El Triunfo

We had a leisurely morning on the beach at Los Cerritos, then hitched up the RV to head back to Los Barriles to see Jim and Phebe once more before they returned north, and to move into the house. We left about noon, headed north for the first hour until we got to the junction with Mex 1, then turned south for an hour to get to Los Barriles. Todos Santos and Los Barriles are almost exactly opposite one another on the peninsula but are separated by the Sierras de Lagunas mountains which rise to almost 8,000 feet, so it’s a long way around with no direct connection by road.

About 30 miles north of Los Barriles is the old mining town of El Triunfo. The silver mines opened here in the mid 18th century, and by the mid 19th it was the largest town in Baja, with a population of over 10,000 folks. It was also, briefly, the capital of the state of Baja Sur. While only a relatively small number of historic buildings remain, there are enough old roads and other infrastructure to get a sense of its former size. We walked around and enjoyed a quiet hour or two exploring and absorbing the history. The town is noted for three things: its baskets made by local women, a restaurant (which was closed on Monday when we were there, so we have an excuse to go back) and a museum. Cathryn purchased a nice bread basket made by Ramona, a local resident, for 200 pesos, or about $18.

We looked around for the museum and finally had to ask someone where to find it. A fellow took us around the corner and introduced us to another man who took keys out of his pocket and ushered us through a door into a dark room and closed the door behind us. We paused and looked at each other with raised eyebrows. As our eyes adjusted to the dark room, we found it contained a grand piano, and about 30 white plastic chairs.

Our guide lead us through this room and then into a series of other rooms turning on the lights ahead of us as we went. It turns out this was the Museo Musica (Music Museum), and we were the only people there. The museum must have contained nearly 100 pianos and a scattering of other instruments including organs, horns, harps and other unfamiliar old instruments. There was limited documentation explaining what each instrument was, sometimes hand-written on small cards much too small to read. But at least one piano was a 1757 Steinway grand made in Boston. Many others were from the early 19th century. There was no explanation of why all the instruments ended up in the small town of El Triunfo in Baja Sur, and unfortunately the care they’ve receive does not bode well for their long-term preservation, though the warm, dry climate may help. We found it fascinating, and can only imagine how someone with more knowledge of pianos would find it even more interesting.

El Triunfo now has somewhere between 500 and 800 residents, depending on who you talk to. Current gold and silver prices are causing some companies to think about reopening some of the old mines on the Cape, El Triunfo among them. This is setting up a classic conflict between the poor underemployed local citizens and some of the gringo ex-pats who want to preserve the current environment from many of the chemicals that are used to extract the silver from the ore. Tough trade-offs.

Here is a link to a few more photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/BobWhite1/Triunfo?feat=directlink