AMCS ACTIVITIES NEWSLETTER Number 34 June 2011 AMCS Activities Newsletter Number 34 June 2011

Home , Blue Abyss, Candelaria Cave, Carlos Coste, El Abra, Pilar Luna, Riviera Maya

AMCS ACTIVITIES NEWSLETTER Number 34 June 2011 AMCS activities newsletter Number 34 June 2011

The AMCS Activities Newsletter is published by the Asso- ciation for Mexican Cave Studies, a Project of the National Speleological Society. The AMCS is an informal, nonprofit Front cover group dedicated to the exploration, study, and conservation of the caves of Mexico. Alex Alvarez views bones at the bottom The Activities Newsletter seeks articles and news items on all of Hoyo Negro in significant exploration and research activities in the caves of Sistema Aktun Hu, Mexico. The editor may be contacted at the address below Quintana Roo. See or at [email protected]. Exceptional color photographs article on page 53. The for the covers are also sought. They need not pertain to marks on the rod are articles in the issue, but need to be high-resolutions scans 10 centimeters long. or digital originals. Photo, here printed as mirror image, by This issue was edited by Bill Mixon, with help from Yazmin Daniel Riordan. Avila, Jim Coke, Yvonne Droms, Rodolfo “Fofo” González, Jim Kennedy, Mark Minton, Laura Rosales, and Jack “Solo” Back cover White. Ricardo Pacheco in All previous issues of the Activities Newsletter are available, the entrance to Olbastl as are various other publications on the caves of Mexico. Koltik, Ocotempa, Contact [email protected], see www.amcs-pubs.org, Puebla. See article or write the address below. on page 81. Photo by Franco Attolini. ASSOCIATION FOR MEXICAN CAVE STUDIES BOX 7672 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78713 www.amcs-pubs.org

5 Mexico News, compiled by Bill Mixon 43 long and Deep Lists, compiled by Mark Minton

47 Sistema del Tercer Ojo, Peter Sprouse 53 Hoyo Negro, Alberto Nava Blank 59 Diving Tulum’s Chan Hol, Barbara Dwyer 65 Sistema Río La Venta, Chiapas: An Unforgetable Through-Trip, Tullio Bernabei and Francesco Sauro 75 travesía El Semillero, Veracruz, Edgar Soto Valdéz and María de los Angeles Verde Ramírez 78 exploring Tamakas Ecological Park, Alberto Nava Blank 81 Paisano 2001 Expedition, Gustavo Vela Turcott 87 Sistema Sac Actun 1987–2011, James G. Coke IV 91 Caribbean Coast Caving, Juan Laden 98 the Nineteen-Second Shaft: Múzquiz, Coahuila, Dan Green 103 la Cueva de Toscano: A Most Unusual Cave, John Pint 107 Caves of the Juquila Canyon Area, Oaxaca, Marco Mecchia and Leonardo Piccini 120 Michoacán-Colima Expedition, December 2010–January 2011, Peter Ruplinger 125 Pozo de Agua Verde, Peter Sprouse 129 tabasco Underground, Laura Rosales Lagarde, Roberto Porter, Vickie Siegel, and Eladio Terreros Espinosa 136 Cave Bats of Tabasco, Cornelio Sánchez-Hernández and María de Lourdes Romero- Almaraz 140 Arthropod Ecology in Cueva de Las Sardinas, Tacotalpa, Tabasco, José G. Palacios- Vargas et al. 142 Microorganisms at Cueva de Las Sardinas, Diana Northup and Dan Jones 145 the Diamante Story: Four Years under the El Abra, Mark Minton (reprint) 152 Back to the Ombligo, Francesco Sauro 155 Mexico’s Caves and Caverns, Pe m e x (reprint)

42 History: 1976 discoveries in San Agustín, Mark Stock 64 Story: Supercavers and Supercaves, Ergor Rubreck 86 Memory: Cheve 1990, Ian McKenzie 106 Song lyrics: The Encounter of the Long Count Keeper, Barb MacLeod 119 Book review: Blind Descent, Bill Mixon 123 essay: The Experience, Roberto Rojo 144 remembrance: Wes Skiles, Bill Stone 151 Book review: From Forests to Deserts, Bill Mixon 102,172 Cartoons: Jim Kramer NEWS

Formations at –500 meters in Oztotl Altepetlacac, Ocotempa, Puebla. Gustavo Vela. AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

mexico news Compiled by Bill Mixon

as “How Does the Cave of the Crys- Chiapas tals Feel?” It concerns the impacts The expedition Chiapas 2009 of their current environment on the took place from April 2–7 on the crystals and the future of the room. left hydrographic side of the Río La It points out that keeping the Naica Venta, Mexico. The expedition had Mine dewatered for a year currently two main aims: to carry out a high- uses 100 million kilowatt-hours of quality photographic documenta- electricity, worth approximately 10 tion of Cueva del Río La Venta and million euros. Even though keep- complete the rigging and to resume ing the mine dry only to the depth the research in the northwest sector, of the Cave of the Crystals would interrupted in 1998. In all, counting cost a good bit less, it is unlikely to Italians, Spanish, Mexicans, and be practical to keep the room and Rumanians, thirty people took part the route to it dry after the mine’s in the expedition. This made the lo- ore is exhausted. gistics a bit heavy and complex, but on the other hand gave a large and A new cave at Naica, Cueva Pala- heterogeneous group of people the map in number 27.) The reports, cios, was intersected by a borehole opportunity to admire the wonders which are in French, contain many from the surface at a depth of 150 of the cave and the area in general. additional maps of smaller caves. meters. It is the largest cave known The expedition used as base camp The Web site also has an interactive there, but it contains no crystals the area that La Venta is acquiring Google-based cave-location map of because it was above the water table in order to protect and reforest it. the project area south of Tuxtla. when the crystals were forming in The photographic session saw the the other caves in the hill. Explora- participation of twenty-five people Chihuahua tion was difficult due to the tempera- and lasted sixty-one hours, with two Kur Magazine number 10, June ture of 44.5°C (112°F) at the bottom cave camps. Source: Kur Magazine, 2008, pp. 16–23, contains an article of the shaft and 48°C (118°F) in the number 12, June 2009, p. 5. (See “Trenta mesi de Naica” article on the through-trip in Cueva (“Thirty Months of Naica”) One of the pumping stations that keep the del Río La Venta in this issue.) by Giovanni Badino sum- Cave of the Crystals at Naica dry. Giovanni Badino. marizing the beginnings of AMCS Activities Newsletter 27 the work by the La Venta contained in “Mexico News” a Esplorazione Geografiche summary of 2002 and 2003 projects group in the Cave of the in Chiapas by the Explorations Crystals at Naica. Articles Karstiques Sud-Américaines group, on the Cave of the Crys- mainly from the Spéléo Club de la tals are in AMCS Activities Seine in France and Grupo Jaquar in Newsletters number 25, pp. Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Reports on those 72–77, and number 30, pp. visits and additional ones in 2004 50–54. and 2005 are at http://eksa.free.fr. The tables of caves, location maps, Kur Magazine, published and maps of Sima del Tío Natán by the La Venta Esplorazione 2, Cueva Santo Domingo, and the Geografiche, has an article system Sumidero el Porvenir–Cueva in number 12 (June 2009) Romana published here are from titled “Come sta la Cueva those reports. (Sima del Tío Natán de Los Cristales?” Someone 2 has been extended since the 2002 translated that into English 5 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

6 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

7 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

8 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

9 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

10 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 narrow Galleria della Leggende. A There is a nice (if you’re willing The International Journal of Speleol- near-vertical crevice partly coated to deal with a Flash presentation ogy article “The Polygenetic Caves of with clay, the Colata di Fango, was with a menu that won’t stand still) Cuatro Ciénegas (Coahuila, Mexico): not descended due to lack of equip- collection of photos of the Cave of Morphology and Speleogenesis,” by ment and the generally difficult the Crystals in the Naica mine at Leonardo Piccini et al., 36(2)83–92, environment. Source: “L’esplorazione http://naica.com/mx/galeria_pc/ 2007, mentioned in Mexico News della Grotta Palacios nella Miniera de htm. Source: Mónica Ponce. in AMCS Activities Newsletter 31 Naica,” by Marc Beverly and Paolo can also be found at the La Venta Forti, Speleologia 63, December 2010, Coahuila group’s website: http://laventa.it/ pages 54–57 (English abstract on The table of minerals identified in files/pubblicazioni/cuatrocienegas page 88). The same article contains caves in the vicinity of Cuatro Cié- _ijs_2007_63253.pdf. This version has maps of two small crystal-coated negas is from the technical supple- larger type and color illustrations. caves that are near the famous Cave ment to Kur Magazine number 1, of the Crystals in the mine. page 5, 2003. The October 2010 NSS News, pages • • 15–22, contains an article on recent

11 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

explorations on Mesa El Huisache Mortimer, Pedro Morales, and Edith interplay between Caribbean and below the Sierra Santa Rosa north- Cienfuegos. Pacific moisture sources, modulated west of Múzquiz. The article is by A paleoclimate reconstruction for by the North Atlantic SST and the Ellie Watson. See the article on the the Holocene based upon variations position of the ITCZ, where Pacific

area by Dan Green in this issue. of δ18O in a U–Th dated stalagmite moisture becomes increasingly more from southwestern Mexico is pre- influential through ENSO since ~4.3 Guerrero sented. Our results indicate that the ka. The interruption of stalagmite Abstract: “A speleothem record arrival of moisture to the area has growth during the largest climatic of Holocene climate variability been strongly linked to the input of anomalies of the Holocene (10.3 and from southwestern Mexico,” by glacial meltwaters into the North 8.2 ka) is evidenced by the presence Juan Pablo Bernal, Matthew Lach- Atlantic throughout the Holocene. of hiatuses, which suggest a severe niet, Malcolm McCulloch, Graham The record also suggests a complex disruption in the arrival of moisture

12 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Marc Beverly being lowered into Cueva Palacios. Speleresearch & Films.

