Yesterday's field trip with the Instituto to Pozos and other areas was a great but long day. Too tired last night to post. This morning is a more relaxed time before heading out for activities. The B&B was full last night and everybody noticed the fireworks going off nearby way too early in the morning. Lilia, our host, says there is always a party going on in San Miguel. Other than that, it's pretty quiet here.
Our first stop on the bus trip was to a viewpoint over a valley of the Sierra Gorda mountains. Lots of history here (as is everywhere). Cesar, our guide, did a very good job of telling the stories of history. This valley was a central area in the bloody Cristero Rebellion of 1926-29 when the federal government was trying to remove the church from official government. They eventually succeded with great resistance from the Catholics. And again, the landscape is very similiar to northern Arizona.
The next stop was in another valley with a past and present history of shamanistic ceremonys. We climbed up (with much difficulty) into these rocks to view some ancient petroglyph paintings. The shamans still use them for spiritual use. Unfortunately, in one spot, some idiot hacked out the image of the sun that balanced the nearby image of a bad shaman. Now, of course, it's not a place you want to be at night without the real sun to counter the bad shaman.
This was interesting history to listen to but I gotta say, having seen many incredible petroglyphs in the U.S. southwest, these were not that impressive. Still, I won't go there again after dark.
We encountered this local resident along the way. He asked to join the tour but there were no burro accomodations on the bus.
Then it was time for lunch in Mineral de Pozos at Los Famosos de Pozos. I had the Sopa Azteca and Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo. As good as it looks. And of course, there was a Negra Modelo involved.
Pozos is an old mining town that nearly became a ghost town, but is now on the way back up. They say it's like San Miguel was 60 to 70 years ago. Lots of crumbling buildings, but the church and others have been kept up by the small population that still lives there.
Things are on the way up in Pozos. There are 3 fancy hotels and some good restaurants. This one is Posada de las Minas. Looks like a nice place to stay, but there isn't much else to do in town.
There is also a growing artist community in Pozos. These are four residents we encountered (OK, they are actually large puppet figures). We were also entertained by a group of musicians playing traditional folk instruments that were all hand-made. Drums, various flutes, sounds, and percussion. Very good.
Maria Teresa and friend Don Quixote in Pozos.
Our last stop was at the old mining complex. Begun in the late 1500s and closed in 1934. This was an incredibly lucrative mining area. Unfortunately, the Spanish used all slave labor when they operated the mines. Thousands died here, and you can't help but think of them when you are walking around. The 3 towers are the hearths used for processing the ore over intense fires. The structures are 400 years old. The towers still stand because the intensity of the fires hardened the limestone. The rest of the buildings are all in a state of ruin. The main big shaft hole is open and unprotected. Cesar tossed a big rock down to see how long it would take. About 4 seconds and a couple engineers in the group calculated that as about 1000 feet down.
At this point it was getting too dark to take more pictures. Too bad, as I could have filled a memory card with shots of all the old buildings.
As we were about to leave, Ceasar pointed out the big house of the big boss of the operation. At 400 years old it was also a fortress that could view the valley for invaders. The caretaker invited us into this pitch black house into the dining room so we could sit around the dining room table with candle lighting like the old days. I guess my camera has a pretty good flash on it.
The house and mining area was used extensively for a battle scene in the TV film And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself starring Antonio Banderas. I'll have to put that on my Netflix list.
The sunset at the mining complex was a fitting end (except for the bus ride back to San Miguel) to a great day. We had a quick snack at Hecho en Mexico near the Instituto (too tired for a food shot) and got back to Casa de la O about 10pm. A very long day.
