Just helped a family move to La Primavera from Penasco which is an Ejido 40 minutes out side of Caborca on the dirt road to Puerto Lobos. If anyone is interested to see how real life works and would like to see some pics I will post a few after a few positive request otherwise I won't. It is beautiful, it is another world, way different from my life in Penasco. Why do these people live in La Primavera? What do they do for work? What is the small community like? All these things to care about....
We drive for several hours to the inland pueblo, we unpack -we enjoy local company, we spend the day touring Caborca and Pitiquito, what did we see? what did we do? All I can say is "awesome experience", one that EVERYONE reading this should take the time to do.
Great pictures,when you hang out down there it soon become apparent how productive the region is.
I would be a bit careful about going past Caborca (Altar etc,) the area is a little bit dicey now,even for gringos. After it's all sorted out and the last 10 miles from Saric to Sasabee is finished we Tucsonans will be 3.5 hours to the beach (Santo Tomas etc,)
Great pictures,when you hang out down there it soon become apparent how productive the region is.
I would be a bit careful about going past Caborca (Altar etc,) the area is a little bit dicey now,even for gringos. After it's all sorted out and the last 10 miles from Saric to Sasabee is finished we Tucsonans will be 3.5 hours to the beach (Santo Tomas etc,)
Things are calm, there are spurts over there once in a while but for every action there is an equal or greater reaction these days. It is a very busy section of road "Caborca to Altar" the little bit of crap wont last too long, people are not willing to put up with punks anymore
It is incredible down there with all the vineyards and asparagus and melons, it is such a contrast...desert...................crops..........desert..........vineyards. Because the valley has so much nutrients in the soil you just throw a little water on it and plant some seeds and magic must happen
An Agriculture tour might interest people.There is a olive grove with big presses just east of the "Y",a great place to pick your own oranges near my place,grapes stretch for miles.....alfalfa my horse would run you over to get to! The Altar situation isn]t just a few "dead enders" the police department needs a house cleaning
An Agriculture tour might interest people.There is a olive grove with big presses just east of the "Y",a great place to pick your own oranges near my place,grapes stretch for miles.....alfalfa my horse would run you over to get to! The Altar situation isn]t just a few "dead enders" the police department needs a house cleaning
I am planning on some agri tours for locals here in Penasco, a 2 day trip with an overnight in Caborca, I think it would be a great way to know more about where you live! BTW we saw more than just a few cars and trucks heading both directions with out of country plates using that entire stretch of road. One plate on a car from Rhode Island. Thats a long drive
What's the deal with Desemboque? How much further is it than PP? Nice beaches?
Desemboque is very quaint. It is a small fishing village. There is much to explore there, there is a hotel there, the working part of the flat beach is just that a working area but go either direction up or down coast and it is thrilling. Make sure you have a 4x4 and low pressure in your tires and when we 4 wheel we always have another 4x4 along in case we get "bad stuck"
Thanks, Russ. How does it compare to El Golfo? Even smaller?
Way smaller way way smaller, when we took a caravan of rvs there 13 years ago it was said there were less than 150 souls living there at the time. I am sure it is larger now but it is not exactly in the growth zone
Russ, I am curious. Did you get stopped at Almejas for transporting goods out of the Free Zone? We moved the novia's mama to Kino a few years back and had to go through Sonoita and down to pay tax on her few belongings.
Also, there are a lot of incredible places to visit in Sonora. Sahauripa is one. Arrived there and there was a celebration like the Matachines dances in New Mexico. Dancing in the streets of this incredibly quaint old town. Narrow streets, houses of stone built right up to the edge of the street. We went on another 4 hours up into the mountains to an ejido, an incredble experience. Up in the tall Ponderosa pines, a runnig stream, lush. If you could do tours to a place like that it would be good for the ejido.
Roberto, I can do tours anywhere in Sonora and My wife and I know the country in and out but we still love exploring this absolutely fantastic state. It is such a great place dotted with little towns (pueblitos) and friendly smiling people. Regarding the stuff I took, we left Penasco with the goods, we had to stop at the checkpoint out past the Mayan Palace and her looked at everything under the tarp, I jokeingly told him it was just stuff no bodies, he didn't get the joke but my spanish aint so good - he let us through in about 1 minute and we were on our way. The free zone extends all the way to Guaymas so no fee should ever be paid from Penasco to Guaymas. I will take tours for groups as small as 4 people to anywhere in the State. You have to be good friends and no complaining allowed lol. All trips in Sonora start in Penasco.