13 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

14 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 to the area. The δ18O record presented meters long and terminating in of the trip. However, Hurricane here has important implications for sumps. Source: English summary Alex came inland to the Monter- understanding the evolution of the of article by Jerzy Zygmunt and rey area about that time, dumping North American Monsoon and cli- Damian Sprycha in Jaskinie–The Caves more than 1 meter of rainfall on the mate in southwestern Mexico, as it 60 (third 2010 issue), www.sktj.pl/ city and causing billions of dollars represents one of the most detailed epimenides/jaskinie/jask60.html. in flood damage. The cavers in the archives of climate variability for There is a map of Cueva Vinata mountains were not much better the area spanning most of the Ho- in AMCS Activities Newsletter 23, off, being trapped in their tents for locene. page 43. most of three days. When the rains Source: Quaternary Research finally abated somewhat, they dis- 75: 104–113, 2011, doi:10.1016/j Nuevo León covered that the steep, narrow log- .yqres.2010.09.002. The source of the Ten cavers from four states (and ging roads that are barely passable sample was Cueva del Diablo. one dog) returned to the mountains in good conditions were now totally of Nuevo León for the eleventh washed away in places and buried Michoacán Proyecto Laguna de Sánchez ex- by landslides in others. They packed The authors, with many Polish pedition from June 26 to July 5, up camp, secured their vehicles colleagues from Silesian clubs and 2010. They set up base camp at the with a friendly local, and hiked 9 two Mexican cavers from Base Draco, remote La Camotera plateau and kilometers over the mountains back explored caves in the Mexican state were able to tag some previously to civilization, carrying only the of Michoacán and at the southern mapped caves, dig both surface barest essentials. They were able margin of the Chihuahuan Desert and in-cave leads, photo-document to contact Monterrey caver Erick during several expeditions in the some of the nicer and larger caves in González, who came to their rescue, years 2006–2010. The largest cave the area, and even map some new piling the entire group (including the explored was Cueva Vinata, 3300 stuff during the first couple of days dog) and gear into a minivan and

15 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

driving them to food, showers, and Cueva Picatelcutli proved to be only beds. The next day he took them to Oaxaca 105 meters long. A rockfall during a the bus station so they could return In November 2007, members of the thunderstorm added excitement to to families and jobs. Italian La Venta group returned to camping in the canyon. Source: Post The expedition donated money to the Río Juquila and vicinity. (See ar- to Tlamaqui e-mail list by Gustavo the locals to help rebuild the roads, ticle elsewhere in this issue for results Vela Turcott, March 10, 2011. and the four trucks were retrieved of earlier visits.) One team started a couple of months later, with no ill from the village of Tepelemene and Abstract: “Preliminary Notes on effects other than a few mildewed descended into the Juquila Cañón the Karst of Sierra Mixteca-Zapoteca, items of clothing. A longer trip re- by way of the tributary canyon of South of Tehuacán, Mexico,” by port is posted on the project’s website the Río Matanzas. They found nu- Leonardo Piccini, Marco Mecchia, at www.garot.com.LdeS. Source: Jim merous caves in the canyon walls and Paolo Forti. “Crash” Kennedy. that appeared to be mainly short Since 2002, the Italian team “La remnants of larger caves that had Venta” is carrying on a research Abstract: “Proyecto Laguna de been truncated by the canyons. project that has the aim to investi- Sánchez—13 Years in the Cumbres They suspect that some parts of the gate the karst systems in the area de Monterrey, Mexico,” by Jim canyons themselves are unroofed of Sierra Mixteca-Zapoteca, south Kennedy. caves. Another team spent some of Tehuacán. The Sierra consists Since June 1997 an irregular series time on the surrounding plateau at mainly of Cretaceous limestone, of trips have been organized to the Mahuizapa and the slopes of Cerro covered by Upper Cretaceous marly mountains southwest of Monterrey, Verde. Many caves were found, but limestones and Tertiary calcareous Nuevo León, Mexico. More than none could be explored very far, due conglomerates. The most karstified seventy cavers from eight states and to collapses and fills. Source: article area is the limestone plateau crossed three countries have participated. As by Francesco Sauro in Kur Magazine by the Río Juquila (or Xiquila) of the tenth trip, in November 2009, number 10, June 2008, pp. 7–13. Canyon. Four missions, performed there were 121 known caves, with in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 86 of those mapped. The relatively In AMCS Activities Newsletter 33 2006, have allowed to discover small size of most of caves is reflected there is an article by Gustavo Vela on more than 50 caves. Despite the in the combined survey length of the Río Petlapa canyon on the border good karst potential of the area, 3927 meters. Nevertheless, these between Puebla and Oaxaca. During large underground systems have caves provide a fascinating glimpse the exploration of the canyon, they not been yet explored. The longest into the local geology and biology, as spotted a large entrance high on the cave is located in the middle part well as an opportunity to experience wall of the canyon. In March 2011, of Juquila Canyon and consists of the incredible beauty and solitude Gustavo and five others returned a large relict phreatic conduit more of the area. The most significant to do the climb to the entrance, than 1 kilometer long. The deepest cave is El Infierno de Camotera, which they hoped would lead to a caves are placed in the top area of a 55-meter open-air pit leading to great Oaxacan cave. Unfortunately, Cerro Grande and in the southeast a large room with an important area, between the canyon and the colony of endangered Leptonycteris La Venta members in the Juquila village of Santa María di Ixcatlán. nivalis, the Mexican long-nosed bat. Canyon. Pierpaolo Porcu. Some of these vertical caves have And Cueva Oyamel (242 meters) is deep pits, which are closed at bottom the type location for a new species by debris and mud deposits carried of scorpion, Vaejovis norteno. Expe- in by runoff water. In the area just to dition number 11, which just took northwest of S. María, some caves of place in late June of this year [2010], thermal origin have been surveyed adds even more caves and faunal during the last mission. These caves records to our database. The most display dissolution features due current information can be found on to underwater processes, which the project’s website at www.garot probably attained during the rise of .com/LdeS. thermal waters. Finally, many of the Source: 2010 NSS convention pro- caves show ancient traces of human’s gram book, pages 43–44. frequentation, as graffiti, wall paintings and jars, usually close to ruins There is a trip report on an ex- of pre-hispanic settlements. pedition to Laguna de Sánchez Source: The full paper, which in the Texas Caver, 56(4)3–14, Oc- was presented at the Fifth FEALC tober–December 2010. The text of Congress in Puerto Rico in 2007, the report is also at www.garot can be downloaded at laventa.it/ .com/LdeS/priorExpeditions/2010 files/pubblicazioni/preliminary _summer_Matt_Trip_Report.asp. -notes-on-the-karst-of-sierra_13813 .pdf. The content of the paper is 16 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 similar to that of the Juquila article Russia with Love, does not seem to expedition. Evidently convinced they in this issue. provide the desired bypass of the had underestimated the logistical final sump. Diving equipment left challenges, they have postponed There is a video (really just a slide at the final sump a year earlier was their project until at least 2013. show) of Grutas de San Antonio found suspended between project- Source: www.cdg-exped.org. Eloxochitlan at www.youtube.com/ ing rocks up to 12 meters above watch?v=gJgcVUtAmGQ. Source: the sump, providing evidence of Puebla David Locklear. the water-level rise during the wet In April 2010, the Tláloc expedi- season. Source: English summary tions continued in the state of Puebla, Summaries of past US Deep Cav- of article by Kasia Biernacka and following on discoveries of 1998, ing Team expeditions to Mexico Marcin Gala in Jaskinie–The Caves 59 2002, and 2008 [see “Mexico News,” can be seen at www.usdct.org/past (second 2010 issue) at www.sktj.pl/ AMCS Activities Newsletter 32]. The _expeditions.php. epimenides/jaskinie/jask59.html. main objective was the system Cueva An article on this expedition ap- del Viento–Cueva de Mama Mia, The author [Kasia Biernacka] peared in AMCS Activities Newsletter discovered in 2008. A length of al- was one of six Polish cavers who 33, pages 39–44. most 7 kilometers has been reached, took part in the 2009 expedition of with four entrances. The two main Proyecto Cheve, an international Abstract: “2010 J2 Expedition, streams in the system were followed effort initiated and animated by Bill Oaxaca, Mexico,” by Bill Stone. upstream for dozens of meters in the Stone for exploration of the deepest The 2010 J2 Expedition was the search for a connection with caves cave system in the Western Hemi- latest of the US Deep Caving Team’s that are almost certainly hydrologi- sphere. The main goal was to push work in the Cheve karst of southern cally related. Thus Cueva del Viento, through sumps at the bottom of J2 Mexico. At the end of the 2009 expe- 3.2 kilometers long, became closer in hope of connecting it with Cheve dition, J2 had been extended to 1222 by 170 meters to the downstream into a cave that would surpass 2 meters of depth and 11 kilometers branch of Cueva de Los Cochinos, kilometers in depth. New galleries of surveyed passage, thanks to a approximately 1 kilometer long. The explored by the expedition seem to three-month-long major dive effort. exploration in this direction ended turn towards Cheve. Another cave The 2010 expedition continued the under a waterfall about 10 meters named Last Bash was also explored. efforts of the previous year, without high. Some side passages revealed It could provide a bypass for the the bulk and weight of dive gear, by a complex and mazy network that narrow entrance series in J2, but no pushing into the depths of nearby most likely conceals additional pas- connection was found. J2 is now 1222 500-meter-deep Last Bash to attempt sage, while a pit, previously only meters deep and 11017 meters long. a connection to J2. Last Bash was seen from below, was identified and Source: English summary of an article successfully removed from the deep- descended. in Jaskinie–The Caves 55 (second 2009 cave list of Mexico, and Sistema J2 In the Cueva de Mama Mia, 3.7 issue) at www.sktj.pl/epimenides/ was created. Along with the connec- kilometers long, besides a series of jaskinie/jask55.html. Jaskinie is the tion, a faster and safer route to Camp new loops and smaller branches, the magazine of the Caving Commis- 2 in J2 was discovered, removing any teams were able to pursue the old sion of the Polish Mountaineering threat of heavy rains trapping cavers bottom upstream, getting closer by Association (Komisja Taternictwa deep in the cave. Near the end of the 30 meters to the coveted junction Jaskiniowego Polskiego Zwiazku six-week expedition, team members with Resumidero de Miquizco. A Aplinizmu). An article on this expe- pushed several high leads deep in J2, large stream (Mama non Mama) dition appeared in AMCS Activities with one up-trending route pointing issues from a breakdown pile that Newsletter 33, pages 83–88. towards a suspected third entrance seems rather impossible to over- to the system. come. An international team of fourteen Source: 2010 NSS conventions The other major achievement of cavers, including four from Poland, program book, page 44. the expedition was increasing the continued exploration of the J2 sys- size as well as the understanding of tem in Mexico in 2010. Exploration A team of British cavers, including Resumidero de Miquizco, which is could begin only after two weeks of members of the Cave Diving Group, now 2.3 kilometers long, with five negotiation with local authorities. planned to return to the Huautla entrances. This was possible because The main goal was to connect Last area and attempt to close the gap the team returned to a cave that had Bash Cave, discovered in 2005, with between Sistema Huautla and the been given little consideration in the the main cave and thus secure a wet-weather resurgence Cueva de past, Cueva del Camarón, which is shorter and safer access to the final la Peña Colorada. The plan was to now 600 meters long. The discovery sump. The connection was attained pursue Sump 7 in Peña Colorada in of new passage in that cave, together in the expected place. Another goal spring 2011 and then revisit Sump 9 with the use of a handheld DistoX was to explore an ascending branch in Huautla in 2012. They had been for its survey, enabled the cavers before the final sump, found by promised a grant of £600 from the to notice, in real time, the remark- Russian members of the former ex- British Caving Association toward able proximity of Resumidero de pedition. The series, dubbed From the estimated £17,000 cost of the 2011 Miquizco, which led to an exciting 17 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

