Finca Castel de Oro is a farm/operation built and run by a German man, Gregor, and his wife and family. Gregor moved to Mexico after they got married about 35 years ago. Over that time in Hidalgo, he’s built multiple large solar-powered machines that use mirrors and concentrated sunlight to generate heat and steam. That steam is then used to power different parts of the farm and its operations.

The mirror contraptions actually move with the sun, so the reflection stays focused on a single point that heats up to create the steam. Gregor showed us how powerful that is—he held a piece of wood where the concentrated sunlight hits the metal plate, and within about five seconds it started to burn and then caught on fire. It was insane to see just how intense the sun’s heat can be. The whole idea, process, and execution of designing and building everything was incredible.

Gregor also distills a spirit made from a local plant (agave) and makes a sweet, honey-like syrup from the agave juice. We spent a couple of days at their farm and met another German guy, Michael, a travel photographer who was also passing through Hidalgo. We had a blast getting to know them!

Mirror contraptions, the concentrated point where the sun reflects to from the mirrors is the circular plate in the lower left corner:

Gregor in action with his distilling machine:

Michael, Gregor, and us!

Lots of cacti around:

Not a bad view from the outhouse by the camping area: