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Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Mexico, Part 2 (City: Real de Catorce)

From Matehuala, we drove about one hour to Real de Catorce, an old mining gem. To enter the village you have to drive through a one-way tunnel in the mountain called Ogarrio Tunnel, which is 1.5 miles long. 


The village looks like a ghost town, but people still reside in Real de Catorce.  Artists sell silver jewelry and other silver items to tourists.  We ate snacks from the vendors--the most peculiar being a slice of wood soaked in spices called quiote.  It is meant to be chewed and spit out. 






We visited the famous Church of the Immaculate Concepcion in Real de Catorce, known for the pilgrams who visit every October 4 to pray for miracles.  In the back of the church, there is a room with hand-made prayers posted on the wall by families of the ill, the dead and the hopeless. The image that is most worshipped is that of the miraculous St. Francis of Assisi, also known as "Panchito" or "El Charrito." 


Next to the tunnel on the way out was a woman who was hitching a ride to her nearby town. We picked her up and brought her to her town.  On the ride home, we saw families living on the side of the highway in huts.  Most of them were selling animal skins, including snake skins!


Of course, Julio wanted to stop.  I got a snake in my face through the car window!


Real de Catorce was the set of many movies, including "The Mexican" with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.

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