Mascota, established around 1592, this lush valley at 4,000ft is rich in wheat, rice and corn. The name Mascota comes from a Nahuatl word "Mazacolta" meaning "Place of Deer and Snakes" and does not refer to 'pets' (isn’t that great, more snakes…). Mascota is an agricultural town,
so we weren’t surprised when we saw horses and donkeys being ridden through town and gathered at the corner. It was no different than seeing some young men coming into town in their cars and stopping to chat at one of their favorite hang-outs. We found that Mascota, together with Talpa are known as the land of the horse and donkey so we found that all we saw made a lot of sense. People from all over Mexico and beyond come here to buy horses and then there are those that bring their horses here to be trained. It’s also a place to purchase peanuts…the fields are just about everywhere and the flavor of the freshly grown peanut is amazing. For us, we were primarily there to find a place to spend the night as there were a lot of great hotels and B&B’s to choose from. Our hotel was one that was about in the middle of the price and quality area but one that was very comfortable and right in the middle of town.
Not only that, it had a great little coffee shop at the corner that all of us enjoyed first thing in the morniing. It was kind of a “stopping off” place on our way to Talpa but one that we are already planning a trip to come back too.