Voy a Mexico
Sarah and I are leaving for Mexico this Saturday, although I’m not exactly sure where we’re going. Thanks to a few unexpected days off from work, we’re finally able to take a road trip out of Texas for awhile.
Granted, its only four days, but I think it will do us a lot of good.
The tentative plan is to go to Cuatro Ci?negas. We have heard from a few friends at UT about this area in the Chihuahuan desert. It is in the state of Coahuila. It is probably somewhere around 150-175 miles south-southeast of Big Bend National Park. Cuatro Ci?negas is known of having one of the world’s most unique ecosystems. The name of the town means “Four Marshes” and it is the abundance of pozas (pools) that are rich in minerals and salt beds that contribute to the incredible natural habitat there. I even saw on a web site that there are a lot of endemic speices, such as stromatolites, which first appeared 300 million years ago. The place is so untouched and isolated that some creatures have not evolved like others in their family. A rare kind of turtle, for example, has an unusually long neck and stays perpetually submerged underwater.
The actual town we would be staying in is Cuatro Cien?gas de Carranza. There are about 10,000 people in this desert outpost. UT has a small research station there. Apparently there are some nice things to see, good places to eat and friendly folks to meet.
We are also considering another place south of Monterrey. It is the city of Saltillo, which is shown in the picture on this page (thanks goes out to whoever snapped this photo– I just macked it off someone’s site). Saltillo is the capital of Coahuila. Honestly, I think this is where I would rather go. It is a city full of cathedrals, government palaces, squares, formal gardens, universities, etc. From what I am reading, it reminds me of something you would see in Spain. Which I guess would make sense considering it was colonized by Spain. I think the best option would be to stay in Saltillo and take a day trip to Cuatros Cien?egas. We’ll see.
At the moment, we are trying to figure out what to expect at the border and if it would make more sense to drive or take a bus. Apparently, we’ll need the bank that gave Sarah the loan for the car to send us a letter of permission for the car to be in Mexico since it is not completely paid for yet. Once that comes in, we’ll head down to Sanborn’s Mexican Car Insurance to get coverage for the car. Luckily, they have an office down the street from us. We won’t need a visa, although those going beyond the frontera (borderlands) are required to pick up a tourist card which is valid for liek 150 days or something.
Hopefully we’ll have our itenerary soon!