GSAB 2010 Photos by Gustavo Vela

In Cueva Tepetzala. Clockwise from upper left: Ri- cardo Lugo and Vincent Detraux. Ricardo Lugo and Vincent Detraux at the entrance. François Saussus and André-Marie Dawagne. François Saussus.

18 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 junction. During these explorations, At the bottom, the river plunged Cumbre. Resumidero Ixtololo Atl more passages were surveyed in the down another drop, 35 meters, then was pushed to 2614 meters long and southern part of the Resumidero de flowed down a large passage for a a depth of 510 meters at a sump. A Miquizco, and a fifth entrance was few meters until the walls narrowed dry passage taking off at about –400 found. and the ceiling met with the water. meters was partially explored and One note of interest is that, thanks The sump is impenetrable, filled may provide a bypass to the sump. to the recent discoveries in Mama with sand and gravel. A couple of They plan to return in 2012. Source: Mia, the new Miquizco system is leads at the base of the pit ended Post to Tlamaqui e-mail list by Omar now only 20 meters from the system in loops, and so Tepetzala was sur- Hernández, May 2, 2011. Cueva del Viento–Mama Mia. If they veyed and derigged. The rest of the were to connect, the total length expedition was spent in exhausting, The original Spanish text of Gusta- would reach 9.5 kilometers, with difficult hikes towards dark holes in vo Vela’s article on the El Santito nine entrances. the high karst, identified by way of 2009 expedition (AMCS Activities Various other minor caves, with Google Earth, and in checking a lead Newsletter 33, pages 51–56), along lengths under 100 meters (Cueva de in Cueva Natalia (number CO2). At with many illustrations, is on-line a Victor, Pequeña Agonia, Embudo –200 meters, after finding 250 meters number of places, among them www. de Rancho Viejo, Ojo Escondido, of passage, the team stopped at a oztotl.com/ps/reports/Sistema Sótano del Sendero), gave a better 25-meter drop with loud sounds of _Nogochl_1.pdf and revista.e-lte understanding of the cave potential falling water. Good air and its loca- .com.mx/images/articulos/pdf/ of the area. tion in relation to Tepetzala indicate nogochl.pdf. There is an article in Participants were members of a potential connection with it, and French on the same expedition in Gruppo Speleologico Bergamasco this will be one of the objectives of SpéléOc 125, pages 14–16, 2010, avail- Le Nottole, Speleo Club Orobico the 2011 expedition. The other ob- able at www.comite-speleo-midipy CAI Bergamo, Gruppo Grotte I Tassi jectives will be the holes in the high .com/speleoc/Revues/speleoc125 CAI Cassano, Gruppo Grotto Milano plateau, which are suspected to be .pdf. Source: Mark Minton. CAI Sem, with assistance from the high entrances to the resurgence of Mexico City group URION. Atlixicaya, which has been explored Articles by Gustavo Vela in Source: part of a short article in for 12 kilometers. Source: Summary Spanish about the 2007 and 2008 Speleologia 63, pages 79–80, by Al- by Yvonne Droms of article in French Akemabis expeditions are avail- berto Buzio and Giogrio Pannuzzo, by Richard Grebeude, Regards 73, able at revista.e-lte.com.mx/images translated from Italian for the AMCS November–December 2010, pages /articulos/pdf/ocotempa.pdf and by Yvonne Droms. 24–26. See also following item. /akemabis-2008.pdf. English versions appear in AMCS Activities The Groupe Spéléo Alpin Belge As a conclusion to the GSAB Newsletters 31, pages 27–36, and 32, (GSAB) returned to the Sierra Negra expedition in 2010, attempts were pages 47–52. Source: Mark Minton. in Puebla on their thirtieth anni- made to reach Google Earth leads versary of Mexico exploration. The on a high plateau, dubbed Caves 1, Al Warild’s photos from the Tres results were rather disappointing, 2, 3, and 4. Cave 2, a 50-meter blind Quimeras expedition of the So- with only about 1000 meters of new pit, was relocated, and new Cave 1, ciété Québécoise de Spéléologie in passage mapped. Their main objec- named Sótano Kouachipetli, was March and April 2009 are on the tive was to continue exploration descended. It is described as deep, Web at http://home.exetel.com.au/ in Tepetzala, where in 2009 they large, and beautiful; a few leads at its alw/3Q9/index.html. had turned around at a 20-meter bottom ended immediately. Cave 4 waterfall at 310 meters depth and was not reached because of horrible A PDF file of the 3-D model of 4.5 km from the entrance. In 2009 vegetation and “death karst.” Source: caves in the Akemabis/Akemati area exploration teams went on eighteen- “Tzontzé 2010 (Mexique),” hour trips from base camp, yet were by David Gueulette, Benoit able to actually explore for only two and Étienne Letellier, and hours, so it was decided to set up Serge Delaby, Regards 73, an underground camp closer to the November-December 2010, lead. The cave was rerigged, and a pages 27–28. camp was established and stocked at –270 meters. The route through The Grupo Espeleológico the two main breakdown piles was Chicomóztoc returned to flagged, waterfalls were rigged the community of Ojo de downstream, and gear was hauled Agua in the Sierra Negra to the lead. Finally, the team tackled in 2011. Cueva Cocohuastli the virgin cascade. Bolting anchors was explored to a depth was not possible due to fragile rock, of 124 meters and length so natural rigging had to be used to of 711 meters to its resur- rebelay their way down the drop. gence, El Gran Colector de La 19 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

that appeared on page 53 of AMCS Activities Newsletter 33 is on-line at http://home.exetel.com.au/alw/ Akema12.1.pdf. Viewers with a sufficiently modern version of Adobe Acrobat can rotate, pan, and zoom the image.

