Gran Cañon Parque to La Gloria, Hidalgo //
Today is the kind of travel day we like. Our next destination is less than two hours away affording us a slow morning; a luxury Heather & Adam enjoy as much as we do. Our drive takes us out of the canyon and back into the town of Ixmiquilpan. We stop by the local grocery store for a few provisions but decide that the minuscule produce section indicates the potential for finding a good produce stand in the area.
Mark locates a fruit and vegetable stand on google and begins to navigate us there. We’re taken off the main thoroughfare through town and onto the bustling side streets lined with vendors and small shops of all kinds. Produce stands start popping up left and right and I ask Mark to stop at one that catches my eye rather than relying on Google’s pick. We walk up to a bounty of fruits and veggies that my dreams are made of. In front of us is the most beautiful selection of pineapple, papaya, grapes, bananas, oranges, watermelon, and avocados. When I look up I see giant containers of pecans and pistachios, and behind the nut selection, a beautiful selection of vegetables. While a young man behind the counter helps bag us some pecans, another man behind the counter pours a sampling of pistachios in my hand. At the same time another person hands all four of us a hefty slice of juicy watermelon. Trying to select and pay for our food while eating the various samples that are handed over to us is a juggling act I am thoroughly enjoying. I’m a sucker for good produce and this is some of the best I’ve seen so far in Mexico.
Fully restocked with more produce than we know what to do with, we point the trucks out of town and make our way to our destination for the night. I couldn’t count the number of vendors along the way that are selling bathing suits, blow-up rafts, and water shoes if I tried, thus indicating the popularity of where we’re headed. A beautiful drive takes us up and over a mountain pass, down into a small canyon and back to the top of another pass. At the crest of the second pass is when we begin our descent to La Gloria, an attraction well-known for it’s hot spring filled pools and waterfalls. After weaving the truck left and right through a series of hairpin turns, we make it to the small and busy parking lot where we’ll be spending the next few nights.
At first glance, one might wonder why we would stay at such a place. It’s dusty, noisy, and cramped. That is until we set out to explore the grounds. What looks like an unassuming concrete path leading into the trees, quickly leads us to a maze of stairs and walkways surrounded by endless layers of pools and streams framed by the canopy of the lush, green jungle. There are birds overhead with such loud and distinct calls that I wonder if they’re being projected from a speaker as an artificial way to add to the dreamy ambiance. As we weave our way through the maze, all four of our mouths agape, we come upon a towering cliff and slot canyon. We stop in awe and fully crane our necks towards the sky in order to take in the entire view before us. Mark, Heather, and Adam proceed to get in the pool at the base of the cliff and swim towards the slot canyon where they are able to climb into the canyon and lay eyes on a waterfall that sounds like an incredible sight. I hang back with regret for having decided to not put on a bathing suit. When Mark returns from the canyon he doesn’t hesitate to exclaim “this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen”. Words like those don’t come from him easily and I too am finding myself in disbelief for where we’ve found ourselves.
With the last of the day’s light quickly fading from the sky, we make our way back to the parking lot that is now our home for the next couple of days. The tienda that is located a stone’s throw from our trucks is blasting music, the parking lot attendants are milling about, and the restaurant is getting started for its evening shift. We’re right in the throws of it all and since our trucks appear supersized around all the compact sedans, there’s nowhere for us introverts to hide. While we feel, and I’m sure also appear, like fish out of water, I can’t help but appreciate being immersed in the culture. How the culture treats us overnight, however, is yet to be determined.
…
The city streets of Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. 
A bountiful produce stand in Ixmiquilpan. 
This beautiful concrete road was being laid by hand. 
Mark spotting our destination at the bottom of the canyon. 
The steep descent to La Gloria. 
The La Gloria parking lot where we would spend the next three nights. 
Parking lot views out our camper window. 
In addition to the cramped quarters we contended with the possibility of rocks falling onto our trucks. 
Unbelievably, a short walk from the parking lot led to this. 
A few of many hot spring filled pools at La Gloria.
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WOW!!!! I thought the last place was great…this place is even better. Although the solitude of the parking lot may not be as good as your last spot, those pools are going to be very nice 👍
It was well worth the trade off!
Those waterfalls are worth your camping spot! I loved Marks shower! Doesn’t get any better.
Thank you for your blog. I’ve been following it since the new year. My husband and I have been all over Mexico many year ago and hope to return again. We now have my dad’s ford truck and we bought a grandby camper . Might have future questions to ask u as we currently slowly work on modifying our camper .
Thanks so much for following along! I hope your camper mods are going well.
We just watched a you tube, i think they called themselves Slow Roamers, and they went here and my goodness we are so sad we did not know about this place. We were able to drive through MX City, something we are happy that you didn’t get to experience… this is much more Tranquillo. 🙂 I am trying to keep up! Keep writing and I’ll keep reading.