The Mazamitla Waterfall,(An unforgettable Horseback Ride)

I wanted to add this little piece about Mazamitla,which I think is a good explanation of this town,(city)to me after trying to drive through it.The town is just 5 miles away from the RV Park Hacienda Contreras,where I’m staying.

Its a beautiful colonial town listed among Mexico’s (Pueblos Magicos.)Only a few select places in Mexico get this title.I will feature this beautiful little town in my next blog post.But today I want to feature my search for the popular but difficult to find,waterfall, in the hills.

With a Google search and the aid of Miss Garmin my trusty GPS,who by the way murders the Spanish language a lot worse than me,I was able to find this place.

The search took me through the narrow streets of town in what I thought was a trip that was never going to end ,until finally down in a wooded gully on the western outskirts,I came to a point where you cannot drive anymore,says the sign and the nearby toll booth.So I parked expecting maybe a 5 minute walk down a trail after paying an entry fee.

Soon as I parked the truck and got out,I was surrounded by guides with horses.I said no thanks,I will walk,but they insisted it would be difficult as its an 8 kilometer round trip that is up and down and very steep.So Senor Contreras,the (el jefe) (boss)of the group,talked me into climbing onto one of his steeds called (Choriso)(sausage) and with my young guide Jorge,we set off down this rough cobblestone path through the pine forest.

 

It didn't take long before I realized that a horseman,I’m not,as Choriso began to trot on the cobblestones,bouncing me up and down with my camera doing the same thing,hitting me in the jaw a few times,Then he moved over of his own accord onto the dirt seen in the photo.Thank you Choriso.

After about a Kilometer and a half,I decided that I’d had enough as my rear end and thighs were in excruciating pain,and my confidence in Choriso was waning as the road got rockier and steeper.So I offered the horse to Jorge for awhile and decided to walk.That's Jorge above as you can see the steep rough path.Finally we reached the spot where the horse has to stay behind and we both walk down another narrow steep path to the falls.

You can see a young lady ahead of us going down.Actually this was taken as we were climbing back up and needless to say,at over 7000ft,this Willy guy was doing a lot of huffing and puffing in the rarefied air.

A really nice spot as we rested and enjoyed the cool clean pine scented air along with a few other Mexican tourists.

Now the climb back up and back to Choriso my trusty steed.I decided that I needed the exercise since I hadn’t been doing my morning routine for the past few days.I had my blistered heels taped up with band-aides so figured a little more walking would do me good.Not realizing the altitude and the steepness,didn't last too long before the thought of climbing back onto Choriso’s back seemed inviting.It was time for my guide Jorge to earn his tip and do the walking for awhile.

Ahhh! That's better.

 

This is a typical isolated casa hidden in the woods along our pathway.You see its for rent.This is typical for this area as it is a resort town.

And we meet more coming in.

After taking this last shot,we arrived back at the parking lot where el jefe was waiting.I paid a nice tip to Jorge my young guide,sadly,I didn't get a shot of him before leaving,as I only got that back shot in the second photo.

Some final thoughts.I don't remember when I last rode a horse,even if I ever did.I knew how to mount and dismount but was so weak and inflexible,that I kept kicking Choriso in the butt every time. But I’ll tell you,the old silver bullet looked pretty good to me as I climbed in to leave.

The rest of the afternoon is another story for another day.