Russ is "Trincheras" <--spelling??? anywhere near where you were??? The reason I asked is that there is a boarding school/orphanage in the forementioned town that has heard of what we do for the schools here in Puerto Penasco and the Presedente has asked if we could somehow help them out a little, he even mentioned that if we would visit, the town would throw a fiesta in our honor....
We want to, and will be helping them soon... but we are just trying to find out more about this little town... any info would be appreciated...
Russ is "Trincheras" <--spelling??? anywhere near where you were??? The reason I asked is that there is a boarding school/orphanage in the forementioned town that has heard of what we do for the schools here in Puerto Penasco and the Presedente has asked if we could somehow help them out a little, he even mentioned that if we would visit, the town would throw a fiesta in our honor....
We want to, and will be helping them soon... but we are just trying to find out more about this little town... any info would be appreciated...
When we were in Pitiquito we were only about 30 -45 minutes away fro Trincheras. We didn't make it this time due to timing constraints but plan on going when things slow down a bit
This is from an official guide book to Sonora regarding Trincheras.
"At the bottom of a hill, where at a time, some 2000 people lived we can find a picturesque town that is home to 400 families.
The new settlers are committed to agriculture, mining and cattle, specially for milk production that is use mostly in the elaboration of cheese, their ancestors were members of the Trincheras Culture, which distinguished itself mainly for the construction that they mad on the hills, constructions that nobody knows exactly their original purpose.
We find them only in Arizona and New Mexico in the United States and Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico. The trincheras consist of separated hill that are crowned with elaborated walls of stone and terraces; occasionally there will be a hollow in the ground"
anyway it goes on a little bit longer and says nothing too much about what is going on there today. If you want I will give a you a full report when I go there later in the month. Let me know
I visited the community of Trincheras about 2 years ago. It's a very quaint town that you can easily see was very grand at one time. Wide streets that were tree lined and some grand but now abandoned homes and a plaza. There are signs of irrigation but we saw no agriculture in the immediate area.
There is a large working gold mine nearby. The day we visited a shipment from the mine was hijacked, news said worth $60,000,000 !! I wondered why the police were giving us the fish eye when we stopped by the road to have a picnic. Since then I have collected a number of archeological publications about the trincheras found in Mexico and the US. I even have a CD with coordinates publshed! Very interesting stuff. There is a staute dedicated there to one of my friend Armando Murrieta's relatives.
Yes one of the little, by-way towns of Mexico with a rich and long history.
I visited the community of Trincheras about 2 years ago. It's a very quaint town that you can easily see was very grand at one time. Wide streets that were tree lined and some grand but now abandoned homes and a plaza. There are signs of irrigation but we saw no agriculture in the immediate area.
There is a large working gold mine nearby. The day we visited a shipment from the mine was hijacked, news said worth $60,000,000 !! I wondered why the police were giving us the fish eye when we stopped by the road to have a picnic. Since then I have collected a number of archeological publications about the trincheras found in Mexico and the US. I even have a CD with coordinates publshed! Very interesting stuff. There is a staute dedicated there to one of my friend Armando Murrieta's relatives.
Yes one of the little, by-way towns of Mexico with a rich and long history.
Very Cool Roberto... Thanks for the info... I do have one concern, I have heard that there may be some narco traffic in that area... would appreciate any reports on this???
I just saw your pictures of your trip to Caborca. I love the old villages and it looked like one. My husband and I are exploring where we want to settle. I speak Spanish fluently and my husband has heard it for 37 years of marriage to me with Spanish speaking friends and in Mexico. Do you know if now, it is still safe driving in the day time in the villages between PP and Caborca? The drive to Libertad, etc. I would just love seeing these villages. We are making our second trip to PP the week starting June 11 and are systematically exploring different places where we are considering settling. Oh, I love Mexican neighbors, sorry, not U.S. neighbors when I am in Mexico.
I just saw your pictures of your trip to Caborca. I love the old villages and it looked like one. My husband and I are exploring where we want to settle. I speak Spanish fluently and my husband has heard it for 37 years of marriage to me with Spanish speaking friends and in Mexico. Do you know if now, it is still safe driving in the day time in the villages between PP and Caborca? The drive to Libertad, etc. I would just love seeing these villages. We are making our second trip to PP the week starting June 11 and are systematically exploring different places where we are considering settling. Oh, I love Mexican neighbors, sorry, not U.S. neighbors when I am in Mexico.
