We left CDMX to explore new pastures of Mexico with the desire to be in nature as much as possible. We drove directly north to the state of Hidalgo, a place known for it’s lush mountains and, bizarrely, connections to Cornwall! First stop was – Real del Monte – a town surrounded by silver mines that back in the 1820’s were predominantly owned by a Cornish firm and thus enticed numerous Cornish miners to come and dig alongside the Mexicans. As a result, Real del Monte’s prized dish is the paste/pasty (adapted with classic Mexican zeal and creativity) and some of the locals here look fairer, a bit more European, especially the older generations. We did a couple of lovely walks in this area in the wooded Mineral de Chico national park and also an incredible canyon walk in the Reserva la biosfera Barranca de Metztitlan.
We did the canyon walk the morning we left Real del Monte on our way to our next destination, Xilitia, a town in the state of San Luis Potosi. From the canyon it was a stunning 6 hour drive along mountain roads through colourful and beautiful villages with striking vistas flanking both sides. As we climbed, the vegetation became more tropical, and stalls of lychees and mangos lined the streets, and trucks of raw sugar cane trundled along the roads. Whilst we noticed the change in scenery, it was only when I dashed out to buy some lychees, almost at our destination, did we realise that our air conditioning was cocooning us from the reality of 42 degree, sticky heat! It was 7pm. We were not mentally prepared for this. We foolishly thought mountains meant cold nights, jumpers, leggings etc. As it turned out, this heat was extraordinary – our airbnb host in Xilitia was also shocked when she opened our small flat to feel the rush of heat exploding from it. It was a sticky night, of millions of suicidal butterfly moths, radiating concrete counters and walls, and a dribbling shower.
The next day we had a morning tour around Edward James’, the surrealistic enthusiast, creation ‘Las Pozas’ – it is a magical wonderland, taking influences from all corners of the world and James’s mind. He used to own many wild animals here, and alongside himself and his seven other personas he took a break from his life in New York, and spent a couple months a year here. He would immerse himself in the jungle, spiritually tripping, overseeing new constructions and employing local boys to stand naked on podiums. He died in 1984 and since the place has become overgrown with moss, orchids and vines and this derelict, ruin-like look has become the place of many glamorous photoshoot, music video backdrops and exclusive VIP parties, which people chopper in and out for.
The other draw to Xilitia is Leonora Carrington’s museum – she is an incredibly talented artist, activist and writer. The museum is filled with her bronze cast pieces, her surrealist otherworldly imagination frozen in time. Her work inspired the aesthetic of Pan’s Labyrinth.
Both Edward James + Leonora Carrington are well worth a google, both wonderfully eccentric people who partook in many occult-ing ventures that connected them deep into nature and alternative dimensions. Their creations depict their adventures and definitely make you open up your own mind.
Inspired by the extreme heat we sought-out relief, we spent a couple of days splish-sploshing in a variety of cooling waters – heavenly.
Then we found a beautiful cabana nestled on top of a mountain in some woodlands in the Sierra Gorda, a nature reserve in the state of Querétaro. This was by the far the best designed and most inspiring place we have stayed at in Mexico. One of the owners is an architect, the other an artist and they bought this piece of land 24 years ago, planted 1,000’s of trees and brought up their three children here. They are currently building a new structure there, so Pippa got to talk to him about the construction of it and he could be a useful contact for future plans.
Whilst here we did a guided 14km hike from Cuatro Palos (2,700m) to Bucareli (1,200m) – starting at 5am so to see the sunrise and to beat the heat, we had the beautiful mountain range to ourselves and the views were awesome. Our guide was very impressed with us, and as a team we set a new record for completing this hike – it was only the next day, as we hobbled around, did we really feel the true extent of our exertion!
We came to this area right before the wet season begins, so everything was very dry – we are planning to return in October at the tail-end of the wet season when the landscape will be lush and abundant with greens. Our new friend, the architect, has promised to take us hiking and to show us the area more, there is also a lot of available and affordable land here, in case we feel truly inspired….. perhaps, perhaps, but right now we just want to observe for a few months before we lay our roots.