El Altilte, a small valley near Barra de Navidad, in addition to its beautiful landscapes, hides in the mounds that limit it the traces of a still inexplicable past.
El Altilte, a small valley near Barra de Navidad, in addition to its beautiful landscapes, hides in the mounds that limit it the traces of a still inexplicable past.
“The lake is evaporating! Something's evaporating! Ricky, our six-year-old nephew, announced in anguish when at about 6:30 in the morning he left the tent and watched a strange steam glide over the calm waters. from the lake. "No, darling!" Her mother answered, sleepy and not really wanting to go out. “It's not evaporating, don't worry! It's just fog! Come here and I'll explain! "
By that time, the herons of different species, from ticks to gray and dark herons; ducks, kingfishers, bienteveos and all the beautiful community of birds that inhabit those areas, adorned the landscape with their presence and their morning song. But Ricky decided to stay outside, enchanted by all that beauty that was displayed before his eyes, and in his childhood imagination he preferred the idea that the lake was evaporating. “They all have to come out!… Yes! The lake is evaporating! ”He continued tirelessly.
And, like Ricky, those of us who have been there, in the El Altilte valley, find at that time of the morning a very special charm, when the mist gradually disappears between the tulles that surround the something. In times of heat, a comforting freshness is felt; and in cold weather, it fades when the sun's rays penetrate through the branches of the dense tropical forest, in which fig trees and camichines predominate and, added by human hands, tamarinds. A multitude of tamarinds.
El Altilte is a small valley on the road to Christmas. Its fertile soil and the characteristic humidity of the areas near the coast are ideal elements for its orchards of mangoes, watermelons, papayas and Chinese melons to remain in production.
And it is not only its small dream lake that has attracted us to El Altilte, in such a way that our frequent trips there have become a kind of ritual. The reason is that ... and something else.
BOARDS WITH IMAGES OF OUR ANCESTORS
Marking what is the El Altilte valley, there is a group of marble hills, on the limits of the imposing chain of volcanic mountains of the Sierra Cacoma, whose existence seems to have no logic. When we started our expeditions in that area (in search of caves, of course), the locals informed us that on the walls of one of those hills there were "monkeys drawn by the ancients." For something like that, certainly, the caves could wait. And since we had been told that they were in the first of these hills, we went into the undergrowth that leads to the place and climbed huge chunks of that precious material.
The afternoon was already beginning to fall when, absorbed, we wandered our eyes between the high and flat walls. Little by little (about ten meters above), as if emerging from the same rock, different figures were outlined. Practically in front, a smiling little man appeared dressed in what looked like baggy pants, and on his head a strange helmet with a kind of feather in the center, that one of the companions dared to identify as an astronaut. And so, one by one, other figures were shown: over there, a sun; beyond, what looked like a dog; then something like a frog; later, an arrow, and many other figures for which our imagination was not enough. Some were repeated in different places (the dog and the sun, for example).
If it was true that this work had been done by our ancestors, who were they and why would they have decided to do it in such an inaccessible place? What tool did they use to carve a stone as difficult as marble, and what would be the meaning of that work? Although that region has not been studied so far, after observing our slides the eminent archaeologist Otto Schöndube gave us some very interesting data: despite the difficulty of sculpting, it is obvious that those people took advantage of the shape of the walls to record and leave to posterity its important events.
On the other hand, since the mountains along the coast are perfectly visible from the top of the hill, it is possible that they have chosen that site for astronomical observations. Very interesting it also turned out that what looked like a dog to us, the archaeologist immediately identified as a badger. Other of the figures that are repeated, he thinks that perhaps they represent shields, or something like masks. These petroglyphs very possibly date from 700 to 1220 AD.
Due to the fact that marble has been mined there for more than twenty years, Dr. Schöndube's opinion contributed to the fact that the marble makers, until now, continue to respect the area of the petroglyphs. And although they know that the place has not yet been studied, those who inhabit the surrounding areas feel proud to possess within what they consider theirs something very extraordinary.
In a recent explanation with the biologist José Luis Zavala, and after a rather difficult hike, and even dangerous at times (given that the marble explorers have drastically changed the original shape of some of the hills, and what one day, for example , they were inclined slopes, they have turned them into steep, almost vertical walls), we managed to climb to the top of what we now call the Cerro de los Petroglifos. There we discovered that among the largest stones there are many more of these figures, which patiently wait for the experts to come to them and one day decide what, through all those symbols, the inhabitants of that time wanted to share with us. This is one more piece of the great puzzle that forms the history of our country.
ALSO, BEAUTIFUL MARBLE CAVERNS
Jalisco is not really a paradise for cavers, especially if we compare its caves with so many truly spectacular that can be seen in other states of the Republic. What we have learned from our expeditions here, however, is that, beyond what the dimensions of a cave might represent, there are other equally valid aspects. It is always, for us, a delight to explore those underground worlds of the El Altilte caves, whose beauty is due, above all, to the beautiful material in which they have been formed. The fact that they are also the habitat of very special fauna is something that has always fascinated us. In all these caves, for example, we have found different species of bats. And in two of them - in the Devil's Cave and in the Tecolotes Cave - there are more than one family of beautiful little owls.
When we began our expeditions to El Altilte, there was no shortage of people who told us about one of those caves made by imagination.
The supposed "great cave" - close to a lake - had a kind of spiral staircase that led to an underground river. At a certain point it was necessary to cross the river on a large tree trunk to continue later, kilometer after kilometer, until reaching the slopes of the Colima snow-capped mountain. Understanding, however, that the existence of a similar cave was remote, we decided to focus our attention on the search for the lake, although, since no one could give us information about its location, we also asked for the hope of finding it.
We recently returned to the area, and only then did we discover that the lake does exist ... and near it ... a cave, without the spiral staircase, of course. This cavern is one of the largest that we have explored in Jalisco, and in addition to bats, it is inhabited -in large numbers, by the way- a species of millipedes of a whitish color (not very appreciated by members of the group) that move very actively among the guano of the various species of bats that have found a home in that wonderful underground palace. On the other hand, we can say that from a certain point, in one of the most remote branches, the flowing of moving water can be heard. And although we very much doubt that beyond these waters there is an exit to the Nevado de Colima, this cavern is also one of the most attractive that we have traveled due to the multiple difficulties that it has presented us with.
IN DANGER OF DISAPPEARING
Although, at least for the moment, we can see the area of the petroglyphs safe from the ambition of the marble exploiters, the caves of those cerritos are another story. One of them (the Vinagrillo cave) no longer exists (and who knows if others that we never knew!). The lake cavern is only a few meters from where the marble is currently being mined. And its disappearance would not only mean denying future generations the enjoyment of its beauty, but also the right to survive other beings that are part of the fauna and who have found a safe refuge there.
IF YOU GO TO THE ALTILTE
About two hours from Guadalajara, on Highway 80, you reach Casimiro Castillo (formerly Resolana), going down the Sierra Cacoma. A few kilometers ahead is La Concha (La Concepción) and another 500 m, on the right side, you come to a dirt road. This path –which makes a marked curve to the left- leads to another small gap that goes to the right, but… be careful! You have to continue forward on the same one on the left. Passing this is the area of the petroglyphs. This same path leads to El Altilte lake.
Source: Unknown Mexico No. 250 / December 1997
