Buying Real Estate in Mexico...Our New Home in Mineral de Pozos!

After over a little more than a month and a half, we finally signed the papers on what will be our new home in the town of Mineral de Pozos! Buying real estate in Mexico is a bit different than in the US, and needless to say, it has been a learning experience. We were lucky in a number of ways however, and even though there have been delays, overall things went fairly smoothly. First, the realtors we worked with (I use this term loosely, pretty much anybody can sell real estate in Mexico, and there is no real licensing or training involved, although there is some organizations springing up that are attempting to bring some order to the chaos!) turned out to be a real gem, and we felt comfortable and safe with them throughout the entire transaction. Hector and his daughter Rebeca work as a team as Hector does not speak English while Rebeca does. Hector has a strong background in banking and business, and is very good at navigating the paperwork and government bureaucracy one must deal with here. Rebeca acted as our translator and she is a cheerful and delightful person to work with.

When we originally started shopping for a house, we were looking at homes in San Miguel, but after a couple of trips to Pozos, we fell in love with the town and changed our focus to homes there. Once a mighty mining town with nearly 90,000 residents, Pozos is now a small town of around 4000 people, of which only a handful are gringos. At any given time, there are only a small number of homes available, and we were only able to look at a handful of properties as we began our search. Weirdly enough, the first house we looked at, and ultimately made an offer on, turned out to be owned by a very close friend of a very close friend! Although the two of us shared a number of mutual friends, we never got to know each other, but getting a strong thumbs up on his character from several of my friends gave us a lot of confidence in working with him. As it turns out, he is a pleasure to know, and we too have now become friends.

 Although the final closing is still being delayed by some technical difficulties that I will not bother to get into here, we hope to begin doing some needed repairs, clean-up, and a fresh coat of paint to the house in preparation for moving in later this summer. Long-term plans call for the addition of a second living quarters for us that will allow us to use the original casita as an Airbnb or guest quarters.

The house itself sits on a large half-acre lot dotted with cactus and other high desert vegetation, and has a commanding view of the nearby mountains. In addition to the casita, there is a walled compound that is just waiting for a large garden area and the addition of the new living quarters. Although the pictures make the house appear to be out of town, it is right on the edge, and the main square and shops are just a short walk away. The town of Pozos has been named a “Pueblo Magico”, a designation that brings both private and government funds to the area, and is helping to revive the town while preserving its historic character. As Kate put it, "San Miguel captured our heart, but Mineral de Pozos captured our soul". We are very excited about the move and hope we will see you here!

Driving in Mexico. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your... license plate?

Like most adventures in Mexico, yesterdays began with something a little humorous. I had arranged to borrow a friend’s car for the day to take some visitors to the nearby (about 50 minutes) town of Mineral de Pozos. This is a small colonial mining town that we have fallen in love with and are actually in the process of buying a house. More on that soon!  At any rate, the evening before I was supposed to pick up the car from the garage where it is stored, he called to let me know there was a slight problem. 

As we had found out earlier from our observations, when you get a parking ticket in San Miguel, the local traffic police remove your front license plate. This is pretty clever. It insures that you will pay your parking fines and get your license plate back as it is obvious that a car without a front plate has an unpaid fine! Driving around without a plate makes you a target for further harassment and is not recommended. It seems my friend had paid his fine and retrieved his plate, but had neglected to install it, so we had arranged to pick up the plate prior to leaving town.

Through the shop

The only catch was our friend was leaving town before we could come by, and we needed to get with his maid to pick it up. Simple enough it would seem, except in order to get to his apartment, one must go through a small curio shop that caters to tourists, but does not open until after we wanted to leave. “No problema” he exclaimed! “There is a door bell switch on the window frame of the first floor window directly under my balcony. Ring the bell and my maid will get the plate down to you. “Perfecto” I replied and finished planning for the day ahead.

The next morning was a beautiful day, and we met our traveling companions for breakfast at one of our local haunts. After a delightful and leisurely breakfast, we wandered down the cobblestone streets to my friends’ humble abode.