I travel with complete freedom in Mexico. There has not been any problems that I know of between PP and Caborca. I travel it often and actually conduct tours of the area. Know where you are, make friends, keep your eyes open and stay away from things that look like you are in the biz if you know what I mean
Salud!
Russ, We are going to be down in PP at Posada la Roca in the Malecon area this next week starting June 11. Do you have an office for your business? Could we come by and say hi. I love your attitude about Mexico. Janet [email protected]
I just saw your pictures of your trip to Caborca. I love the old villages and it looked like one. My husband and I are exploring where we want to settle. I speak Spanish fluently and my husband has heard it for 37 years of marriage to me with Spanish speaking friends and in Mexico. Do you know if now, it is still safe driving in the day time in the villages between PP and Caborca? The drive to Libertad, etc. I would just love seeing these villages. We are making our second trip to PP the week starting June 11 and are systematically exploring different places where we are considering settling. Oh, I love Mexican neighbors, sorry, not U.S. neighbors when I am in Mexico.
While Caborca has a long and coloful history, it is not a small village. It's a city much larger than Penasco, with a population of probably 150,000 and quite a bit of commerce. Pueblo Viejo is the section of town with the Mission, scene of a battle between Mexicans and Americans. One can still see the bulletholes in the walls. I can second what Russ said: all the roads are safe for you to drive. You can go to Caborca, Pitiquito, Trincheras, Altar, Oquitoa, Desemboque, Magdalena, Saric, Imuris, Tubutama and Atil. With the exception of Caborca, they are all quaint villages and you would be safe both on the road to and from and while visiting. I would avoid Sasabe and Nogales.
While Caborca has a long and coloful history, it is not a small village. It's a city much larger than Penasco, with a population of probably 150,000 and quite a bit of commerce. Pueblo Viejo is the section of town with the Mission, scene of a battle between Mexicans and Americans. One can still see the bulletholes in the walls. I can second what Russ said: all the roads are safe for you to drive. You can go to Caborca, Pitiquito, Trincheras, Altar, Oquitoa, Desemboque, Magdalena, Saric, Imuris, Tubutama and Atil. With the exception of Caborca, they are all quaint villages and you would be safe both on the road to and from and while visiting. I would avoid Sasabe and Nogales.
We were thinking of an amusement park like disneyland called Caborcaland. There are a lot of nice haciendas to visit. Many million dollar homes that I am sure Jerry and Kenny would enjoy visiting, I will guide you one way. lol
Russ, are you back in PP? it took me a second to recognized you, was good to see you even if it was in the intersection and for a second or two, next time let me know and will get together for a bite or a beer!!
Russ flat out if you are telling people the roads around Altar are safe you are doing a disservice to the readers...read the paper and go that way more than once a year and you will find the cops are crooks past Caborca (east) hell ask any Mexican trucker
Russ flat out if you are telling people the roads around Altar are safe you are doing a disservice to the readers...read the paper and go that way more than once a year and you will find the cops are crooks past Caborca (east) hell ask any Mexican trucker
Jerry I disagree! Totally disagree! I dont trust authority on either side, I know that I travel safe, I know what my reality is.
Russ, are you back in PP? it took me a second to recognized you, was good to see you even if it was in the intersection and for a second or two, next time let me know and will get together for a bite or a beer!!
Yeah we were in Tucson for a hospital deal with family members that lost 2 on I-10 on Monday. I dont have my van signs on when I am in the states it causes problems but it was nice tosee you. Are you coming down this weekend? I will be around~
Russ flat out if you are telling people the roads around Altar are safe you are doing a disservice to the readers...read the paper and go that way more than once a year and you will find the cops are crooks past Caborca (east) hell ask any Mexican trucker
Not sure how much road time you have around Altar-Tubatama but believe me the cops are running games, travelers have been getting jacked in altar (one 88 year old american woman had her car taken and she was left outside of town 4 months ago....read thel Caborca paper I linked to and tell me it is not crazy down there.
