Cadereyta de Montes

Templo de la Soledad, Cadereyta

On the last full day of my 2014 trip to Queretaro, I took the bus to Cadereyta de Montes. Caderetya is a Pueblo Magico on the outskirts of the Sierra Gorda in the state of Queretaro, Mexico.

To get to Cadereya, I first caught a cab to the massive U-shaped bus station in Queretaro. At the station, there are multiple terminals. Local, second class buses to places like Cadereyta run out of Terminal B, which is sort of where the bottom of the “U” is. I found that Flecha Amarilla ran a bus for $47 pesos (about $4 US). They seem to leave every 15-30 minutes or so. I got on the bus and it was nearly full. Before we left, it was standing room only — and we continued to pick people up along the way. The 1 hr 30 minute ride I’m sure was very long for those who had to stand.

The bus station in Cadereyta is on the highway, on the outskirts of town. After exiting the bus, I walked out of the bus station, took a right, and headed into town toward the central square. It was about a ten minute walk. Upon reaching the square, I realized I had happened upon a festival day in Cadereyta. The square was teeming with activity — booths being set up, a stage was being erected in front of the church, and it was apparent that it was going to be a busy day.

I sometimes enjoy festivals, and sometimes I try to avoid them. I enjoyed a festival day in Cholula last year, complete with fireworks and entertainment. However, this was my last full day on this trip, and I was pretty run down. So, I wasn’t too keen on crowds and decided to avoid most of the festivities.

My plan was to check out several churches in town, plus visit a cactus farm called Quinta Schmoll. Getting good photos of the churches on the square was going to be problematic due to the stages being constructed in front of them, but I did the best I could:

Centro Churches, Cadereyta

I found the symmetry of the Templo de la Soledad to be quite pleasing. Often Mexican churches are asymmetrical. Many times this is due to a lack of funds to finish a tower, or perhaps a construction period spanning hundreds of years with multiple architects and styles being represented in the same building.

Templo de la Soledad, Cadereyta

Outside of the square, Cadereyta reminded me of many other smaller Mexican towns I had visited in Queretaro, with many brightly colored buildings along cobblestone streets.

Cadereyta de Montes Street

I walked west away from the main square to see another church in town, the Templo de San Gaspar. Construction of this church started in 1759. It is a very attractive church. The brilliant yellows and reds of the church looked beautiful against the deep blue sky.

Templo de San Gaspar, Cadereyta

Heading back toward the center of town, I then detoured slightly to the south-east to visit the Quinta Schmoll botanical gardens. The gardens are situated behind a walled off area which has a water feature in the front.

Water feature, Cadereyta.

There were lots of interesting ducks enjoying the water, even a couple that looked like our typical mallards. This one was different, and I got a closeup:

Duck in Cadereyta

Inside the botanical gardens, there were several greenhouses where many varieties of cacti were being raised. There was also a garden you could walk through in the back. I was offered a guided tour, but my Spanish vocabulary in this area is weak, and I declined as I probably wouldn’t have gotten much out of it. They let me poke around on my own.

Cacti at Quinta Schmoll, Cadereyta

Walking back toward the downtown, I took this photo of some horses with the churches in the background. Scenes like this are still typical in Mexico although they often evoke thoughts of the past:

Horses in Cadereyta

After a few hours in Cadereyta, I decided to head back to Queretaro. I walked back to the bus station, and caught the next bus back. I enjoyed my time here, and I’m glad I made the effort to visit.