads led us to a trail up around towering rocks and a lake. We hiked about eight miles before continuing on to the town for needed rest, refreshment and ice cream.

On our last full day, we took a drive to see the Basaltic Prisms of Santa Maria Regla, about 20 minutes away. On the way, we stopped for a walk around the Hacienda Santa Maria Regla. It was a lovely spot, with few tourists (no gringos), but we only spent about 30 minutes here.  We were ready to go do a hike around the waterfalls and basaltic prisms.

The basaltic prisms were formed by the accelerated cooling of lava millions of years ago. Lined with waterfalls, there are only a few of these type natural structures in the world, and this geologic phenomenon is unique to all of North America.

On arrival at the prisms, we were relegated to a big parking lot and the “hike” I had hoped for was contained to a highly touristed asphalt trail with views from above and below the waterfalls that cascaded from the cliffs. Oh, and there was a swinging bridge that connected each side. I Do Not like swinging bridges. They remind me too much of the rickety old wood and cable swinging bridges between the ravines at the country club in my home town. The ones that, as soon as I was right in the middle, some asshole bully would start jumping on and scaring the daylights out of me. With no way around these, I tentatively crossed, and lo and behold, a group of kids started jumping and screaming. For fun. Ha Ha…NOT funny!

We did see lots of tourists here, but I don’t believe we saw more than a handful of gringos. July is vacation month in Mexico, and the tourism here is from different areas of Mexico.

After four full days of lots of hiking and natural beauty under our belts, it was time to move on. As much as I love the remote, lush, natural landscapes that remind me of my childhood, I look forward to the anarchy, architecture and abundance of everything that we now head towards as we continue exploring this magical country that we now call home.

Hasta Luego!