Sótano del Centro was mentioned in “Mexico News” in AMCS Activi- ties Newsletter 33, but the map here was received too late to publish in that issue. Querétaro During the period 2003–2008, the Grupo de Espeleología of the Asociación de Excursionismo y Montañismo del Instituto Politéc- nico Nacional investigated caves in Querétaro near the Río Moct- ezuma border with Hidalgo, from El Aquacate north to Puerto de la Luz and Ocotitlán. They located and explored twenty-five caves, including the original discovery of 360-meter-deep Sótano de la Cule- bra, later mapped in more detail by a joint US-Mexican team (see AMCS Activities Newsletter 29, pages 31–36), and Sótano de las Cuatro Cuernos, with several drops to a depth of more than 200 meters. Source: paper given at the IX Congreso Nacional Mexicano de Espeleología in 2009, www.umae.org/cong08/articulos/ memorias23.pdf. Quintana Roo At the end of 2010, the Quintana Roo Speleological Survey had data for 206 underwater caves totaling 903 kilometers (561 miles) in length. Over 80 kilometers of that was added in 2010. They also had data for 49 dry caves with over 37 kilometers of passage. Through April in 2011, 40 kilometers of underwater cave and 11 kilometers of dry cave have been added to the totals. Sources: QRSS 2010 annual report to the NSS, Jim Coke.

Sistema Ox Bel Ha was connected to Sistema Naranjal in March 2011 after a lengthy history of connection attempts. Both caves held the title of the world’s longest underwater cave at the zenith of their exploration. It is fitting that they are united after a combined 25-year history of 20 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

exploration. Sidemount efforts in downstream Naranjal during 2000 produced the Snakesman Escape tunnel complex. A series of tight, if not grim, restrictions were encountered by explorers as they followed a strong current into a tunnel complex. The main passage wandered southeast for over 600 meters, reaching a junction of two tunnels. The eastern tunnel series removed the explorers from the main flow path. With the subsequent discovery of Cenote San Andres in the Ox Bel Ha cave, many project members felt that a connection between the caves was likely in this area. The second tunnel at the Snakesman intersection veered south with the water flow, becoming progressively smaller. Explorations ended in an unstable breakdown zone. A powerful current suggested further passage; however no one was anxious to be a human plug in a strong current flowing into a breakdown maze. A similar connection effort was made in a not too distant area of downstream Naranjal. Sidemount explorations in 2002 were initiated in a shallow attic section 400 meters west of the deeper Snakesman section. Divers pushed a low, old tunnel, similar in appearances to a bedding plane, into an intricate labyrinth. Paralleling the Snakesman complex, divers surveyed a maze of small tunnels until 2007. All leads were finally exhausted within this shallow section. In February 2011 Bil Phillips and Steve Bogaerts staged a further connection effort, originating from Cenote Corey in Sistema Ox Bel Ha. Named after a patron for early Ox Bel Ha explorations, Cenote Corey was the only logical choice to mount a 2011 push. Cenote San Andres was mired in Tulum municipal politics, making the cenote entrance off- limits. Corey was on private land and just over a kilometer from the roadhead. This made equipment logistics and site security ideal. They were able to explore over 5 kilometers of new cave passage in the Corey area in a month’s time. Toward the end of their effort, they concentrated on a section of Ox Bel Ha that was closest to Sistema 21 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Naranjal. A connection was finally made to Naranjal through a maze of unstable breakdown, joining the Snakesman complex in Naranjal to Ox Bel Ha. As of May 2011, the length of Ox Bel Ha is 222 kilometers, all under water. It has 131 cenote entrances. Source: Jim Coke.

The color area map is a preliminary view of known cave zones near the city of Tulum. The outlines extend 250 meters from the line plots of known caves as of January 2011. Unsurveyed side passages are expected to extend at least that far from the surveys. The government plans for Tulum to expand greatly over the next ten years, including a new international airport. Source: Quintana Roo Speleological Survey, www.caves.org/project/qrss/cmap .htm.

There are few really deep areas in the underwater caves of Quintana Roo. One is The Pit in Dos Ojos, –119 meters (AMCS Activities Newsletter 24, pages 84–91), and another is the Blue Abyss, –72 meters, in the No- hoch Nah Chich section of Sistema Sac Actun (number 20, pages 86–87). These two deep spots are not far apart. Cave divers have sought a connection through shallower passages between Dos Ojos and Sac Actun for many years without success. Polish diver Krzysztof Starnawski, supported by Irena Stangierska and Stairway to Heaven. Preparations 18951 meters in length, respectively, Marek Klyta, did deep rebreather for that dive took almost a week, including both underwater and dives during March and April 2011 repairing a decompression habitat, dry portions. As the caves are only seeking passages that might make laying a phone line from the habitat meters apart, hopes are high for a the connection. He spent a week to the surface, and placing stage connection. Source: Jim Coke. making sure it was possible to pass bottles and a backup DPV. He plans the breakdown at the bottom of to return to Mexico in September, El Centro Investigador del Sistema the Blue Abyss, poking a camera when he expects additional drives Acuífero de Quintana Roo A.C. is a through crevices and then pushing in The Pit to reach the vicinity of the Mexican Civil Association based in the chosen opening, eventually with Blue Abyss. Source: www.cavediver. Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. a no-mount configuration, until find- net/forum/showthread.php/16079 CINDAQ is able to receive tax- ing a huge passage. He calls the new and /16117. Some information in deductible donations in Mexico. route, which verifies that the Blue Polish and many photographs are CINDAQ is also able to receive Abyss goes, TKM, an initialization at dualrebreather.com. tax-deductible donations in the of something in Polish that he claims United States through the Friends of is unprintable. [I vaguely remember Cave divers from the Česká spe- Mexican Development Foundation those days when there were unprint- leologická společnost (Czech Spe- in New York City. able words in English.—ed.] Next he leological Society) continued their Through innovative programs and turned his attention to The Pit, cul- explorations in the K’oox Baal and partnerships CINDAQ: minating in a twelve-hour dive with Tux Kupaxa underwater caves in • Provides underwater cave- 1.5 hours bottom time at 100 meters early March 2011. The caves have exploration expertise about the karst depth to a new passage named now reached 36743 meters and aquifer of Quintana Roo, Mexico. 22 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

• Develops outreach programs to by temples and pyramids, which understand the aquifer of northern better educate local and state govern- testify to the achievements of the Quintana Roo is critical, as these ments, residents, and visitors about ancient Maya civilization. hidden rivers directly influence the the importance and fragility of the The modern Maya culture and the health and economic well-being of region’s karst aquifer. environment upon which it depends the human population above them • Develops relationships with the still thrives, with many traditions and the many ecosystems they nour- scientific community and concerned and a strong cultural identity and ish from below. Due to the aquifer’s national and international institu- natural systems intact. That identity extreme fragility and vulnerability tions and foundations to expand is bound by a common thread that to contamination, over-development the knowledge-base and develop has woven the fabric of life together on the surface means that the ecol- sustainable management practices on the peninsula for the last 10,000 ogy of the area is nearing a tipping and policies for Quintana Roo’s years. This thread is the fresh water point. Since this region contributes karst aquifer. supply, which runs through a com- approximately 10 percent of Mexico’s CINDAQ’s vision is the imple- plex and little understood system of GNP, the impact of a contaminated mentation of a regional model for flooded solution caves. aquifer and associated ecosystems sustainable development that serves Rampant development threatens would have far-reaching and poten- the long-term interests of the citizens one of Mexico’s largest, most pris- tially disastrous results, not only for of Quintana Roo and provides a tine, and most culturally significant the region’s tourist-based economy model for other similarly threatened aquifers. The coast of Mexico’s Rivi- but for Mexico as a whole. Cave- areas. era Maya is facing unprecedented diving explorers provide a critical To find a large, pristine fresh-water growth that ranks it among the knowledge-base by mapping the supply in this world is rare. Mexico’s fastest-growing regions of the world. subterranean waterways, providing Yucatan Peninsula contains such a Out of sight and mind, the flooded a foundation for scientific work that resource. The peninsula is made up cave systems of the region play a ultimately will promote understand- of the Mexican states Campeche, crucial role as conduits for freshwa- ing and protection of the aquifer Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. It is a ter moving from the jungle interior and the many ecosystems and the land rich in both human and natural out to the Mesoamerican Barrier economy that it supports. history. The landscape is dominated Reef. The need to explore and better Source: www.cindaq.org/