The switch

I found the switch for the bell crudely wired to the frame of the window and gave it a push. Very shortly the balcony door  opened and out popped a smiling Mexican woman clutching a small basket attached to a rope.

She quickly lowered this over the edge and in just a few moments I had retrieved the front license from the basket, given a big smile and a gracias to the helpful maid, and was headed off to the garage.

Luckily, I had remembered to bring a screwdriver, and was able to throw the front plate back on the car. I was just a little nervous, as this was not only the first time I had driven a car in five months, it was the first time I had driven in Mexico in many, many years and driving in Mexico can be a bit like recreating the Speeder Bike Chase in Star Wars. 

The roads can be narrow and rough, the traffic moves at a variety of speeds, farm animals appear out of nowhere, the Mexican speed bumps or “topes” seem to pop out of the pavement without warning and threaten to brutally tear the suspension out from under your car, turn signals are used as a warning for seemingly unrelated behavior, and passing is both a sport and a national pastime! Vigilance is a must at all times.  Somehow I managed to settle in to the drive, enjoy the scenery, and arrive safely at our destination without incurring the notice of the Policía!

Next up…Our new home in Mineral de Pozos!

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Day 2-The Beauty and Intrigue of Mineral de Pozos!

As the town of Pozos continues to rise from the ashes, it has a lot going for it. Dramatic mountain vistas, remarkable ruins, charming cobblestone streets, and a growing art community are breathing life back to this once thriving town. Recently, over 30 km of well marked mountain bike trails cut through the cactus and sagebrush surrounding the town and allow bikers to visit the ruins while enjoying the incredible scenery. We were lucky to spend our second day here soaking up the past and the future of Pozos!

After a filling breakfast of eggs (cooked to your liking!), beans, orange juice, and coffee, all included in our modestly priced and beautiful room at the Posada de Las Minas we headed out for another day of exploration.

One of our first stops was a street that houses some of the small artists’ studios, several of which offer a fascinating array of Pre-Hispanic musical instruments. We spent some time with Luis Cruz, whose shop was lined with an incredible selection of drums, flutes, and stringed instruments. Luis was happy to play them for us, and the melodic sounds of instruments long forgotten, individually crafted from local woods and materials including mesquite, cactus, and cow bone, were a joy.  

The growing mountain biking scene in Pozos has blossomed recently, thanks to the completion of over 30 km of well-marked trails. There are trails for all skill levels, and a well equipped bike shop near the trail head offers rentals and other services for visiting mountain bikers. The scenery here is breathtaking, and you can visit some of the abandoned mining sites as you make your way through the rugged countryside on your bike. Part of the trail is even illuminated at night with solar powered lighting! There is a great deal of hiking available as well, but make sure you wear sturdy shoes and watch out for mine shafts!

As we wandered about town the first day, one of the many local dogs that wandered the streets decided we looked good, and followed us around for part of the day. On our second day, we encountered him again, and although he seemed to ignore everyone else that passed by, he wagged his tail with joy when he saw us and once again accompanied us on our walk for awhile. Not sure what the attraction was as we never feed the dogs, but I guess he just sensed we were dog people!

There are spectacular ruins everywhere you go in Pozos, and we covered a lot of ground exploring them. Once again we were struck by the thought of what it must have looked like here during its hay day.

All too soon, it was time to meet our driver for the ride back to San Miguel. We are looking forward to returning to Pozos when the street projects are completed to spend a little more time getting to know this lovely town!

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The Cobblestone Diaries gets a lesson...How to make a cobblestone street!

We arrived in the quaint mountain village of Mineral de Pozos a little after 10 am. Our driver finally managed to navigate a series of roadblocks created by workers who are in the process of laying cables and pipes under the cobblestone streets. This is a massive undertaking and is mostly done by hand. While the work meant that we would have to make numerous detours to get around town during our visit, it was extremely fascinating to watch the workers first dismantle, then rebuild the cobblestone streets. I had never thought about the process of building a cobblestone street. I guess I thought of all the streets were old, as they look old immediately even after being rebuilt. I kind of assumed the process might be a bit of a lost art, but it is very much alive and well!

