Farming in Mexico a long the old Spanish Silver Trail

In March, Jo Ann and I were on a mountain bike ride that followed the old Spanish silver road from Guanajuato to Dolores Hidalgo, although we only rode from Santa Rosa to the Haciendo las Trancas. It was a very beautiful trip, but one that started at around 8500 feet and dropped down to 6500 feet. The ride itself was an extremely challenging ride, not for beginners, but covered around 25 miles and went through some of the most beautiful vistas in Central Mexico.


Our guide, Beto from Bici Burro (beto @bici-burro.com) was wonderful and conveys not only good biking ideas, but also the history and culture of Colonial Mexico. At about the half way point, we stopped for some water and came across this farmer who was tilling his land in preparation for the upcoming raining season. Since there is only the trail that we were biking on to get to this location, you can see he does not have a big John Deere tractor but must rely on the historical farming techniques. We spoke with him for a long time and it was very interesting to learn that as long as there is sufficient rain, he and his family are well provided for and all is good. However, last year there was not sufficient rain and the production was not sufficient and it has been a very difficult year.

Here in Mexico, there are no subsidies or grants to farmers and they must care for their own families and friends. However, the people seem so much more at peace and generally happy when compared to the people of the US who expect their ration of entitlements. Maybe progress is not always good, if it does not bring satisfaction and happiness.

Well back to the image and off my soapbox, I took the photo in RAW format and did all of the black and white processing in Photoshop. I love the capability that you get from using the RAW format and not having to worry about white balance when shooting. Regarding the bike ride we had a great time on this ride and would strongly recommend the tour for any moderate or advanced rider and we would also recommend Beto and Bici-Burro as they have many different rides and hikes that are in the area around San Miguel de Allende.