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Monclova is straight south of Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras. It’s the beginning of some dry & dusty parts in northern Mexico. We haven’t been to Monclova in several years so it sounded like good place to start. We rented a room at Hotel Olimpia, right on the square in Centro. It has a classic Mexico layout. From the street it’s a hole. Once inside the hole, it’s gardens and patios and large themed rooms. Ours was themed “The Lady on the Chalupa”. The lady is Dolores Del Rio, the queen of Mexican female actresses. The chalupa is a canoe. That’s my translation of the story if you reference Loteria cards.
Las Corrales is one of our favorite restaurants from this city. When we first came here many years ago, it was a large palapa with the hot kitchen outdoor, right up front. Now patrons can sit in a very comfortable air-conditioned enclosure as well as the patio. The food is still great. The tequila still flows. The shot glasses, with their logos, were still fair game for Donnie and Sharon’s collection.
As of late, we have been using the toll roads to get from town to town. They’re fast, they’re easy and they’re relatively safe from loose cows, car swallowing potholes and Cartels. But the toll roads bypass the essence of Mexico: loose cows, car swallowing potholes and Cartels. The free road to Durango is narrow, dusty and full of roadside fascinations. Dust devils accompanied us on most of this route. A massive wind farm kicked up its own dust. Many of the turbines were installed within a few feet of the road. It was eerie.
Federales? Military? Cartel? Whatever they were, they stopped us at a hidden bend by a set of remote railroad tracks. There were automatic weapons, shotguns, and sunglasses in front of furrowed brows. El Jefe questioned us thoroughly but our usual loss of comprehension when weapons are involved, left both parties questioning the conversation. We handed him our “papers”. He proceeded to get on his cellphone, tapped around a bit, then smiled and told us “Puedes irte ahora”. In perfect Spanish, we responded “What?” He handed us our stack of documents, pointed down the road and grunted “Go!” While on his phone, he must have Googled us and realized we were harmless.
If scorpions are your thing, you should consider a visit to Durango. Just remember proper foot ware because they’re hiding everywhere. Scorpions are on belt buckles, paper weights, dangling in bottles of mezcal, and encased in lolly-pops. Trick-or-treat, kids.
We booked 3 nights at Hotel Roma. It’s in Centro and drenched with history. The elevator appeared to be original from 1910 or so and had to be operated by a professional bell hop. We crammed ourselves and our luggage into the 4ft x 3ft box. The bell hop elbowed his way to the controls, closed the collapsible metal gate, then selected the 3rd floor with the floor selector contraption. It engaged with a mechanical “clunk”. We were hurled up as we witnessed the floors whizzing by in a blur. The elevator brakes were also impressive.
The stairs were looking mighty good at this point, all 62 of them.
We came to Durango with the hope of finding some exciting trails for horseback riding. After all, Durango was well known for their westerns during the Golden Age of Cinema. John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Burt Lancaster, Ringo Starr; all their movies involved a horse or two. Well, except for Ringo. He had allergies.
To our dismay, no horseback riding was to be found. Rats!
We decided to make a day trip out of the city to the scenic overlook of Mirador Rio Chico. It was on the map, about 30 miles outside the city at the start of the Sierra Madre mountain passes. We found the sign right where it was supposed to be. That was it, a sign. The view was a small dry gulch with a power pole in the middle. But the sign was pretty.
We turned around and headed for Paseo del Viejo Oeste. This was the area for the before mentioned western movie sets. It has now been turned into a theme park, featuring cowboys, ‘injuns, and staged gun fights in the dusty streets. You know, Alec Baldwin style. We declined entering to avoid a potentially captive tourist trap.
Southwest of Durango is the Pueblo Magico of Nombre de Dios, (Name of God). We took on the hour plus drive to this pueblo but the magico part was elusive.
Is it just me or are you sensing a trend in our lack of discoveries?
There was one last manifestation of the marvels of Mexico in this area that we could not drive away from without seeing. El Saltito, a triple, sometimes quadruple 66-foot-high raging waterfall. According to that darn internet, El Saltito is in Nombre de Dios. Not so. We found it (accidentally) several miles outside of town. We were giddy and gladly paid the 30 peso entrance fee. Slowly we coasted through the dust and gravel and parked at the edge of the viewing area, complete with “No Diving” signs. Yes, they were in English. Stupid gringos need a sign.
It was a small climb up to the best viewing area. Wow. Gee. We paid for this. Dry rocks and a stagnate pool. Now the need for the “No Diving” signs was clear. Our day of “Wheel of Fortune” adventure seeking was chock-full of “Bankrupt” and “Loose a Turns”.
Not all was bad as we did have a couple of successful spins. The pedestrian street was bustling with street musicians as evening approached. Some good, some questionable. One bar on the walking street had “Cowboy Karaoke”. (?) Okee dokee. There were no “Git along lil’ doggies” or “Back in the saddle again” renditions to be heard but the tequila and beer were cheap and the people watching was plentiful. The winner in the “Best place for a generous tequila shot and fabulous dinner” category was Esquilon, conveniently right around the corner from the hotel. Esquilon is Durango’s up-scale version of San Antonio’s Magic Time Machine. There were no costumed characters, but the multiple themed rooms were a treat to peruse. Muy fancy but surprisingly inexpensive.
Durango was pretty warm. No, hot. We spun the Wheel o’ fortune and decided to head for cooler temperatures. Zacatecas.
Very entertaining. Thank you.
Keep enjoying your trip and above all, stay safe
I liked the waterfall……….
BK 6/17/2023 Enjoyed every word of the Donnie and Sharon exploits. Happy Fathers day Donnie.