11.23.2007

Sotano de la Golondrinas
Mexico Day 5

The best for last — Sótano de la Golondrinas, 1,150 feet.
Sotano de la Golondrinas
Here Kurt climbs out solo. Since only three of us were on the trip, he let Chris and I tandem climb out of the pit.

Sotano de la Golondrinas
Me at the bottom.

Sotano de la Golondrinas
Signed the register!

Sotano de la Golondrinas
The view of the bottom about a third of the way climbing out.

Sotano de la Golondrinas
Chris at the lip of the massive pit.

Sotano de la Golondrinas
Our guide hauling our rope for us.

Sotano de la Golondrinas
And the parrots circling the pit as we leave our last Mexican pit during our trip.

11.22.2007

GuaGuas
Mexico Day 4

Hoya de las GuaGuas, 668 feet deep, was our next Mexican pit. We hired a couple of locals for the day, to take us there and to haul our ropes. We bought them lunch for the day as well.
GuaGuas

GuaGuas
Chris was the first to go over the lip on rappel.

GuaGuas
The view of climbers at the bottom is amazing.

GuaGuas
Here’s the view at the bottom. The black void on the right is another 600-foot rappel down an unstable breakdown slope. It’s rather dangerous, from the stories I’ve been told.

GuaGuas
Here Kurt climbs up the drop.

GuaGuas
And here he is topping the 668 feet.

11.21.2007

Las Pozas
Mexico Day 3

After a really long previous day (we didn’t get to our beds until almost sunrise), we opted to have a day off. So we visited the Mexican rainforest again, near a remote mountain village called Xilitla, to visit the home of the extraordinary surrealist architecture of Edward James called Las Pozas.
Las Pozas
It was like M. C. Escher meets an elvish city.

Las Pozas
Beautiful sculptures and gardens at every turn.

Las Pozas
Strange paths the go no where or end abruptly.

Las Pozas
Luckily, it was a slow day on the property, and only a handful of tourists were around roaming.

Las Pozas
Some of the projects were not completed before Edward James’ death in 1984.

Las Pozas
This staircase induces vertigo and has no handholds.

Las Pozas
Building with no walls and hidden routes was the normal. It was a fabulous day!

Swimming
Afterwards, we stopped for a swim at a cave-fed river south of Aquismón. This little boy wouldn’t go away until I took his picture with his minnow.

Scenery
And the amazing view going home.

11.20.2007

Parade
Mexico Day 2

Our departure from the village of Aquismón was delayed due to a parade celebrating the Aniversario de la Revolución (the Mexican Revolution).
Parade

El Socavon

Our mountain taxi driver got on the road and up to the mountain top, where we picked up a local caver, Cesario Cedillo. He also ran the local tourism office, and we were lucky to have him as our guide for the day. Below is his house . . .
El Socavon

El Socavon

El Socavon
En route to El Socavon, a 700 foot pit near the city of Valle Verde. Supposedly, not very many people have been down he pit, due to its remoteness.

El Socavon
Riding on the back of the truck was an all-day affair.

El Socavon
We had to stop a couple of times to give the truck some attention, as it wasn’t in the best condition.

El Socavon
Finally, we got to the village!

El Socavon
We’re very close to the cave entrance!

El Socavon
The view from the bottom of the pit. Unfortunately, we didn’t get into the pit during daylight hours, so not much was seen.

11.19.2007

For a week in November, Chris and I teamed up with Kurt Waldron for a Mexican caving trip. Our goal was to bounce as many Mexican pits as possible, spending our time in the state of San Luis Potosi. Our plan was to do the grandest of them all: Sótano de la Golondrinas at 1,150 feet, last. The first pit we went to was called Sótano de la Huasteca and is a 420 foot rappel. The following images are from our first Mexican pit, it was an amazing day!
Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca

Sotano de la Huasteca