preferably to the middle of nowhere!
this weekend, i did both. fili and i took the opportunity to get away. he found this hotel/resort/convention center about 45 minutes from monterrey, on our little man-made lake, which rents little spots for camping. in the summer, i can imagine it being an AMAZING place to get away from the city. it has some great facilities to distract you for a long summer's day: slides, wave pool, tennis etc. unfortunately for us, nothing was open! and, everything that was open was not included in the price of admission. the camping spot was perfect for us. no one was around, we had our own bbq pit, and there was clean bathrooms and showers. we couldn't get out of paying extra to use the facilities (even though they were slightly run down AND none of them were actually open) so we took advantage by exploring and using the indoor pool.
the camping was perfect. it didn't feel like we were in the middle of a resort. it was quiet, and we were able to enjoy a delicious carne asada, prepared perfectly by fili. there's something about camp food that just tastes comforting, like canada. we arrived in good time on saturday night, in time to explore all the facilities we couldn't use and meet a group of seniors from canada, who were at this resort for TWO weeks. let me repeat that: two weeks. i don't mean to be rude, but there are probably a million nicer resorts that these seniors could have chosen ALL over the world but they chose a 70s style resort with nothing open on the banks of a man-made river! they must have given them a sick sick deal. i spoke with one nice lady from toronto who was pretty positive about it saying, "well, its okay, the walk from the room to the pool is a little hilly, though".
once we used all the free facilities, and found out that bikes and tennis rackets weren't included, we decided to continue our adventure and visit the touristy cola de caballo (horse tail falls) that were nearby in santiago. in my three years here, i have only heard pathetic reviews of the cola de caballo falls. people said it wasn't anything to write home about. well, here i am, writing home about it! i thought they were great! i mean, they aren't the niagara falls or anything - but they are beautiful. first you had to get through some tacky t-shirts and a few people selling litro drinks (basically anything alcoholic you could want sold in a HUGE cup). i easily avoided the tacky t-shirts but had more trouble getting past the litros. when we got to the falls, perhaps since i had been expecting a spout of water, i was pleasantly surprised! i'll post a few pictures soon. the highlight was venturing past the top of the falls into the forest above the falls. there is a sign saying you are hiking at your own risk, but is there any other way? lately, it feels like everything in life is at your own risk. we felt like we were explorers, going where no one had gone before: except for garbage dump everyone had left behind. next to the cola de caballo, there is a lovely hotel and bungee jump (a strange combo?). sometime i definitely want to jump, but the time didn't seem right just yet.
after finishing up at the falls, we treated ourselves to the best ice cream place in the region, helados regia and headed back into town. back to the middle of everywhere, back to life.
a great weekend that reminded us of all the amazing outdoors experiences there are in and around monterrey. we just have to look a little harder. since getting home, i was supposed to be marking math tests, but i ended up scouring the internet for the next camping adventure.
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