Our Next Trip South 2007
Visiting the pretty little Pueblo Magico of Bernal and a winery in the state of Queretaro, Mexico
We postponed our leaving of the Queretaro area opting instead to visit another one of Mexico’s Pueblo Magico (Magic Town) towns - Bernal. It is about 40 miles east of Quéretaro, a nice drive. We headed out of Quéretaro following the directions to the airport. Once past the airport we continued on the same road to Bernal. As we neared the town we could see the huge rock it is famous for - La Peña de Bernal. The rock and area around it are believed to have magical powers and/or energies. It is said the town is very tranquilo due to the powers of the rock. It is the third largest lone standing rock in the world. Only Gibraltar and Sugar Loaf in Rio being bigger.
We drove around a bit just looking at things. Saw a couple of homes (?) that looked more like castles under construction. In fact one even had a canon! Also a little yellow and rust colored church at the edge of town. It is called “Capilla de Las Animas” and was built somewhere between the 17th and 18th centuries by a man who was saved from robbers in this spot. It’s very pretty inside with faded murals and vaulted ceiling. Continuing to drive around we ended up on a hill above the center of town. We were impressed with the well kept homes and clean streets. Even the electrical wiring was not all over the place. On the way down the hill we saw a big stack of bales of hay - then rounding the corner we saw the yard full of cattle.
We found a place to park not far from the central plaza so we got out and started exploring. One of the first things we saw was a small hotel its entire façade covered in decorative tiles. The windows on the second floor had iron balconies and the first floor doors were carved with set in glass windows. Another building was pink with turquoise trim around the doors and windows and delicately painted designs around the roof and across the middle. In fact many of the buildings had the painted designs on them, very intricate and colorful. A lot of the handicraft items were made with wool that is grown in this area. Warm sweaters, ponchos, blankets and colorful woven wall hangings were on display both inside and outside of the little stores. We came to the plaza and walked around it to the Templo de San Sebastian the village church. The first mass was celebrated there in 1733. A yellow and rust colored arch with a spray of flowers on top of it lead from the sidewalk to the churches courtyard. Carved white stone framed the doorway to the interior. The inside was very elegant with its arched ceiling and tiled floor. The church has seen several wars i.e. Independence war, the Mexican Revolution and the Christian war. And it still stands proudly the great rock rising behind it. The buildings around the plaza were very interesting, one called the Castle, built in the 17th century was once a prison and then used for government purposes. Now part of it is an auditorium. Its tower houses a clock made in Germany (it didn’t seem to be running this day.) The exterior of the building is fascinating as it is trimmed with white lattice work design made out of raised cement. The buildings surrounding the plaza were multihued, some two or three colors. Planters of various shapes and sizes were randomly places around the plaza and in front of the stores. Salmon, magenta, orange, red and pink flowers spilled out from them. After checking out the stores and looking at the brightly colored buildings we got back in Willie and headed towards Quéretaro but got side tracked. Not far from Bernal there is a winery so we made a detour and took a tour of it. It is a Fleixenet Winery. The wines produced from grapes grown in the area. The only problem was the entire tour was given in Spanish. Still seeing the large vats and later walking through the cellars and seeing the bottles being corked and labeled was interesting.
Back to the campground to get ready to leave the next morning.
We drove around a bit just looking at things. Saw a couple of homes (?) that looked more like castles under construction. In fact one even had a canon! Also a little yellow and rust colored church at the edge of town. It is called “Capilla de Las Animas” and was built somewhere between the 17th and 18th centuries by a man who was saved from robbers in this spot. It’s very pretty inside with faded murals and vaulted ceiling. Continuing to drive around we ended up on a hill above the center of town. We were impressed with the well kept homes and clean streets. Even the electrical wiring was not all over the place. On the way down the hill we saw a big stack of bales of hay - then rounding the corner we saw the yard full of cattle.
We found a place to park not far from the central plaza so we got out and started exploring. One of the first things we saw was a small hotel its entire façade covered in decorative tiles. The windows on the second floor had iron balconies and the first floor doors were carved with set in glass windows. Another building was pink with turquoise trim around the doors and windows and delicately painted designs around the roof and across the middle. In fact many of the buildings had the painted designs on them, very intricate and colorful. A lot of the handicraft items were made with wool that is grown in this area. Warm sweaters, ponchos, blankets and colorful woven wall hangings were on display both inside and outside of the little stores. We came to the plaza and walked around it to the Templo de San Sebastian the village church. The first mass was celebrated there in 1733. A yellow and rust colored arch with a spray of flowers on top of it lead from the sidewalk to the churches courtyard. Carved white stone framed the doorway to the interior. The inside was very elegant with its arched ceiling and tiled floor. The church has seen several wars i.e. Independence war, the Mexican Revolution and the Christian war. And it still stands proudly the great rock rising behind it. The buildings around the plaza were very interesting, one called the Castle, built in the 17th century was once a prison and then used for government purposes. Now part of it is an auditorium. Its tower houses a clock made in Germany (it didn’t seem to be running this day.) The exterior of the building is fascinating as it is trimmed with white lattice work design made out of raised cement. The buildings surrounding the plaza were multihued, some two or three colors. Planters of various shapes and sizes were randomly places around the plaza and in front of the stores. Salmon, magenta, orange, red and pink flowers spilled out from them. After checking out the stores and looking at the brightly colored buildings we got back in Willie and headed towards Quéretaro but got side tracked. Not far from Bernal there is a winery so we made a detour and took a tour of it. It is a Fleixenet Winery. The wines produced from grapes grown in the area. The only problem was the entire tour was given in Spanish. Still seeing the large vats and later walking through the cellars and seeing the bottles being corked and labeled was interesting.
Back to the campground to get ready to leave the next morning.
Bernal photos Click Here