Russ flat out if you are telling people the roads around Altar are safe you are doing a disservice to the readers...read the paper and go that way more than once a year and you will find the cops are crooks past Caborca (east) hell ask any Mexican trucker
Jerry and Kenny, if you ever need anything while in Y Griega, please let my peeps at the old gas station know you are friends of mine. You might have to wait while they roll out the red carpet for you, but you'll have friendly help. Luis Ramos Ortega, or as we know him, Wicho is the big tall guy who is the vice-constable. His sister Maria Luisa (Wicha) runs the family's gas station and the convenience store and pharmacy right next door.
In Caborca, if you need anything, as anyone in town to help you find Hiram Ortiz. He speaks English, is known by everyone, and you'll have a friend for life.
Pitiquito, which is 8 kilometers east of Caborca is also very safe. If you need anything, Ernesto Monreal, owner of the gas station is a wonderful man and will help. If you're dealing with cops, make sure they know that you are a friend of Ata Dominguez, son of Don Chu Dominguez. You could use my name, but as only nicknames are recognized there, they wouldn't know who Rosie Glover is. I'd have to break down and tell you my nickname, and it may be easier to get me to post my atm pin number. Besides, Ata's name carries more weight than mine. If you ever get stuck there...find anyone whose last name is Cordova...of which there are many. Write this stuff down and carry it with you.
In Trincheras, find anyone named Murrieta and you'll be fine. You're right...don't bother with Altar or Santa Ana unless you're going through on your way to Hermosillo. If passing through, you should have no real problem. Hmm...just in case you get pulled over, ask if Adrian Rios is still the Comandante. He isn't, but they'll think you know him and so you'll get off with just a warning.
Yea with Jerry's smoking and Kennys drinking HaHa, I don't think they'll get off with a warning.
Thanks Rosy that is just great help.... perro what's going on with the Desal plant in Las Conchas...hope it's working out...we can drink the well water in santo Tomas and the power grid from caborca is real consistent...hard to put a price on both things1
Hey Kenny, I'd completely forgotten how chummy you already are with all the right people. Its good to see the pics of you dressed more...hmm...appropriately...than your more famous pinup pose!
Those pictures were from a few years ago, but we do go into town when we're there. We had lunch in a little restaurant in town Monday, and they had the best Chile Relleon's that I've had in Mexico in years.
Those pictures were from a few years ago, but we do go into town when we're there. We had lunch in a little restaurant in town Monday, and they had the best Chile Relleon's that I've had in Mexico in years.
The Grocery store is real nice (Super Elena?) The manager(Ricardo) is going to give me a hat!The coastal road now goes past Lobos toward Puerto Libertad...mountains on the left,cliffs and sea on the right.We had car problems so didn't check it out.The highway will be the bomb when down to Guaymas...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Maybe desperado would be a better theme:
From Sonoran Diary:
Tubutama
Killing at least 20 people and six people were injured by a bloody confrontation between gunmen in two separate criminal groups seeking control of the region.
The incident occurred early yesterday morning on the road Altar-Saric, the junctions that give the communities of La Reforma, the city of Tubutama and Cerro Prieto, the municipality of El Saric, respectively.
After the fray armed police officers of various corporations that arrived in the area, managed to seize 19 high-powered weapons and 11 late-model vehicles that were in place and vicinity.
Likewise, it was the arrest of four other people, besides the wounded (who are hospitalized in different hospitals of Caborca), to add 10, which are heavily guarded.
Up to now know the identity of the gunmen dead but were able to confirm the names of three of the wounded, which are: Efrain Murillo Ceballos, Daniel Covarrubias and Francisco Valencia Valley Zazueta.
Two of the four people who were unhurt Ramon Ismael Meza called Castaneda, 15, and Javier Villa Victor Castillo, 17, who are available to the appropriate authority.
It is noteworthy that all the bodies were being transferred from the scene of the clashes, for various funeral homes in the city of Caborca.
mexicoruss said:
We were thinking of an amusement park like disneyland called Caborcaland. There are a lot of nice haciendas to visit. Many million dollar homes that I am sure Jerry and Kenny would enjoy visiting, I will guide you one way. lol
I love the photos, expecially the Rock art and the cacti looks like a beautiful valley.. thank you for sharing..
IT IS AWESOME thats all I can say, the bad guys know what they want and take it but the town and the country around there is fantastic I have more to add later thanks for the comment
You know Afghanistan has really nice mountains you could visit too. You casual attitude about this may get one of the readers killed...You seem like a good guy but in this case there really is a shark and people need to know it.
