Real de Catorce

Just like all the other communities, Real de Catorce was decorated for Dia de Muertos. Some of the most inclined streets were decorated with colored straw and artists created these beautiful scenes in celebration.

Along with Dia de Muertos coming up November 1 and 2, Halloween had also arrived. The two are totally different types of celebrations. Halloween, started by the Celtics to ward off ghosts, now has children collecting candies. But Dia de Muertos is a celebration of Aztec origins where those who have passed on are celebrated, honored, and remembered.

The children were dressed spectacularly in their costumes and painted faces. While we were heading out of the restaurant from breakfast, a parade had started down the main street. There were groups of children dressed in their costumes marching from one end to the other of main street.

I had ridden horses a fair bit growing up and as a teenage. This would be James’s first time on a horse. In hindsight, maybe not the best terrain for a first time experiencing a horseback ride.

The horses were slipping and sliding a bit on the steep cobblestone streets. The mountain trail up was full of rocks, holes, and cobblestone. Going up the mountain was not too bad. Coming down was a challenge for the horses. They are definitely experienced in picking their line through the challenging trail. Had a few times where they slid and dropped their butts down to catch themselves.

My horse, Principe, was an ornery little bugger. I had to keep stopping him from trying to bite James’s horse. Once we got back into town, Principe’s mind was on one thing…getting back to the barn. He was in such a big hurry. On one street corner, he cut the corner short. Bumbed into James’s horse, who then bumped into a gentleman standing on the sidewalk with a cervesa in his hand. The cervesa spilled all over the gentleman, James’s leg, and the horse. There was no stopping the horses, they were on a mission to get back. The gentleman was not impressed as he chased us for a couple blocks yelling.