Sunday December 27 - Peña de Bernal

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Sunday we took a drive out to see Peña de Bernal which is "said" to be one of the worlds tallest monoliths. More on that later. The drive seemed to take forever, the highways were fantastic and the pueblo de Bernal is something I have never seen. Similar to Salamanca and Queretaro, it has a unique flare and is very warm to tourists. The place was swarming with activity when we arrived and began our climb up the monolith.

Les was the one who suggested we all go out for the climb and I was a bit hesitant. He had mentioned that in his research it was about a 3 hour climb up and down. Sounded like to much for me but being a good sport Juan coaxed me into it.

Three cars went out and three of us climbed the monolith. I have to say, you really don't climb to the top of the rock but to a summit on one side. To get to the top you can see climbers with ropes, spikes and hammers working their way up the side. You can also see markers of those that have fallen off in an attempt to reach the top.

The altitude in general is high enough that your lungs really get a good workout. We started the climb along with a rash of other people mostly families and with gusto. As we continued our way up we were fortunate enough to have to wait to let people pass. That gave us an opportunity to catch our breath. The views of the town as well as the far off distances are amazing. I wish I had known about this place before, we would have come when it wasn't so crowded.



As we got to the top, we took a break before heading down and talked with other climbers and joking about how out of shape we are. There was a little weiner dog named Jagger who didn't seem to have any problems at all. It must of been the fact that he has four feet instead of two and he is low to the ground.



Having only had a small breakfast early in the morning we started to build up an appetite. The closer we got the more I could smell good things. Near the parking area there were swarms of tourists and lots of snack food. We opted to wait and find a nice restaurant. We got into town and Les took off to buy some scarves for his girlfriend and we headed to the nearest restaurant, El Mezquite. More food than I needed but remembering my childhood, I had to clean up my plate or send it off to India.



After lunch we all met up and started our journey back to SMA. Got home and everyone was waiting for us to go out for dinner to our favorite place, El Pegazo. More on that later. Too many photos to post.