As dawn began to spill over the solid basalt cliff’face towering over my campsite, a dog busied himself at the foot of my sleeping bag by relentssly barking at me. I wasn´t quite sure why I was being subjected to his alarm. ¨Buenos Dias, Tequeso.¨I said softly, hoping he´d remember our shortlived friendship the day before when I fed him some tortilla.
He stretched slowly, arching his back and resting his floppy ears and head on top of his paws that he was extending towards me. His hindquarters remained upright as if he just might pounce on me after he´s done stretching. Tequeso gently growled and tilted his head to the side while he pawed repeatedly at the air, as if to say, ¨Why aren´t you up and enjoying this beautiful place.¨
At the end of Basaseachi, a village that did not even exist on our Northern Mexico Map is a Parque Nacional surrounding a breathtaking 310 meter “cascada,” the tallest in Mexico. Below, a mist of water settled in an immense pool of absinthe tinted water, before trickling through house sized boulders into the Rio Candameña that slides through a colossal box canyon. Immense cliffs that defy perspective of proportion leave you feeling as if you were among a land of giants. “It would be a shame to sleep in,” I thought reassuringly.
Impatiently, Tequeso strengthened his argument by taking off with one of my socks, running through some low brush and behind a mushroom shaped boulder. He liked this game. I was a poor match for him.
I sat in defeat with a cup of Mezclado Coffee I brewed (a sweet coffee roasted with 30% azucar) and felt the warm breeze carry the scent of sunlight grazing the morning dew on pine needles. The day before, we swam in a nearby creek, where we followed the cool water between narrow slots, under arches, and through small underwater tunnels. Little climbing challenges appeared on the rock faces jetting out of the deep pools of water and my failures were rewarded with a refreshing dip. Though, at the moment, my refuge of shade from the warm sun had quickly receded, and I couldn’t wait to explore the waterfall and other swimming holes. “And maybe,” I thought, “the dog will bring back my sock.”
 A little boy named Alexander, greeted me as I walked below the Area de Acampar through a horseshoe of half a dozen Artesanio Shops and restaurants. He was wearing a faded striped shirt, so thin it was almost transparent and a pair of dusty blue shorts.
“Why aren´t you at school?” I teased.
“No, no attendo la escuela.” He replied.
“¿Porque no?”
“Yo necesito a ayudar (help) mi familia aquÃ.”
“¿Donde estan tus amigos?”I asked.
“En Basaseachi, aya.” He pointed down the road.
“¿Te quiere?” He asked as he held up a bag of spicy Cheetohs.
“No, no gracias.”
After exhausting my conversational vocabulary I said goodbye and continued down to the trailhead. The four of us bounced down the steps and over a short metal bridge. Traversing the creek, we could see the transparent water trickle behind a 50 yard slab of rock, pouring through narrow passages into a larger pool gradually painting the water into a shifting evanescent green.
A slot canyon cut through the rock forming rounded out spherical swimming holes. Nate leaped into one of the narrow pools and encouraged the idle water to ripple against the contours of the canyon.
I hopped in after Nate and misjudged the drop, landing a bit too far and had to brace my fall somewhat against an underwater rock-face. The moment of fear was quickly supplanted with the exhilaration of frigid water. I retreated to a sunny segment of rock rising out of the water.  As the sun scintillated into the water, a reflection of fluid, electric luminosity shimmered across the stone walls.
After exploring that swimming hole, we continued towards the main attraction. A cliff face appeared in the distance; an illusory view of the horizon precipitously vanished and reappeared on the other side of the vast canyon. As we edged up to the rim, a gust of mist swept over us. Only a fluttering rainbow separated us from the pool of water 1,000 feet below.
The stream slipped down a narrow rock slide under a substantial stone arch and hesitated as it rested in one final pool before plunging into the canyon depths. We clambered over the arch and around the pool. I said to Nate, “Hey, I think we could probably swim in there.”
“You think we could get out?” He replied.
We stared down at the pool and the steep slopes on all sides.
“Ehh..I think we´d have no choice.” I replied.
We cautiously maneuvered down to the top of the slide and looked down at the pool framed by the overhead arch. Nate insisted on going first. He straddled the flow of water and sat down, wedging his hands against the rocks before letting go and sliding into the panorama of a swimming hole at edge of the earth. After the splash faded into wrinkles at the surface, Nate emerged with a radiant smile on his face. We were able to easily climb out of the pool and soon all of us were jumping in and lounging on the sunny rocks near the edge, allowing us to see the water cascade all the way to the bottom.
We dried off in the sun and headed towards the trailhead. Steep switchbacks were well defined and at more precarious places, the hiker was protected by barbed wire. Every once in a while, the cover of Pine Trees and Madrones would break and expose a view of the waterfall and surrounding canyon. The trail flattened out at the bottom and wound around gigantic boulders and through wildflowers that looked like Indian Paintbrush, ending at a lagoon of water at the base of “la cascada.” The cliffs had risen above the sun, and its shadow was gently covering the water. I took the opportunity to swim out into the cold water before the shimmering pool was completely cloaked. The water falling above faded into the wind, but continued to trickle down the mossy rock surfaces at the bottom. I whirled my head around to take in the complete vista, from the tadpoles nipping at my feet to the expansive cliff face reaching towards the sky.
