La Purisima de Jalpa - Hike Through The Canyon

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Last week I messaged Les to see if he wanted to get together for dinner or a hike.  He recommended a hike and we were in.  We met just down the street from our house in front of the OXXO.  We drove out towards Queretaro and took the turn off to Jalpa.  The actual name is La Purisima de Jalpa.  The road to Jalpa is the old highway to Queretaro.  A good road that changes to a decent dirt road.  The first thing you see is the church, recently built and parts are still uncompleted.  The window frames are in, the typical Gothic style, but the stained glass is still in process.  The church I grew up in was built with the help of my grandfather and all the stained glass windows had the name of the family that donated it.  This is a huge church for such a small town.

After, we drove down by the presa.  This time of year, the water level is very low and things are pretty dry.  Off we went to the starting point of our trip.  Les and Juan both have some good pics as well on their Facebook pages.  

We walked across some ranch land and headed up toward the canyon.  Beautiful scenery and I wish it had been a bit overcast or cooler but the heat was really starting to beat down.  We passed a guy who was keeping an eye on a small group of cattle.  He had been sleeping on the ground under a tree.  He had two vicious dogs with him and they were ready to attack.  We picked up rocks and sticks just in case and the owner began calling them.  I was bringing up the rear and one of them bit me on the back of my calf above the ankle.  We put some water on it and it looked okay.  I was thinking then about a tetanus shot and remembered I had one three years prior in San Miguel de Allende.  I had been bitten by a dog then as well.  I guess they think I taste pretty good!

These boulders are huge.  I would say that they are easily 2 meters tall and as wide.  You wonder how long ago they had fallen.  The water rushes through the canyon slowly forming them into perfectly rounded boulders.  Nature is truly amazing.

This photo doesn't do the pool justice.  It is easily one and a half meters wide.

We continued on for about another half hour and stopped for a break.  We had water, Les shared a great piece of pan dulce and we had some graham crackers along as well.  We headed back the same way and again passed those little rascals and this time we were well-prepared for battle.

Now that I am on Juan's state social insurance, I took advantage and went to the ER as he had a doctor's appointment.  The doctor said no worries and that most people get rabies from human bites and that the states here in Mexico have patrols on ranches that offer rabies vaccines to the animals.   She gave me some antibiotics and said I'm good for life.  I did do some growling last night but no signs of foaming at the mouth.  😼

I wanted to share a very good restaurant that is on the outskirts of San Miguel.  It is called Gorditas de Don Ciro.  It is located on the road to Dolores Hidalgo at the 5.5 km mark.  There just happens to be a very small strip mall on the corner of the highway where you would turn to the right and drive 200 meters.

Excellent rustic Mexican food including quesadillas, gorditas, volcanes, and much, much more.  The best part is the price.  We had two quesadillas and two gorditas fully loaded and the bill was $5.50 USD.  You can't beat the food or the prices.

On my daily exercise, I pass many interesting places.  This is a house near the Parroquia or main plaza where the landmark church is located.  This house was the birthplace of Jesus Maria Sollano y Davila, who was a well-known bishop ordained by Pius IX.  He was born in 1820 in the heart of the city.  He worked for many years as the first Bishop of Leon and was in charge of teaching and training seminarians.   I find it interesting that someone lives in the house that the person was born in over 200 years ago.  

I always say, "if only the walls could talk"-