Cave Paintings

Thursday, February 18

Another beautiful day in Mulege. Today D and G see us off to a tour of cave paintings. Our guide, Salvador, picks us up a 15-passenger van. What time will we be back, D and G ask Salvador? No later than 4, he repliees. It feels a bit like we are off on a high school field trip. We motor into town to pick up more people. These turn out to be folks we met over the breakfast table at Ignacio Springs; we were off for a day-trip to see whales and  they were off for a 3-day trip to do the same. They report that their trip was rewarding in every detail. Kuyima, the company that did our tours, is very ecology-conscious, so they learned about how the camp works as well as about whales.

First we travel up the hill to the government buildings, where we must register as visitors to the cave paintings. There is also a 40 peso fee for those who wish to take photos (no flash!) in the caves. Registered and paid, we head out of town, and turn off on the ice house road. We stop along the way to examine some of the desert plants. Salvador tells us some of the medicinal uses of the plants and  their roots. Creosote leaves, he tells us, are used to cure smelly feet. Put them in your shoes and wear them for a while. The bottoms of your feet will turn brown, but that will wear off in a few weeks. And the root of the plant, he tells us, in a tea, will dissolve kidney stones. The plant life is dominated by the huge cordon and thickets of cholla. That the cordon grow 2 cm a year makes them even more impressive -- many of those we see are 300-400 years old.

We continue down the fair dirt road, through two gates, to the Rancho Trinidad; so named, our guide tells us, for the three-humped peak that overlooks the valley. Here we sign in again on the breezy patio, and get ready for our hike. There is a lovely, spacious bano, with a tiled shower in in the corner -- civilization in the midst of desert. We start off uphill and hike a short while over broken rock, into a narrow canyon. The rock is mostly volcanic, lots of extruded lava and huge chunks of conglomerate. Mixed here and there is some limestone. Salvador carries an inner tube with a rope, slung around his shoulder, and a small cooler. The rest of us are burdened with little more than our day packs and cameras.

We  stop at a petroglyph, a deer scratched on a rock. This, Salvador tells us, is a message that this place has good hunting. There is also a beautiful metate and a few other things that might be stone tools. And there is a flourishing organ pipe cactus, and a prime example of the white-barked palo blanco tree.

On we go over the broken ground. And then we come to the place we have been told about --  the stream, dammed further up, has carved out a deep pool. Black pipe runs though the pool, carrying water from the upstream dam to the rancho, where it is stored in a large tank on the hill behind the homestead. Here, we must swim.  We strip to our swimsuits and sort out gear. We will leave some of it here. Salvador collects our belongings in a dry sack, and balances the large bag and the cooler on the inner tube. We ask him how many people he has lost here; many, he replies, but never any of the gear.

We wade in gingerly, and then step off the ledge.  Swim we must. Man, it's cold! Fortunately it is only a short swim, and the first cave, La Trinidad, is just around the corner. Here Salvador pauses first to let us take pictures. Neal and Celia's camera battery has just died, so I'm the only one clicking away.

The paintings are magnificent, in red, black, and white. There are some petroglyphs, but paintings predominate. Once I quit clicking, Salvador gives us a short history of the Spanish colonization. Believe it or not, the indigenous people here, the Cochimi, showed these paintings to the Jesuit missionaries. What is known about the paintings today is from the few writings of those missionaries that were not destroyed when  the Jesuits were recalled by the King of Spain. The paintings in this cave are some 7500 years old. My favorites are a fish and a deer. And, of course, the hands are a classic. Salvador tells us that when the children survived to a certain age, then were allowed to put up their handprints as evidence of fertility of the tribe.

We spend a long time here, as there is so much to see. Then we continue up the narrow canyon, up and down short rocky slopes, across the stream in places (I change from tennies to crocs and back at least twice). It is pleasantly warm, and the hike is not strenuous. We pause often. Celia sits down while coming down a rock slope -- right on a bit of cactus. Ouch. Salvador removes the spine, and then proceeds to uproot the offending cholla and topple it off the "path".

Around another corner and across the stream again, we come to a second cave, Santo Patricio. These paintings also amaze; and there are even some on the ceiling. They are more primitive, and may be as old as 11,000 years B.C.

The way back seems shorter. But then, it always seems so. We come again to the stretch we must swim. None of us is eager to plunge in, even though lunch waits just around the corne. Celia and I stand in the sun to warm up before the plunge. Finally, we can delay no longer. Brrrr. Just as cold.

Lunch is a thick slice of ham on wheat bread, with lots of avocado, tomato, and cheese, and garnished with yellow mustard. It tastes pretty good. Salvador has also given each of us a boiled egg, a banana, and an orange. I can manage only the sandwich, with a glass of coke. Lunch is good.

Reclothed and fed, we hike back to the rancho. Mama meets us with a huge, hot apple fritter; Salvador gives each of us a piece. Yum. We dither a while, climb back into the van, and head for town. We are a quiet group. Neal and I exchange emails so that I can send him a link to pictures; I have promised to upload mine full size for him. B and I get back to the casita about 4:40. D & G were just about to send out the patrols (not really).

The primo public cave painting site near Mulege, San Borgitas, is closed now. The hurricane last September wiped out the road. It is expected to reopen soon. We'd like to see that one. The pictures of it are fantastic.

For dinner, we have the kilo of large shrimp that the vendor sold us this morning for 200 pesos. We skewer a dozen and a half, seasoned with oil and garlic, and boil another dozen. We will have shrimp salad another day. For tonight, the shrimp, broccoli, and fresh corn tortillas, bought today (1/2 kilo for 6.5 pesos), are a fine meal. We finish off the box of Gamesa cookies for dessert.