Hiking up was much slower, but we were in pretty good shape from our daily bike rides and continued even further up the trail to a “Ventana” resting at the edge of an opposing cliff. From there we could see our swimming hole as a mere speck in the magnificent canyon country. Nate summed up our awe, “The Yosemite of the Sierra Madres.”
Back at camp, I saw Tequeso wagging his tail as if he had been waiting for us to come back. He had something in his mouth and I hoped it was my sock. I walked up to him, half expecting him to bolt. However, when I got closer, he merely flopped to the ground and began aggressively chewing Sean´s bike glove.
I managed to grab the glove from him and asked, “Tequeso.. what´d you do with my sock?”
I tried again in Spanish, “¿Tequeso, donde es mi calcetine?”
No response. He really did like this game.
“A small price to pay to swim in waterfalls,” I thought, conceding his victory.
Oh Jacob! You are becoming quite the Photographer!! I love the pictures and would love to get some of them printed up,can’t wait till a CD of them makes it home. You guys are pretty “gutsy sitting on the edge of the world.” You know how I love seeing my boys at those heighths? MOM
Oh Jacob! You are becoming quite the Photographer!! I love the pictures and would love to get some of them printed up,can’t wait till a CD of them makes it home. You guys are pretty “gutsy sitting on the edge of the world.” You know how I love seeing my boys at those heighths? MOM
Oh Jacob! You are becoming quite the Photographer!! I love the pictures and would love to get some of them printed up,can’t wait till a CD of them makes it home. You guys are pretty “gutsy sitting on the edge of the world.” You know how I love seeing my boys at those heighths? MOM
Hey gentlemen,
Great to read of your progress. Seems like the days of freezing are long long gone. Glad to hear about swimming and fun in the sun. Wish I could read some more but this is rich.
Safe travels–hope the new bikes are an improvement.
Brij
Hey gentlemen,
Great to read of your progress. Seems like the days of freezing are long long gone. Glad to hear about swimming and fun in the sun. Wish I could read some more but this is rich.
Safe travels–hope the new bikes are an improvement.
Brij
Hey gentlemen,
Great to read of your progress. Seems like the days of freezing are long long gone. Glad to hear about swimming and fun in the sun. Wish I could read some more but this is rich.
Safe travels–hope the new bikes are an improvement.
Brij
cool writing jacob, very enjoyable, looking forward to next posts, ride on guys!
cool writing jacob, very enjoyable, looking forward to next posts, ride on guys!
cool writing jacob, very enjoyable, looking forward to next posts, ride on guys!
yeah,very cool,you’ll be seeing some cool snakes and lizards soon.don’t play with them it’s a long way from help,except the locals,and there cures.the first rider wakes them up and the next ones get bit.be cool………..
yeah,very cool,you’ll be seeing some cool snakes and lizards soon.don’t play with them it’s a long way from help,except the locals,and there cures.the first rider wakes them up and the next ones get bit.be cool………..
yeah,very cool,you’ll be seeing some cool snakes and lizards soon.don’t play with them it’s a long way from help,except the locals,and there cures.the first rider wakes them up and the next ones get bit.be cool………..
Hey Jacob, thanks for visiting our blog…such nice comments. Love reading about your adventures! It seems like you’ve encountered some nice people and places. Sometimes my students will ask about you and I fill them in. They love hearing about your journey.
Hey Jacob, thanks for visiting our blog…such nice comments. Love reading about your adventures! It seems like you’ve encountered some nice people and places. Sometimes my students will ask about you and I fill them in. They love hearing about your journey.
Hey Jacob, thanks for visiting our blog…such nice comments. Love reading about your adventures! It seems like you’ve encountered some nice people and places. Sometimes my students will ask about you and I fill them in. They love hearing about your journey.
You guys are SICK!
You guys are SICK!
You guys are SICK!
Jacob, I suspect you meant “verdant” when you said “evanescent”… yes? No matter, the beauty of the place comes through in the writing. Thanks to Goat for the postcard: a nice gesture! You guys are very far south of Mexico at this point, and I’m just catching up. I hope you are all well!
Jacob, I suspect you meant “verdant” when you said “evanescent”… yes? No matter, the beauty of the place comes through in the writing. Thanks to Goat for the postcard: a nice gesture! You guys are very far south of Mexico at this point, and I’m just catching up. I hope you are all well!
Jacob, I suspect you meant “verdant” when you said “evanescent”… yes? No matter, the beauty of the place comes through in the writing. Thanks to Goat for the postcard: a nice gesture! You guys are very far south of Mexico at this point, and I’m just catching up. I hope you are all well!