Day 11 - La Hacienda, MX to Colleyville, TX

For Day 11, we woke up early and made our way towards the US border. Apart from some initial miles, we rode the rest of the way on good roads so we made a great time, so much so that we all decided to make the 700 miles plus route in one day so we could go sleep on our own bed at home.

Since we had enjoyed the sweet pies so much the night before, they prepared us some pie for breakfast together with the ham omelet.

The border crossing was uneventful. Paula and I separated from the group and had lunch in a Subway in Brownsville, TX.

We then got ourselves on the road and arrived in Colleyville, TX at about 10pm. 

The whole group made it to their homes safely and that night and forever we will reminisce another great trip to Mexico.

Carpe Diem !

Safe back in the good old US of A

Map of our trip

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Day 10 - Jalpan de Serra, MX to La Hacienda, MX

For Day 10, we rode from Jalpan de Serra, MX to La Hacienda, MX in the state of Tamaulipas.

On the way we stopped in the small town of Nuevo San Rafael, MX to give away a soccer ball. As we were doing this with the kids, we noticed the parents were eating and selling what looked like a fruit. It turned out to be a fruit from a cactus (Stenocereus queretaroensis). We took the opportunity to taste it. Sweet with a bit of a pleasant after taste.

Our destination for the day, would be the highlight of this day though, The Hacienda Santa Engracia in Tamaulipas.

We left the bikes under cover and then went to see this amazing colonial structure that goes back to the 1940s when the fiestas of the owners son were so popular that they decided to create an hotel. Every Christmas the Hacienda closes its doors to visitors and it is used as a place that the family can come back to and celebrate Christmas and the New Year.

It is now also an orange grove so we had some very sweet orange juice as we gathered as a group around the beautiful pool area.

For the evening we had a beautiful dinner that was cooked just for us. The high highlight were the sweet pies for dessert.

We all went back to our rooms and enjoyed a cool night with the help of air-conditioners.

A Spanish Hacienda in an Orange Grove for our last night in Mexico

Drone video of The Hacienda

Last supper in Mexico in La Hacienda, MX

Relive of day's ride

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Day 9 - San Joaquin, MX to Jalpan de Serra, MX

For Day 9, we did the same route of the day before but in the opposite direction and ended up the ride in Jalpan de Serra, MX.

On the way we stopped in Pinal de Amoles and enjoyed walking a bit this town. Loved its plaza and we were even treated to a special Mexican delicacy in the area, The Pig Stew

We had lunch back in our faithful hotel, La Mision, in Jalpan de Serra, MX and got ready for a boys adventure in the late afternoon.

For a while Bo and Dave had been speaking about taking a RAZR (all wheel drive side by side with amazing suspension) drive through the Sierra Gorda and that is what the 4 (Bo, Colin, Dave and Jim) did. I accompanied them on my faithful GSA. We had a lot of fun visiting different areas that would have been more difficult for all of us to ride the bikes on. Bo took the opportunity to take some video of this experience.

For the evening we had a beautiful dinner at our hotel watching the sunset.

Breakfast team in San Joaquin, MX

The boys on the road leaving San Joaquin, MX

Colin´s favorite dish

Ready to rock and roll

Drone video of the Razor side by side excursion 

The ringing of the bell on the Mision Church in Jalpan de Serra, MX

Selfie in Jalpan de Serra, MX

Some views of the Pueblo Magico Jalpan de Serra, MX

Some of the best photos of the Day

Relive of day's ride

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Day 8 - Jalpan de Serra, MX to San Joaquin, MX

During Day 8, we left Jalpan de Serra, MX and rode to another Pueblo Magico - San Joaquin, MX in the state of Queretaro. 

As we were leaving Jalpan de Serra, MX we started to get rain which got worst and worst as we went up the mountain towards Pinal de Amoles, MX, and the fog was so thick we could not see much. Fortunately for us when we got to the other side of the mountain the sun was out and it became much warmer and we really enjoyed the many twisties as we made our way to Peña Miller, MX.

We stopped in the main plaza and had lunch with the locals. Some of us had chicken, other tacos. We also took the opportunity to see the beautiful main plaza and church.

It is not easy to get to San Joaquin as it is in the middle of many mountains and when one gets there we feel that we are away from rest of civilization. For me it was this rural feeling that impressed me the most as I felt deep in Mexican culture. 

Our hotel, Hotel Meson Dona Lupe was up in the mountain and from it we could see the town below. Because of the mountainous terrain, the town has many viewpoints and we braved the hill climbing and visited the La Crucia (The Cross) Lookout.

We then made our way down the hill to the main plaza and had dinner in the city centre. On the way we stopped in a bakery to get some Mexican delicacies that were baked right there.

We were also treated to a Huasteca Dance, the Huapango.

