What Awaits Us

Hi Frank,

This trip to Casa Alfaro has been full of smiles and laughter! Lee came up with a request and Antonio, our property manager executed in excellent fashion, as usual. I looked out the window to see him driving forth onto the property with a cool dude 4 x 4 vehicle!  Not knowing much about this fabulous thing, (but having fallen in love with it in just moments of seeing it) here’s a description for you:  It has a true presence: Shining black throughout, with large, rugged tires and an adorable army green nose. Its face looks very assertive and “out front” in the biggest sense, as if it wants to get there before you do.

Having six seats, it’ll accommodate all the adults and children you’d like to take for a ride. There’s a flat bed in back (for carrying blankets and swimsuits and a picnic basket, prolly).  It’s easy to drive and I love the freedom it will give. Oh, what awaits us!  We’ll hop in and go exploring the countryside, to nearby restaurants/wineries, to the neighboring thermal waters of La Gruta Spa and Escondido Place, and more.

In this little jaunt (click here to see)  I take the wheel and we go for a spin through the countryside of Atotonilco, out on the desert back roads past forgotten paths and sweet little rural communities of playing children and lazing dogs.

On this particular ride at dusk, my friend, Callie and I came upon a simple, white altar erected at the top of a hill, seeming to be there waiting for us with nothing surrounding it but quiet cactus, rolling desert, and hazy silhouettes of the mountains in the distance. Now that I’ve experienced the scene, I’m wondering if we may have found ourselves on part of the pilgrimage trail which runs through the neighboring towns along a route running from Dolores Hildalgo, through San Miguelito and Atotonilco, on the way to San Miguel de Allende. 

It was solemn and silent as we stopped our chariot and walked to the altar. Seated to the side of the road it held a concrete table with cross atop. Only the breeze and the crunching of our steps could be heard. At the base of the cross were laid so many stones that had been offered up with prayer. Each stone’s story unknown – perhaps laid with a simply plea, or with a thankful heart, or with a petition to God for healing or reconciliation.

There is a great little post written about a similar spot in Spain, the “Cruz de Ferro” found along the Camino de Santiago in Spain.  It’s entitled “A Stone & a Prayer at Cruz de Ferro” and can be read here. I want to ask my son, David about the spot. He once led tours on the Camino and I imagine he experienced that sacred place. The writer of the post describes the practice of leaving a stone as a “release of burden” where “peregrinos approach the small hill with silence and respect. And their stone.”

Perhaps next time we come, with stone in hand we’ll go to this altar awaiting us on a hidden dirt road in the desert countryside of Atotonilco, Mexico. With a stone we’ll lay down our burdens, along with prayers of thanksgiving.     

Love,

Jane