Villa González Ortega is a small town on the high plateau of Zacatecas, in north central Mexico, and its church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is one of the sites recognised as part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Royal Inland Road. This was the great trade route that linked Mexico City with the silver mines of the north and eventually with Santa Fe in New Mexico, a journey of more than two thousand kilometres across deserts, mountains and plains. For almost three centuries, wagons, mule trains, soldiers, priests and settlers travelled this road, and the towns, churches, haciendas and bridges along it tell the story of the Spanish colonisation of the north. UNESCO listed the route in 2010.
The church is a simple, sturdy building with a facade of local stone, typical of the churches of the region. Inside, it holds images of the Virgin of Sorrows and other saints, and the town still celebrates its patron saint with processions, music and fireworks. The town itself is small, quiet and dusty, with a central square, a market and a few shops.
The landscape of the Zacatecas plateau is vast and open, with plains of grass and scrub, cactus and mesquite, and mountains rising on the horizon. The roads are mostly long and straight, with good surfaces on the main highways and rougher conditions on the minor roads. The altitude is high, more than two thousand metres in many places, and the light is intense, with clear blue skies most of the year. Wind can be strong, and the temperature drops sharply at night.
The city of Zacatecas, a little more than an hour away, is a beautiful colonial city built on the wealth of its silver mines, with a pink stone cathedral, narrow streets and a cable car over the town. It is a fine place to spend a night. Villa González Ortega has fuel and basic services, and the larger towns of the region have everything you need. As with any travel in rural Mexico, it is worth checking current safety advice before setting out, and avoiding riding at night, when livestock and unlit vehicles are a real hazard.