We would like for you to stay for a while, so.....please make your reservations here
privatouring@gmail.com
Visiting the web site is free, of course, so come in an enjoy a little visit to our adobe hideaway!
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QUINTA TESORO de la SIERRA MADRE
It would be our pleasure to welcome you to our little adobe home situated about 225 miles south-southwest of the international metroplex of McAllen, Texas - Reynosa, Tamaulipas, or between four and six hours of easy driving, depending on your number of stops. We are situated 30 miles west-northwest of Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, in the middle of a truly majestic and compelling geographical and cultural zone
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We have a long west-facing corridor,
where our visitors can sit in a mesadora (huge rustic rocking chair) and read an Agatha Christi mystery under the shade of an avocado tree.....or await the arrival of flocks of parrots headed to or from the nearby Sierra Madres. The rugged summits can be seen in the very near distance, and just knowing there were colonial gold mines there makes a person wonder.....Look! A family is going down to the Rio for an afternoon swim.... and they meet a man coming up on horseback....are they friends, or family? The Quinta's Cats come, go, sleep, and pass by to size you up for a hand-out or head-scratching...as do the Dogs...... The neighbour's rooster breaks the silence briefly....then you wake up from a 22-minute siesta to find another Corona, with lime, in the little ice-bucket on the table by your mesadora.
Your adobe hide-away is situated....
on a large tract that descends to the Rio Corona ( pictured below to the left and right) is a clear, cypress-lined, spring-fed mountain stream which supports considerable irrigation in the area. The Rio Corona holds blue catfish, largemouth bass, and two types of perch, and the environmental condition of the river continues a steady improvement. In all cases we strive to encourage and enhance natural activity.
The primitive area of the Quinta's grounds..... .... lies about 100 yards from the home. Much of our tract is dedicated to remaining in as primeval a condition as possible. These efforts have been rewarded by c0ntinual visits by hundreds of birds, butterflies, and other creatures on a daily basis as well a never ending effusion of flowering things. Below-left is our pathway that goes down to the primitive area from the house. That path leads to scenes such as that on the below-right.
Our herb operation can be visited down that path, as well as our vegetable garden which is normally growing something, be it corn, beans, lettuces, various melons, cilantro, and tomatoes. We also have scores of shrimp plants and other flowering things that we use to entice hummingbirds and other small flying critters onto the property.
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BUTTERFLIES ABOUND
These beautiful insects are found in great abundance in this area. The number of species counted on the Quinta itself by one expert, on one day's efforts, exceeded 60. The combination of nectars, minerals, moisture, shade, and sunlight forms a perfect place for the pursuits of most butterflies and m
oths.
oths.
(remember to clique on to these pictures to have your own private review of some of nature's best work)
We are situated.....
on one of the major flyways of the famed
Mariposa Monarca (monarch butterfly), and they flood through the grounds of the Quinta twice a year....usually for a period of a couple of months each time. April and May marks the northward flight, and October - November is normally the time for the Monarcas to be making their way to the cold mountains of Michoacan,
several hundred more miles to the southwest. There are times that the Monarch completely cover up the durantas, blue mist, other other vegetation, obscuring the trees and plants from view. They make "butterfly beards" even high up on the cypress trees down by the Rio Corona.
Birds are also visitors in abundance.....
with as many as 400 species having been sighted on or near the Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre. The first crests of the Sierra El Cautivo ( a major segment of the Sierra Madre Oriental) are about four miles away. Daily specie-sighting counts can reach as high as 170. The area is famous for the bumblebee hummingbird, and has at least nine (some say 30) other types of hummers on a year-round and/or seasonal basis. Warblers, wrens, songbirds, and other feathered friends abound....various type of Orioles, the two types of Ani's, kingfishers of three different types, and hundreds of other birds, both common and rare can be encountered. Visitors are frequently delighted to hear and see flights of as many as four different types of parrots during early-morning and late-afternoon fly-overs.
who come through our area at times, we are given to understand that we have 5 sub-species of oriole that frequent the Quinta. Their long, drawn-out, complicated songs are frequently heard during the morning and then again the late afternoon. We can have as many as twenty different individuals in the gardens simultaneously. They, along with the giant kiskadee flycatcher, the tropical kiskadee, two types of mockingbirds, and a few adventurous hens can be seen contesting for the blisteringly hot chili piquins that grow wild around the edge of the Quinta's grounds. Chili piquin is a very small pepper, about half the size of a pencil eraser. It is also considered to be among the top five hottest peppers known.
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We provide.....
.....a nice breakfast or brunch usually between 07:00 - 09:00, as the client wishes.
