We left Las Pozas and headed south and west through the mountains of Hidalgo towards Mexico City, stopping first at the scenic village, Mineral del Chico, where we camped and managed a morning hiking in the Parque Nacional El Chico. Real del Monte, once a very wealthy silver mining town with a strong Cornish heritage, was next. In the 1820s 350 Cornish tin miners were brought over to help run the silver mines and the Cornish left their legacy in two forms: the pasty and football, which was played for the first time on Mexican soil in Real del Monte. The Museo de Paste, opened by Charles and Camilla back in 2012, explained how the Cornish miners had integrated with and influenced the local community, including their influence on local Mexican cuisine. Pasties are sold everywhere and are surprisingly authentic, that is if you choose the traditional meat and potato version!
Our final stop before heading into Mexico City was Teotihuacan, the largest pre-Hispanic site in Mexico, dominated by the huge Piramide del Sol and the only slightly less huge Piramide de la Luna. It was a great precursor before entering the city itself and visiting the Museo de la antropologia.
