Mineral del Chico

Mineral del Chico was absoltely lovely. Settled in the mountains of Hidalgo, the town is very picturesque. The people were nice and friendly. I ate the best quesadilla ever. The hotel we stayed at was ran by a very nice couple who had a cute 2 year old boy. Olivia and him ended up playing together for a while. They were cute. Nescafe is very popular. They just call it cafe or coffee. It was cold here, even colder at night. Sometimes, especially in the evening, the fog rolled in over the evergreens envolping the buildings. I bought a nice embroidery piece from the lady who ran the hotel. If we had more time, we would have ventured to another nearby town but had to get back to the city. This area was really nice and I would love to go back and rent a cabin.

We took a camibus from Pachuca to here. It was $24 pesos total and Olivia was free. We were dropped off by the square which had a nice church. We decided to walk around and look for a hotel and then explore more. Along the way, I found a four leaf clover! Yay, I love finding them. Always a good sign.

In search of a hotel, we got to see this magnificent view of the church in the square.

This was the hotel we stayed at: Parador del Bosque

Walking back towards the square.

Sheep



We ate and then went on a excursion. There is a river nearby so we decided to check that out.

Justin and Olivia

When we reached the river, there was this sign. Justin wanted me to take a photo of it. The area was an ejido, which is a communal property. It's an important land tenure system in Mexico.

Olivia and I

Venturing down the road.

Waterfall

Some flowers

Another small waterfall

Justin and Olivia

At the end of the road, bottom of the mountain, there was a playground and restaurant. Olivia had to play so we chilled for a while.

Olivia played with a new amigo.

There was a mine nearby.

For a few pesos, we got a guided tour. Olivia had a blast.

It was starting to get dark so we headed back to our hotel. We had to walk back up the mounatin road. That was fun, let me tell ya. We survived though.

This is the emroidered piece I bought.

The next day we had to leave. We walked back to the square to grab a camibus back to Pachuca.

Another horsey photo

The main square

Overall, a very lovely and peaceful place. I don't know if we'll able to go back. If we do, we are definitely getting a cabin and checking out the surrounding area.

Next Blog: Trip to Romita Pt.1

Pachuca, Pachuca, Pachuca

Pachuca, the capitol of the state of Hidalgo. It is north of Mexico City about an hour and a half away. We took a bus and it cost $185 pesos for Justin, Olivia and I. Once we arrived at the bus station, we took a taxi towards the centro to get a hotel. The taxi was $30 pesos. We ended up staying at the Hotel De Los Baños which was right on the square. It was $450 pesos and it was alright. The room was clean and the people were nice enough but the water had a horrible sulfer smell. I liked that we could see the clock tower, Reloj Monumental, outside of our room.

We came here because of the Museo de Fotografia and the Fototeca Nacional (National Photographic Archive). It was somewhat dissappointing to be honest. The Museo de Fotografia had some really nice photographs on display but it was really small and photography was not allowed. I had to put my camera up in a locker. It was free though. The Fototeca Nacional was for people researching and you had to get permission to enter it. In the end, Justin did end up getting into it but what he could have gotten there he could have gotten in Mexico City so, yeah. Pretty much why we went there was pointless, I guess. We still had a good time and it was peaceful and it was nice to get out of the city.

We stayed another night here because we decided to venture somewhere outside of Pachuca. We stayed at a  cheaper hotel called Hotel America. It was about $250 pesos and it was small but clean and it didn't smell like sulfer. There wasn't a nice view though.

View from Hotel De Los Baños of the clock tower, Reloj Monumental



Fun times in a park.

There were two boys creating this interesting art piece and then photographing it. I think it was for some kind of art project for school. They let me take a photo of it.

This was nearby. There was some nice graffiti work.

This was cool too.

From walking around

The Reloj Monumental again. It is 130 ft and was made by the people who created Big Ben in London.

Back at the hotel. Took photos for fun and to avoid boredom.

The first Barbie photo. Justin's idea. People seem to like it.

The Reloj Monumental at night.

Justin with our "fancy" bottle of champagne we bought. It had 24 karat gold specks in it. Whoa!

We then realized that we didn't have any cups to drink this with. Hmmm...Justin came up with the idea of cutting a water bottle in half. With what you ask? A p38, army can opener. Yep, that thing has come in handy many times. They're super cheap and can go on a key ring. I recommend one.

Cheers! Salud!

Quality family time. Notice Barbie's "hat".



Olivia in front of a cool tiled wall.

The adjoining church of the Ex-Convento de San Francisco.

The Museo de Fotografia and the Fototeca Nacional is located in the Ex-Convento de San Francisco. I managed to take this photo inside the Fototeca, part of the courtyard.

Good times at a nearby park. 

A cool window.

We decided that we wanted to explore more of this area so we went to the Reloj Monumental where you can get tourist information. We decided to go to Mineral del Chico which was about 20 minutes north of Pachuca. Really lovely town in the mountains.

Next blog: Mineral del Chico