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 Travel & Outdoors | April 2006 
Viviendo en México
 Korah Winn - PVNN
| | Jana, and her three-year-old daughter, Ruby, head out to the mysterious Real de Catorce. |
I realize that most of my recent articles have been about traveling to different places while in Mexico. My family is probably thinking, "I thought she was supposed to be studying, not traveling all around Mexico."
On the phone, I am going to reassure them that I am studying, it is just that while I was in Puerto Vallarta I did not make many extra trips. There is a difference for me now. Now I have the liberty to go places because the fear of the language and the unknown has begun melting away from me.
I do not see the people in these new spots as unapproachable now because I can actually communicate with them at this point and not be so embarrassed of my Spanish skills. I still make all kinds of mistakes but at least I understand what they are trying to tell me for the most part.
Getting over that fear is what has made these trips possible. I have been making sure to study, it is just that I have been using the weekends to do more exploring now that I have a firmer foundation in the language.
The most recent place that I have visited is Real de Catorce. [More info] I promise you that I had never heard of it in my life until my friend Jana told me that the next break we got from school, she was going to go there and take her three-year-old daughter Ruby with her.
I was a little surprised because she said the town was about eight hours away by the time you took a bus to San Juan Potosí, then another to Matehuala, and then caught a ride to Real de Catorce.
| | Real de Catorce has a reputation of being a sacred place for Huichole Indians. |
At that time I did not know Jana very well, but as is the case when you are in a foreign country, you tend to make friends pretty fast. Before I knew it, I was invited to accompany Jana and Ruby to the mysterious Real de Catorce.
There are a lot of legends about the town. It used to be a mining town and actually had a decently sized population around the turn of the century, but a revolution occurred and hard times hit the city. Before long, the number of residents dwindled down to only a small number of what they had been.
When I told my friend Jorge that I was going, the very first thing he told me was "Watch out for the hongos." I looked at him funny and kind of tilted my head. "What in the world are hongos and why should I be careful?"
He went on to laugh and explain to me that an hongo is like a fungus or mushroom. Real de Catorce has a reputation of being a sagrado (sacred) place for Huichole Indians. They make a pilgrimage from terrific distances and leave ofrendas (offerings) at the top of a mountain called Cerro Quemado.
A few miles below that is a desert like area called Wirikuta. It is there that they collect peyote, which they use to affect their consciousness. It is described as being an important part of their worship.
I still did not completely understand the hongo comment Jorge made but I figured the gist of it was he was warning me not to be eager to try anything "new" once I got to the town. I told Jorge he did not need to worry about me experimenting with hongos. I think that would win first prize for the most unlikely thing I could choose to do while living in Mexico. |
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