A few days in a cabin in Sierra de Álvarez, San Luis Potosí

Pen&ink and watercolor on A6 cotton Hahnemühle sketchbook 

 We stayed in a cabin in Sierra de Alvarez, one hour away driving from the city of San Luis Potosí. We’ve been very active socially and we needed to recharge batteries for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family. From the balcony of our bedroom, on the lower floor of the cabin, we had this view. 

Pencil, watercolor and color pencils on HP watercolor paper 10 in x 7 in

We saw the fog pass by early morning, that is the humidity coming from the Gulf of Mexico on the East. The fog never crosses the Sierra Madre chain of mountains. Therefore this woody area remains green and the city of San Luis Potosí, which is to the West across the mountains is very dry. 

There are grey and white boulders and rock formations at the right of the sketch above, which gives this place the name “El valle de los fantasmas”, the valley of ghosts, because at night they stand out in the darkness. My brother brought his binoculars, we were prepared for the lack of internet and cell phone signal. We watched cows, horses, dears, squirrels and Mexican jays most of the days, Mexican jay is a bird from the family of crows with Celeste and grey plumage. We also saw bats at night!

Pen&ink and watercolor on A6 cotton Hahnemühle sketchbook

The firewood stove kept us warm. I made a sketch of the stove which was a night and morning savior. So I made a sketch of the cabin, the view and the interior, while we enjoyed the silence and peaceful time, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.