El Fortíncito

During Semana Santa (the holy week leading up to Easter) Dan heard news on the local radio station that the city of Fortín would be running a special tour bus visiting some interesting sites around the area.  The three hour tours would take place thursday thru sunday, with three departures each day.  Kathy Perez, the morning news host, talked the trip up after she took one of the first ones.  The new mayor is very much into promoting the delights of his fair city for visitors and tourists, and these new bus tours are an early result of his efforts. The weather during mid-week was pretty iffy but by saturday things had improved so much that we decided to indulge our curiosity the next morning.

Easter sunday we were up early, well-breakfasted, shod with good walking shoes and armed with a bit of bug repellent to ward off any chiggers that might be lurking in the grassy areas we would be visiting.  We walked into the center of town, arriving in front of city hall about 8:15am.  Sure enough there was a booth set up, and the young ladies in attendence said the lady with the tickets would be there soon.  We took a turn around the park and by the time we got back to the booth there were quite a few people standing around to buy tickets. We wondered if we would get seats, but apparently some of the folks were there to buy passage on the later noon and 3pm tours. The short street directly in front of the munipcal building where we were waiting is closed off on weekends and hoildays, and it is here where the bouncy inflatables are set up for the little kids, and from where the mini-"train" circulates.  We saw that there was a new, larger train parked here, perhaps also thru the efforts of the new mayor.  About quarter to nine a gayly painted Metro bus pulled up and we we able to board, sitting well up front.  By nine the 40-passenger El Fortíncito bus was full and off we went.

Ana, our guide started off welcoming us, explaining that this little tour would take us around the city and as far north as Monte Blanco.  She asked those in the group to raise their hands when she called out their home locations, and it turned out that qute a few folks were from other states in Mexico.  Everyone clapped for each group so identified.  She also asked how many were from the US, and the two of us raised hands, to a huge applause from all.  She proudly told us we were the first "international" visitors to take this tour.  Later we explained to her that we were also "locals."  Throughout the trip she threw in a few english ín words here and there to help explain things for Carmen.  The bus headed out thru Fortín Viejo, the old part of the  town, passing outside of a gate behind which Ana told us was the site and ruins of the old fort that gave the name to the city.  The mayor is trying to negotiate the ability to include visits to this interesting site, now on the grounds of a private home, in future city tours.  Our current tour, consisting of six brief stops, was just a sampling of several future itineraries in the planning stages, which would specialize in specific areas or subjects of interest, like the history, culture and economy of the community.  Just below the location of the fort on the old steep road down into the Metlac canyon to the west of town, we stopped a El Mirador (recently opened, cleaned up an painted.  A few picnic tables here overlook the Metlac river far below.

Next stop was the Museo Tatsu Goro, the famous national bonsai museum about four blocks south of the center of town in the attractive residential area where we had looked to buy a home a few years ago.  The museum, created by Don Miguel Ros, houses a collection of over 500 specimens in over 100 species, accumulated over more than 30 years.  The museum is open to the public, free of charge, and also offers inexpenive classes in bonsai creation and care.  Staff gave our group a brief overview, and we wandered around admiring the various types of bonsai.

From downtown Fortín we headed north on the highway that goes to Coscomatepec and Huatusco, to the town of Monte Blanco, and actually a bit further west into the adjacent pueblo of Santa Lucía Potrerillo. Here we visited the site of the ex-hacienda Monte Blanco.  It lies at the foot of the dominating crest of that name, which was topped in the past by a small fortification.  This old estate was occupied by a family up to the time of the revolution.   The walls and remaining ruins give some idea of the kind of life that was possible on a country quinta controlling a large part of the surrounding area.  There are hopes of creating a small museum here, with photos form that era illustrating how things looked back when it was a functioning enterprise.

Next a rest and refreshment stop at Chula Vista, a restaurant and outdoor recreation center in Monte Blanco on the rim of the Metlac green and forested canyon.  Some of the folks on the bus elected to stay here and return on a later bus, as this is a good departure point for a hike down into the natural area below.  The final stop on the tour was the Parque de Floricultura just north of Fortin.  We wondered why there was no sign of preparations for the upcoming annual Feria de la Flor, always held at the end of April  -- we later learned that this year's festival will be held  during the first ten days of august, in conjunction with the town's celebration of it's founding on 03 August 1930.  We spent maybe 15 minutes al the floral center, and got back downtown just about noon, where a busload of folks where waiting for seats on the next departure.