• About
  • Contact

Jeepsies

The Best Jeep Blog on the Internets

  • Overlanding
    • Mexico
  • Basics
    • Before Buying
    • Jeep History
    • Jeep Resources
  • Community
    • Jeep Groups
    • Jeep Events
  • Mods
    • Our Jeep
  • Jeep Pros
    • Texas
  • Stuff
    • Must Have
  • Wheeling
    • Texas

Our Afternoon in Cerro de San Pedro, Village Built Into the Mountains in 1592

January 14, 2019 by Brittany Highland 8 Comments

Jeepsies Visiting Cerro de San Pedro SLP
Our overlanding family in Cerro de San Pedro, San Luis Potosí

We celebrated the end of our work week with an adventure outside San Luis Potosí. Our guide was Lilia, board member of the local Nauhales Off Road 4×4 Club and now dear friend. Our destination: Cerro de San Pedro, population 95 (circa 2005).

But forget the 21st century. As we left the fenced scrub brush terrain and began to see signs of human construction, we were compelled to pull to the side of the road. On the hill to our right, we gazed up to see crumbling ruins of an arched stone building. We were entering the tiny village of Cerro de San Pedro.

Cerro de San Pedro Ruins
Ruins as we entered Cerro de San Pedro
Cerro de San Pedro Cathedral
Peering through the locked door of Cerro de San Pedro’s cathedral

Quick history lesson. The Spanish founded the town as a mining settlement in 1592 (let that sink in for a moment). It’s the site of gold mining through present day, with the current mining methods purportedly threatening the integrity of the town and its long history.

Fortunately, we arrived on a sleepy Friday with no signs or sounds of mining. In fact, there were few signs of life despite the start of the weekend. We noticed one open restaurant, an open tienda (shop), and one other vendor selling elote (corn). There was some activity around the municipal building, where three policemen greeted us with polite indifference.

For those of you familiar with Real de Catorce (I haven’t been), Lilia says Cerro de San Pedro is somewhat similar. We admired the cathedral at the center of town and read about its history, but the doors were closed. A local said it had been robbed and is now only open on Sunday.

Brittany Highland Cerro de San Pedro
Posing with one of the metal figures in the village

Art figures made from metal scraps were displayed around town, and we took pictures with them as we wandered over the cobblestones. Stray dogs followed us–a regular occurrence in most areas of Mexico we’ve visited so far.

With Lilia and Caspian, I ascended a steep flight of stone steps to survey the compact village. We could see San Luis Potosí in the distance, with a light haze hovering over it. We breathed deeply–we had escaped the bustle of the city and entered time past.

There wasn’t much to do. Lilia said she’s visited Cerro de San Pedro at times when every interesting shop is open and the village seems alive. Perhaps at night, or during the summer, or on a Saturday? There’s no real way to plan in a country where time matters little.

In Mexico, it’s easy to get the feeling no one has anywhere they really need to be. They’re talking to you right now, so what else matters?

Cerro de San Pedro Wall and Cathedral
Quiet escape in Cerro de San Pedro, less than 40 minutes from the center of San Luis Potosí

And believe it or not, life continues on despite this fluid atmosphere. With frustration at times, yes (I’ll have to tell you about the process of getting our laundry back). But also the feeling the person you’re speaking with is present, actually there to Know you. Without thinking about their coffee date, or that PTA meeting, or that report that needs to be written, or…how do we fill our time in the United States? Filling every moment–it’s an obsession we hardly realize until we escape it.

I haven’t escaped it yet, but I tried in Cerro de San Pedro.

Cerro de San Pedro Overlook
Overlooking Cerro de San Pedro, with map location

As we prepared to leave, we followed a broken road to an overlook of the town. Lilia spoke with Caspian, as Eric and I let time be fluid. “Happy Mexico,” one of us said. A greeting, affirmation, celebration we’ve exchanged multiple times in the past 10 days since crossing the border. “We made it.”

Overlook Road Outside Cerro de San Pedro

Wherever you need to be, I hope you can find a way to Be there.

-B

If this article was helpful to you it would be awesome if you’d consider becoming a Jeepsies supporter. If everyone just gave $1, we could do these articles full time and that is our dream. There are some fun options in the drop-down below. Your support allows us more free time to create high quality content regularly. You can say a quick thanks here:
Support Jeepsies
Even if you aren’t ready to support Jeepsies financially, please do comment on the articles, ask questions and let us know that you are here and hopefully we can meet up sometime on the trail! And if you haven’t followed the Jeepsies Facebook page you can do so here. Also, we’re on Twitter and Instagram if you use those platforms. Please give us a follow, we’d love to hear from you. Until next time, keep it dirty and wheels side down. ~ Eric, Brittany, and #LittleNomad

Filed Under: Mexico, Overlanding Tagged With: san luis potosi

Recent Comments

  • Candace on That Time We Took Our Jeep on an African Safari in the Interior of Mexico
  • Eric Highland on Buying a Jeep Wrangler: Should I Do It?
  • Jeremy on Buying a Jeep Wrangler: Should I Do It?
  • TJ Smirz on The Jeep Mafia – 14 Thousand Jeepers and Counting

Comments

  1. Cheryl Held says

    January 15, 2019 at 11:16 am

    The church is so pretty!! Looking at your pictures and your descriptions of everything makes me sigh with relaxation and peace that you all must be feeling being there. May your travels continue to be wonderful and peaceful. Thank you for trailing the path for the rest of us!!

