Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Cristo de las Noas

Torreon, Cuahuila, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

One of the main reasons to visit Torreon is to see the Cristo de las Noas.

This is the biggest Christ statue in North America and third biggest in Latin America.

That is saying a lot, actually.

There are only two other statues that are bigger than this one - Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

There is only one way for the public to get up the Cerro de las Noas hill and that is by using the Teleferico.

Come join us below.

Map to the Teleferico

On this map, at the lower right you will see the location of our hotel, Hotel Zafra.

About a 20 minute walk to the upper left of the map we found the Teleferico to take up the Cerro de las Noas hill. 

This hill takes its name from the rosette style succulent called Noa which grows all over this area.

Sign at ticket box for Teleferico

When we first arrived at the entrance of the Teleferico it had about 10 more minutes before it was open.

Fortunately, we were able to wait in the shade until a man opened up the gate so we could climb the stairs to the ticket counter.

Our senior discount tickets

Since we are residents of Mexico and are now seniors, we get a 50% discount  on certain transport, museums and entertainments.

This 15Peso ticket is about 75US cents for a round trip on the cable lift.

Panoramic view of Torreon from top of the hill

 Riding up and down the hill gave us wide looks over the city.

The statue of Christ is 220 meters above the city level and 1300 meters above sea level.

What an expansive view of the city!

Billy and Akaisha Havin' more FUN that Anyone, at top of Cerro de las Noas hill

Being a desert climate, it was shockingly hot at this elevation.

You can see the barren landscape behind us.

More colorful letters spelling out the city's name

It's quite the tourist fashion now in Mexico, to have the name of the city spelled out in colorful letters. People are always standing next to the letters to have their photos taken to send back to family and friends.

Three bells at the top of Cristo de las Noas

Generally speaking, the number 3 is a spiritually significant number.

In this case, the 3 bells might represent the Holy Trinity, but there was no sign giving an explanation.

As is common in Latin America, electric wires and cable wires are often in full view, not discretely hidden in any fashion. Even at the top of this beautiful monument, these heavy lines marked their way across the sky and into our photo!

Map of the tourist area at Cristo de las Noas

As you can see here on the map, this Sanctuario is huge.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, there is a replica of the Holy Land here, and one can request a tour.

While the boys rested in the shade, I was invited on this private tour given by a young nun who lived there on top of the hill!

What a place to call home.

Photo of Cristo with shaft of light

Billy took this photo with his camera, and it wasn't until later that he noticed the shaft of light in front of the statue of Christ.

There was nothing in the sky, no lights, flags or mirrors, yet this shaft appeared in the picture.

It's kinda cool and seems appropriate considering where we were.

Built between 1973 and the year 2000, the statue measures 21.80 meters from its base, and is made of over 580 tons of reinforced concrete.

Chapel of the Nativity in Bethlehem

As I mentioned previously, the couple with whom we took the tram up the hill invited me to go along for this "Holy Land" tour.

I didn't know what I was getting into at the time. Billy and our friend decided to rest in the shade and we expected me to be back in about 5 minutes.

Not so.

Nearly an hour later the tiny tour took us in and out of these various chapels signifying the holiest places of the original Holy Land.

Bethlehem is where Christ was born.

The walkway through the Replica of the Holy Land

Grateful for any shade at all, and for flat land to walk on, this tour must have had a thousand steps up and down.

Every corner was another chapel celebrating something powerful about Christ's life. "These 33 steps signify the 33 years that Christ lived" the young nun explained in Spanish.

"Lovely," I thought to myself.

Thirty-three steps up and thirty-three steps down only to go up and down again at another location at another chapel.

What was really compelling about these trees is that they are olive trees from the garden of Gethsemane. This is where Christ prayed before the Roman soldiers arrested Him and took him to Pontius Pilate and then to Herod Antipas to condemn Him to death.

Chapel of the Resurrection

In each of these tiny chapels were relics brought back from the original locations.

Dirt from Bethlehem where Jesus was born, from Mount Calvary (or Golgotha) where Jesus was crucified, and so on through the story of the Life of Jesus.

Cristo de las Noas overlooking the city of Torreon

I can give you numbers of the height and weight of this statue, but seeing real human beings next to it gives you a more concrete idea.

In this artist's rendition, Christ the Merciful, Christ the Beloved looks onto the city of Torreon, welcoming the people and protecting them.

Chapel of the Assumption

This young nun was the woman who gave us the Tour of the Holy Land. While this was the last Chapel we visited, we still had the Grand Main Church in which to finish off our tour.

I'm telling you, most of the time I had no idea where we were going next or how long this tour was going to be! And I was quickly running out of my bottled water.

Once again, in the center of the floor was a relic of the land where Jesus is said to have assumed into heaven.

The Main Church

Walking through the back ways, down tiny lanes, and through doors only the young nun knew about, we arrived here in the Main Church at the altar.

Quite modern, as you can see.

The Stations of the Cross were done in contemporary ornamental wrought iron. Not only was this attractive, but I had never seen anything like this before.

The huge stature of Christ is directly out the front door.

Looking back at Cristo from Teleferico

Here we are once again in the Teleferico, looking back at the complex.

If you are ever in Torreon - regardless of your faith or lack of it - this monument is worth a visit. The panoramic views of the city are memorable and you will have unique photos to show your family and friends.

__________

Cristo de las Noas

Calle de los Misterios s/n 27350

Torreon, Cuahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico

Email: patronatocristorey.23@gmail.com

Tele: 871. 712. 3943

The Teleferico is closed Monday, but open every other day from 11am to 9pm

Teleferico Email: comunicacionteleferico@gmail.com

Tele: 711.0935

For more photos and stories on Mexico, CLICK HERE

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