My Latest Adventure just ended. I drove from Pennsylvania, United States to San Luiz Potosi, Mexico and back. It took us two days to get to Brownsville, Texas to stay in a hotel overnight, then crossing the border and driving approximately ten hours through Mexico to get to Aquismon, the town we were staying in. That town is growing every year into a full blown tourist town for Sotano de las Golondrinas, translated to Basement (Cave) of Swallows. Three days of traveling is rough on the body and mind, so I did a lot of reading and listening to audio books when it was my turn to drive. We were staying at a fellow cavers' house who is building it up to be a mini caver hotel for his amigos. It has many beds and rooms and the house is absolutely beautiful with a courtyard to eat in and a blooming garden with trees and plants everywhere! We arrived just before dinner time, so we unpacked the cars, picked rooms, and walked to the town square to get food and explore.
The First Day: For our first day there the best thing we like to do is rig what we call the three sister pits, which are in very close proximity to each other, to check everyone is comfortable with their gear and ready to progress to taller pits throughout the week. This year we only rigged the 380' pit called La Linja, and decided we didn't need to rappel the two smaller sister pits; approximately 120' and 175', since there was only 6 of us and we are all very competent rappellers. Most of us adjusted our ascending gear since there was a long period where we weren't on rope due to covid and hadn't had a rope long enough to fully fit it to us. Practices consisted of loops or a short height with a rope rigged through a rack and letting them ascend in place on rope. To be safe us cavers have a couple Amigos in town, since many groups of us travel to Aquismon, Mexico to rappel the pits and waterfalls in the area, so our mexican guides help us get to and from the rig points in the jungle! We are happy to help locals, especially ones who help us get around safely and find delicious places to eat! Our first rappels and ascents went very well and small adjustments were made to our ascending gear.
The Second Day: This day was the most breathtakingly beautiful because we rappelled something we have never done before, The Waterfall called Tamul! We were lucky since there was a nice trail to the viewpoint, all the way past the rig point, to the bottom of the waterfall. Since the rappel was against a cliffside the whole time and was not a free drop we thought it would be easiest to hike back up the mountain instead of using our ascending gear and going back up the rope. The edge we rigged was dangerous and it had a small nuisance drop we had to climb down to get on rope. I helped my brother do the edge rigging while our leader did the anchor rig. Every one of us rappelled, as we got past the ledge to a free hanging spot we saw the most beautiful waterfall in the perfect position with the sunlight hitting the valley ever so perfectly, and stopped on rope to admire it loudly! All of us started rappelling down, then yelled "WOW LOOK AT THAT!" We had only caught a glimpse of the top of the waterfall before getting on rope, so we had no idea of the view that was to come. I spent a lot of time at the bottom of the waterfall taking pictures. One of the guides hiked down to take pictures, watched us rappel, and made sure we knew where we were going to get back up! This was one of our easier days since we did a lot the first day. Our plan was to do a more difficult pit, then something a bit easier, then bigger the next day to build up to Golondrinas, which is 1200'! So after rappelling and hiking back up the mountain, on some seemingly sketchy ladders, we took a dip at the top of the waterfall in a crystal clear pool! It was cold, but to be able to swim in January was definitely worth the coldness, since it was in the 90s that day. We quickly changed after swimming then we were on our way to dinner. A lot of the pits are far drive, since we have to go up and down the mountains, on sometimes dirt and rock roads, or having to slow almost to a stop to go over the many speed bumps on highways. We drove over the rocky road to go to dinner, filled our bellies, took our guides home, then I went right to bed to rest as much as possible for the next day ahead of me!
The Third Day: My mom decided to stay home this day and rest since she was having lots of trouble physically and with her breathing. She made the smart choice for herself not to push too far and ruin the rest of her trip. We were doing a pit called Socavon and it wasn't an easy day. Socavon is approximately 680' and it is not a full free drop. The drop is sort of cut in half to get down the pit, you have to push off the wall and walk down the wall and loose rocks safely against the formations. We decided since it isn't a clean drop and there are many things that could be brushed off the side and fall into the pit, it was best to not have a belay that day. The rappel wasn't the cleanest for me because I am small, I struggle sometimes having enough weight to go down the rope with a rack, since it uses friction it was causing too much friction for the rope to move through the rack at a nice pace, but luckily I have big spacers to help me! The bottom was very dark and more cave-like than just an open pit, like some of the other pits we were doing on this trip. The bottom was a giant room filled with massive formations like flowstone, cave bacon, soda straws, and so much more! There wasn't much time for us due to the road being too rough for one of our vehicles, our leader having digestive problems, and soon to be others of the group, a miscommunication with our guides in the morning, and the 2 hour drive from our hotel to the pit. So our leader decided it was best to stay at the top and let us who haven't done the pit before to get to do it and have enough time at the bottom to explore! The ascend was very difficult and honestly I struggled a lot. My ascending gear wasn't working as well as it had been two days prior and I could not make enough progress up the rope for the amount of energy I was exerting. I was suffering, but with my brother on rope below me, as we were tandem ascending, I had to push through. I was the first out of the pit, bruised and exhausted, my brother and I had to get back to our car on the side of the mountain to make sure we could get back to the main road, the paved road, in the daylight that we were rapidly losing. So our leader drove us to our car as the last two in the pit were ascending out. We safely made it to the paved road before nightfall and sat under the stars for about 2 hours while the rest of the group had to de-rig and hike out in the dark. It wasn't too long of a hike, but I hated that I couldn't help them and had to just sit there and wait. My brother and I drank a couple beers, listened to music, and talked for the time we were waiting there. It was both nerve racking waiting and the best time being surrounded by nature and family. The roughest day physically seemed to be one of the best days overall. It was a long tiring drive home then straight to bed for me!
