Las Grutas de Garcia

After wandering Santiago, we ventured more north to the Caves of Garcia. Traffic was horrible. Luckily, we had a GPS and were able to navigate. People park in traffic lanes, don't use blinkers, or obey lights. It is quite the experience, but Jamir is very good at driving in it all.

We made it to the caves and they were awesome! This side has more rocky mountains and cactus. We took a cable car up the side of the mountain. The caves themselves were huge! Way bigger than the ones in American Fork. They were discovered by a Catholic priest so a lot of the formations are very religious based. It was so interesting.

Up the cable car.

Check out the staircases. It was very tall.

Christmas tree formation. In Utah they wouldn't let you touch the walls. Here they drape lights over them.

Deepest part of the caves. We got a special tour. 

The mano (hand). Something about reaching to God.

Cola de Caballo

The second day we ventured out of the city to see the huge waterfall (translated; horsetail falls) near Santiago. It is more tropical and green on this side of the city. It is beautiful. The mountains are covered in green. Jamir was a natural as he drove our rental. People are crazy drivers, so you really have to be alert. 

I was surprised by how empty everything was. No tourists except for a couple people. And everything is so cheap! You would never find that in Utah. We got to have mostly everything to ourselves.

Beautiful flowers all over

Cola de Caballo

We got wet from the spray 

It is huge! Biggest I have ever seen. 

You can ride a horse up to them. The path really isn't that long, but it is fun. 

Our hats on our brunch table in Santiago

The lookout in Santiago

Cheesy kiss. Church in background. Santiago is a cute little town

My wings pic

Jamir's wings from his trip to Mexico in 2013

Macroplaza

Monterrey! It is one of Mexico's most wealthy cities and so it is huge and has a lot to see. The climate is warm and humid (which we love) and some parts look tropical while others look like desert. I forget each time how different Mexico is. Soo many tiendas along the streets with people selling all the time, crazy driving, bright colors. It is so fun to be somewhere different with my best friend. I will remember being tired a lot this trip as we stayed up past midnight every night, but loving the experiences.

We stayed in Hotel Monterrey right in the Macroplaza. The Macroplaza is full of museums, buildings, a man made river, and parks. We spent the first day there exploring. We walked, A LOT, saw some museums, rode in a boat on the Santa Lucia, and finished with watching some native dancing. Jamir insisted we watch since he did it in high school and knew the dances. 

I was able to meet Jamir's cousins later for some food at Taqueria Juarez and know more about Jamir's family. He was able to catch up with his best cousin friend from his youth, Israel, which was good for them.

Neptune fountain

Jamir and his Indiana Jones hat (an early birthday present)

Government building

Chalk art

The top of Santa Lucia. It creates a circle waterfall where the boat goes around.

Santa Lucia. It is literally a very looong pool. Quite the project. I wanted to swim in it. 

Guys hand these out and ask for "donations."

Awesome fountain at the end.

The first museum was Parque Fundidora. Monterrey used to prosper a lot from making steel. This park was the remains of the steel factory. The pics below are inside the furnace. It was huge and interesting.

Globe show. It showed interesting facts about the world

All the pipes to make the steel. They turned it into an extreme adventure with ziplines (it is very high up), but unfortunately only open on weekends.

View from the top of the furnace and parks in background.

Side view of the "Saddle Mountain"

We couldn't find anything good to eat, so we found some really really gross nachos. It needed a picture. Never again :)

Beautiful old buildings.

Some protest going on. Jamir wanted me to join. Like I would know what the heck was going on :)

And the pretty dances outside the museums. 

There was some machete throwing which Jamir also did in high school. How high school boys are allowed to throw knives without killing each other is pretty cool.

More to come...

Bahia Kino

We spent the last week in Monterrey, Mexico! It was an amazing trip. Jamir and I both agreed that it went pretty smoothly and we were able to see all that we wanted to. It has been a while since we have visited Mexico, so it was fun to get to know more family, eat Mexican food and practice some Spanish. I have a lot of pictures (too many to post), so I will be posting in parts.

We first spent a day in Hermosillo to see Jamir's parents and Jair (who we haven't seen since his mission), eat the famous hotdogs (beans, guacamole, salsa and all) and visit Kino Beach. It was a perfect day. There were some clouds so the sand wasn't hot, the water a perfect temperature, and not very many people around. October is an awesome month to visit the regularly very hot desert.

Jamir loves to play in the waves. He could do this for hours.

Interesting shells. I have never seen these kind naturally before.