Parras

On Saturday, Michael and I drove to Parras - which is about 1.5 hours away from Saltillo. Parras has been described as an oasis in the middle of a desert. Several water springs bring life to beautiful trees and there's grass! We haven't seen very much green grass since we moved to Mexico. In fact, the city of Saltillo often uses AstroTurf along the roads. Hey, at least it's green and it saves a lot of money on water - which is very sparse.

The climate in Parras is also ideal for vineyards, and there are several wineries in this unique town. Although, Michael and I quickly agreed Traverse City produces MUCH better wine. We were not too impressed - but it was still fun to do some taste-testing.

The buildings in the city are very old and there's a lot of character. We also discovered how incredibly narrow and confusing the system of streets are. We did A LOT of riding around aimlessly with an inaccurate map. We planned to spend the night there, but almost every hotel and hostel was filled. We were just about to head back home, when we finally found a place to stay. It was not the most fancy joint - but at least we could spend the night.

This is a bat cave located near one of the vineyards we visited. We were hoping to spend the night at the hostel, but they were full. Michael wanted to see the bats, though. So we took a walk and found this cave, sat, and waited. Apparently, a bunch of bats fly out at dusk. Oh great! This is for you, Steen. I'm not sure if it's worse having a bat flying around inside your house darting at you, or a whole cave full swooping at your head. Well, we waited for a long time and saw a few bats - but the "flock" or whatever you call it, never came pouring out like I was envisioning. However, the 10-15 bats that were flying around were enough for me. They swooped within inches of my head! I actually felt one of them when it flew by my face! Michael thought it was hilarious - but I had about enough after the fifth dive-bomb.

The main cave where the bats live.

One of the vineyards we visited - Casa Madero. This was a HUGE production. There was one wine here that we actually liked and they were sold in little individual serving sizes.

The distillery - they also make brandy and some type of tequila.

The other winery - Hacienda de Perote. We were searching for the tasting room and finally found it in the back of the building - not exactly the entrance we were expecting.

We got a little tour - all in Spanish. Of course, we both nodded as if we understood every word.

I should probably note here that Michael did not wet himself. He was swimming right before we went to this vineyard. I thought I better go back and edit this post to explain. Oh heh.

Pretty old school wine production.

This is Santo Madero - a church built way up high on a hill.

Here's a view of one of the spring water ponds from the church.

There are several fresh water pools in the area - Michael took a swim in this one.

A view of Parras from the top of Santo Madero.