Mexico Travel: Bicycling
in the Mountains of Guanajuato
Over the last day and a half I had received a great
introduction to the city of Guanajuato. From the
beautiful downtown of Guanajuato, which is a designated
UNESCO World Heritage Site, to the historic Alhóndiga
building which played a major role in the Mexican
War of Independence against Spain, to the Mercado
Hidalgo, and an evening street serenade by a local
“Estudiantina”
student minstrel group – I had developed a
little taste of this colourful city that owes its
colonial architectural jewels and interesting history
to the rich silver deposits in the surrounding mountains.
But this Sunday morning, a different adventure
was on tap: a drive to the countryside to go mountain
biking and to explore the rugged outdoor adventures
that the region around Guanajuato has to offer.
So early at around 8 am I had a meeting scheduled
with my local tourism expert Sujei who was coming
to pick me up with a local adventure travel specialist,
Gerardo Diaz.
Gerardo Diaz and my expert guide Sujei
My two friends arrived in a pick-up truck with
three bicycles in the back, and we started our scenic
drive up into the mountains above Guanajuato. Being
located in the central Mexican highlands, the city
is already at an altitude of about 2,000 m (about
6,500 feet) above sea level, and we started climbing
up even higher into the surrounding mountain region
near Santa Rosa. We turned left off the highway
that leads to the historic town of Dolores Hidalgo
and started driving on a narrow country road that,
as we went further, turned into a bumpy forest road.
Finally, we had reached the eco-touristic adventure
park of Parque Xumu.
Sujei explained that the Santa Rosa area is very
popular with all sorts of outdoor lovers and offers
a variety of activities such as motocross, hiking,
biking and horseback riding. The landscape itself
is rather stony; deforestation and soil erosion
are issues that Central Mexico has been battling
with for a long time. Local people cut down trees
for heating and sell the wood, and this has contributed
to the deforestation issue. But in the gorgeous
bright sun the mountains that stretched in front
of us were a beautiful sight.
Parque Xumu
I also thought that when most Canadians and Americans
think of Mexico, images of Mexico’s gorgeous
beach destinations tend to automatically come to
mind. I would imagine that relatively few people
think of Mexico as a destination for outdoor adventure,
and indeed this type of tourism is still fairly
recent here. Gerardo Diaz is part of a group of
people who are ardent outdoor adventurers, and he
particularly loves mountain biking. He even takes
it a step further and has become an expert in doing
jumps with his mountain bike.
Together with a group of friends he has created
an outdoor adventure area called Parque Xumu which
offers a variety of outdoor activities. Most of
his friends were away today at a mountain biking
competition, but he had kindly taken the time to
show me around his favourite place.
Parque Xumu itself offers camping facilities, and
Gerardo showed me the common washroom and shower
facilities that were still being built. A common
area with palapas offers shade and an opportunity
for relaxation, and recently built cabanas provide
a more solid roof for sleeping. Camping is also
possible.
Gerardo at the base camp before we head off
Many kilometers of bicycling, hiking and horseback
riding trails surround the camp and some of the
steep mountain faces offer opportunities for mountain
climbing. One area of the park has been dedicated
to a mountain bike park with a series of ramps and
jumps that will provoke an adrenalin rush in extreme
mountain bikers.
To get to know the area first hand Gerardo equipped
me with a comfortable mountain bike and we started
riding uphill towards the mountain bike park. Once
there, Gerardo started showing off his talent, riding
down the steep trails, jumping over the wooden drops
and slowing down his bike from full speed to standstill
after just a few metres behind the jump. Obviously
he and his friends have been hard at work building
countless wooden ramps and drops over the last few
years.
Gerardo after his successful jumps
Now I love mountain biking myself, but I think
we had a slightly different definition of mountain
biking. There was no way I was going to jump over
any of these wooden contraptions, my 40+ year old
bones would just not be able to handle the certain
crash that would follow. So I played it safe, watched
Gerardo go up and down the steep slope, and was
in awe of his jumps. Contrary to my guide, I enjoyed
the safety of walking my bicycle down the steepest
portions of the mountain. I know my limits and I
wanted to get back to Toronto in one piece. (As
much as I love exploring, I don’t need to
explore the insides of a Mexican emergency room…).
Gerardo next to the waterfall
After Gerardo’s talented performance we rode
further down the mountain where he showed me the
ruins of an old house. Obviously someone must have
been living here in the remote woods of Central
Mexico a long time ago. Further down the mountain
we reached an area with a river and a steep rock
face where Gerardo indicated that this area is used
for rappelling and rock climbing.
We slowly made our way back to the base camp at
Parque Xumu where we packed the bicycles away for
a short drive to a great picnic spot where we would
have our lunch. After a short drive over roots and
rocks in the forest we arrived at a clearing called
“Las Palomas” which offers a phenomenal
view of the surrounding mountains.
Gerardo sets up our picnic
Now really hungry from this morning’s activities,
we set up a picnic table and chairs and Gerardo
started unpacking a great picnic lunch. We enjoyed
our sunny spot, surrounded by the Central Mexican
mountains. The only thing you could hear was a slight
breeze stroking the tops of the forest. After our
adrenalin-packed morning this was perfect serenity.
But as this was my last day in Guanajuato I would
have to get to the bus station this afternoon to
go back to Guadalajara. So we had to end our lovely
mountain picnic and drive back down into the city.
I had just a few hours left before I had to catch
the bus, so Sujei took me to the Diego Rivera Museum,
one of Guanajuato’s many interesting museums.
