Leaving Tolantongo, Hidalgo, 2023 Senderissimo

The 4th day at Tolantongo was significantly colder.  Clouds moved in and the air grew chilly.  The water was warm as ever but everyone shivered as soon as they came out

Eventually I moved back to the trail to go to those isolated pozitas.  The weekend crowd had arrived and the place was so packed several policemen were working overtime at the main parking lot just to keep people from banging into each other or ending up under the wheels of tour buses, vans or cars.

Back down the trail.  Here's hoping the shuttle services kept diverting people from the new ponzitas between the main hotel zones.

Met a pair of friendly travelling companions from the state capital, Toluca, along the trail.

Meanwhile, back along the river camping space was getting scarce.

There were more people at the semi-secret ponzita thermal pools but still plenty of space for everyone.

Like most people, once I'd settled into a pool, I didn't want to get out again but as the daylight faded and the clouds moved in, we all eventually had to face the music and the cold chilly air, drying off and getting dressed as fast as humanly possible. 

I was still half planning to take a shuttle back to town for more cash and a longer stay but more people kept coming and the air wasn't getting better.

All the same, Tolantongo has to be one of the most incredible places I have ever visited.  Even when two young hoods tried to break into my hotel room, staying or going was still up in the air.

Fortunately for me, I had discovered the lock mechanism on my window had been broken on my second night.  Realizing that whoever had broken it would likely return occasionally like a trapper inspecting his snares, I found an old piece of  lumber nearby to jam in the window frame.  They weren't getting in without smashing the window or kicking in the door but, in that very unlikely event, I planned to use the bathroom as a panic room.  There were police about but they were concentrated in the camping areas where people were more vulnerable. 

It was a bit unnerving to wake up and find two strangers had hopped over the decorative waist high gate to my balcony.  I go to bed and rise early and my lights were already off.  I expect they'd assumed I was down by the river but I'd been sleeping dead to the world before they woke me. They didn't run when I snapped on the light but they moved on.  When I went out for a cigarette, I saw them skulking around the showers and charging stations.  Then they walked up the hill past me again and disappeared in the parking lot.

But the next day was so cold!  It was definitely time to move on.  The steam rising in the cold air says it all.

These people are perfectly comfortable but they cant' stay in there for ever.  I saw some shivering hypothermic campers that morning.  If they could just stay in there until the sun broke free of the clouds and the air warmed up, they would be fine but I don't think that happened.  A deep freeze seemed to have fallen all over Hidalgo.  I had to dig out my winter coat again by the time I reached Pachuca.

 

It's much cleaner of course but the congestion had become a bit too Woodstock for my taste.

Time to roll down that highway.  Next stop, Leon. 

Zipline, Thermal pools, Chapoteaderos, the trail and new thermal pools

 

Day 3 at Tolantongo, Hidalgo. Still exploring.

The first adventure of the day had to be the zipline.  That's tirolesa in Spanish. No more hesitating.  My natural fear of heights meant this would be an exceptional thrill ride but one I could easily chicken out on.  I just had to get to the starting line and get strapped in without thinking about it too much.

It was further from my hotel than I'd realized.  I asked for directions and a young guy told me it was too far to walk and to wait for a crowded shuttle van.  What did I know?  At least I wouldn't get lost. 

The shuttle felt short and unnecessary but I was there and ready to ride that sky cable.  I had to step on some scales to ensure I was unlikely to break the cable. Then there was a waiver to sign and a place to write the name and number of an emergency contact.  It was wonderful.  But short.  This one is almost 2 kms in four stages but time goes quickly when you are zipping high above a mountain valley.

That was so much fun.  Next, the ponzitas (thermal pools).  It was the same place I'd just come from so back into another van.  By then I was really beginning to doubt the transport was necessary.  This is the place, with the same style of hotels, pools, restaurants and services as down by the river.

This is an incredible place.  Manmade pools of different shapes and sizes catch the hot water gushing down the mountain.  Everything is coated with the mineral deposits of years.   

You can enter the main section through the tunnel on the right or cross the suspension bridge.  Win, win.  Either way is good.

I took the bridge on the way in.

All of the pools were occupied and some clearly didn't need another person so I kept walking around.  A friendly family I'd met on the shuttle waved at me from below to join them.  It took a while to figure out how to get there and the route looked rather treacherous for a guy with a fear of heights.  I got dizzy at a few spots.  Eventually I realized how much traction bare feet had on that coating of minerals.  They only look slippery.  Still, as the signs warned, no pushing or running.  Two policemen way at the top kept a close watch from the top and blew whistles at any foolish offenders.

It was so nice but I had more things to see and found it a bit crowded for my tastes.  This was still before the weekend and I had no idea then how much more crowded the park could get and I can't imagine hanging out  at these pools with four times as many people.  At least the river always has room for everyone.  It just goes on and on.  All the same, very cool and Dr. Seuss like.

Unlike the tunnel by the gruta on the previous day, which I can't recommend,  this tunnel should not be missed.  It's open on both ends and you are never in complete darkness.

Campers are everywhere.  Bring your own gear if this how you want to go.  You can rent everything you need from a tent to a barbecue grill but by the time you have everything, you have pretty much paid for a hotel room.

This area has almost exactly the same pool as my base area below.  A man stopped to tell me all about the trail leading back to my starting point.  I would see different viewpoints of the mountains, more waterfalls and rivers.  He really didn't want anyone to miss it.  Most people did as they were hustled on to the shuttles and, like any vacation spot, a high percentage are mostly there to get drunk and do as little as possible.  It was a Spanish conversation but I pieced together what he was telling me.  He seemed to know intuitively he was talking to someone looking for exactly what he was talking about.

And then it finally hit me what those signs meant that read 'senderissimo'.  I already knew 'sendero' meant trail.  It meant hiking! 

It's a road more than a trail and clearly marked the whole way.

Everything was exactly as the man by the pool had promised.

Stunning natural scenery.

Surprise, surprise, ponzitas that were virtually abandoned. This is what the shuttle riders were missing. A new hotel zone is being built with all of the hot water luxuries of the area above. 

There were all of these lovely pools and probably about 10 people to share them all.

I entered several of them just because I could.  As usual, the warmest ones were the ones were higher up the hill, closer to the source.

After sampling several pools, this little one was where I settled in.

A ragged copy of Money for Nothing by Donald Westlake.

The hotel wasn't finished then but tent rental services, a little restaurant and an emergency first aid station were already in place.

  

The hiking route continues past the new parking lot.

Here we are back at the river hotel zone. 

The hiking route begins near the rear of the big parking lot.  That lot is nearly empty here but the next day it was packed.  Seriously, skip the shuttle.  This 2 km hike is not too strenuous, it has lots to see and the time goes quickly.