This can be a combination of Mexican, American, and Continental fare, which will follow early morning wake-up service of coffee and juice. Breakfast (or brunch) is quite ample and is included in your room charge. We also can provide nice light meals for later in the day ...deli-sandwiches, home-made soups and the like for mid-day, and suppers that can approximate gourmet quality. Lunches and suppers carry an additional charge, albeit quite moderate. It is requested that you advise us before arrival of your intention to take additional meals on premises. We will have selections available from which you can choose for your additional meals, and we can recommend other alternatives nearby and in Ciudad Victoria.
This can be a combination of Mexican, American, and Continental fare, which will follow early morning wake-up service of coffee and juice. Breakfast (or brunch) is quite ample and is included in your room charge. We also can provide nice light meals for later in the day ...deli-sandwiches, home-made soups and the like for mid-day, and suppers that can approximate gourmet quality. Lunches and suppers carry an additional charge, albeit quite moderate. It is requested that you advise us before arrival of your intention to take additional meals on premises. We will have selections available from which you can choose for your additional meals, and we can recommend other alternatives nearby and in Ciudad Victoria. Also. at times, folks like to have an old - fashioned, Texan - Mexican parrillada (mesquite & charcoal grilling) and this can be arranged as well. When asked to describe such a thing, we are a bit hard-pressed. It is rather-much a controlled disorder, perhaps a man's thing, beginning around mid-afternoon with the lighting of the charcoal, mixed with orange and mesquite wood that has been placed in the parrilla (an outdoor grill). Background music from somewhere (not too loud), our dogs lurking ever around the edges sizing up food-lackeys, the cooking of beef cuts, chicken, even fish and shrimp, potatoes, beans, onions, chili peppers, carrots, broccoli, continual chilling of beer and soda pops, deploying of citronella anti-mosquito candle buckets...serving and being served .....and just generally having a good time without a script, while buying ice and and tending the fire......is all part of the parrillada In the summer it is ideal in the late afternoon on into the night, while in the winter everything will start outside and retire indoors for a bit of dessert away from the even's chill.
We earnestly request, urge, and ask that you give us at least two weeks of anticipation before your arrival, so that we can do the kind of shopping for native goods and products that will make your stay special. Mexican supplies and qualities are really quite good, and with your ample notice we can then keep up with what is available, and make our purchases in an effective way so as to ensure an excellent dining experience with us. We grow a considerable amount of our own vegetables and herbs. There is no micro-wave at the Quinta, and we make almost everything up from scratch.
We generally have very cold beer, usually Corona and/or Bohemia, and we can usually make a limited selection of mixed-drinks...ie martinis, cuba libres, margaritas, tropical smoothies (a house specialty)...... and there is normally a bit of wine for mealtime. We generally have a decent selection of Southern whiskey and better Mexican brandies available for nightcaps. All alcoholic beverages are sold at a very reasonable charge.
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Your room has its own.....
..... private
entrance and private bath. We have a bit of air-conditioning, but it is rarely used at night because of the cool temperatures we enjoy during the wee hours and early morning. With our complete adobe construction, the rooms generally remain relatively cool even during summer afternoons, thereby making your fans almost all that is needed for pleasant cooling,. day or night. The adobe works its same magic during those rare periods in the winter when we have a bit of chill, but we also have quiet little heaters.....just in case. There is a standard reception television and a VCR player with a selection of old movies and programs in the guest room, as well as an AM-FM-CD player radio, and an eclectic selection of reading material and games.
entrance and private bath. We have a bit of air-conditioning, but it is rarely used at night because of the cool temperatures we enjoy during the wee hours and early morning. With our complete adobe construction, the rooms generally remain relatively cool even during summer afternoons, thereby making your fans almost all that is needed for pleasant cooling,. day or night. The adobe works its same magic during those rare periods in the winter when we have a bit of chill, but we also have quiet little heaters.....just in case. There is a standard reception television and a VCR player with a selection of old movies and programs in the guest room, as well as an AM-FM-CD player radio, and an eclectic selection of reading material and games. 
We also provide chambermaid service to redress and prepare your room each day. The water in your tap is potable, although we provide filtered water and bottled water to your room at no extra charge. Flashlights, candles, and lanterns, are also provided en suite for those increasingly infrequent power outages that sometimes accompany the lightning episodes. Your private bathroom has 24-hour hot water and is large enough to serve as a dressing and make-up room. We provide towels, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and have replacement toiletries for anything left back home
QUESTIONS ?
Remember that the only bad question is the one that is not asked! So send in any relevant inquiry, or story about your particular experiences in Mexico.....general tourism, birding, butterflies, fishing & hunting, archeology, retirement living, history & politics....anything is fair game. Below we have some FAQ's that we can anticipate from reasonable folks who might be interested in visiting us.
