A Bus Trip to Southern Sonora - Alamos
Surprisingly, there aren't a lot of direct buses from Ciudad Obregón to Alamos. We discovered that fact when we arrived mid-day at the Obregon terminal trying to buy a ticket to the City of Gates, and the only bus to Alamos didn't leave until 5:00 that afternoon.
With the exception of TBC bus lines, most of the buses that go to and come from Alamos are typically smaller local-type buses that go between Alamos and Navojoa. So, we decided to catch a bus for Navojoa instead and try our luck getting to Alamos at a decent hour.
If you want to visit Alamos and don't necessarily care about the other stops along the way, the best way is to take a direct bus from Nogales, Tucson or Phoenix. Probably the most direct way (without having to hassle with de-boarding the bus at the border for international customs inspections) is to take a taxi to the TBC/Albatross bus terminal in Nogales, Sonora, where buses to Alamos depart every couple of hours.
Also, be aware that Navojoa has two bus terminals, one that is located more in the downtown area that looks like a parking lot with buses and a small building, and the other is on more of a residential street (that is pictured here, click on a photo to see a larger image). Both stations have buses that go to Alamos, but some destinations, like Huatabampo, only depart from the Mayitos terminal.
When we left the Mayitos bus terminal in the 30-year-old local bus, there were only a handful of people on board. When we arrived at the other station though, the bus quickly filled to (past) capacity with locals and a dredlocked American traveler who played Mexican ballads on his acoustic guitar and collected tips from the passengers.
Buses arrive in Alamos at the central de camiones along Plaza Alameda. The plaza has a rectangular shape, with a grassy area at one end, a bandstand and trees in the center, and a taqueria at the other end. Directly across the street from the taqueria is a local "super" market, and there are a variety of local businesses grouped around the plaza.
We had a reservation at the Casa de Maria Felix, so we took a taxi there, which cost 30 pesos. The Casa is a truly unique place - from the outside, you mainly see its high stucco walls and brightly painted red doors. Inside those walls it is a step back in time, with traditional Mexican colonial design and shaded by a variety of plants and trees.
Owner Lynda Barones greeted us at the door and showed us to our room, which was half of a cottage that was in front of the pool. Linda is an artist, and there are really neat, interesting details around the Casa, like hand-painted scenes on the interior walls and the combinations of vibrant colors in the guest rooms.
The rooms don’t have televisions, but they don’t need them – there are so many places to see outdoors, both around the grounds of the Casa de Maria Felix and around Alamos, that this is the last place that you’d want to spend time in your room watching TV.
The first day we took the “shortcut” to get downtown, walking to the end of the street outside the Casa and then hiking some dirt roads and trails until we found the trail that leads to a walled side of the downtown area, not far from the church.
On the backroads route there are different options for roads and trails that you can take to get to the city's centro, so we ended up backtracking a couple of times to find the right path. It turned out that the right (somewhat narrow) path was blocked by a grazing horse, with a barking one-eyed dog (unchained) in the front yard of the adjoining property.
Fortunately the dog's bark was worse than his bite and I was able to lure the horse out of the way with some grass, giving us enough space to pass.
By that time we could see that the trail led to a street, and we descended to an entryway and on to a cobblestone street near the church. The downtown area is a beautiful, very photogenic place. We walked around taking pictures, visited the inside of the church and the mansions in the downtown area.
We stopped at a small pottery shop and chatted with the potter and her husband. They invited us to see their adjoining home, in which members of their family have lived since 1881. Very, very nice people, and the pottery is unique and reasonably priced.
There is an American expatriate community in Alamos, many of whom are retired, have purchased a home and live there part or all of the year. We encountered a group of very friendly expats at the café where we had lunch, and they were busy discussing their leisure activities – photography, computer software, travel plans, real estate.
After walking around a bit more, we made our way back to the plaza, then walked down a cobblestone alleyway to go to the main plaza. Parched and exhausted, we bought two large bottles of water across the street from the plaza at the Farmacias VH.
We sat in the shade of the plaza, rehydrating and cooling down, before making our way back to the Maria Felix for a shower and a nap, which ended up being our retiring for the evening.
The next day we walked back to the plaza and were talked into taking a taxi tour by a local taxi driver. The pueblo of Alamos certifies the tourist guides, and they’ll show you their laminated credential, typically hanging from a lanyard around their neck.
Two things I learned in retrospect from the experience are that the tour destinations and prices are negotiable (especially in the heat of the summer when there aren’t any other tourists around), and that the taxi drivers (this one, anyway) may embellish about the destinations where they’re going to take you, in order to get you to agree to a car tour.
Our guide was an elderly gentleman who drove a very small car that had no shock absorbers and bottomed out at every depression in the street, but overall it was a very interesting experience. The guide had lived in Alamos all of his life, and as we passed various places he would point out places that you wouldn’t otherwise have known, like the house where Carroll O’Conner (Archie Bunker) had lived.
We went to El Mirador, which is the overlook with a spectacular view of Alamos and the general area, around the town, and to the city cemetery. Across from the cemetery is a haunted house, another interesting part of Alamos history.
Through the trip the driver had tried to talk me into letting him drive us to La Aduana, a small pueblo a few miles outside of Alamos. His asking price kept going down, and finally when the driver told me that this time of year we would see all kinds of tropical birds there, that sealed the deal. Incidentally, that was the part I’d referred to about the driver doing a selling job for the tours – there were no tropical birds to be seen, nor did he take us to look for any.
We did get more of the local flavor and information though, as we drove by the recently re-opened silver mine (La Aduana was basically a small mining town) and arrived at the plaza of the church, Our Lady of Balvanera. Legend has it that a cactus started growing from the church walls (with seeds placed by a bird or other small animal) and that it took the form of the Virgin Mary.
After that, the church became a sacred site, and every November 20th the faithful walk to La Aduana from Navojoa to thank the virgin for favors granted during that year. And, you can still see the cactus growing from the church wall.
Also in La Aduana we visited the local tiendita, a very traditional looking general store, and drove along the river bed that separates the two sides of La Aduana.
That evening we went to the small restaurant-cantina that is on the Maria Felix property, and enjoyed a couple of cold beverages while talking with Omar (a very interesting person with some fascinating stories) and his wife. We also enjoyed one of Omar’s special pizzas, which was awesome.
Next: Alamos to Huatabampo
Alamos lodging options
More Alamos photos
