Cave paintings???

Road CowA glorious Saturday had us heading north on the obstacle course for cars which we refer to as the new road.  It was built several years ago, headed straight to nowhere and quickly it fell into disrepair, ridden with pot holes. Diminishing pavement sucked up undermining road base and a sprinkling of cows for good measure. We were told it had been improved and around each corner we waited for such.  Low and behold some repairs had been made  – a treasure hunt for our doubting minds.

Boda del Alamo totem pole

We met up with our primos and headed out on the Razor toward our hike to the “cave paintings” in Boca del Alamo – thought to be around 800 years old and painted by the first inhabitants of Baja Sur.

Boca del Alamo

Boca del Alamo

The caves were visible from the road and near the top of a steep mountain. We were in for a long climb. I thought, “This will be fun – the view will be endless – bring it.”  Hiking in Baja is an obstacle course in  itself – the terrain is craggy, dry and rocky and you have to be on constant alert to dodge the sinister stickers on trees, cactus and brush –  a defense mechanism bred into everything that grows here.

Craggy tree

A quick 15 minutes later we came upon a boulder the size of the casita. We’re here?

But wait… aren’t “cave paintings” in caves?  Does this mean I don’t have to hike up the side of the mountain to get to the cave?

Low  and behold the underside of the rock revealed paintings of people, animals and marine life – fading away but still quite visible.  What a discovery!  What a canvas!

Pictograph

 

So maybe pictographs or rock art might be more appropriate terms, but avoiding the hike straight up the mountain to the caves was a pleasant surprise!

Sticky stuff

We took photos and crawled through the brush to get a better view of the sea.

Scrubby trees

Brazil tree - I think!

A lunch at the classic seaside Mexican resort Punta Pescadero rounded off the day with boundless views and potent margaritas.

This time we took the one lane seaside dirt road back home.

Un buen día fue tenido por todos.