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ccline
Mar 3, 2006, 6:21 PM
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Registered: Feb 14, 2006
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Below accommodation and restaurant overview is based on a stay last week of February 2006 and may differ to other times during the on- and off-season at EPC.
Posada
(Very) small rooms with bed, shower, toilet, sink available, plus loft (above bathroom) for another person or gear.
Camping available in a nice setting with mature trees.
Cocina – cooking and dining room for all, refrigerators, stoves, pots & pans, TV
Restaurant: quite decent food, daily special, pasty, wine (!), beer, wireless Internet, postcards, stamps, T-shirts, souvenirs. During our stay, Posada was definitely “the” climber hang-out.
Homero’s
One house with four rooms, two of which equipped with private bathroom, one toilet for the rest of the house, kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator, fireplace and dining table.
Palapa – a hut with bunk beds, no info known, but it must be quite simplistic, no private bathrooms.
Camping available in a somewhat sparse setting but they are putting efforts into landscaping the grounds.
Cocina – cooking and dining room for all, refrigerators, stoves, pots & pans, large building with TV, VCR and videos, and small climbing wall.
Restaurant: basic food items, beer and water, very small, but has a large patio without roof.
Rancho Cerro Gordo
Casita -a small house, self-contained with bed, sofa which can be converted into another bed, shower, toilet, sink, fully but sparsely equipped kitchen, refrigerator, dining table. Most sophisticated and “luxurious” of all the accommodations we saw, but the ranch is somewhat desolate and off the beaten path (7 min walk from main rd).
Camping available, again somewhat desolate
Cocina – kind of spartanic, not enclosed by concrete walls so could get cold in there, refrigerators
No restaurant
No host either
Pagoda
No information available, was pretty much closed during our stay.
They have rooms available, I saw one with a fireplace and somewhat of a kitchen.
The restaurant was closed while we were there.
Other restaurants:
Checo’s was pretty good, they were only open on the weekend days Fri-Sun.
Tami’s is a coffee shop. They have coffee, pastry, frozen pizza and calzone (and guide book).
For all of EPC: bring your own toilet paper !!!!
Stop by the mini super market in Hidalgo for supplies (toilet paper!!) before heading out the 3 km to EPC.
Weather:
Even if it’s raining or foggy, check out the crags, they may be dry nevertheless. Fog and rain quickly dissipate within the hour as late as early afternoon and can provide a most beautiful afternoon for climbing.
(This post was edited by thomasribiere on Nov 19, 2006, 10:33 PM)
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danhickstein
Mar 5, 2006, 6:47 AM
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Registered: Sep 18, 2003
Posts: 13
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Thanks for the good info! I'm heading down there on the 10th - 19th and will probably stay at the Posada per your rec. How good is Hidalgo for groceries? I was planning on bringing down a bunch of powerbars and getting everything else there. Also, is bringing a set of cams and a set of nuts a good idea or will I never use them?
Thanks,
Dan
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cliffmama
Mar 6, 2006, 5:43 AM
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Registered: Apr 16, 2003
Posts: 65
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Quinta La Pagoda is our favorite place to stay. You can go to their website and make reservations there at http://www.quintalapagoda.com, otherwise you might not find someone there to deal with for walk-ins. Stayed there for the past 4 years and we're completely satisfied.
The house has 3 very large bedrooms with huge king sized beds and an additional twin sized bed (one of the 3 bedrooms has twin bunk beds). The rooms are $20 each (split between the number of people you put in each room). There is a living room area with fireplace (which comes in handy on cold winter nights since nowhere else has heat), kitchen stocked with pots/dishes/utensils and working fridge/freezer, stove and microwave. There is also a large bathroom where you could have a party in the shower. They also have 3 inner rooms (motel-style) with 2 twin beds and small bathroom in each, and a separate shared kitchen room with similar amenties except no microwave. The hosts take very good care of us, even have sometimes done our dishes, built a fire in the fireplace for us on cold days so we return to a warm house, and cooked a surprise dinner. They arrange reliable pick up and drop off at the airport, and drive us into Hidalgo and back for market days. It's a family run business, and doesn't have much of a climber scene (they make most of their business in the summer season with locals). Very comfy to stay there, and if you want to party with climbers, just walk a minute away to Tammy's cafe or La Posada for the climbing scene.
I have pictures on my website, however, the details are out of date - the prices used to be $7 per bedroom, but it's gone up to $20 per bedroom ever since La Posada had higher rates. Plus the pictures don't show the additional twin beds in the rooms. http://cliffmama.com/...l/Pagoda/pagoda.html
Me or my friends have stayed at various places at Potrero, I also have pictures of other accommodations there, send me a msg if you have further questions. We just got back today.
