As of 2011 there were 44 communities in Mexico that had been designated as being Pueblos Magicos/Magic Towns. So far, I have visited nine of those towns that had been selected for promotional purposes by the country’s Tourism Secreteriat (Sectur) for their natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and/or historical significance. While I found all of those touristy small towns to have elements of “magic" in them, such as the mystical-appearing rock formations and the ecologically harmonious architecture of Tapalpa, Jalisco, the enchanting if not enchanted forests of the "Alpine" mountain town of Mazamitla, Jalisco, or the lovely and traditional plaza that provides a majestic view of an active volcano in Comala, Colima, none of them can be close to be described as being over-hyped tourist traps. Far and away the most magical, albeit also the most touristy, of the Magic Towns that I have visited from my home base in the highlands of Michoacan has been San Sebastian Bernal, Queretaro.

Bernal, often referred to as "La Puerta de la Sierra Gorda"/The Gateway to the Sierra Gorda mountain range, has a population of around 4000 and is approximately 54km/32 miles from the state capital, Queretaro- it is also around a two and a half hour drive from Mexico City. Founded by the Spanish in 1642, with its winding cobblestone streets and its centuries old structures in hues of pink, yellow, and orange, many of them with graceful arches and balconies, Bernal is a quintessentially quaint, picturesque, and charming colonial town. However, the main tourist (magnetic?) draw is just a figurative stone’s throw from its centro/downtown, the Pena de Bernal/Peak of Bernal.

You see, this 1150 foot/350 meter high volcanic greyish basalt plug formed about 100 million years ago is the world’s third tallest monolith (after the Rock of Gibraltar and Rio de Janeiro’s Sugar Mountain) and is said to be a vortex with cosmic energy being emitted by the mineralization within its interior. Prior to the Spanish Conquest, the indigenous people, the Chichimecas, considered the site to be sacred and used it for ceremonial purposes. Now, every year during the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox (March 20 or March 21) it is estimated that up to 40,000 people, from all over the world, many clad in long white robes/gowns and red neckerchiefs, make a journey to Mexico’s non-red rock version of Sedona “seeking new beginnings, wisdom, unity, and energy." It should not be surprising then that Bernal is home to a number of shamans ands curanderos/practitioners of folk medicine. Moreover, particularly on Sundays, the usual day for Mexicans to day trip, many pilgrims make the one hour or so hike halfway up the rock to where there is a small chapel. Only very experienced climbers or rappellers, of which there are quite a few, with the proper equipment attempt to venture all of the way to the summit.

Within the town itself, exceedingly clean and well-maintained Bernal has much to offer the typical (or even atypical) tourist. On weekends and during the Feast of the Holy Cross in early May when there is an artisan faire, the town is jammed with tourists-Mexicans, expatriates, and foreigners. Its streets are lined with numerous shops, regulated street vendors, and a few restaurants. As the surrounding area is a major producer of sheep, Bernal’s leading handicraft is high quality products made from 100% wool; throughout Bernal you can find handicrafted wool rugs, vests , sweaters, rebozos, shawls, jackets, sarapes, jackets, cushions, and bedspreads. Across from its beautiful iconic small church built in 1725 in honor of Saint Sebastian, is a shop that specializes in textile wall hangings; it is there that I purchased (even though my born-to-be-an-expert-haggler Mexican mother-in-law could not get the vendor to lower his already pretty reasonable price) a wall hanging depicting a nopal cactus with prickly pears that is now hanging at our home’s “Mexican folk art museum.” There is also a very famous and popular upscale candy shop which makes its own confections that is especially known for its candied prickly pear and its many varieties of goat milk candies including such flavors as mango, guayaba, strawberry, fig, and walnut; of course, all of its merchandise bags and boxes are afixed with a picture of the peak and make nice souvenirs. Additionally, catching one's eye is a shop that sells only masks.

Not surprisingly, there are also a few shops in town, also primarily of the upscale variety, selling rocks and minerals (yes, having clear crystals and amethyst!), including opals which the state of Querataro is known for. However, this not so typical "old age" tourist who is an avid rock collector prefers purchasing the rocks (but definitely not those garish and ubiquitous heat treated or dyed in colors not known to nature, Brazilian agates) at the large souvenir area near the base of the peak which is open during the dry season. To my delight, looking way beyond the tacky tourist trinkets, there were literally tons of rough rocks collected from the Sierra Gordas near another lovely Magic Town that I had visited, Jalpan, Queretaro. Numerous stalls there display from small to extremely large good to excellent quality pieces of such geological specimens as black and mahogany obsidian, green quartz (which I purchased quite inexpensively a gorgeous 10 pound piece) , citrine-colored quartz, and fluorite (which I purchased a small bluish green piece).

As for why this town can be considered a “magic” one, that is in the mind and eye (or even the stomach) of the beholder. The last time that I was there (as I eagerly visit there on far less tourist frequented weekdays every time that I go to the city of Queretaro) while admiring the fantastic view of the town and the surrounding landscape from an off the path locale by the foot of the peak, I was seemingly pulled by the magnetic energy of the vortex and stumbled, crashing full force to the ground, breaking four of my teeth. Well, ok, that is hyperbole as I really fell due to my lack of awareness of the surroundings and my own clumsiness. However, in a somewhat dazed and bloodied state, I was undeterred from accomplishing a primary goal for my visit that day, this non-New Ager experiencing another form of the town’s sublime magic, its delicious blue corn gorditas rellenos/stuffed handmade masa rounds. So, even more disheveled than normal and in considerable pain, I made my way back to town and ordered from my favorite restaurant there and, somehow, consumed three blue corn gorditas de nopales en penca.

Of course, my reasons for believing Bernal to be a Magic Town may indeed be different than yours. I would hope though that there may be one, cosmic or not, unifying factor. That would be the awe-inspiring feeling that one achieves when viewing the prominent peak from a multiplicity of angles and positions, especially from the beguilingly quaint centro of Bernal. Hopefully from any outlook, this small town should be perceived not as being a tourist "trap" but rather as a truly unique tourist "find."