🇲🇽 Desierto de los Leones - 9-28-25
Living without you is not living. It was the first time I met you… and I didn’t tell you how deeply you touched me… because I know you could see the lone shadow of my soul. And feel the ache in my heart. You seeped into my skin… into my bloodstream… deep into the marrow. You are part of me… and I you.
❤️‍🔥
A long overdue first visit to Desierto de los Leones. I’ve been pointed in this direction by locals i have met since I started wandering around CDMX because of my profound desire to connect with nature.
The park is the oldest protected biosphere in Mexico (1876), specifically for its source of fresh spring water. It lies within the borders of Distrito Federal (CDMX), covers around 5,000 acres (1,875 hectares)… whatever those things are, and has an ultra-cool early 17th century Carmelita Convent sitting within.
One of the reasons I had yet to visit was the complications with transportation to the place… it’s not that far in a certain perspective but navigating through the city on public transport can be a timely challenge. I now have the adventure pod at my disposal so I jumped in with my gear and snacks and took off at 9:00am. After that, the bottle neck of traffic on the Avenida Constituyentes becomes unbearable.
**Avenida Constituyentes is a main artery leading one west out of the city. It’s a shit show most of the day and it will take an hour just to get through a few kilometers of insanity. And you will witness ridiculous driving maneuvers, stopped delivery trucks, swarming motorbikes, construction, cleaning crews, stalled vehicles… and nothing makes sense, and there’s no meditating that shit away. I officially hate that stretch of roadway and groan everytime I have to take it. I happen to have a compañera that lives on the opposite side so there’s no getting out of it. I write all about it in my book, “The Burden of Freedom - Stories of the Automobile in 21st Century.” Reserve your copy sooner than later…
Anyboop, my 9:00am departure landed me in the village of La Venta at the entry of the park in an easy 35 minutes. Returning home I wanted to avoid the bastard headache, Avenida Constituyetes, so I took de la Reforma and goes around it… mistake! 3 hours and a monumental hornets nest and I didn’t even cry once but considered just abandoning my car and walking home which would have been faster.
Nature. The park is spectacular and there are countless trails, spring fed creeks, it’s thick with mossy vegetation and tall trees. It was a weekday and I came across a total of four other people. In a city of 22 million. Dreamy. There are cutie restaurants at the base and grabbing a cheap and delicious lunch as you walk off is a refreshing treat.
A tour of the convent will cost you 23 pesos per person. It was lightly populated being weekday. And this particular weekday was a Friday. The day of the Quinceañera foto shoots. It made for a colorful backdrop and a nice vibration… happy girls becoming happy young women, and gleaming parents that would greet me at each passing with gigantic smiles. Their extreme proudness was infectious and made me feel proud and honored as I stumble in-and-around the culture of the Mexican peoples.
Nature, tacos, old buildings, culture… adventure… and finding a decent enough parking spot when I returned home. And the aches of the heart is soothed. And the lone shadow of the soul is blurred… blurred by content sleeps and dreams of flying motorcycles.
#BastardAvenidaConstituyetes
#loneshadowofthesoul
