Casas Grandes & Mata Ortiz - Fall 2007

5 days by van from El Paso - $625
departs November 11, 2007
Highlights: Paquime ruins, most famous in northern Mexico (shown below); World Heritage Museum; Buy exquisite pottery, made by the whole village of Mata Ortiz.

November 11-15, 2007
$625

Small group tour (10 persons) led by Jim Glendinning

November 11, Thursday

Mata Ortiz Pot

Assemble at El Paso International Airport, west end of terminal, load and board our van.
Drive west, on NM Hwy 9 for 2 hours to Columbus, NM.
Obtain Mexican tourist cards, enter Mexico and drive 127 miles via Janos on Hwy 2 to Nuevo Casas Grandes.
Check in at Hotel Villa Colonial. Meet our guide, Normal Pinon. Margaritas and dinner.

November 12, Friday.

Our Travelers - Winter 2004

After breakfast, we drive 8 miles to Paquime archeological site (photo at top). We tour the 88-acres of impressive remains of the once great culture which prospered here until 1450.
Lunch in the village of Casas Grandes.
In the afternoon, we continue our examination of the Paquime culture in the Museum of Northern Cultures, adjacent to the archeological zone. This UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site, contains objects from the remarkable pre-Hispanic cultures from all over northern Mexico. We meet the museum director. The museum contains an overall plan of the site, and specific exhibits of many aspects of the Paquime civilization, including exquisite jewelry, musical instruments, weapons and everyday utensils.
Evening meal at La Finca de Don Cruz and a talk by Spencer MacCallum, US scholar resident in Casas Grandes. Overnight at Bed & Breakfast "Las Guacamayas", next to Paquime site.

November 13, Saturday.

Hacienda San Diego

This morning we drive 16 miles to the small farming community of Colonia Juarez, one of two remaining Mormon settlements in Mexico. Visit the temple, store and school.
Seven miles further is Hacienda San Diego, a decaying mansion owned in pre- Revolutionary times by the immensely wealthy Terrazas family.

Juan Quezada's studio

Continue on a new road to the village of Mata Ortiz, formerly a lumber town called Pearson, now the center of the revival of Paquime pottery, previously forgotten. Most of the village is engaged in pottery production.
Lunch. Visit the studio of maestro Juan Quezada, and your choice of many other homes producing these splendid pots.
Drive back to "Las Guacayamas". Dinner and overnight.

November 14, Sunday.

We leave after breakfast and head north to visit a Mennonite colony at El Capulin. These immigrants from northern Europe came to Chihuahua in the early 1900's and established productive farming communities, for which their cheese is best known.
We continue north to recross into New Mexico at Columbus. There will be time to visit the Pancho Villa State Park and view the historical exhibits from the infamous raid in 1917.
Dinner. Overnight at Martha's Bed & Breakfast.

November 15, Monday.

Drive back to El Paso after breakfast, arriving back at El Paso International Airport by 12 noon. End of our trip.

Included in the price:

Accommodation (sharing) in hotels and Bed & Breakfasts as detailed. Transportation in a 15-passenger van, licensed and insured to operate in Mexico. All meals on the trip, except on two occasions when in the van. Entrance to archeological site and museums. Services of Jim Glendinning as driver and tour leader. Local guides. (Price based on 10 paying passengers)

Not included:

Tips to local guides, insurance (I will recommend an agent).

Price: $625 per person.

Single room supplement $110. Deposit of $100 per person by September 11, 2007 will secure a place. Balance of $525 due by October 20, 2007. There will be a fee of $100 for cancellations made up to September 11, 2007; after that date the full amount is forfeit unless a replacement is found. Please make payments to Jim Glendinning, 904 N 11th Street, Alpine, TX 79830.

I will send out two information bulletins after receiving your deposit, with details of what to wear/bring, spending money, tourist card requirements, and insurance. Please email or call me if you have any questions at all.

Email or phone Jim Glendinning for more information and space availability.
jimglen2@sbcglobal.net 432.837.7320