Excursions From Mascota

Having come as far as Mascota [1], you might enjoy spending some additional hours or a day or two poking around the idyllic trio of hamlets—Yerbabuena [2], Cimarrón Chico [3], and Navidad [4]—and maybe taking in the great outdoors at the spruce-studded high-sierra crater lake, Laguna Juanacatlán [5]. Photographers should bring plenty of film.

If you’re driving, Laguna Juanacatlán requires a full day for the round-trip, but a single graded road safely negotiable by passenger car connects the three hamlets in a leisurely four- or five-hour 25-mile (40-km) round-trip from Mascota.

Head out via Avenida Justo Sierra to the road fork at the east edge of Mascota town; the right branch heads to Talpa and Guadalajara, the left fork proceeds to Yerbabuena, Cimarrón Chico, and Navidad.

If you’re traveling on foot (carry water), you’ll find few, if any, public buses heading to Yerbabuena, Cimarrón Chico, and Navidad. You can probably catch a ride with one of the cars and trucks that often head along the road during the day. Stick out your thumb; if someone stops, offer to pay.