The little church of San Miguel is the quiet heart of Villa Ocampo, which sits in the dry north of Durango, close to where the state meets Chihuahua. The settlement belongs to the long chain of towns strung along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the old road that carried silver south and supplies, settlers and missionaries north, and it still has the layout you would expect: a plaza, a church at its edge, low houses of adobe and brick, and a feeling that nobody is in a hurry.
Churches along this road were usually built with whatever the land gave, which here means earth, lime and timber. They tend to be simple, with a plain facade, a bell tower, and an interior that surprises you with its colour, a painted altar, candles, saints wearing real fabric. San Miguel, the archangel, is a popular patron of frontier towns, protector of those who live at the edge.
The riding that leads to the town is quiet desert road, broad and open, with long straights that give way to occasional curves around dry watercourses. The surface can be rough in places, with the edges eaten away and cattle drifting across, so it rewards patience. Light is the thing to savour. In the early morning and again before sunset, the hills turn gold and rose, the shadows grow long, and the sky seems far bigger than elsewhere. Winter nights can be cold at this altitude, while summer afternoons are hot and sometimes broken by sudden storms.
Practicalities are limited, and it is better to be honest about that. Villa Ocampo has only about a thousand inhabitants, and the next town of any size, Matamoros, is a good distance away, so fuel is not something to gamble on. Arrive with a full tank, water, and a little cash, since small shops may not take cards. Ask politely before going inside the church, and be quiet if a service is going on. A simple meal of tacos, beans or machaca, the dried and shredded beef of the north, is the sort of thing you may find, if the day is kind.