As the sun was setting we made our way back up the hill towards our hotel for the night.

Having lunch in Peña Miller, MX; Take 2

Bathrooms on Peña Miller, MX 

Hunting for the Hotel Meson Dona Lupe in San Joaquin, MX

The Mirador La Crucia (The Cross Lookout) in San Joaquin, MX; Take 2

Mexican delicacies in San Joaquin, MX

Walking through the streets of Pueblo Magico San Joaquin, MX; Take 2; Take 3

The Huapango, a Huasteca Dance

Some of the best photos of the Day

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Day 7 - Molango, MX to Jalpan de Serra, MX

On Day 7, we woke up to a very rainy day and decided to change the day's ride so we would stay on better roads. We decided to go to Jalpan de Serra, MX in the north of the state of Querataro.

It turned out to be a great decision as the rain was accompanied by dense fog and we were happy we were on main roads rather than secondary, and in much worst conditions, roads.

We even had the opportunity to go off-road.

We stopped in the town of Tamazunchale, MX where we struggled a bit with traffic. Eventually we made it to the very centre (where we had stayed the night in April 2021), stopped the bikes and had lunch on a restaurant where we would be right on the pavement where lots of people were crossing. It was quite interesting to see the hustle and bustle of this city.

We then made our way to Jalpan de Serra, MX, the heart of the Sierra Gorda and went to our hotel, Hotel Mision, one of our favorites in this trip.

In the afternoon we relaxed in this beautiful town and went to see the Franciscan church in the town, one of the Five Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda. They were built during the last phase of the conversion to Christianity of the interior of Mexico in the mid-18th century and became an important reference for the continuation of the evangelization of California, Arizona and Texas. The richly decorated church façades are of special interest as they represent an example of the joint creative efforts of the missionaries and the Indios.

For dinner, we had it in the beautiful colonial courtyard of The Mision Hotel.

Small town shopping in Molango, MX

Lots of rain and fog

Lunch time traffic in Tamazunchale, MX

Views on the road

Roadside break

Country cruising off-road

The first selfie

Selfie in Jalpan de Serra, MX

Some more magic in Jalpan de Serra, MX

Amazing drone photo of Jalpan de Serra, MX

Some of the best photos of the Day

Relive of day's ride

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Day 6 - Aquismon, MX to Molango, MX

For Day 6, we rode from Aquismon, MX to Molango, MX in the state of Hidalgo.

The vegetation was changing to much more green and luscious as compared to the day before (mainly fields that were farmed).

We also went past one of my favorite roads close to Xilitla, MX.

After doing a lot of really nice roads up and down mountains, we stopped in a small restaurant in Tepehuacan de Guerrero for lunch.

We then continued south towards Molango, MX enjoying the many twisties of the Sierra Gorda.

Our hotel in Molango, Hotel El Dios Mola was the cheapest one we stayed at and had lots of character.

Before dinner, which we had in a restaurant overlooking the main square, we visited the beautiful gardens and church and learned about the history of the town of Molango, word that  comes from nahuatl name that means place of the god mola a pre-Columbian deity that represents the surrounding mountains and was worshipped within the territory by Nahua and Otomi People, who still live within this municipality to this day.

This was one of my favorite days of riding.

Riding in rural Mexico 

Lunch in rural Mexico

Drone video of lunch and sugar cane plant

The beautiful garden and church in Molango, MX

Hotel in Molango, MX

The plaza in Molango, MX

Dinner overlooking the main square in Molango, MX

Some of the best photos of the Day

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Day 5 - Tula, MX to Aquismon, MX

On Day 5, we left Tula, MX and rode to another Pueblo Magico - Aquismon, MX in the state of San Luis Potosi.

The morning ride was very nice as we went up a mountain and enjoyed the many twisties and views always riding in the middle of thick vegetation.

We then came down to the valley and started to notice large plantations of sugar cane.

We started then seeing a lot of trucks carrying sugar cane and eventually came across a large sugar cane plant. 

We stopped for lunch in a very nice restaurant where we sat outside the esplanade and had chicken wings.

On the road we had the opportunity to give the first soccer ball to a local young lady. 

While the rest of the group went to Aquismon, MX we went to visit the Natural Landscape La Morena. As we did not have much time we were not able to take a boat (with others) up the Tampoon River and see the well known Tamul Waterfalls that falls 105 meters through a narrow and deep canyon brownstone.

We stayed at the Hotel Boutique Santa Lucia.

For the end of the day, we walked around and enjoyed this beautiful little town which totally deserves to be called a Pueblo Magico.

Good morning coffee prepared by Colin

Soccer ball give away 

End of the day in the plaza; Take 2

Pueblo Magico of Tula, MX in the morning 

Relive of day's ride

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