The Fourth Day: A rest day was needed for many of us and as a group we decided it was best for us to not rappel Golondrinas the last day as to many health issues (poop problems), but no one in the group minded because health and safety always comes first. Our plan for the fourth day was to rappel Rio Choy, a cave with a drop of about 180', not including rigging any one of the skylights that adds height, but we can never seem to find a good rig point for the sky lights so the bolt in the cave was good for us! There were many changes at the bottom area around the river coming out of the bottom of the cave system. They added a whole area for food, a bar, and a cute little store FULL of beautiful hand made items. There were signs and safety ropes everywhere, and there is a path up the mountain to the railroad tracks, which we had to hike 2 miles on the previous time we had been there, to cross a bridge and climb up the the opening of the cave. All of the changes made it easier for us cavers to get to and from the cave, and opened the area up to so many more people to see! We (me) got distracted in the shop for a little bit before hiking up the mountain to the cave and I ended up buying my favorite item I got there, which was a clay sun and moon hanging sculpture! It's hand painted black and white. After getting yelled at by my leader to hurry up, the hike up wasn't bad and we were rigging the rope quite quickly, so we all got to rappel and have time to swim after. My brother was the only one who hasn't done Rio Choy before and he wanted to experience short rigging the rope to drop off the end! My mom and I had done it in 2019, the first time we were in Mexico and rigged the rope about 20' short, dropping into the turquoise blue water! This year my brother was the only one who wanted to short rig the rope, so we all rappelled first, then I stayed at the bottom to tell them how short to make the rope to be short rigged. It's such a magical experience and swimming with my mom after the drop is so much fun. Then, we went back to the town to have enough time to walk around and shop, since we've been too busy rappelling every other day. Dinner was always delicious and I got a nice hot shower, my first of the week, and went to bed early yet again!
The Fifth Day, Last day before we embark home: For the first time in Mexico I woke up before the roosters! Since we decided not to rappel Sotano de las Golondrinas, we had plans to go to Xilitla, Huastecas Potosina, but still wanted to see the phenomenon of the swallows flying out of the pit, so we woke up at 4:30am and drove up the mountain to see the swallows. The birds did not exit the cave fully due to rain and cold weather, but it was still beautiful seeing the pit. We got back to the hotel at around 9am and had breakfast at 10am, some of us took a nap, and we honestly debated going to a hot spring spa, but still wanted to see the concrete playground in the middle of the jungle high up in the mountains. Xilitla, Mexico was supposed to be a crazy experience, but we only got to see it from the ground because we mixed up times and couldn't get tickets. We (me) also did a lot of shopping because the village in the mountains got a lot of tourists , so they had a whole line of vendors on the road. Even some selling ice cream in banana leaves and little clay bowls you got to keep! I got mango and jack fruit ice cream and it tasted like nothing I have ever had before. We found ourselves at a garden with a big orange gate and signs about a waterfall so we paid the 75 pesos and saw bridges made out of stone and sticks, a triple waterfall, a giant turtle rock sculpture, a brick oven with a face made of rocks on the front of it, and there was a half built house with a round metal door that lead to nowhere. Even though none of our plans worked out, I experienced many new things and it was an even better day than i could have imagined! After the loads of walking and shopping, we headed back to have dinner, then packed the cars up to leave first thing in the morning. So that meant we had time to enjoy our last night with many cervesas (beer)!
This journey changed my mindset on a lot of things in my life. All the people we met in the different towns were so kind and helpful. With the language barrier, the guides were trying to teach us more words in Spanish and we were returning it in English so we all could learn more. Being active everyday, eating healthy, being surrounded by amazing people, and actually being totally disconnected because my phone didn't work the whole time we were there. I had so many enlightening and deep conversations with my group individually throughout the trip. For as much as we did, and didn't do, the journey to Mexico was a long lesson about myself and others around me and I implore you to travel, or at least disconnect from your phone when you can. Experience the world around you as much as possible, and see the beauty that's right in front of you. :)