23 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

CINDAQ%20English/about.html. exploring a 60ft (18mts) canyon, the method consists of one or two off- See also a newsletter at www.cindaq team located various large animal road vehicles to move divers and .org/CINDAQ%20English/cindaq bones. So far this year, more than equipment as close as possible to a newsletter_final.pdf. 18,000ft (6 kms) of new cave has cave opening, and for the following been revealed in Ox Bel Ha. few days the passages found are There is a lot of information about After eleven years of exploration, explored and documented. Easier to cave diving in Quintana Roo at the the Ox Bel Ha cave system (Maya schedule and fewer divers and gear websites of DIR México (www.dir for “Three Path of Water”) is still to transport allows this method to -mexico.com), the Mexican Cave one of the most exciting exploration be repeated more frequently than Exploration Project (www.mcep. projects in Mexico. larger scale projects required for org.mx), and Global Underwater •Recent efforts by the Mexico more extensive penetrations. Explorers (www.gue.com). These Cave Exploration Project & Centro The most recent of these concen- organizations are related, and the Investigador del Sistema Acuifero de trated efforts took place from March links between their sites are often Quintana Roo (CINDAQ) are marked 30 to April 4 in the Ox Bel Ha cave confusing. The resulting mess is by smaller scale mini-projects. The system and has resulted in the survey a good example of what happens when people think websites are a substitute for actual published articles (hint). The following Mexico News paragraphs were compiled from one of the sites. •The Mexico Cave Exploration Project kicked off 2009 with a significant push forward in the ongoing exploration and documentation of the world’s longest underwater cave. Two small-scale projects in the Ox Bel Ha cave system have revealed The past year has been an ex- 24, 2001. After repeating some of some of the most stunning passage citing one for cave-exploration the surveys with a tape, Jim found and exciting finds to date. Nearly ten in Quintana Roo. Among other that the knotted-line lengths tend years ago, an amazing area of cave things, there have been two major to exceed taped lengths somewhat. passages was discovered, including connections that took the lengths On the other hand, because of two new cenotes named Sac U and of two underwater caves to over time constraints, limited visibility, Sak Ek. Due to the difficult logistics 200 kilometers, among the ten and other aspects of cave-diving in accessing this area, no subsequent longest caves, wet or dry, in the exploration, the mazy underwa- dives had been made in this area . world. The tables show the dra- ter caves of Quintana Roo are . . that is, until this year. In January matic changes in the lists of long less thoroughly surveyed than 2009, MCEP divers revisited this underwater caves in Quintana most dry caves, so the surveys area, spending a total of four nights Roo. It is important to note that understate the true lengths of the in the jungle and exploring and almost all of the survey in these caves. In the tables below, the two surveying 8,892 ft/2,710 m of new caves has been done with the longest caves should be regarded cave passage. knotted-line technique, where as tied for first place. The Quin- Nine dives were made, entering distances are measured by knots tana Roo Speleological Survey from Sak U, Sak Ek, and a nearby tied in the divers’ lines at ten-foot site has a long table of lengths of cenote named Libby. For the first intervals, as described in “Survey- underwater caves at http://www time, RB80 rebreathers were applied ing Underwater Caves,” by Jim .caves.org/project/qrss/qrlong to the exploration of these relatively Coke, AMCS Activities Newsletter .htm.—Bill Mixon shallow and complex caves. In ad- may 2010 may 2011 dition to extending the established meters meters main passages, a maze of decorated 180039 Sistema Ox Bel Ha 222340 Sistema Ox Bel Ha deeper tunnels was found intersect- 178034 Sistema Sac Actun* 217495 Sistema Sac Actun* ing these routes. Complementing 64537 Sistema Dos Ojos* 82242 Sistema Dos Ojos* the exploration and survey, photo 41808 Sistema Xunaan-Há 58697 Sistema Xunaan-Há* documentation concentrated on 29862 Sistema Aktun Hu* 36744 Sistema K’oox Baal* some exciting archaeological dis- 29054 Sistema K’oox Baal 29039 Sistema Toh Ha coveries. 29039 Sistema Toh Ha* 18925 Sistema Tux Kupaxa* •Exploration efforts from Febru- 24432 Sistema Naranjal 18288 Sistema Aerolito ary 25 to March 1 in the Ox Bel Ha cave system has led to the discovery *Includes a small amount of connected dry cave. of the most stunning cave passage- ways to date. In addition, while 24 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 of some 2,100 meters/7,000 ft of new hydrolab. Dr Reinhardt´s on-going ft to 2,500 m/8,000 ft range. This passageway. This time, the team study is focused on foraminifera and has now brought the total length entered the cave from an opening thecamoebians. Both are amoebae of this single entry cave to 7,620 named Cenote Coka Ha. with shells that live in the cave m/25,441 ft. Additionally, more cenotes in and are preserved in the sediment In addition, the team dedicated a the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve record. They are useful indicators day of exploration in the Ox Bel Ha were observed and located from in coastal environments for recon- cave system from a cenote named the air during a fly-over of the area. structing salinity, sea levels changes, Coca Ha, concentrating on some of The SKBR contains 700,000 acres climate, etc. the leads established over the past of wetlands, including mangrove, •The caves of the Sian Ka’an Bio- few months. This day resulted in marsh, savannah, and swamp. This sphere Reserve on the Mexican Carib- 921 m/3021 ft of new exploration, UNESCO World Heritage site bor- bean coast have become a major focal and although we were able to close ders the Ox Bel Ha cave system to point for MCEP (Mexico Cave Explo- the door on some of the previously its north. ration Project) & CINDAQ (Centro known leads, more questions here •From May 4 to 9, CINDAQ and Investigador del Sistema Aquífero remain to be answered. MCEP continued with their joint de Quintana Roo) joint projects. Sources: Mexican Cave Exploration exploration efforts in mapping the More than 15,000 meters/50,000 ft of Project press releases accessible from aquifer here in Quintana Roo, Mex- new tunnels have been discovered www.dir-mexico.com/articles.htm. ico. This time further investigations in cave systems under the wetlands An extensive article on the initial were conducted using RB80 rebreath- of this UNESCO World Heritage exploration of the caves in the Sian ers in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere site over the last three years of Ka’an Biosphere Reserve appeared Reserve. During the last three years, exploration. These caves account in AMCS Activities Newsletter 30. five caves were discovered below the for an important quantity of water wetlands that covers the majority of movement in this area with signifi- There is a partial catalog of un- this UNESCO World Heritage site. cant flows in both the fresh and salt derwater caves in Quintana Roo and Two of the caves, Entrada Caapechen water layers. Much is still needed Yucatán at http://www.caveatlas. and Entrada Boca Paila have become in order to fully understand the com/cave_systems.asp?co=MX. the main focus of exploration in the unique cave hydrology of this area. Source: Peter Sprouse. area. These caves are very unique Over the years, GUE (Global Un- and are characterized by high-flow derwater Explorers) has become a There is a nine-minute video of cave entrances and heavy percolation. A key partner in the success of cave diving in Quintana Roo at www.you mysterious bacteria growth covers exploration in the area with support tube.com/watch?v=l2hY6hfCGnI. most of the walls, ceilings, and floor, through training, logistics and diver Most of the diving is in the Grand and completely opposite flows of resources. Cenote area of Sac Actun and in water can be witnessed above and Joining the team for the June Nohoch Nah Chich. Source: David below the halocline. Apart from the 20 to 24 exploration project were Locklear. original entrances, no other openings visiting GUE and WKPP members have yet been discovered. For this Casey McKinlay and David Rhea. There are reports on cave-diving project, the team concentrated their Their enthusiastic participation was projects conducted by Alessandro investigation in Entrada Boca Paila. hugely appreciated during the week Reato and colleagues on the web site With the week of new exploration and their invaluable experience www.filoariannadive.com. Most no- the cave now has a total length of contributes greatly to the advance- table is the history of the exploration over 9,000 meters/30,000 ft. ment in productive RB80 rebreather of the Sistema Xunaan Ha, over 50 Also, Cenote Coka Ha, deep in- exploration in Mexico. kilometers long. Source: Jim Coke. side the Ox Bel Ha cave system, has Although not comparable to the witnessed more exploration efforts visibility in most other Mexican A landowner at the Coop One during the week. The cave resembles caves, the diving conditions in Sian cenote entrance to the Tux Kupaxa a honeycomb, with a large fresh wa- Ka’an were excellent, with at times cave system near Chemuyil has been ter conduit at a depth of 15 m/50 ft, up to 30 m/100 ft visibility in the excavating with heavy machinery other branching aisles starting below freshwater and 9 m/30ft in the salt without a permit. Perhaps he is try- the halocline at a depth of 21 m/70 ft, water. ing to make a friendlier entrance; the and again darker, well-defined, but The multiple exploration teams Coop One cenote does not provide decorated tunnels starting at a depth using RB80 rebreathers entered easy access to the underwater cave. of 30 m/100 ft. The discovery of this the Boca Paila cave; successfully Source: Jim Coke. deeper tunnel will keep the team extending the furthest part of the working relentlessly in that particu- cave by another 596 m/1,957 ft. In the process of making a video lar area. In addition to exploration This brings the penetration distance 20’12 [don’t ask], divers Luis Sánchez efforts, Dr. Ed Reinhardt from Mc from the single entrance to over and Ricardo Castillo visited the Pit Master University & the Geographic 3,000 m/10,000 ft. Other objectives in Dos Ojos as far as the Wakulla Society conducted further sediment included the exploration and survey Room. (See article and map in AMCS sampling and water profiling with a of side-tunnels in the 1,500 m/5,000 Activities Newsletter 24, pages 84–91.) 25 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

