THE CITY OF TORREON:
The city of Torreon with a population of about 900,000, isn’t exactly what you’d call a tourist town. The does have an Office of Tourism, however, located on Matamoros between Vicario and Corona. Their telephone number is 712 – 3829. Reputedly there are English-speaking staff members, but the key word here is “reputedly”. Torreon is actually part of a trio of cities. Ciudad Lerdo with approximately 110,00 inhabitants is on the other side of the Rio Nazas while Gomez Palacio, populated by around 300,000. The statue of Christ that overlooks the city is the second largest in the hemisphere. Only the one in Rio de Janeiro is larger. Although the temperature soars to well over 100 degrees F during the Summer months and remains in the high 70s to low 80s most of the rest of the year, surprisingly there are Winter days which can plummet the thermometer to below freezing. So, you’ll need to pack some warm clothes for living here too.
GETTING THERE AND AWAY:
Starting from the U.S. border, just take the first thing smoking South …
Some approximate travel times and first-class bus prices…
BETWEEN AND: TIME: PRICE:
Torreon Chihuahua 6 hours 180 pesos
Torreon Durango 4 hours 90 pesos
Torreon México City 12 hours 370 pesos
Torreon Monterrey 5 hours 120 pesos
Torreon Matamoros
(across from Brownsville, Texas) 8 hours 30 mins. 250 pesos
Torreon Nueva Loredo
(across from Laredo, Texas) 8 hours 210 pesos
As mentioned in previous posts, you can’t beat the Traveling by Bus in Mexico website, in English, which contains almost everything you need to know about traveling in Mexico by bus. So be sure to visit the site for more detailed information at:
www.differentworld.com/mexico/common/pages/bus_info.htm
A WORD ABOUT GUERRERO NEGRO:
Usually, this town in Baja California is visited for only one Reason; it's near Parque Natural de Balena Gris (Gray Whale National Park). From November through March, gray whales breed near the shores of Scammon's Lagoon. Take binoculars if you go there, and pay the small fee for one of the boat tours. It's worth it to get out closer to the whales.
Another destination in the area is San Ignacio, a small oasis town 90 miles (145 km) to the southeast, and the nearby San Ignacio Lagoon, home of the "friendly whales." For whatever reason, many of the whales there seem better disposed toward humans and some will even swim close enough to be petted. Puerto San Carlos on Magdalena Bay, which is farther south on the peninsula, is another great spot for whale watching. Local tours are available. There are also cave paintings nearby, accessible only on horseback. The area is 375 miles (600 km) south of San Diego, California.
SOME WEBSITES FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Start with Torreon at: www.torreon.gob.mx/ where you’ll find the official website of the city government (in Spanish)
One of the best local information preview sites – in English no less, is Colegio Americano de Torreon’s information-packed site located at:
http://www.cat.mx/newt/torreon2.html Here you can bone up on what to do and see, additional places to eat, local shopping and cultural events. Also listed are tips for getting around town and handling a variety of money matters.
www.wunderground.com/global/stations/76382.html
Underground site giving accurate weather forecasts and information for the area
The Hispanic Culture Center in Torreón maintains a site at:
www.hcfoundation.org/Torreon.htm
www.tourbymexico.com/coahuila/torreon/torrfram.htm is the Tour By Mexico site for information on the "haps" around town and the region.
Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com
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