Riding to Patagonia

[ducpainter]

I just learned no one gets out alive.

[koko64]

That festival is bloody ominous.

[1.21GW]

I just learned no one gets out alive.

Oops.  I guess I'll keep what I know about Santa Claus to myself.

[ducpainter]

Oops.  I guess I'll keep what I know about Santa Claus to myself.

[DarkMonster620]

If you get  here for Carnavales . . . is 4 days of  drunkness

[ducpainter]

If you get  here for Carnavales . . . is 4 days of  drunkness

Sounds like DIMBY plus a day.

[Monsterlover]

Only if it rains torrentially at least one of the days

[1.21GW]

I'd prefer that it didn't have DIMBY's 8:1 guy-to-girl ratio.  

[Monsterlover]

[DarkMonster620]

Only if it rains torrentially at least one of the days

NO rain, it is in the DRY season . ..

I'd prefer that it didn't have DIMBY's 8:1 guy-to-girl ratio.   

Nah, something like 25:1[girls:guys] . . . but, drunk beyond any sense

[1.21GW]

Next stop was Real de Catorce, another Pueblo Magico.  Located in the high desert mountains of north San Luis Potosi, it sits around 2800m (9000ft).  Real grew out of the discovery of silver in 1772 but now, with the mine long abandoned, it's highly dependent on tourism, a clandestine portion of which are drug tourist looking for the region's famous peyote cactus that grows wild in the surrounding desert.











There are only two ways in and out of the Real.  From the west via a mountain road, the last 4 miles of which was some of the toughest riding I've ever encountered.  Time and neglect have upended the cobble stone road into a stretch of loose rock and dirt about as wide as a modern pickup.  The difficulty in riding has less to do with the terrible and inconsistent road surface and more to do with the steep pitch in certain sections, with I would guess reaches 25* at times.  On those stretches you cannot cut the throttle or the bike goes down.  Sadly, I've no photos of this cajones test since any consideration of stopping to snap a pic was crowded out of my mind by the sheer terror and a internal chant, "Focus, 1.21GW, focus."

The east access road is a 2-mile one-way tunnel directly through the mountain that opens up into 17 miles of back beating cobble stones, more intact and much safer than the west road but going on seeming forever.  Below is the view coming out of the tunnel as well as of the road surface.  In the first two pictures you can see white clouds below in the distance, which eventually must be descended through as you ride down to near sea level.











The main attraction of Real de Catorce is the abandoned silver mine.  For 200MXN (~$10) a guide took me up via horseback.  Pedro was born and raised in Real, and his father worked the mine before it was shut down.  Before we left town it became obvious that my shaggy mount had reached the end of his cup of tolerance in life and was passive aggressively cutting corners and walking so close to parked cars so as to clip my knees against the walls and sideview mirrors.  On the trail up, he walked so dangerously close to the edge of the cliff that I could feel him shuffling to keep balanced.  Standard reins commands were ignored.  Halfway up, our horse panting profusely and slowing to a snail's pace, my local guide said "Amigo, estos caballos son buenos, no?".  I think mine was suicidal.  Nevertheless, I'm sure my horse was happy to have me off his back for the 30 minutes we spent exploring the mine ruins.

















Gracias, Pedro.  Now go give those horses a day off!

[1.21GW]

Next stop was Ciudad Valles, the geographical antonym of Real and most of the mountainous desert towns wherein I had spent the last few weeks.  Valles is tropical, near sea level, and hot most of the year, posting temperatures above 40C (104F) and even 50C (122F) during the summer.   The hills and fields explode with plant life, and sugar cane is the area's largest economic output.  Distance smoke from cane fires is a common sight, while double- and sometimes even quadruple-length tractor trailers full of freshly cut cane slow traffic on single lane highways to a near standstill.











The region hosts numerous outdoor and adventure attractions, including kayaking, hiking, and rappelling.  Many of the rivers are a rich turquoise due to high levels of travertine, a type of limestone.  I signed up for a tour of waterfalls with a local adventure group.  It was great to spend the day in cool clear waters away from the traffic and the bumps and the noise of moto life.  My back was especially grateful for a recovery day.

Cascada Mico (10m):







Cascada Minas Viejas (50m):



















Cascada Mecos (35m):

[Monsterlover]

That place looks amazing!

[ducpainter]

That place looks amazing!

I was gonna say...

doesn't look like that sucks.

[1.21GW]

I was gonna say...

doesn't look like that sucks.

Always such the optimist.