San Luis Potosí, La Huasteca Potosina, day 3

On the third day we went back to Guadalajara. But we got up early to be able to do some stops on the road. La Huasteca potosina has a lot of beautiful places to offer with it's beautiful nature, rivers, lagoons and waterfalls. For the adventurous one I can really recommend to do the rafting! We were going to try other water activities as well with the organization Huaxteca, like climbing down waterfalls and jumping, but because of the rain season they were canceled. The rivers had a lot of water as you can see below! It was still worth the trip anyway. If you want to visit the Huasteca it is recommended to go between November-Februaray, because it's not raining anymore and it's not too hot. Personally I've been there in May once before and the waters were amazing and as far as I remember it wasn't too hot either.  

At some Huastecan ruins

Tamasopo, a nice and calm place to swim at when it's not rain season. See the comparision below. 

Our guide to Puente de Dios

Puente de Dios, here you can normally swim as well when it's not rain season, and there is a really cool cave you can go into.

Here is what I mean. If you want to visit La Huasteca Potosina and enjoy swimming in the waters go when it's not rain season. Above: Puente de Dios in May and September, below: Tamasopo in May and September.

Locations of Tamasopo and Puente de Dios

Visa större karta

San Luis Potosí, La Huasteca Potosina, day 2

On the Sunday we made an excursion to the surrealist castle of the poet Edward James and the village Xilitla. The castle was impressive with a lot of sculptures, stares and bridges in weird shapes and angles, everything made in concrete. And it was in the middle of a tropical forest by a waterfall. 

The bus stopped on the road and we tried Zacahuil which is a Tamale with the size of approx. 1 m. 

On our way to the surrealist castle. 

Amallely, Pepe and one of the guides

The castle

Impressive architecture at the castle. This waterfall was surrounding the buildings.

In the garden there were lots of wild plants and flowers of all kind.

And also animals

These spiders were everywhere and they were huge!

The village Xilitla was also very nice and charming with old colorful houses in between the 
green mountains. 

The town of Xilitla

A traditional sunday market that you find everywhere in Mexico

On the market you could buy real frogs converted into wallets...(!?)

The church and plaza is decorated with the mexican colors of the flag to celebrate independence day

They are watching a pole covered with grease, the person who can climb up the pole wins the prices that were attached up there :P.. 

Ama y Pepe

Local people from the village dancing to live music

Almost everyone wore hats like this

In the old times this was an area for barbers

Location of Xilitla

Visa större karta

San Luis Potosí, La Huasteca Potosina, Day 1

Last weekend we went to the state of San Luis Potosí to visit La Huasteca Potosina. Me and Jonas went with my cousin Amallely and her boyfriend Pepe. La Huasteca is a graphical and cultural region in the middle eastern part of Mexico which includes parts of the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Queretaro, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Puebla. The Huasteca region in San Luis Potosí, which is where we went, is a very green and humid area and here you find high mountains, tropical forests, turquoise blue rivers (if it isn't rain season, later I will show pictures of the difference) and waterfalls. The trip was organized by an adventure company called huaxteca.com who organizes tours in the area, including rafting, climbing, diving and much more. They offer complete packages including tours, lodging and meals, perfect for the lazy but adventurous one!  We spent three days there arriving at friday night and leaving at monday (monday was 16th of september which is day of independence in Mexico, so we took advantage of the day off).   

Day 1
Saturday started with rafting in the river El Naranjo! First they made you fill in a form saying something like "Are you aware that these activities may cause risks such as injuries, lost, trauma and death?" and then you had to sign with your name. And as if I weren't scared already this form made me freak out even more. But when we arrived at the place and when we met the really nice and fun staff and saw all the safety equipment I felt much safer. We got to put on helmets and life jackets and then we got a security instruction by the guides, what to do if we fell into the rapids and so on. The guides were really professional which made you feel very secure. We were about 5 groups in each raft and they had two security staff who had their own kayak. So now, enough with the details! The rafting was one of the most exciting things I've ever done! I would definitely like to do it again! It wasn't just an adrenaline experience but a very nice nature experience. The light green river was surrounded by green mountains and trees and the temperature was hot and humid (I thing about 30°C but with high humidity) so it was really nice to get into the water. 

Here are the pictures! Some of the guides wore waterproof cameras on their helmets so pictures could be taken :).

The boats and the calm green river (at least here). Photography: Huaxteca.com

Here we are nervous and anxious. Photography: Huaxteca.com

Photography: Huaxteca.com

Photography: Huaxteca.com

Photography: Huaxteca.com

Photography: Huaxteca.com

Location of river El Naranjo

Visa större karta

Bosque Colomos

For the one who wants to escape the hectic city life of Guadalajara for a while, the Bosque Colomos is a nice and calm place to go to. It is a big park that has a pick-nick area, a japanese garden, horse back riding and jogging lanes just to mention a few things. You can also see a lot of animals there such as squirrels, turtles and big fishes. The squirrels are not afraid to come close, as I assume a people gives them food. We were actually afraid to get attacked a few times when we went last sunday :P. 

Om man vill komma bort från det hektiska stadslivet som man ofta blir utsatt för i Guadalajara, är Bosque Colomos ett trevligt alternativ. Det är en stor skogliknande park som erbjuder pick-nick område, en japansk trädgård, hästridning, löpspår och mycket mer. Det finns också en hel del djur att se som tex. ekorrar, sköldpaddor och fiskar. Ekorrarna var inte rädda att komma nära, antar att de blir matade. Några gånger kom de så nära att vi blev rädda att bli anfallna när vi var där i söndags :P. 

The turtle family :)

Curios squirrel

Directions of Colomos

Visa större karta