The plan for the morning was to get a ride to the main road at 7:30 and wait for a bus that was supposed to show up at around 8 am in order to go to Matehuala (30 miles away), and from there catch a bus to Real de Catorce to meet up with the rest of the tour group.
My ride arrived on time and we had a little discussion on the way to the main road. It turns out he has worked in several states on roof construction, as was planning to go back to Minnasota this coming Summer. We arrived at the main road and I went and stood beside the sign with a bus on it. There was another woman waiting, so I asked her if this was the bus stop to get to Matehuala. She said yes, but did not appear she wanted to talk any further, so I left her alone. Several minutes passed, about 15, and judging from the other woman's demeanour, the bus was late. Just then a good-sized tan van pulls over and motions for us to get in. I was hesitant for a split second, but decided to jump in after making sure the driver was headed to Matehuala. Inside was the driver, his wife who was seated on a makeshift seat between the two front seats, and another women who had been picked up earlier. We headed on down the road listening to traditional Mexican music. After 3 more bus stops, we had 12 people in the van. It was designed to seat 9, but it was not too crowded.
Soon we were in Matehuala, I paid my 30 pesos ($3) and asked how to get to the bus station. The driver told me to go around the block to a taxi stand. I did just that and got a taxi to the bus station for 25 pesos. I could have walked, but it's ok. I went to the desk and found that I had to wait 3 hours for the next bus. I spent the first hour in the bus station failing miserably at crossword puzzles, then I wandered around and sat in a park for awhile, then I got some food. Before I knew it, it was time to make it back to the station and I got on the bus. We took off and Spiderman 2 began playing with low volume and Spanish subtitles.
After about an hour there was a sign for Real de Catorce and we turned onto a narrow road made of bricks. This road lasted about 15 miles. Then we arrived at the entrance to the town, which is a 3 km tunnel. Real de Catorce used to be a mining town, but now it is mainly a tourist attraction, but it still has the feel of a real town. We switched into a smaller bus like sardines, and headed into the tunnel. Just as we entered the tunnel I saw that the school group was just arriving, so I was just in time.
The rest of the trip consisted of typical tour stuff. We rode horses up a mountain and explored old mining buildings and went a few meters into an old mine. While on my horse, a water bottle in my backpack opened, so both the horse and I got a little wet. Another story about the horses, they did not like to passed by each other, so when one horse tried to pass another, the horse in front would usually just cut off the other, but there were times when biting was involved.
Than night we were encouraged to attend a wedding reception being held in town. It was interesting for a few minutes. The groom's friends had a tradition of completely soaking the groom with beer, soda, water, anything in a bottle. And they did a fine job, then paraded the groom around the room on their shoulders.
We left the wedding and were led to an old arena where we were told we were going to watch a cock fight. I said no thanks and started to leave, but one of the tour guides said there were no blades on the feet, so I was able to justify it by saying that mild rooster confrontations occur everyday on farms all over the world. The roosters actually ended up becoming friends by the end of the "fight."
The night ended with the tour guides telling us to go find beer and bring it back to the hotel (which we had rented every room) and we would have a small party. It was a fun time.
The next morning was spent learning from some Indians from Jalisco who taught us a craft involving tiny beads. The tradition is to eat peyote, hallucinate, then draw the visions you had with the beads. We were not provided the inspiring peyote, but were given the craft materials. Most of us did not do so well with the tiny pieces of plastic, but some people did a good job.
The same Indian gave us a blessing ceremony for the trip home involving blowing smoke on us and splashing water on us. I wonder if he made that part up on the spot.
We left the town by piling into the back of two pickup trucks and being led out of the city like a bunch of livestock be hauled to the slaughterhouse. I found it funny.
The trip was interesting and I'm glad I got to see the town. The best part was getting there on my own. I now feel comfortable taking the buses from town to town, which is actually very common as not nearly everyone has a car. Pictures of this trip can be found here.
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