November 14th - Hidalgo del Parral to Zacatecas

Another long drive, this time over 700 kms, but all on tarmac.

Our start at 6 am was not helped by the fact we had virtually no sleep as a group of locals decided to have a party in the room directly above us which went on till nearly 4 am! Anyway, once on the road we quickly forgot our lack of sleep as we headed south for the World Heritage Site of Zacatecas. The road stretched endlessly into the distance, crossing dry scrubland all at an altitude above 5,000 ft.

As there was so much driving to do we decided to miss out on visiting the old movie sets used for making cowyboy films just south of the large city of Durrango. A bit further south and we visited the Sierra Organi, the site of many John Wayne movies. The area is especially beautiful with colossal columns of basalt standing like giant organ pipes. This is where the name Organos originated. 40 kms further on and once again we crossed into the tropics at the Tropic of Cancer.
Our day ended at the unbelievably beautiful Hotel Quinta Real in the centre of Zacatecas, that is a converted bull ring. It is one of the most interesting hotels I have ever stayed in. Hopefully the photos below will do justice to this memorable place.

Hotel Quinta Real, Zacatecas, Mexico

A word or two on the driving standards here in Mexico. All the horror stories we were told about it being dangerous to drive in Mexico are simply untrue. The driving standards are very high indeed, with great courtesy shown by lorry drivers when you are trying pass them. They use the disconcerting code of letting you know that it is clear to pass, by flashing their offside indicators as though they are going to turn left in front of you! (In Mexico you drive on the right) Once you are used to this all you need to do is come up behind a truck and wait for them to flash you. They then move over as far as possible (the roads are generally quite narrow single lane highways) to make it easy for you to pass. Car and van drivers are similarly very courteous and noticibly non-agressive. Such a change from the UK!

This evening we are being taken for walking tour of this great city. I will report more on this tomorrow.