A lot of folks probably have reasonable questions about security issues,
and we have answers and observations that might help you make
better personal decisions about moving around in Mexico.
How's the weather?
To be sure, the area is hot during the summer, although the mornings and late afternoons, and the nights are blessedly pleasant to even cool. In our years of being there, and receiving guests, we have only had the clients use the air-conditioner on five nights. An honest observation is that we have to run the air-conditioners once a month just to keep them operational.
Winter nights can be quite bracing, due to our position away from the coast and adjacent to very high mountains.
Temperatures in the 40's F are not rare in December and January during early morning hours. But, even in the depths of winter the daytime highs will range from the upper 60's to the lower 80's. We might have three or four cold fronts of any significance during any given Winter that might drive the daytime highs into the 50's for a couple of days.
During the period from late April through June and then again during the tropical episode of the Autumn, say from September through mid-November, we have fairly predictable periods of heavy rains. Nighttime thunderstorms against the nearby mountains are very common during the Summer, and provide very attractive, if a bit humbling, lightning shows.
What is an "ejido"?
An ejido (eh HEE thoe) is a Mexican peculiarity. It is a rural community surrounded, normally, by lands that were expropriated from large landholdings of very wealthy Mexican hacendados (rancher/plantation owners) whose holdings generally ranged from 10,000 to 20,000,000 acres in the period before the 1930's. These expropriated lands were distributed to landless rural people, but in such a way that production values plummeted and rural progress stagnated for three generations. During the mid-1990's these small tracts were finally made into fully private holdings that could be used for collateral, bought, sold, willed to descendants, and generally treated as what they should have been from the beginning of the program....private property.
Your Mexican hideaway rests upon one of these properties; a rocky piece of river-front land that could not be farmed in any reasonable way....neither by ox-team nor small tractor...but that could be sold by the previous owners for a great financial gain for their family.
Medicines, film, regular lap-top and other computer devices, etc.?
There are supplies for your laptop fairly readily available in the area. More certainly there are always place in Cd. Victoria where a person can obtain necessary supplies for most computer situations. It is best to make sure that you have a good supply of any necessary back-ups and/or expendables in hand before arrival.
Charging batteries is no real problem because our electricity is the same voltage and cyclage as American.
Old-fashioned film and digital camera loads are pretty much the same story. You will want to arrive with a good supply in-hand but Cd. Victoria will almost always have what is needed if we cannot find it in the locale.
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Please Note:
Rates: $60.00 American currency for 1 or 2 persons per night, with a three night minimum. This includes a full-scale breakfast or brunch each morning.
Due to our location and attendant provisioning imperatives, we require a minimum stay of 3 nights. Discounts are considered for stays of 6 nights and longer.
Prepayment can be made by American-currency personal check, mailed to our address in Mission, Texas. Our mailing address is 1020 Seitz #4, Mission, Texas, 78572. Checks are made payable to David Christian Newton.
Account balances must be liquidated at departure, preferably in Mexican or American cash based upon rate-of-exchange information most recently available.
There are touring options:
We frequently joke that we guarantee "absolute boredom"......which only means that ours is a place of "soledad y tranquilidad" . Many of our clients want nothing more than to have a chance to read their Agatha Christi....drink beer and/or margaritas....and siesta on the corridor. Like the lady told me one summer, "It beats the heck out of paying a therapist".
Other folks put on the trappings of combat birdwatchers and trek two, three, or even five miles roundtrip while making scores of species sightings during a four hour jaunt (the record for an afternoon/evening sortie is 170 species). Then they come back have some refreshment....eat well....and then sleep without moving for 7 hours.
We have had folks with tripods, easles, ghost monitoring & sensing equipment, night nature photography gear, and even reporters. All seem to agree that there is something restorative about being at the Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre. But, when and if you want to do a bit of moving around, there are things to do and places to see that are neither distant nor difficult.
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TOUR I
EL CHORRITO and the APPARITION of the HOLY VIRGIN
This is a morning trip, leaving around 09:00 from the Quinta and going back to the main road and then to the north a little ways....to Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, (our county seat) and then west, up to the mountainside of the Sierra Madres, where one can see the Gulf of Mexico almost 120 miles to the east. A basilica sits upon the site of a cave where Saint Mary, Mother of Jesus is said to have appeared, concurrently with the Apparition of Fatima and before. The place is clean, calm, and dignified.....we go only on days without pilgrimages. We'll also visit the colonial-era aquaduct of the Hacienda La Meza, and the Waterfall of El Chorrito. There is a pleasant place for lunch. This is a 92 mile roundtrip, and can be accomplished in an unhurried 4.5 to 5 hours.
