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| Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre |
The times tend to pass us by, while we wait for a better taxi or whatever. Below, our folks will see the original broadside propaganda piece that we registered with the British Bed and Breakfast service…almost 17 years ago. Our place was elevated to the first place for a B and B in Mexico for rural travellers.
It was an interesting time when we made the commitment to have to place for birdwatchers and "leave-me-alone" folk who just wanted to read their Agatha Christi mysteries and have their iced-tea or bucket of Corona or Bohemia beers while they lounged on the massive rustic rocking chairs on our "long west-facing corridor".
During that time to this, one must recognise that twenty or 100 people per week coming by arriving from the Carolinas via motorcycle, and people arriving from France on foot while doing a hiking review of Mexico, we have probably seen it all.
The problem at this point is that there are very few people who come out to enjoy the environment…which is still very enjoyable. It becomes a burden…because both I and my "man-Friday", the venerable Alvaro who is the caretaker and defender of our property during my absence and the primary attendant of the visitors who want to do this or that, have arrived at that point where it is exhausting and unrewarding. The following entry is the text of the first entry on the British Bed and Breakfast register:
Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre
The Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre is nestled against a spring-fed river, the Rio Corona which comes down from the Sierra only about 3 miles away. Elevations rise sharply to the west, up to 10,000 feet in 20 miles, with peaks up to 13,000 feet within 25 miles .. all this starting from the Quinta's 1,100 foot elevation.
This geographical change, when placed essentially on the Tropic of Cancer creates a mix of forests, vegetation, and wildlife that provides a veritable cornucopia for people who like to do serious...or not so serious .. bird and butterfly watching. We are, for instance, situated on a major flyway for the Monarch butterfly.
We frequently joke that we guarantee absolute boredom .. but it is true that our little place is extremely tranquil. Our clients like to sit in our incredibly comfortable native rocking chairs and read their Agatha Christi mystery on the corridor, drinking a tequila-laden mango & tropical juice iced smoothy, while cajoling our various animals. We refer to our two village dogs as our 'organic security system' and the three cats who condescend to favour us with their presence as our 'organic pest control system'.
The natural scheme is complemented by the fact that thousands of acres of citrus groves surround us. Our next-door neighbours, the Salazars of the Hacienda de La Vega, have several score acres of Valencia orange trees that are over 80 years old at this writing. Orchards with excellent producing orange and grapefruit trees of over 110 years are not that rare.
There is a colonial-era hacienda, the Hacienda de Santa Engracia, founded in the early 1700's, a little less than a mile from our place, and it affords a nice way to spend a half day or even more. Other farming includes production of squash, beans, corn, vegetables, sorghum .. and one can still see the use of oxen for plows and carts. Modernity is the rule, but this part of rural Mexico always seems to retain significant parts of its past, sort of a permanent exception to the rule..
Your home, the Quinta, is made of all adobe, much in the style of a colonial-epoch Spanish military officer's quarters. It is well-plastered and painted bright white and topped with a split-tile red roof. We accept only 1 - 3 guests at a time, so you and your travelling mate(s) essentially have our un-divided attention. The guest room has its own private entrance and its own en suite private bath.
Your grounds, approximately one acre, are well invested with flowering and fruiting shrubs, trees, and bushes thereby providing generous splashes of colour at almost every turn, and almost any season. The rivermost portion of the property has been left essentially wild, and we have disciplined the grounds as the property moves up from the Rio Corona and closer to the house. This provides many, many places for the native flora and fauna to be seen and admired.
While the home has a military and antique appearance, we do have electricity, a very good-quality water supply, air-conditioned bedrooms, hot water, satellite television, and an antennae-assisted cellular telephone for at-cost-only telephoning. We have on-site enclosed parking, available hair-dryer & iron, am/fm/alarm radio. Laundry service upon request.