additional passages cannot be ruled out. Now it is up to cave divers to add to the 14 kilometers of known cave. (Part of Río Secreto is operated as a show cave; see www.riosecre- tomexico.com.mx.) Source: post to Tlamaqui e-mail list by Gustavo Vela, November 30, 2010.

In June 2010, Alex Álvarez, Beto Nava, Daniel Riordan, Susan Bird, and Franco Attolini conducted their third annual project at Aktun Hu. During the week, 1.2 kilometers of new passage was explored, making the length of the underwater cave 31,032 meters. The new areas are small, and the exploration was slow and tedious, but the system still has potential for further discoveries. The landowner’s excavation of Cenote Coop One. Alessandro Reato. Source: Tlamaqui e-mail list post by Franco Attolini, June 28, 2010. There was an article about the early La Mujer de las Palmas. INAH. The documentary won the Dimitri exploration of Aktun Hu in AMCS Rebikoff Prize at the Festival mon- Activities Newsletter 33, and there are about 30 feet (10 meters) underwater, dial de l’image Sous-marine 2010 three articles about it in this issue, German cave divers swam more than in Marseille. A preview is at www including the one about its connec- 1,800 feet (550 meters) through dark .youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_tZcx tion to Sac Actun. tunnels spiked with rock formations. Raek. It was released in Mexico in There they accidentally uncovered March 2011 and will eventually be re- On July 22, 2010, Mexico’s Na- an Ice Age human’s remains and leased in Europe and the US. Source: tional Institute of Anthropology and notified archaeologists based in the Underwater Speleology 38(1)19–21, History released photographs of a surrounding state, Quintana Roo. January–March 2011. reconstruction based on a skeleton For the last three years research- found in an underwater cave near ers led by Arturo González, director In November 2010, Gustavo Vela Tulum. The skeleton, of a woman of the Desert Museum in Saltillo, and companions completed their dubbed La Mujer de las Palmas, Mexico, have been studying and fourth project in Río Secreto, or Yok was 90 percent complete. Physical documenting the bones in place, so Ha Hanil in Mayan, with 1300 meters anthropologists estimate that she as not to lose any clues offered by of new survey, including 300 meters was about 50 years old when she context. In late August 2010 scuba- of underwater passage surveyed by died, was about 1.5 meters tall, and diving researchers finally raised the Daniel Riordan and Alex Álvarez. weighed 58 kilograms (128 pounds). bones for lab study, after having The semi-dry passage in Río Secreto A government archaeologist says that placed them in plastic bags of cave has been largely finished, although the reconstruction resembles people water and sealing the remains in from southeast Asia and plastic bins. Cavers in Río Secreto. Gustavo Vela. complicates the picture of the No fewer than 10,000 years ago, origin of ancient people in the Chan Hol filled with seawater as Ice Americas, but that is contro- Age ice caps melted, the researchers versial. Source: AP dispatch say. No human, they conclude, could “Ancient Woman Suggests have ended up so far back in the cave Diverse Migration,” by Mark system after that point, which is why Stevenson, www.physorg they believe the young man is at least .com/news199120922.html 10,000 years old. The exact age of and lots of other places. the bones should be determined by ongoing carbon-dating tests, which About 80 miles (130 kilo- should be completed in three to four meters) south of Cancún, the months, González said. cave system of Chan Hol— The newly raised skeleton is the Mayan for little hole—is like fourth to be found in underwater a deep gouge into the Ca- caves around the town of Tulum. ribbean coast. In 2006, after One of the other skeletons, named entering the cave’s opening, Eve of Naharon, is thought to be even 26 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 more ancient, around 12,000 years North America’s other known early caves. These organisms were col- old. At about 60 percent complete, migrants. The discovery supports lected in the Cenote Aerolito (Co- the “Joven de Chan Hol” skeleton is the idea that multiple groups of zumel Island, on the Caribbean remarkably whole for a 10,000-year- migrants may have entered North coast of Quintana Roo) during three old specimen, the researchers say. America via the Bering Strait—using sampling events from February 2006 Especially revealing are his teeth— the now submerged land bridge that to April 2008, among algae, roots of lack of wear tipped off the team to once connected what are now Siberia mangroves, and in karst sediments. the individual’s relatively young and Alaska—at different times in A total of 1518 specimens belong- age at death. history, González said. ing to five families (Paraonidae, For now, the bones have been Source: Adapted from news Capitellidae, Nereididae, Dorvillei- sealed in a special chamber for the .nationalgeographic.com/news/ dae, and Syllidae), ten genera, and next six months to a year to dry out 2010/09/100915-oldest-skeleton eleven species were collected. In the and to allow time for their minerals -underwater-cave-science/. There cave system, two specimens of the to harden, making the remains less are many other things on the Inter- amphinomid Hermodice carunculata fragile. Afterward, the bones will net about this. One in Spanish is at were found. This cenote and its biota be scanned to create 3-D computer www2.esmas.com/noticierostele are now in danger of disappearing models that can be compared with visa/cultura/198240/. There is a because of a marina construction the bones of other ancient Native collection of photographs at http:// project in its western shore. American remains, project-leader artdaily.org/inah/. See also article Source: Journal of Cave and Karst González said. on the exploration of Chan Hol in Studies, volume 73, pages 1–10, April The skeletons found in the Quin- this issue. 2011 (doi: 10.4311jcks2009lsc0107). tana Roo caves could force scientists The full paper is available on-line to rethink their ideas about the Abstract: “First Records of Poly- at http://caves.org/pub/journal/ initial population of the Americas, chaetous Annelids from Cenote PDF/v73/cave-73-01-1.pdf. González said. For example, the Aerolito (Sinkhole and Anchialine skulls of both the Joven de Chan Cave) in Cozumel Island, Mexico,” Abstract: “Effective Place-Based Hol and the Eve of Naharon have by Sarita C. Frontana-Uribe and Field Learning Spanning Subdisci- anatomical features that suggest Vivianne Solís-Weiss. plines and Undergraduate-Graduate their owners were descended from In this study, polychaetous an- Program Levels: Northwestern Uni- people of South Asia and Indone- nelids are recorded for the first time versity Field Excursion to the Karst sia—not from northern Asia, like in Mexican cenotes and anchialine Geology of the Yucatan Peninsula,”

Photographing the Joven de Chan Hol. Jerónimo Avilés/INAH.

Team of divers with recovered skeleton in Cenote Chan Hol. M. Marat/INAH.