Price for one to two persons: $50.00 which includes transportation and lunch and certain gratuities
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TOUR II
THE SPRINGS OF EL TIGRE
Also a morning-type trip, best to leave around 09:00. This is a very close-by jaunt, and takes the client through some of the very final settlement and to the very innards of the Sierra Madre, where the watersource for our river, the Rio Corona, originates and some 200,000 acres of farming and citrus draw their irrigation. Ancient canals, rustic but somewhat progressive villages, stunning geographical backdrops can all be taken in during this brief excursion to our west. This, among scores of other nearby places, is an ideal site for birding, photo layouts, and artwork in general. This place is very close by, and we can go and come in less than three hours easily. Various brief stops for photos....homes, businesses, and other things of interest will be made.
Price for one or two persons: $20.00 which includes transportation, refreshments, and certain gratuities for home and business visits.
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TOUR III
A DAY IN CIUDAD VICTORIA
On days that we are scheduled or are required to go into Cd. Victoria for supplies or other business, it might be possible to accompany us into town, especially if it is going to be just a matter of a very short period for us to attend to our affairs. This will give you the chance to see an environment that is very foreign yet very familiar, and therefore typically Mexican, from the point of view of a resident. You will notice a certain "benign neglect" that is afforded to Gringo residentes. This town visit might include a stop at the supermarket, some paperwork with the attorney or bank, and/or a stop at the typical market area to buy a couple of new serapes for use as bedspreads for the Quinta. A couple of sightseeing stops and a light lunch at some popular place ....there are scores from which to choose.... and we can pretty much call it a day and go back to the Quinta.
Price for one or two persons: $45.00 which includes transportation and lunch at a pleasant place
Check in with this excellent, British-based directory of similar bed-and-brealfast facilities.
Just touring through this site is better than taking most get-aways and holidays
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Observations from the Ejido
A fairly dull set of day to day observations, published on this site, every week or so
This time, we are including our standard....irregularly published....emailing that we send to clients and friends every now and then. This is from mid-June and another follow-up will be included here after the July 5th elections.
(Let me start by saying that this mailing is sent to several score folks....most are previous and current clients, some are friends and family, like people who were around long before the Quinta existed. Because of my inveterate Confederate nature, I think people are all out to get me because everyone is out to get me....therefore, I cut and paste this message and mail it out to each of you individually....never by "bulk mail" because I have been told that it is easier for viruses to pick up a free ride on such mailings. It is not my wish that either you or I pick up some kind of internet flu just because it is so convenient to send a general message to "everyone on the mailing list".
We also try to include a little something, when appropriate, that might be of specific interest to an individual client. For that reason the mailing is the same for everyone....except for an added paragraph or two about a certain bird, or a recipe request, or a wedding, or an illness or the like.)
Rains finally came to the area. Significant, refreshing rains totalling around six inches for the last 10 days of May and the first few days of June. Further up the mountians there was more and out to our east and north there was substantially more....up to 12 - 14 inches. So everything is presentable...green and blooming....and the birds have been abundant. Yesterday, Alvaro and I had one of the peculiar moments that really do not matter a whole lot, but which add to the mystery and enchantment of our noble little place and area. We heard the "long song" of a calandria (Oriole) which is quite complicated and has variations that the same bird will employ at his own pleasure. It was very close, right in front of the main gate where we were doing a little clean-up work right around sun-rise. The Oriole continued to sing like Pavarotti until finally Alvaro and I both realized that the bird was almost within touching distance....perhaps 5 feet above us in the flamboyan. We were astounded when, upon sighting the opera star, it turned out to be a tropical sinsoncle (mockingbird...aka in Spain and other parts of Latin America as a ruisenor). It was one of those cases when the copy was better than the original and the sinsoncle seemed to know it. Even our ubiquitous dogs and cats seemed charmed by the feathered wonder...sitting silently under the tree and watching with passive interest.
We have begun to rebuild the property line fence on our east side down to the Rio Corona. Our neighbour has not been present for over two years, and under Mexican law, the fence is his since he was the one who installed it before we bought our adjacent property. We have asked permission to repair and/or rebuild the fence but there has never been a response. The bad repair of the old fence is such that we have to go ahead with or without an accord. We are making our own concrete fenceposts (I say "we", but Alvaro is doing everything pretty much single handedly) and will be stringing "malla cabritera'' (goat-proof wire-mesh fencing) to be finished probably before the end of June. A picture of Alvaro and his work is attached.