The mornings can begin as early as 4:00 am...or later, depending upon each client's wish .. and starts with coffee(or tea), juice, and water service. A very ample brunch is served between 7:00 - 10:00 am. This meal is normally fairly elaborate and will have things that are common to the area, as well as other dishes more typical of Texas ranch or seacoast fare. We do what has been said to be a good job on various Mexican haute cuisine specialties as well. Once again, the morning meal, be it brunch or breakfast, is included in your basis room charge.
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| The "parrilla" where many fine meals are prepared in the ancient way. |
Other meals can be arranged, be they light lunches on up to nearly gourmet suppers. We can even do pleasant 'parrilladas' .. something like a Texas outdoor barbeque with our parrilla out in our front area. This is always a real hit with our visitors and clients.... something disorganized, informal, open-ended, and very much looked forward to by our return clients. The event commonly combines lunch and supper, beginning as early as 3:00 pm and lasting well into the evening.
We make really good margaritas, martinis, cubalibres, virgin and non-virgin Mango & tropical juice Smoothies. We have cold Mexican beer (usually Corona and/or Bohemia), and a selection of soda pops. These beverages are sold at a very nominal charge.
We also can direct folks to rustic but decent places to eat around the area. Remembering that we are truly situated 'in the middle of nowhere'...(the electrical supply stops at our home) .. It should also be remembered that Cd. Victoria, the capital city of the State of Tamaulipas, is an attractive, modern, progressive community of about 330,000 souls and is situated twenty-five miles or so to the southeast of us. It abounds in nice restaurants of various types, as well as a bit of shopping and touring alternatives.
Besides loafing, painting, photography, writing, editing, beer-drinking, hiking, fishing, birdwatching, eating, reading, horseback riding, butterfly watching, taking siestas, and such activities .. there are also side trips to places of considerable interest from as little as four or five miles distant to 90 miles round-trip requiring a full morning or a little more. Our mountains, just four miles to the west, abound with wildlife, caves, gems, minerals, and forests. Many of our clients continue their trip by driving to the famous El Cielo Biosphere reserve in the mountains south of Cd. Victoria, about 85 miles further to the south.
Booking your stay through our email is easy .. our charges are nominal .. $140.00 USD for one person, $165.00 for two persons, including a full brunch. We receive no visitors for fewer than our required three nights' minimum. All prices posted in United States Dollars. Prices include relevant sales taxes. The price includes all three nights accommodations and three brunches or breakfasts.
We request at least 2 weeks anticipation so as to have your stay well provisioned. Deposit checks can be mailed to our address in Mission, Texas with balances to be liquidated upon departure in Mexican or American cash. Significant discounts are available for stays in excess of 6 nights. Cancellations 72 hours or less of reserved date will be subject to reduction of refund based upon already spent out-of-pocket expenses. Arrival and departure can be at any time during the reservation period.
Thanks for your interest and attention!
David Christian Newton / owner
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We continue to have people come by and people who stay for a few nights, but the perception of danger that the American and international press publishes cannot be surmounted. Much of their news is actually the truth, but it is not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The Americans and Europeans hear and see things about Mexico that will not be excused or understood in any context. Those same observers apparently overlook the avalanche of horrid crime, murder, and violence that occurs continuously in every major and middling city in America and the remainder of the "developed" world.
The Americans and Europeans hear and see things about Mexico that will not be excused or understood in any context. Those same observers apparently overlook the avalanche of horrid crime, murder, and violence that occurs continuously in every major and middling city in America and the remainder of the "developed" world.
We have never had an incident at our place…neither in our coming forth, our staying for weeks at a time, or our return for business in Texas. Perhaps we have been lucky, perhaps we have been somewhat wise in revealing what little wealth we have. Who can say?
Consider that our next door neighbour put in a 25,000,000 peso upgrade of his plantation (hacienda), something along the line of 1,250,000 dollars. The 6,000 tree lime orchard planting is very impressive.
Consider that our next door neighbour put in a 25,000,000 peso upgrade of his plantation (hacienda), something along the line of 1,250,000 dollars. The 6,000 tree lime orchard planting is very impressive.
We shall have more commentary and observations about this topic in the coming days.
El Gringo Viejo
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