2/28/08 - Saturday

Thinking we would make our way slowly toward the pyramids and Mexico City, Rebekah and I planned a stop at one of the water parks in Tequisquiapan that allows camping.  While the “camping” for RVs is mostly just parking lot style, almost all the parks have areas for tent camping on the grass that is shaded and fairly nice.  Several of these parks are only open on Saturday and Sunday, which gave us more options but also meant that the parks full of people (and kids!).  We decided to see if we could find something a bit more peaceful and wandered further north on Mex 120, where most of these water parks are located. 

Entrance to The Oasis Water Park – we passed on this one

Much to our very pleasant surprise, we stumbled into Mexican Wine Country.  Just past the final water park we encountered the vineyard and tasting room of Orlandi and La Redonda wines. We sampled two different bubbles, two whites and two reds. We settled on a few bottles and were on our way. Not a few kilometers further down the road we began to see signs for the Cava Freixenet facility. This vineyard and winery is slightly more sophisticated and it seems to be customary for groups to come to the winery from either Mexico City or Queretaro and spend the day purchasing bottles of wine and consuming them on the property. We got there near closing time so we settled for two glasses.

Purchases at the Orlandi and La Redonda Vineyard

Grapes in Mexico

On our drive and east from Tequisquiapan we kept noticing this mountainous rock formation in the distance and having long passed the water parks, we decided we would head towards it. Thanks to some literature printed by Asomarte that we picked up at the wineries we soon deduced this formation to be Peña del Bernal.

Peña at Bernal

La Peña above Bernal

The town of Bernal sits at the base of the Rock at approximately 2,065 meters in elevation and is centered around the natural beauty of the Peña and the natural resources (rocks and minerals) of the surrounding mountain ranges. Arriving on a Saturday we found Bernal to be bustling with weekend tourists from the larger cities in the region. Accommodation choices were plentiful and seem to range from economical to quite fancy, including the Hostel Medieval Bernal, located in a castle on the edge of town. We settled into the quaint Hotel Feregrino, with adorable rooms, hot showers, and a perfect courtyard to view the Peña and enjoy a newly discovered wine.

Courtyard of the Hotel Feregrino

Courtyard of the Hotel Feregrino

A fresh Bottle of Orlandi Vino Espumoso in the Courtyard

Turns out that Saturday nights in Bernal are used to celebrate Sabados Magicos, which is a combination of fountains, and lights and music combined with the requisite amount of vendors at the base of the Peña. We made the trek to the base, stopping at the Mercado de Comida for some excellent gorditas and were treated to our first fresh blue corn tortillas -distinctly more textured and flavorful than the traditional white corn. We found the town of Bernal to be a perfect mix of traditional foods, classic architectural stylings, and appreciation for the natural splendor of the area. There is much folklore surrounding the 500-meter Peña.  The rock formations are said to be laden with animal images, of which we were able to pick out a few. There are apparently technical climbing opportunities and eco-tourism outfitters here but we were satisfied with our trek to base and our unanticipated discovery of this beautiful and natural region of Queretaro.

 Sabado Magico at the base of La Peña

The old prison in Bernal

The Church and Town Square in Bernal

La Peña