January 2022 - Returning to Mexico through Saltillo, Torreon, and Durango

When we put together this crazy life-in-Mexico plan, we built in a break out of fear that we would be overwhelmed with our new life. Our plan was to return to the U.S. about a week before Christmas and then reenter Mexico during the 1st week of the new year. During December, we decided to pursue Mexican Temporary Residency rather than relying on tourist visas. This required a visit to a Mexican Consulate in the U.S. Due to appointment requirements and our schedule for the holidays, I was able to get an appointment in mid-December in Del Rio, Texas. We tried using an online booking system and then resorted to a series of phone calls and emails before getting a response back confirming the appointment in Del Rio. We had thought we needed to apply as a couple, but the representative said everyone needs their own appointment, and they only schedule one per week. As a result, we then worked feverishly over the holidays, sending more emails to multiple locations, to get an appointment for Sandy in early January in El Paso, Texas. Fortunately, both of our actual appointments were reasonably smooth and we had visas in our passports for our next trip to Mexico. We had originally planned for Mazatlán as our first destination, but also thought it would be easier on us to take our time crossing Mexico to get there, rather than 2-3 straight travel days. We planned 3 travel days, no more than 6 hours driving per day, and 3 nights / 2 days at each stop. We entered Mexico from Laredo, Texas (Colombia Bridge, the same entry/exit that we used last year), then drove to Saltillo on day 1.

Catedral de Santiago Apostol

In Saltillo, we stayed at the Sheraton hotel. It’s on the north side of town, so we had to drive or take a taxi daily. We found a city park to walk Gunner, and took him there all 3 mornings. In the afternoons, we explored Saltillo. It’s a fairly large and busy city. Traffic can get bad, but we felt comfortable driving. However, when exploring the city, we found it easier to take an Uber. (Side note, we also experimented with DiDi, which is a more popular ride-sharing app in Mexico. It seemed to work fine from our hotel with wifi, but we had problems using it to schedule rides back home.) Using Uber saved us from finding a parking lot, and also gave us flexibility to explore without having to worry about coming back to our starting point. Saltillo has some nice museums, though most of the exhibits are only in Spanish, making it hard to fully appreciate all of the items. We went to a desert museum, which was a really nice combination of natural history, botanical gardens, and a zoo. We also saw some history museums and a very extensive bird museum. Overall, Saltillo was just ok. Some interesting sights and good food, but had a hectic and industrial feel to it. But there is a Costco, which was nice for an initial stock-up of some items, and easy to get a full tank of gas before heading out. The hotel is a nice waypoint when traveling in/out of Mexico, but I don’t think we will return to Saltillo for an extended stay.

Torreon Canal de Perla

Underground mine tour

Straight up into a stope

Next up, Torreon. Again, a mid-day drive, arriving early afternoon to our hotel east of town. The Hotel Posada del Sol was a reasonable option, dog-friendly, with a motel feel and secured parking. We found a couple of parks to walk Gunner, both about a 10-minute drive from our hotel. Again, no real issues driving the suburbs, and easy to park at the lots at the parks. Based on our experience in Saltillo, we relied on Uber to go into the city. Torreon’s centro does not have the original/authentic feel that some other towns still have. Instead, it feels that it’s been rebuilt and modernized. We were able to walk through some old canals under the town, but learned that many of the sights closed at 3PM daily, so we were unable to spend much time there, or even visit the local railroad museum. The highlight of our time in Torreon was a field trip to an old mining area called Puente de Ojuela, about an hour north of the city. We paid an entrance fee, then drove up a long canyon to an old town site. Once there, we walked across an old suspension bridge and were surprised by the opportunity to take an underground mine tour! The guide only spoke Spanish, so we were a bit limited with understanding all of the information. The mine did not seem to use much ground control, and we walked through/under a number of stopes at least 30-40 feet high. With only darkness above, I was perpetually worried that a small rock would come down and hit one of us. Overall, the trip to Puente de Ojuela was an interesting experience in a scenic part of the country, followed by an inexpensive tasty meal in the town of Mapimi. But Torreon failed to impress us, and even though we really didn’t explore much of the city, we don’t feel the need to return for an extended stay.

Stairs from park to condo!

Durango Plaza de Armas

Last on our slow road trip – Durango. We arrived mid-afternoon and found our Airbnb in an active, modern part of town. (We used Airbnb here because I was not able to find a dog-friendly hotel). The neighborhood was modern condos, with a nearby grocery store that I would expect to find in the United States – good selection of food and produce, a coffee shop up front, deli and hot-food counter in the back. Our condo was located within walking distance of the centro, but was on top of a large hill. i.e., easy to walk to town, not so easy to walk back. We were able to walk Gunner in a city park, but again, that hill! Also, they closed the park on our 2nd day as a protective measure due to rising COVID cases. Instead, we walked the neighborhood for the rest of our visit. In addition to closing the park, many of the other city attractions were closed (museums, etc.) but no restrictions on walking downtown. Durango has a very traditional historic centro. It was easy to walk around, well-kept, with a good mix of historic sights and modern businesses. Durango was our favorite of the 3 stops, and with the inviting centro, but many things closed, we would definitely consider returning for another visit. Based on some google-searching, there are also many sights around the city, so maybe it would be an option for a longer stay?

As an overall review, we loved and hated our slow travel to Mazatlán. We saw some good sights but the 3-days-per-town method was a little rough. Two full days in each city felt like we needed to explore both days, followed by our next travel day. By the time we were in Durango, we really felt like we needed a break and some down time. For future trips in/out of Mexico, we should either power through on a true road trip, or build in a longer stop and be sure to spend a day resting at the hotel.

On the road to Mazatlan