wow, very cool. We are leaving tomorrow morning for 7 days so this is great information. Thanks guys.
Layne
Layne
Trip Report - Mexico
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Hey Zinc....Man I wish I could of made the trip with you 2. Sounds like an adventure. (but for those of us who knows Zinc personally.....its always an adventure!!) Sorry we couldn't work it out. Next time for sure.
I'll be in Austin next week, I'll give ya a call and give ya the details.
I'll be in Austin next week, I'll give ya a call and give ya the details.
John and I will work on finishing this report by the end of the week and I'll try and get some pictures inserted back into the thread, so keep an eye out for the rest of the story... 
Castillo de Ingles
So the Castillo de Ingles is a surrealist castle built on 80 acres of jungle just outside the mountain town of Xilitla, in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. To me, the design of the structures resembles what I’d imagine MC Escher and Dr. Seuss would have built if they were architects, instead of artists. It was very surreal, very cool:14:
The structures were built by Englishman Edward James, heir to a copper and timber fortune, who moved to Xilitla in 1950. Over the next few decades, he employed hundreds of locals in construction of the 36 structures, only one of which was built for human habitation. The rest of the structures are terraces, bridges, fountains, stairways and arches spread out over the jungle hillside among an impressive waterfall and series of pools with crystal clear water. It looks like a project without end, and most likely was as the construction continued right up to Edward James’ death in 1984. Since then, the jungle has taken over, leaving one truly memorable trek though a wilderness of concrete, plants, and water. Don’t forget your camera!
Sotano de las Golondrinas
Our next stop was up yet another long and narrow mountain road to the Sotano de las Golondrinas, or Cave of the Swallows. At 1,235 feet deep, it is the second deepest pit in Mexico and the 11th deepest in the world. According to some it may be considered the “most spectacular and renowned pit in the world.” When we finally reached the entrance after miles of steep dirt road, we were greeted by a little boy who offered to guide us to the cave, no-charge. Once at the cave, we paid the gatekeeper $20 pesos for us both and then took a look from the edge, guarded by the precariously draped yellow “caution” ribbon which we were told not to cross (duh). There were several vantage points to peer into the pit from, including one with a tree at the edge which you could hold onto and lean over. Our guide wasn’t too pleased when John leaned out a bit too far… :11:
We arrived around 4:30pm and were told that around 5:30pm that millions of birds would begin returning to the cave, swooping and circling in its massive depths, down to wherever they’d made their nest. This ritual mass exodus each morning and return in the evening repeats like clockwork, starting with a few birds at a time and building up to a storm of thousands of birds at a time diving into the abyss. No pictures we took do it justice, but you can hear the wind of their wings and see a blur on the video as they went streaking by. At one point, a man came and rigged a rappelling harness to the rock and was standing out on the edge beyond the little yellow ribbon. I paid him a few pesos, and he looped the rope around me so I could crawl out and look over the edge to the bottom 1200 feet below. Needless to say, I was aware of my increased heart rate for the next 10 minutes. They say without a parachute, it would take a person 12 seconds to hit the ground falling from that height.
After 2 ½ hours observing this spectacle we headed with our guide back to the truck where we’d begin the long steep decent in first gear down the mountain.
Next up, leaving SLP for Tamaulipas, Mexico
So the Castillo de Ingles is a surrealist castle built on 80 acres of jungle just outside the mountain town of Xilitla, in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. To me, the design of the structures resembles what I’d imagine MC Escher and Dr. Seuss would have built if they were architects, instead of artists. It was very surreal, very cool:14:
The structures were built by Englishman Edward James, heir to a copper and timber fortune, who moved to Xilitla in 1950. Over the next few decades, he employed hundreds of locals in construction of the 36 structures, only one of which was built for human habitation. The rest of the structures are terraces, bridges, fountains, stairways and arches spread out over the jungle hillside among an impressive waterfall and series of pools with crystal clear water. It looks like a project without end, and most likely was as the construction continued right up to Edward James’ death in 1984. Since then, the jungle has taken over, leaving one truly memorable trek though a wilderness of concrete, plants, and water. Don’t forget your camera!
Sotano de las Golondrinas
Our next stop was up yet another long and narrow mountain road to the Sotano de las Golondrinas, or Cave of the Swallows. At 1,235 feet deep, it is the second deepest pit in Mexico and the 11th deepest in the world. According to some it may be considered the “most spectacular and renowned pit in the world.” When we finally reached the entrance after miles of steep dirt road, we were greeted by a little boy who offered to guide us to the cave, no-charge. Once at the cave, we paid the gatekeeper $20 pesos for us both and then took a look from the edge, guarded by the precariously draped yellow “caution” ribbon which we were told not to cross (duh). There were several vantage points to peer into the pit from, including one with a tree at the edge which you could hold onto and lean over. Our guide wasn’t too pleased when John leaned out a bit too far… :11:
We arrived around 4:30pm and were told that around 5:30pm that millions of birds would begin returning to the cave, swooping and circling in its massive depths, down to wherever they’d made their nest. This ritual mass exodus each morning and return in the evening repeats like clockwork, starting with a few birds at a time and building up to a storm of thousands of birds at a time diving into the abyss. No pictures we took do it justice, but you can hear the wind of their wings and see a blur on the video as they went streaking by. At one point, a man came and rigged a rappelling harness to the rock and was standing out on the edge beyond the little yellow ribbon. I paid him a few pesos, and he looped the rope around me so I could crawl out and look over the edge to the bottom 1200 feet below. Needless to say, I was aware of my increased heart rate for the next 10 minutes. They say without a parachute, it would take a person 12 seconds to hit the ground falling from that height.
After 2 ½ hours observing this spectacle we headed with our guide back to the truck where we’d begin the long steep decent in first gear down the mountain.
Next up, leaving SLP for Tamaulipas, Mexico
scubashawn123
Contributor
scubashawn123
Contributor
scubashawn123
Contributor
Did I ever mention how much I like sherpas and wish they were hanging out at Windy Point and beyond
Shawn
Yes, in fact John and I both commented on this while hiking back up.... we're your ears burning last Tuesday around 5:30 or so?
Hey Zinc, what is John talking about?
Shawn
Ok, so during one of our dives at Media Luna I noticed some bikini's at the surface... did we mention how good the vis was.... anyhow, there was a troupe of four vagabonds, 3 gals/1 guy (perhaps lucky) who'd gone down to swim.
Later, after watching John and I haul our ton of gear back to the truck, loaded, and were about to drive off, only then, did they approach me for a lift into town. Figuring some extra karma while traveling in MX couldn't hurt, I tied down their full backpacks on the roof and they sat on the back of my Avalanche for the dust filled ride into town.
I had commented to John that they could've helped us haul all that stuff considering they waited till we were finished with the work to ask for help. I also commented that while one had pretty eyes and bikini's are a welcome view from beneath the water, I couldn't imagine gettin' close and personal as dirty as they appeared to be from the road.
Anyhow, 3 days later while climbing down from the Castillo de Ingles, I passed the group, minus one gal (the sort of normal lookin one), and we stopped to chat. They were all showered up and one gal with particularly pretty eye's was especially eager to converse.... but we had different paths to take...
Que Sera Sera
As for John's little comment, *** for tat:
We were suiting up for a dive at Media Luna when a bunch of Catholic schoolgirls approached us. We could hear them practicing their English as they approached... "Where are you from?" They asked if they could take some pictures with us and just like all the Mexican Military checkpoints, I kept getting the same question regarding my relationship to John... but you'll have to ask him about the details
scubashawn123
Contributor
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