How (not 2) get to La Cienega de Gonzalez

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     The climbing destination known as El Salto is nestled in the Sierra Madre at 1400m above the city of Monterrey by a small town called La Ciénega de González. I knew where it was on the map. I was to find a cafe called "Hanuman" and they'd be able to give me directions to Ramon's place from there. A large storm in Texas delayed my flights out of Vancouver. Naturally, they sent me to Seattle, short checked my bag so I had to go out of security, and then continued to f@!k me by canceling my flight once again. Needless to say I now know the best sleeping spots in the Seattle Airport. After a night of binging Squid Game and couple planes later I landed in Monterrey a full day later than I planned. No matter, I was so psyched to arrive.

Airport Bivy

    I stayed in a cheap hotel near the airport that night and sorted out my plans for the following day.  A bus ride to a town called Santiago, at which point I would hitchhike up and over the pass to get to La Ciénega de González. In the morning I got to the bus stop but couldn't figure out how to get the app to take the bus (something about a Canadian phone). A cab driver told me 800 pesos to get to Santiago, so I jumped in. In Santiago I found a small grocery store and bought some essentials as I wasn't sure how long it would take to get to Ramon's. I started walking up the hill with my thumb out, and after about 20 minutes got my first rie. They took me about halfway up to this town called Cola de Caballo. Another ride took me over the top of the pass. It was a beautiful drive. The road wound its way up ridges, switchbacks, and through the clouds. My ride dropped me off, turned onto a dirst road, and disappeared into the forest. I checked my phone to see how far from my destination I was, but I didn't have a phone plan so the map did not load. I knew La Ciénega was that way (picture me pointing down the road with my index finger). So I started walking. There was little traffic for hitching but I didn't mind because it was beautiful up in the forest above the city. I just had no idea how far it was to La Ciénega. A eventually after a couple of cars had driven past me a truck finally stopped and I jumped in the back. Ten minutes later we came around a corner and I saw the walls. It was so epic. Next thing I saw Hanuman and tapped on the cab for the truck to stop. I immediately saw my friend Gabo who spent the summer in Squamish last year. It was great to get confirmation that I was in the right place. He gave me directions to Ramons and I finally arrived after a 10 minute walk.

Winding Road from Santiago to La Cienega

Could I have paid the 1500 pesos for an airport pickup to get a direct ride from the airport? Yea, totally. And I'll probably do that next time. Still, I had such a fun experience trying to navigate my gringo-ass through rural Mexico to a town I knew was just somewhere over the mountain and down this road. Subsequent hitchhikes were equally as adventurous and will find their way into more blog posts.

Found some rock climbing!

Thanks for Reading!

Comments

  1. Pat ClarkeFebruary 22, 2025 at 1:28 PM

    Great to hear about your adventure, love the photos. Next time in Seattle I will check with you before booking a room LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kieran NilsenFebruary 22, 2025 at 11:00 PM

      Yea! Keep in cheap. They let you sleep for free at the airport!

      Delete

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