Mineral de Pozos - A Ghost town coming back to life....

Mexico has recently seen the Renaissance of many former ghost towns; the most famous being Real de Catorce up in the desert nine hours North of Mexico City. Mineral de Pozos, however, is far closer to home only four hours away from DF, and only forty five minutes from the charming colonial town of San Miguel de Allende....

In its heyday in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the town was an extremely important silver mining town with the silver being transported back to the Colonial rulers in Spain. With the silver gradually becoming more expensive and less economic to mine, Mexican Independence in 1810, and the bitter fighting in this area a century later during the years of the Mexican Revolution, the town entered into a long, slow decline with the population eventually dropping from 80,000 to 400. Buildings fell into disrepair and the whole town had a distinct air of rack and ruin.....

Striking facades stand open and exposed against blue skies, weathered walls and crumbling buildings are at every twist and turn of the empty, cobbled streets...

But today this is only half the story, and is balanced out by some much better preserved architecture...

and some quite charming streets set against the clarity of the desert-like light and bluest of blue skies...

After years in the doldrums of decline and decay, the last decade has seen a gradual return to life, and the pueblo fantasma is now a thriving community with a number of restaurants and cafes, at least 15 art galleries and many more artists' studios, a Real Estate office, businesses, a few Bed and Breakfasts, and the piece de resistance at its centre, the beautiful hotel " Posada de las Minas". Gradually the community is growing again; but this time with artists, photographers, and sculptors (many of whom have relocated from neighbouring San Miguel), and there is even a permanent "gringo" resident community (13 here compared to allegedly 30,000 in San Miguel.)

There are art walks, an annual calendar of festivals and events, activities such as hiking, biking, tours of the abandoned mines and ruins, and horseriding in the vicinity, but development is still at a very early stage, perhaps because as yet there are no direct bus services here.... so a great time to visit!! You can get here either by indirect second class buses from San Miguel or you can negotiate a taxi ride. For more windows on the world click here for My World Tuesday posts, and for more about that gorgeous place to stay in Pozos, check out the next post later this week...