A weekend at Rancho Santa Elena

Curiously, this is the effort number N to keep a blog, and I’m starting with one of my favorite hobbies: camping ?.

I started camping around 9 years old as part of church’s activities, although at that time the gear was the basic but the fun was at is best because: who does not like country freedom?

Friday

We arrived when the sun was almost set and had to setup the tents and have some dinner quickly because the cold temperature was killing it. No major activities were planned but to have a good sleep.

Saturday

On Saturday we woke up kind of early, but the wood was so humid and I’m so out of shape starting fire that it took me A LOT to have the fire pit ready for breakfast. We ended up having a late breakfast / early lunch at 11 am. A stranded dog came by and since he hadn’t any id with him we adopted him while he wanted to be around, we call him Mr Bunches, we gave him a bit of food and after having a small sun bath went his way without saying goodbye.

Also, a cricket was walking around our table.I have never seem one with a body shaped like a leaf, I waited patiently for him to leave but he didn’t want it so I had to relocate him to a safer place.

A few minutes later we set out selfs for a walk to a gazer called Vista Alegre.

Mirador Vista Alegre
Mirador Vista Alegre, protagonizando Baldemar

You must know that Vista Alegre gazer it’s a place that requires you to walk a good amount of time. There’s no shortcuts, well… technically there is one but it’s quite steep at first. According to our printed map, you can do this between 2 to 4 hours round trip, but you can take longer if you are not a regular hiker. Most of the way is wide dirt road that when it’s damp it can be quite a challenge to walk through because of the combination of mud and clay that you get on some sections. The best time is at summer or spring because of the dry road but also the heat and dry air can make it a bit tricky.

My recommendation is to ask for help and guidance if this is your first time doing these kind of hikes, also take some chocolate or nutrition bars with you, some sammiches might work as well and water to keep you hydrated. Staying hydrated is one of the most important things to keep in mind. It will prevent cramps. No one like cramps.

Back in the camp we found that some friends finally got arrived. It was awesome to seem them happy as kids because they loved the place. It was also funny to know that only going back and forth to the entrance in their bikes they were already all sweaty and tired. It’s just over 1 mile away ?.

Sunday

This was the day we really wanted to enjoy. We woke up a bit late, at 8:30 am, and had breakfast to go biking. Sadly we couldn’t make the planned trail because of the time we started and because my friends had to leave.

However we were able to go a couple of laps on trail 1 so a newbie could enjoy the sweet pain of your legs burning and shaking like Bambi. We also rode trail 2 with a lap record, for us, at 11:30 minutes.

At the end of the day we were the same that arrived on Friday and after a big scare due and accident riding, we had dinner and called it a day. After 2 days riding legs tend to fail becase we are not the big athletes we would like.

Monday

Early birds at 9:30 am. We wanted to go riding again, but after a few minutes considering the trip back home we decided to have breakfast, pack our stuff and drive back to avoid major traffic jams. Mexico City’s traffic ain’t for the faint of heart and the best is to avoid it as much as possible to have a good rest for next day were our adult life was waiting for us.

Basecamp at Las Vigas, Rancho Santa Elena

It was a nice camp after all. We had fun, we had a good rest and above all we were able to remember how God has everything in His ands and in control, and we also were able to enjoy and understand that the nature is the best gift he could have given us to live happy and in harmony, here at the earth with Him.

If you want to know more about this place, go to http://santaelena.com.mx/

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