Regio Couch Crash Monterrey - Mexican Independence Day

My third Couch Crash brought me to Monterrey, Nuevo León, in the north-east of Mexico. My hitchhike there was not the easiest one but definitely worth it. From Thursday to Monday I enjoyed the long weekend thanks to the Mexican Independence Day together with many other Couchsurfers, exploring Monterrey and its surroundings. Next to a lot of parties we also got some great hikes and gorgeous places to visit in the federal state of Nuevo León.

On my first complete day in Monterrey (the day I arrived I only went to the hairdresser, barbershop and to sleep) I took the bicycle of my host Raúl and explored the Parque Fundidora. This park is an archeological industrial site which has several buildings from the old foundry. Furthermore it offers a lot of green spaces and the artificial river system Santa Lucía, where even small motor boat tours can be booked.

From Parque Fundidora I made my way to the historical centre of Monterrey. I passed the cathedral of the city which is, compared to the cathedrals of other Mexican cities, very small and unobtrusive. Then I stopped at the Palacio Municipal, the local government building, which is a very modern building compared to all the colonial buildings further south in Mexico. I crossed the river bed of the Río Santa Catarina over one of its many bridges. Although it rained almost every day during my stay in Monterrey at least a little bit, the river had hardly any water. But all the more is going on on the streets of Monterrey. During rush hours, many streets are completely packed with cars. As the third most populous city in Mexico, with an extremely high share of industry and mining and surrounded by mountains and hills, Monterrey is one of the cities with the worst air quality in Mexico.

The Cerro de Chipinque is a mountain in the municipalities of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Monterrey and Santa Catarina and its summit is 2,229 meters above sea level (Monterrey just approx. 500 MAMSL). It is noted for being ideal for a variety of sports including mountaineering, climbing, mountain biking and hiking. I got up early to go for a hike together with Gaby and Manasi and we were hiking for a couple of hours in a very peaceful atmosphere. It was very foggy and cloudy so we didn't have to sweat a lot, it was a very pleasant climate. Unfortunately the views were not that great though. But there were a lot of other interesting things to see. We spotted a white-nosed coati, various birds, caterpillars and a deer. After a late breakfast back in town we went up the Chipinque hill a second time together with a dozen other Couchsurfers. But this time we didn't go for a hike but we simply enjoyed the view which was better now as the clouds had cleared away.

Micro breweries are not that typical in this part of Mexico, nevertheless the organizers of the Couch Crash included one in the weekend program where we got a little tour and tasted two different beers.

The Cerro del Obispado is a hill within the city of Monterrey which offers 360° views of the city. Usually a monumental Mexican flag blows in the wind here. But as I experienced almost everywhere else in Mexico as well, the flag was not hoisted that day. The authorities seem to know about me and always remove the flag for my stay in any city, no idea why.

On Saturday we spent almost the entire day barbecuing in the recreational park at the waterfall Cola de Caballo. There was an exuberant atmosphere and excellent weather. We had also gotten the best barbecue place of all thanks to our early arrival.

The Cola de Caballo Waterfall is situated right next to the town of Santiago, one of the many Pueblos Mágicos Mexico's. We had ice cream at the famous ice-cream parlour Regia, bevor enjoying a walk through the centre of Santiago.

Every Couch Crash is accompanied by numerous parties, so it was in Monterrey and in the evening hours different cantinas and bars were visited.

My personal highlight of Nuevo León and the Couch Crash were the Grutas de García, a cave complex located about 30 km from Monterrey in the Sierra del Fraile. The easiest way to enter the caves is to take a five-minute cable car ride but I and several other Couchsurfers decided to take the hike instead. Finally we covered the approx. 250 meters of altitude faster than the group in the cable car due to the long waiting line. It is estimated that the caves have formed 50 to 60 million years ago and were once submerged in sea water. Temperature remains constant around 18°C in the caves all over the year which felt very comfortable af our ascent. Next to sea shells and an incredible amout of stalactites and stalagmites along the 2.5 kilometer hike in the cave you can find various fascinating rock formations that look like animals, buildings or other interesting forms. My favourite one was the gorilla.

On the way back to Monterrey from the Grutas de García we stopped at the Maravillas Vinery where we had a little wine tasting. The vinery is the only one in the region of Monterrey, started just as a experimental project and has developed to a vinery which sells excellent regional red wines.

We learned about the different colours of wine, how to smell first and then sip. Furthermore we were told that the distance between the grapevines must be exactly right so that they support each other. Oh, and by the way, we were bitten by a lot of mosquitoes.

The Mexican Independence is celebrated the night from the 15th to the 16th of September all over the country. So did the Couchsurfing community of Monterrey and all the Couchsurfers that came together for the weekend here. It was a perfect finishing of the long weekend and we enjoyed the view, the music, a lot of good food and one or the other shot of Tequila into the early morning.