27 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

by Patricia A. Beddows. Field Methods, and progressing The Quintana Roo Speleological Field-based learning is recognized towards student-led publication Survey supports conservation, safe for the ability to engage and inspire based on results of field sampling exploration, and survey documen- earth science students of all levels. during the excursion. tation of the underwater and dry The long tradition of departmental Source: Geological Society of America caves in Quintana Roo, Mexico, sponsored field trips at Northwest- Abstracts with Programs vol. 42, no. Our present study area incorporates ern University has provided the 5, p. 433 (2010 GSA Denver Annual 6300 square kilometers in eastern basis for developing an 8 to 10 day Meeting). Quintana Roo. At this time we ar- structured non-credit field excursion chive 868 kilometers of confirmed to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, According to a November 4, 2010, underwater survey data for 200 undertaken in 2009 and 2010. Stu- article at www.telegraph.co.uk/ independent underwater caves and dent participation has reached over sport/othersports/diving/8111599/ cave systems. Over 150 collaborators 80% of the cohort, while feedback Free-diver-smashes-cave-world have contributed raw survey data indicates success at building moral -record.html, “A free diver set a to the database, establishing one within the department, increasing new world record yesterday by of [an understatement if there ever confidence in undertaking field- swimming for 150 metres (492ft) was one—ed.] the largest archives based research, and the citation of through a cave system without us- of underwater survey data in the the excursion as the highlight of the ing any breathing apparatus. Carlos world. undergraduate program by gradu- Coste, 34, had to cover 75 metres for Over 100 kilometers of new un- ating majors. Pre-trip preparations a new record, but the Venezuelan derwater survey has been reported include 2 to 3 introductory overview swam double that in two minutes in the preceding two years. Current lectures, and completion of 2 to 4 and 30 seconds. The risky feat was investigations for a common pas- self-selected journal articles. Thus, achieved, using only a large flipper sage between Sistema Sac Actun a mutually supportive learning and a torch, in Yucatan, Mexico. ‘I and Sistema Dos Ojos are focused environment is established as each have been doing competitive div- on the southeast area of Dos Ojos. student arrives with overlapping ing for 10 years and this is by far Resurvey and explorations in Dos but distinct knowledge on the local the most bizarre run I have ever Ojos are integrated with dry-cave earth system. Each day is focused made,’ he said. ‘To achieve this is a explorations to identify potential on a topic, such as carbonate depo- dream come true for me. I have been sump connections between the two sitional environments, diagenesis interested in speleology (the study cave systems. and karstification, hydrogeology, of caves) since I was a little boy and Explorations in the Chemuyil biogeochemistry, biogeography, geo- to combine this with my profession region caves continue within the physics, seismology, the Chicxulub as a freediver was amazing.’ Mr coastal and inland zones. The Czech impact crater, Caribbean tectonics, Coste can hold his breath for seven Speleological Society has made water resource and waste manage- minutes but he completed his record- strong southern advances towards ment, and environmental hazards. breaking run in just two minutes the coast within the inland caves of The focus of each day is coupled with and 30 seconds after three years of Sistema K’oox Baal and Sistema skill based field exercises that gen- planning.” Another note about the Tux Kupaxa. Resurvey missions erate observational data sets to test same dive is at boatworktimes.com/ and explorations have added over hypotheses. During field lectures, in- sports-mainmenu-116/diving/4519 30 kilometers of passage in Sistema dividual students are called upon to -free-diving-champion-carlos-coste- Xunaan Há. New passage continues share their knowledge to the group secured-new-guiness-world-record. to be found in this coastal cave, based on their pre-trip readings. This html. Bil Phillips reports that he notably within its northern section. approach of guiding the learning thinks Costa started at the Tak Be With a recent connection made to and communication of knowledge Ha entrance to Dos Ojos and that he Sistema Pitch, Sistema Xunaan Há by individual students to peers has finished the dive at the spring side of has the potential to exceed 70 kilo- allowed for a rich experience across the west eye of the Dos Ojos, based meters in length. sub-disciplines and program levels on the video of the dive. Source: 2010 NSS convention pro- from freshman undergraduate to the Evidently all record claims require gram book, page 43. senior levels of the PhD program. careful reading, because at the time Ongoing development of the ex- the records for breath-hold swim- Abstract: “Did Groundwater Strati- cursion design includes increasing ming distance with fins were already fication during Drought Provide Po- student-led exercises, advancement 265 meters for men and 225 meters table Groundwater in the Northern of the trip ‘wiki’ for pre- and post- for women. Perhaps Coste’s dive is a Yucatan Peninsula during the Maya excursion information exchange, record for such a swim in a cave. Terminal?” by Eduard Reinhardt, development of new skill exercises Jeremy Gabriel, Peter Van Hengstum, in geochemistry and geophysics Abstract: “The Quintana Roo Spe- and Particia Beddows. including instrument use from IRIS, leological Survey: Recent Advances Paleoclimate data from closed further integration with regular ses- in Underwater Cave Exploration in basin lakes on Mexico’s Yucatan sion course including a new course Quintana Roo, Mexico,” by James peninsula shows drought occurring offering on Instrumentation and Coke IV. in the Maya Lowlands: the drought 28 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 coincides with the Terminal Classic These organisms produce a shell light etc.) to interpret species changes Maya Collapse and has been as- (microfossil) which are about the we find in the sediment cores. Ra- cribed to the southern migration of size of a grain sand, and are found diocarbon dating will place the core the ITCZ. However, drought as the in abundance in the sediment, with sediments in a temporal context al- trigger for the collapse has been con- a tablespoon often containing thou- lowing a reconstruction of the cave troversial since Mayan cities in the sands of specimens. They are also environment through time. Northern Lowlands (vs Southern), very sensitive to environmental No doubt this preliminary work which should have been affected change, with certain species living will pose further questions that first by drought, continued to persist in specific aquatic environments. will require further sampling and into the Terminal and Post-Classic This makes them very useful for research to fully understand the periods. Here, we present microfos- reconstructing past environments cave system. However, we hope sil (foraminifera and thecamoebian) and how they changed through this research will make a significant data from aquatic cave sediment time. So, we can retrieve a sedi- contribution to our understanding cores (n=5; Ox Bel Ha and Aktun ment core, examine the succession of how the cave systems evolved to Ha cave systems near Tulum) from of microfossils in the sediments and what they are today. the Northern Lowlands that may reconstruct environmental changes Source: http://mcep.org.mx/ explain the observed pattern of that have occurred in that location science/ReconstructingYucatan.pdf. population decline. Results from the through time. Abstracts of papers that appear to cave sediments span the last 3500 yrs This technique of environmental have resulted from this work appear and show changes in the salinity of reconstruction is well developed, and in Mexico News in AMCS Activities the meteoric lens with fresher condi- often used in the oil industry, hav- Newsletter 32. tions commencing in the Terminal ing been applied in many locations Classic and continuing into the Illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals, Post-Classic period where drought pesticides, highway chemicals and is the most pronounced. During other substances have polluted the drought periods, the density strati- large aquifer beneath the “Riviera fication of the meteoric and marine Maya” in Mexico, researchers re- water masses ensures that potable ported in Sunday’s edition of the groundwater remains available in journal Environmental Pollution. the shallow subsurface, and may Water-filled caves resting below in fact have decreased in salinity. the popular tourist destination in While drought caused a decreased the Yucatan Peninsula have been thickness of the meteoric water, it contaminated, and the polluted wa- also resulted in reduced flow and less ter flows through those caverns and turbulent mixing with the underly- into the Caribbean Sea, according to ing marine water within the flooded a press release from United Nation’s cave conduits and may account for University (UNU). our observed freshening of the near That pollution, combined with surface meteoric water. In contrast, The thecamobian Centropyxis aculeata overfishing, disease, and climate during wet periods, increased flow from Sistema Ponderosa. change, has resulted in the loss of caused increased turbulent mixing as much as 50% of the coral reefs off with underlying marine water thus around the world, from oceans, the region’s coast since 1990. increasing its salinity and decreasing lakes, deltas, lagoons etc. However, Furthermore, with the area’s its potability. This may have varied in it has never been applied in the cave population expected to increase ten- effect from area to area, and empha- environment. We know nothing of fold over the next two decades, the sizes that regional patterns of water the distribution of these organisms problems will likely become much resources may have allowed some in cave systems and their potential worse by 2030, according to research population centers to survive the for understanding the environmen- was conducted by Chris D. Metcalfe, Classic Maya Collapse, particularly tal evolution and paleohydrology a professor at Trent University and a in the Northern Lowlands. of caves. The research is still in its senior research fellow at the UNU’s Source: Geological Society of America infancy, but based on preliminary Institute for Water, Environment and Abstracts with Programs vol. 42, no. results showing that thecamoebians Health (INWEH) in Canada. 5, p. 226 (2010 GSA Denver Annual and foraminifera inhabit the cave “These findings clearly underline Meeting). environment it looks promising. the need for monitoring systems to The 2006 project (Aug 27th to Sept pin-point where these aquifer pollut- Thecamobians and foraminifera 8th) retrieved sediment and core ants are coming from,” Metcalfe said are testate amoeba that inhabit samples from Ponderosa, Aktun Ha in a statement on Sunday. “As well, fresh to marine water environments and Mayan Blue. Further analysis in prevention and mitigation measures around the world. They have ex- the laboratory over the next year will are needed to ensure that expanding ploited every aquatic niche from determine the distribution of species development does not damage the the deep sea to lakes and marshes. relative to environment (e.g.. salinity, marine environment and human 29 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

