001830 Visit since January 10, 2004
It
was an odyssey to travel to Vallarta in 1926. First, people had to take the train
from Guadalajara. The railroad company was Ferrocarriles Nacionales de la Ciudad
de Guadalajara, Jalisco (National Railroad Corporation from Guadalajara, Jalisco).
The train depot was located in downtown Guadalajara behind the Church of San Francisco. The
train went through Ameca city. Passangers who were traveling to Vallarta had to
stay overnight in ugly, cheap hotels in Ameca. The following
day, travelers had to continue by mule or horseback to Mascota City through wteep
winding roads. The next stop was Atenguillo, a nice little town with fertile land
watered by creeks and channels that had sparkling water running. In
order to get to Mascota, we had to go across a dangerous, steep winding mountain
grade called El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil´s Spine). There were beautiful
pine and oak trees as we neared the top of the mountain, where we felt we could
breathe fresh, clear air. After a two-day, very wearisome horseback-riding trip,
we would finally arrive in Mascota. We slept, rested and
would depart at the crack of dawn to our final destination: Puerto Vallarta. Traveling
from Mascota to Puerto Vallarta, we had to go across the Sierra Madre Mountains.
It was a two-day horseback trip, crossing the Mountains of Cerro del Cabro, (Goat
Mountain) and Bandarillas. Both mountains were very high and we could feel the
altitude as we approached the peak. There were a lot of tall pine and fir trees,
canyons with beautiful waterfalls that would merge into sparkling running creeks. On
our way up to the top, we could hear birds of different species singing. Among
them were goldfinches, mocking birds, blackbirds, canaries, etc. As we descended
the mountain and were getting closer to ocean, the vegetation changed dramatically
to clustered palm trees, lianas, fig trees, and all sorts of tropical plants wrapped
around the trees. The ground seemed to be blowing a red-hot steam. Flocks of macaws,
parrots and all sorts of tropical birds flew across the blue sky. This
is my experience of traveling from the mountains to the ocean. At the bottom of
the mountains, we would find a river to relieve the thirst of our tired beasts.
Though it was rough to make these trips, it was always rewarding to come in touch
with virgin, untouched nature. To prepare for this trip,
we had to hire the muleteers (people in charge of saddling and packing mules)
in advance. The fee was one peso per beast, including saddle and feed. Since there
were no hotels or motels available to rent for overnight, the ranchers would let
us sleep on their porches. We would get up at the crack
of dawn the following day. A loud piercing noise of horses nibbling on corn above
our heads would wake us up. Before our departure the muleteers would rush getting
all the beasts saddled to make a final water trip to the river. We would continue
our trip non-stop until we got to the Port. It was a great experience. Catalina
Montes de Oca Aguilar
Read Doña
Catalina Montes de Oca Aguilar Autobiography
Archives
by date Note: The segments from
the book "Puerto Vallarta en mis Recuerdos" -both versions- are published
in PVMirror.com with the express authorization of Sra. Yolanda Contreras de Garduño,
co-author of the work and owner of the copyrights thereto. Any reproduction thereof,
partial or total, in any medium is prohibited. Note:
Distinguished reader, if you know of any story, anecdote, biography or event,
or if you have any photographs that you feel should be presented to the world
through this section, or if you know someone we should interview to get more information
on the history of Vallarta, please feel free to contact us at: editor@pvmirror.com To
purchase the book
| in USA
Mail to: Puerto Vallarta,
My Memories
P.O. Box 1107 Borrego Springs, CA 92004 U.S.A.
Email: pvrmymemories@hotmail.com
* Please include check or
money order payable to: Yolanda G. McCullough,
for US $25.24.Tax, Shipping ["priority mail"]
and handling are included.
Or:
www.amazon.com - www.barnesandnoble.com |
|
in Puerto
Vallarta:
Libreria Limon
315 Veniustiano Carranza
Col. Emiliano Zapata. |
| 
Current
Weather Report
