Getting Lost En Route to Monte Real

 Real del Monte is a lovely, historical mining tourist town 20 minutes up the mountains from Pachuca. 

I first went there on a day trip by convi. Convis are the transportation vans that run everywhere in Pachuca and surrounding areas. The hotel receptionist told me how to find the square where the convis gather.

I hung out there for half an hour with no Real del Monte van in sight before pulling out the translator to ask better directions.  There it was, just a bit further up the street from the square.

Just keep walking.

I was on my way.  I learned that convis don't always stop at official places. Atototunilco was the final destination. People just called out where they wanted to stop. These convis are really designed for people who know where they're going.

OK.  Only a little bit lost.

Definitely not Real del Monte.

Heading back the way I came.

Now we're talking.

There is a station of sorts here for convis that just run back and forth to Pachuca.

This is where the driver let me out.

Stopped off at this interesting comida corrida right away.  Not the first time I would see English decorations around town.

They weren't ready to serve for an hour.

It was climbing up this steep hill that I first learned about pastes and the British connection to Real del Monte. I'd just stepped out into the sun to let an elderly man with a cane pass by in the shade but he had done the same for me and we both stopped for a rest and a short conversation. It was all in Spanish so I wasn't sure but I thought he had just explained that pastes were a British import for the miners that completely took off. 

The beautiful center.

This dog is so mangy but not much worse than the guy I came across on the side street in Pachuca. And much less scary.

I found a nice affordable hotel, Casa del Grande, with a spectacular panoramic view of the valley and made plans to move there from Pachuca the following day.

A man invited me into his restaurant just to check out the view.

Stopped by the same British themed comida corrida and it seemed they were closed for good within hours.

Back the next day, I checked in to Casa del Grande. Adrianna, her husband and two staff members were sitting down to their afternoon meal and invited me to join them. Super nice people. I felt so welcomed.

Next it was time for the Turibus.

The Turibus can't take you everywhere.  The sizes of streets determine where it can go. 

This is Francisco, a friendly excellent waiter I met at Yira's restaurant.  This was the first time since meeting Edgar at the Pachuca bus station I met a fluent English speaker.   I've been managing fairly well with my Spanish but it was such a relief to talk to someone without racking my brain and straining my ears. Francisco confirmed what the old man with the cane had said. Pastes were perfect for miners. They could carry them in their pockets and just throw away the part they'd held with their dirty hands.  Francisco even gave me his phone number to call if I ran into trouble and really needed a translator! Outstanding person.

William Hurst already knew all about it. It came back to me from an old conversation.

Confirmed on Whatsapp "Yes, from Cornwall. A bunch of Cornish miners went out there in the olden days and left their mark."

And Real del Monte is where they left that mark, the birthplace of Mexican pastes.

This is the balcony overlooking the valley from Casa del Grande.