As far as groceries go - we bring down our lunchtime power bars and snacks, but hit the Market day in Hidalgo on Tuesdays to get our fresh produce. It's a long walk with groceries, so best if you can get a ride back. There is a big drug store off of the main plaza if you need toiletries. There are various small grocery stores on the drive through Hidalgo and into Potrero Chico, so you can ask your driver to stop for a minute if you want to run in and get essential breakfast stuff like eggs, bacon, cheese, bread, etc... All the restaurants and good and cheap at Potrero, and walking distance to all the Quintas - we always eat out - but the restaurants have been closed on Mondays lately, so have enough to cook 1 dinner a week. Checo's has the best food, and La Posada is the place to hang out afterwards for dessert or a beer.
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kitakat
Mar 9, 2006, 6:07 PM
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Registered: Aug 9, 2005
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Yeah, you can get just about any groceries you need in town or at one of the many "Depositos" (mini-mart). There are a few things you may wish to export with you from the States like Power bars, or other ClifBar type snacks, good coffee, and if you're a vegitarian or eat organically, you'll want to bring your organic food with you.
The best place to stay depends on what kind of environment you want to be in. Posada is known for being quiet and family oriented. They frown on drinking and "partying" but the place is still quite beautiful.
At Homero's it's a little more rustic, but there is always a lively crowd and lots of fun going on. They've recently done alot to improve the grounds and are still working in it. I expect that by the end of summer, the place will be amazingly improved.
Rancho Cerro Gordo is also very nice, but has gotten a bad rap for all the theft that's happened in recent past. The Casitas there are perfect for a small group and offer everything you need. The local climbers from Monterrey stay there alot and many canadians. You'll definitely find an international flair there more than anywhere else.
There are also rooms available at La Pagoda, Chon's, Checo's, and a couple of other places. And, there are many little houses for rent right on the main road into the canyon. If you feel the need to make advanced reservations, let me know and I can hook you up with whatever meets your need...otherwise, wing it and find a place when ytou get there...there's never any formality, so it's cool to just show up.
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cliffmama
Mar 9, 2006, 9:07 PM
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Registered: Apr 16, 2003
Posts: 65
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In reply to: The best place to stay depends on what kind of environment you want to be in. Posada is known for being quiet and family oriented. They frown on drinking and "partying" but the place is still quite beautiful.
I don't totally agree with that opinion. Seemed like La Posada was the place to go hang out and have a beer after dinner. The partying is limited to the restaurant area, but they have music playing in there and it seemed more people were hanging out drinking after 8pm than eating. Besides beer, they also sell shots of tequila. We would usually eat dinner at Checo's, then go buy a beer and hang out in the Posada restaurant because that's where all the climbers were hanging out in the evening.
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tallnik
May 7, 2006, 7:41 PM
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Registered: Apr 18, 2004
Posts: 595
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I stayed at the Posada for a week in Feb. and it was an awesome spot. $5/night for camping. I wouldn't say the frown on partying, and there were certainly no families while we were there.
However, since we were climbing everyday, we never really managed to stay up past 11 or so, and therefore the party was somewhat limited.
The "seafood" restaurant in town is really good, don't remember what it's called. And Suzi's does good coffee in town as well as cakes and things.
Nik
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virginia_alpinist
Oct 11, 2006, 11:00 PM
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Registered: Feb 8, 2005
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I understand that you don't need a reservation to camp at Posada...right??? heading down early Nov.
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leinosaur
Nov 17, 2006, 3:42 AM
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Registered: Oct 6, 2003
Posts: 690
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Hey - I'm dragging the wife (and possibly the kid? 4 y.o. boy) along to Potrero for the first week of '07: wife's wondering what's to do there besides climb? What's the town like? A good dose of Mex culture? Any good playgrounds for kids, or what?
Anybody ever take kids down there?
Wife climbs but not for a week's worth - basically my main climbing bud and I are going to climb and she wants to go soak up the culture. Tiene sentido, eso?
My spanish is pretty good but hers has yet to really begin . . . I'm hoping for a touch of immersion and to kick-start her learning. Maybe a day in town after a few days of climbing?
Also, what's best place to stay if we did take a kid?
gracias amigos
(This post was edited by leinosaur on Nov 20, 2006, 6:49 PM)
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samroberts
Nov 19, 2006, 9:31 PM
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Registered: Apr 29, 2004
Posts: 23
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Hidalgo is really friendly and safe, the people are nice, but its not a tourist town. The mining is gone, the cement factory is closed, I don't know how people are scraping a living. Its just a small run-down working-class town with friendly people and fabulous climbing. Apparently there is a little museum somewhere, but thats about it. I hate to say it, but I don't know if its such a great place for you to go. :-( I just asked my girlfriend if she thought a woman with a kid would find fun things to do there, and she just made a face and shook her head. If you all liked to climb, I think it might be different, but 1 rest day grocery shopping in the local market and stores is an adventure, 3 days would be tedium..
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