Escape to the big rock

Saturday Alejandro and I planned to take one of our one-day excursions outside of Mexico City.  However, we had our doubts that we would be able to escape the capital.  Holy Week is the favorite time of year for Mexican families to take their vacations, and the great exodus out of the city had begun.  We expected to find every highway leading out of the metropolis to be paralyzed with bumper to bumper traffic.

We got a late start on Saturday morning and hit the road at around eleven o'clock. We were very surprised that traffic was not too bad.  In fact, we have experienced worse on some of our other weekend excursions out of the city.  Traffic was heavy, and in some spots slow, but it never came to a standstill.

Our destination was one of Mexico's natural wonders, "la Peña de Bernal" (the Rock of Bernal).  It is located about two and a half hours to the northwest of Mexico City in the state of Querétaro.

The "Peña" is a huge outcropping of sheer rock.  A sign at the entrance to the ecological park said that it is one of the world's largest stone monoliths, surpassed only by the Rock of Gibraltar and Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  However after returning to Mexico City I did some further research of the "Peña" on the internet.  I found an article which said that there was a recent study by the National University of Mexico that more accurately calculated the height of the rock.  With a revised height of over 1400 feet, it is now being said that "la Peña de Bernal" is the tallest monolith in the world...higher than either Gibraltar or Sugar Loaf.

At the base of the rock there is a path leading part of the way up the "Peña".   I wrote in an earlier post that it seems that every time I come to Mexico to visit Alejandro there will be an excursion that involves some sort of climbing... either pyramids or mountain trails.  That comment continues to hold true.  Before beginning the climb you must sign in with the park authorities.  I would say that it is a moderately difficult climb, and, with frequent stops to catch my breath and to take pictures, the ascent took us about an hour.  

 

To climb all the way to the top, up the sheer face of the rock, you must be an experienced rock-climber and have the necessary equipment.  Alejandro is a rock-climber and on a previous expedition with his group of climbing friends made it to the top of the "Peña"

Needless so say, I was not going to do any rock-climbing. But we made it to the highest look-out point of the path.  The view is quite spectacular.  At the foot of the "Peña" is the small town of Bernal.  It is a very picturesque town, and I will write about it in my next post.

The descent, although less physically taxing, is more difficult since you must carefully judge your footing on the rocky path.  My legs felt like rubber by the time we were done, but it was a fun adventure... and I burned some calories after all that Mexican food I've been eating!