09292014Mon
Last updateMon, 29 Sep 2014 12pm
Eager Realty

Tapalpa’s Fat Rock: Over the stream & through the mud to a great view

There’s something special about Tapalpa. Meandering through its narrow, picturesque streets is a pleasure all its own and what better way to end a day of wandering than in an armchair in front of a roaring fireplace, sipping a potent Ponche de Granada?

Should you have the time, you might possibly spend a few hours visiting Las Piedrotas, several huge rocks which look out of place lying in a flat meadow just outside of town, as if they had been tossed there like peanuts dropped by a passing giant.

The Piedrotas have been turned into a tourist attraction in recent years but actually they are mere pebbles in comparison with La Piedra Gorda, a monolith located only four kilometers away, but a bit difficult to reach, so that few people ever visit it, although the view from its peak is well worth the effort.

Twenty some years ago I found out why not many have seen the Fat Rock. First of all, you had to hike uphill for five kilometers and second, you had to cross a winding stream eight times, hopping from rock to rock and hoping not to fall in.

Last week I had a chance to revisit the Piedra Gorda with friends who planned to install a bolt in the rock to which visitors could attach a safety line while peering over the edge of a sheer drop of some 50 meters.

Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.