The process of chiseling out the stones by hand, digging up the channels for the wiring and pipes by shovel, and replacing the stones one by one, is extremely labor intensive, but the amount of progress made during our two day visit was impressive to say the least!  I made a point of checking on the work and was able to photograph the process. The workers came to recognize me and would smile and wave while I took my pictures.

The process itself is relatively simple. First, a bed of concrete is laid onto the soil and tamped into place. Next a crew of workers begins to lay the stones out, carefully checking them for level. Finally a layer of cement is pushed into the cracks between the stones to stabilize the roadbed. A little wash with some water and a sweep with a broom, and viola, a cobblestone street!

The project to put the wiring underground in Pozos is significant. Wiring in Mexico is interesting to say the least, and a number of beautiful views are often spoiled by a rats nest of wires and cables. How an electrician can even decipher some of the connections is beyond me! Burying the wires is part of the progress being made here under the Pueblo Magico program, and will help restore the village to some of its colonial glory. We look forward to visiting in the future to see the results!

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A Visit to Mineral De Pozos...If Only the Walls Could Talk!

We recently traveled to the nearby historic mining town of Mineral de Pozos, or “Pozos” as the locals call it. Located at 7500 feet and about an hour away from San Miguel by auto, we had heard good things about visiting and decided to make an overnight journey of it. I called ahead and arranged lodging with the young lady who answered the phone at the Posada de Las Minas, and although she spoke no English, I managed to muddle my way through it and was only slightly amazed when an email arrived confirming our reservation.

Pozos, has a long and fascinating history, beginning with its founding as a fort to protect shipments of precious metals to Mexico City in 1576. When the Jesuits arrived some time later in an attempt to convert the indigenous Chichimeca Indians, they soon discovered that the area was rich in mineral deposits including vast quantities of gold and silver. They began using European mining techniques to extract the riches and the town flourished. 

When the Jesuits were forcibly removed from the area around 1767, other Europeans eventually moved in and things really started to grow. By 1895 the city was booming and there were over 300 mines and nearly 80,000 residents! Eventually however, the mines started to decline. The Mexican Revolution of 1910, and the subsequent purposeful flooding of the mines by either rebels or the mine owners during the Cristero Rebellion of 1926 was the final death knell for Pozos and the last mine was shuttered in 1927. The city then began a serious decline and by the 1950’s there were only about 200 people living there. As the city fell into ruins, the buildings were looted and stripped of their roof beams for firewood and many of them eventually collapsed or became uninhabitable. 

In 1982, the city was declared a National Historic Monument, and some efforts at restoration began. The town continued to fight its way back to life, and in 2012 was declared a “Pueblo Magico”, a designation that would allow it to receive large scale restoration assistance from the government. Today the town is really starting to show the results of these efforts, and many are comparing it to the San Miguel of thirty or forty years ago. Fortunately however, some of the things that many people consider to be mistakes made in San Miguel may be avoided in Pozos. Rather than allowing Gringo money to dominate the economy, there are groups helping the local population to create businesses and jobs, and there is a focus on fostering a culture of sustainability.  Many of the tourists you will find here are Mexicans from the nearby city of Querértero or as far away as Mexico City. They come to get away from the big city and immerse themselves in the history and culture of the area. Tours of the abandoned mines are popular, and over 30 kilometers of newly constructed trails are creating a haven for mountain bikers. A number of local artisans are recreating and selling some of the pre-Hispanic musical instruments, and a small group of hotels, restaurants, and bars are springing up in the town.

We arrived around 10am, checked into our lovely hotel, and began our walking tour of the town. After a hearty lunch served by a family run Mexican restaurant, we continued our leisurely stroll and sightseeing tour. Walking the quiet streets among a curious mixture of inhabited and ruined buildings, it is sometimes hard to imagine this town as a vibrant city of 80 thousand souls, brimming with life and hundreds of colorful stone buildings. The ghosts are everywhere, but for those living here the city is coming back to life. 

Next...The Cobblestone Diaries gets a lesson!

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