    Reply
    • Eric Highland says

      January 15, 2019 at 11:24 am

      Cheryl, thank you for following along! We’re so blessed to be able to share this with others and we hope it inspires folks to make the trip themselves!

      Reply
  2. Cherie Howk says

    January 15, 2019 at 11:48 am

    I really enjoy reading about your adventure. I was wondering as a past RVer how realistic would it to do what you are doing in an RV?

    Reply
    • Eric Highland says

      January 15, 2019 at 12:22 pm

      Cherie, a smaller RV is definitely doable for sure. Actually, Mike and Terri Church wrote a book called “Travelers Guide to Mexican Camping” which we have purchased. They did it in an RV! For what it is worth, we have not seen many larger RVs here in the interior. We’ve only seen one class A so far. Fuel prices are double what they are in the states. So keep that in mind for your budgeting. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  3. Lilia says

    January 16, 2019 at 5:06 am

    Im so happy that you guys were able to go visit this beautiful little town …. gracias amigos 😃

    Reply
    • Eric Highland says

      January 16, 2019 at 7:32 am

      What a wonderful day it was. Memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you for taking us out there!

      Reply
  4. Lisa Chapple says

    January 16, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    I’m really loving your posts of this trip! Thanks so much for sharing, and the pics are gorgeous. Safe travels! 😊❤

    Reply
    • Eric Highland says

      January 17, 2019 at 8:48 pm

      Thank you Lisa! Just wait until you read Brittany’s latest on living like a local in San Luis. I think you’ll want to come for a visit after that one. ~ Eric

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Help Me Write Jeep Articles Full Time!

If everyone gave $1 I could write Jeep content full time! There are other fun options on the drop down too.

Subscribe for New Articles

Use the search bar!

Connect on Facebook

Connect on Instagram

Load More...Follow on Instagram

Connect on Twitter

  • Found a nice little camping spot here in Mexico #overland #overlanding #overlandmexico #jeepsies #jeepmafia pic.twitter.com/QDkULY140c

    January 25, 2019 9:29 am

  • Overlanding through the interior of Mexico #overlanding #overland #overlandbound #fulltimeoverland… twitter.com/i/web/status/10884…

    January 24, 2019 9:16 am

  • You know, just running a river deep in the interior of Mexico that’s how we do. #fulltimeoverland #jeepsies… twitter.com/i/web/status/10877…

    January 22, 2019 8:54 am

Wheel With Me

Jeep blog Jeep Guardian wheeling
Let me know if I’ll be in your neck of the woods! (Credit: Oscar Williams)

Feb. 9-15: San Miguel Allende, Mexico
March 18-25: RV Entrepreneur Summit, AL
March 30-Apr. 6: Corpus Christi, TX
May 17-19: Overland Expo West, Flagstaff, AZ
June: San Jose, CA
July: Winnebago Grand National Rally, IA
August: Ontario, Canada

If you are in any of the above areas and would like to meet me, or wheel with me, please send me a contact form here. ~ Eric

Recent Articles

  • That Time We Took Our Jeep on an African Safari in the Interior of Mexico
  • The Best Hotel in Bernal, Mexico: El Cantar del Viento
  • Overlanding the Mountains of Sierra Gorda With Overland Bound Friends
  • What It’s Like to Live in the Center of San Luis Potosí
  • Our Afternoon in Cerro de San Pedro, Village Built Into the Mountains in 1592

First Time Here? Get to Know Us!

overlanding Jeep build purchasing principles

About My Jeep Blog Jeepsies

Welcome to the Jeep blog Jeepsies, the best personal Jeep blog on the Internet! Ok, I'm a little biased, but a ton of hard work and research goes into making sure each article on this Jeep blog is worth your time to read. About the Author of This Jeep Blog My name is Eric, and I'm a retired US … Continue Reading...

Join Our Adventures

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Search Our Blog

Legal Stuff

Recent Comments

  • Candace on That Time We Took Our Jeep on an African Safari in the Interior of Mexico
  • Eric Highland on Buying a Jeep Wrangler: Should I Do It?
  • Jeremy on Buying a Jeep Wrangler: Should I Do It?
  • TJ Smirz on The Jeep Mafia – 14 Thousand Jeepers and Counting
  • Nadia Bajuelo on Overlanding the Mountains of Sierra Gorda With Overland Bound Friends

Copyright © 2019 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in