It seems like Mexico is always in election mode. This early July there will be by-elections for all seats in the lower house of the national congress, a third of the 94 Senate seats, and many governships of various of Mexico's 31 States, and hundreds upon hundreds of State congressional seats and presidentes municipales (county executives), alcaldes (mayors), and local councilmens' chairs. As with the past few years there is a bit of interest among many and considerable interest among few. President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa is using the opportunity to try to "nationalize" the election issue of defeating and destroying the drug cartels. It has become a centerpiece of local candidates of the Partido de Accion Nacional (PAN) which is Mexico's main center-right party. Other issues such as continuation of private sector initiatives and fical restraint are being accentuated.
The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).....which melds various leftist agendas is pushing free medical, free higher education, re-instatement of food and basic commodity subsidies, AND will be attempting to gain at least a plurality in the lower house and perhaps even the Senado (upper house of Congress). The Partido Verde (Green Party), the Partido de la Convergencia, and the Partido de Trabajo round out the left. The leftist parties attempt to co-ordinate and not step on one another....there has been an attempt by Andres Lopez Obrador (the PRD's immediate past presidential candidate) to weld a working plurality of the electorate....but there is divervigence. Two of the smaller left-wing parties have even come out in favour of the death penalty for "secuestradores" (ransom-demanding, brutal kidnappers who plaque Mexican society at almost all levels)....and this has caused problems with the PRD leadership.
All-in-all it should be a good show of it. Be sure to buy your beer and liquor supply before election day.....sales are suspended on that Sunday. Radio and Television advertizing....as well as newspapers ads....are prohibited for the last three days of the campaign,,,and it being frowned upon more and more by the various state election commissions to announce late in the campaign that your opponent's great-grandmother was a saloon-girl.
Were I to be a Mexican, I would almost certainly vote a straight PAN ticket, but I shall strive to report these matters with a bit of disassociation from my own prejudices. Most of you all know these things about me already.
My neighbour....Sr. Rafael Salazar....is a functionary of the environmental protection part of the Secretariat in charge of such matters....but specifically for the States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Queretaro. One of his missions is forest fire abatement, prevention, and reforestation.....and it has been a particularly exciting, eventful, difficult, and rewarding summer for him. He commanded civilian ground crews, military infantry / firefighting units, and even American private contractor fire-fighting units with old American helicopters during the episodes in the nearby Sierra de el Cautivo and the famed El Cielo area south of Cd. Victoria about sixty miles. There were other major conflagrations in the area of his concern, as well. He spoke very highly of all his crews...some are rustics from the very mountains that are in flame, others are young paratroopers and helocopter personnel who are flying into extremely difficult wind and heat situations....and he was positively glowing about the Gringo "veteranos" (most are crazy men who served in Viet Nam, Iraq, Kuwait, and/or Afghanistan) who seemed to enjoy the "combat" required in fighting an impossible-to-fight fire.
We have had an inundation of green jays....many mating pairs....and very rare in this specific area although they are frequently found a few miles further in front of the Sierra Madre's first ridges...say starting about 10 miles east of the Quinta. We have also had numerous coas...aka pajaro gato or cat bird because of its felinic sounding meow...and also known as the cucu or coocoo bird because of other phonic characteristics We have had multiple visits by a female puma...relatively small cat, for her size, as Yogi would say, but she is a new mother apparently and is definitively nocturnal. We have also had trogons and numerous becards as well as scores upon scores of other species of birds...even a crow or two. Last week I had a large black culebra (non-venomous black snake) about 4 feet long....and I was more or less satisfied with his shyness....they are excellent repellers of rattlesnakes so one does not necessarily run the critter off entirely.
The flowering and greening...the roaring of the Rio Corona again....AND FINALLY, significant arrivals of good numbers of mariposas monarcas, (monarch butterflies). Our blue mist patch was finally covered up with several hundred starting last Thursday.
OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS....for those of you with your laptop addictions....that WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION HAS ARRIVED and we shall be studying ways to make this service available for our clients.....perhaps in a month or so. We do not even have a laptop....when we arrived in the Ejido Francisco Madero we were thought to be odd because we had a telephone....most people had satellite television, of course, but not a telephone.
Finally...while we have had a nice bit of business and people coming by, we have noticed a strange uptick in interest from people from Canada, Britain, Tennessee, and Texas as well as other places in the United States,inquiring concerning purchasing homes or properties in the area.
Pardon my ramblings. They are substantially disjointed at this point because my daughter and son-in-law are arriving around midnight from Round Rock, bringing the two granddaughters so we are busy with final preparations. I shall update all of this shortly after the elections....and we also would invite any news from you side of the computer terminal.
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