Nombre de Dios, in the state of Durango, is a small, dusty town on a dry plateau about a hundred kilometres south-east of the state capital, and it carries the distinction of having been the site of the first Franciscan mission in Durango, founded in the 1550s.
Haciendas were the engines of colonial northern Mexico, great estates, often with thousands of hectares, that raised cattle and sheep, grew wheat and maize, and supplied the silver mines with food, leather and mules. Each had a main house for the owner, workers' quarters, granaries, a forge, and a chapel where the priest would say mass. Many have since been abandoned, and their adobe walls are slowly returning to the soil, while a few have been restored as hotels or museums. A small chapel like San Antonio often outlasts the main buildings, a whitewashed room with a bell tower, and still serves as a place of worship on the saint's day.
The road along the Camino Real runs through country that feels timeless, a high desert plain of dry grass, yucca and nopal, with distant blue mountains. Durango is also famous as a film location, with many Westerns shot here since the 1950s, and the plain and rocky hills explain why. The highways are straight and often empty, with long views, and the occasional pothole or cow on the road. Highway 45 connects Durango with Zacatecas through the plateau. Afternoon thunderstorms bring heavy rain in the summer, with flooding on low sections, and winter nights fall below freezing. Spring and autumn give the best conditions.
Nombre de Dios has about five thousand people, with a plaza, shops, and a petrol station on the main road, and Durango city has everything, including a handsome baroque cathedral. Carry water and plenty of cash, because card machines can be rare. For food, try caldillo durangueño, a beef and chile stew, and gorditas stuffed with beans or meat, and drink the local mezcal.