30 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 health and, in turn, the region’s have originated from domestic sew- of them could not fit. The woman, tourism-based economy.” age. PAHs indicated contamination despite having been underground Among the substances discovered by runoff from highways and other without food or water for fourteen in the waters were pesticides, co- impermeable surfaces and chloro- hours, was quiet and cooperative caine, caffeine, metabolized nicotine, phenoxy herbicides accumulated in and had no broken bones. Source: painkillers such as acetaminophen samplers deployed near a golf course Press article at www.pulsoslp.com and ibuprofen, ingredients common indicated that pesticide applications .mx/Notas.aspx?Nota=791, accessed to deodorants and perfumes, and to turf are a source of contamination. January 5. triclosan, an anti-bacterial agent used Prevention and mitigation measures in toothpastes, hand sanitizers, and are needed to ensure that expanding This detailed map of the Crev- cleansers. development does not impact the ice area below the main floor of While water treatment systems are marine environment and human Sótano de las Golondrinas has not commonly used in the Riviera Maya health, thus damaging the tourism- been previously published by the region, they are “unlikely to remove based economy of the region. AMCS. A large, folded copy was all micro-contaminants,” according Source: Environmental Pollu- among the things donated to the to the UNU study. In their paper, tion, volume 159, number 4, pag- AMCS Archives by William Rus- the authors recommend installing es 991–997, 2011, doi:10.1016/j sell. Detailed maps of the Crevice impermeable liners beneath golf .envpol.2010.11.031. were first published on pages 27 courses and similar areas; creating and 28 of an article by John Bassett drainage canals, retentions ponds, An explosion destroyed the res- in the Bloomington Grotto Newsletter, and treatment systems to deal with taurant at the Grand Riviera Princess volume 9, number 2, 1970. runoff in certain areas; and improved Hotel in Playa del Carmen on No- wastewater treatment procedures. vember 14, 2010, killing seven. Local My house in Aquismón is ready The study, which was funded authorities blamed the explosion on for cavers. It is located approxi- by the World Bank, was part of the “swamp gas” accumulated in a cave mately 400 meters from the plaza UNU-INWEH Caribbean Coastal under the building. While methane and about one hour from such great Pollution Project (CCPP), which was in a cave in the area is possible due sótanos as Golondrinas. In addition launched in 2007 in order to help to the careless disposal of sewage to the great pits, there are a num- build improved assessment, moni- from resorts and other develop- ber of other caves, such as Cueva toring and management of Persis- ments, geologists were skeptical of Linda, to visit. If you are caving tent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the claim, and a leak of cooking gas in Mexico, Aquismón is one of the Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) in or some other source was thought most caver-friendly towns. The Caribbean coastal ecosystems. more likely, especially considering house has two kitchens, two living Source: http://www.redorbit the scale of the destruction. Sub- rooms, bathrooms, an outside bar, .com/news/science/1991897/ sequently, authorities found that a 12-meter rappel-practice area, pollution_threatening_mexicos an unauthorized gas line had been and safe parking. Twenty-two cav- _riviera_maya_region/, posted 7 run under the lounge and have ers have stayed there, and all had February 2011. See the following filed charges again five contractors beds. It is only open to cavers, at abstract. and employees at the hotel. Source: $12.50 per person per night. Con- http://www.therecord.com/news/ tact me to check on available dates. Abstract: “Contaminants in the article/284635 and /479954. Source: Mike Walsh, (512) 249-2283, Coastal Karst Aquifer System along [email protected]. the Caribbean Coast of the Yucatan San Luis Potosí Peninsula, Mexico,” by Chris Met- In early January 2011, María Lucas The Association for Mexican Cave calfe et al. Rodríquez, age eighty-five, arose Studies has apparently never pub- Intensive land development as a in the night and fell into a 15-meter lished a map of Sótano de Soyate, result of the rapidly growing tour- pit near the village of La Palmilla, an important cave in the Sierre de El ism industry in the “Riviera Maya” in the vicinity of Tamasopo. She Abra, in a newsletter. This descrip- region of the Yucatan Peninsula, was missed early the next morning tion and the map are reprinting from Mexico may result in contamina- by her grandson Salome Guillén AMCS Bulletin 14, Karst Hydrology of tion of groundwater resources that Rangel, who lives with her in the the Sierra de El Abra, Mexico, by John eventually discharge into Caribbean village of twenty-two people and Fish, page 114. coastal ecosystems. We deployed two searched the area for her. Authori- Sótano de Soyate lies about half types of passive sampling devices ties in Tamasopo were alerted, but way up the western flank of the El into groundwater flowing through it wasn’t until late in the afternoon Abra range, 2 km east of the Los Sa- cave systems below two communi- that someone heard María’s cries binos area swallet caves. Figure 6.17 ties to evaluate concentrations of from the pit, which is used as a dump is a map and a profile modified from contaminants and to indicate the by the village. Four members of the ones by Elliott (1970) [Texas Caver, possible sources. Pharmaceuticals municipal police force worked for vol. 15, pp. 63–66, 1970] by a new and personal care products accu- three hours to rescue the old lady cave depth survey, including use mulated in the samplers could only from the narrow slot in which most of a wire and the inclination for the 31 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

entrance, by water depth measure- travertine dams and slopes drop 20 higher than the 34 m (110 feet) given ments, and by minor alterations of m into the end of a large chamber. At by Elliott (1970). The total depth to detail. The entrance is a very deep this level, the walls and the floor are the lake surface was surveyed to be shaft along a major joint or joints covered by a thick deposit of mud, 233.9 m (767.3 feet). inclined at 83°. It descends 103 m, and there are some cobbles washed typically 6 m by 12 m in cross section, down from above. A small hole in the In late February 2011 human bones to a ledge or restriction of the pit, floor drops another 11 or 12 m (under were discovered in a cave at La then another 92 m as a long fissure normal water conditions) to a deep Soledad, near Tampaxal. The police to the floor 195 m (639 feet) below lake that fills the lower part of the for Zona Huasteca Potosina were the surface. There are a number of chamber. The lake is 147 m long and notified and investigated. The skull places where the fissure and other 20 to 25 m wide for the most part. It fragment, femur, and forearm bone recesses extend beyond the reach was plumbed in a number of places were estimated by experts to be from of the light from a carbide lamp. approximately along a lengthwise 300 to 500 years old. Sources: www Vadose films have left a 1 m thick center line, at a time when the lake .oem.com.mx/elsoldesanluis/notas/ deposit of flowstone for the lower was 11 m below the top of the hole. n1979229.htm, www.pulsoslp.com 150 m of the pit on the “footwall,” The deepest point measured was .mx/Noticias.aspx?Nota=3514. or wall descended by explorers. The 53.4 m (175 feet), and no depth less floor is covered by small angular than 33.5 m was found. Thus, the Cave life is known to favor the breakdown that has come mostly bottom of the lake is nearly at sea evolution of a variety of traits, in- from the top 20 m of the pit, and by level and well below the El Abra cluding blindness and loss of eyes, some mud. At the south end of the base level. From the View Point, the loss of pigmentation, and changes in floor of the entrance pit, a series of chamber appears immense, possibly metabolism and feeding behavior. Now researchers reporting online on April 7 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have added sleep- lessness to that list. “Cave-adapted fish sleep less— much less—than closely related surface fish,” said Richard Borowsky of New York University. “In some ways, their sleep phenotypes are similar to those of humans with sleep disorders.” The fish do sleep, but only for relatively short periods, Borowsky explained. Once they wake up, they remain active for a relatively long time. That sleep-and-wake cycle is repeated throughout the continued darkness of the cave. The discovery was made by studying three cave populations of Mexican Blind Cave Fish (Astyanax mexicanus), a species ideal for such studies because it includes eyed surface and numerous blind cave populations. Although most of those cave populations have been founded independently by individuals living on the surface, they have nonethe- less converged over the course of evolution on similar traits suitable to their new environments. Borowsky and Erik Duboué, lead author of the study, got the idea that the transition from surface to cave might be associated with less sleep based on anecdotal, nighttime ob- servations of fish in their laboratory. Their surface fish clearly sleep at night. They could be found inactive 32 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 at the bottom of their tanks with fins The cave populations are largely Worldwide, about 80 different drooping. The cavefish, on the other independent in their origins, and the species of cave-dwelling fish have hand, actively patrol their laboratory species is ideal for studying the ge- evolved from surface-dwelling fish, homes through the wee hours. netic bases of convergent evolution. but in most cases the surface-dwell- To further study the basis of those Here we show that this system is ing ancestor has disappeared. “The behavioral differences, the research- also uniquely valuable for the inves- Mexican blind cavefish is one of the ers allowed surface and cave individ- tigation of variability in patterns of only cases where a similar ancestor uals to mate in the lab and studied sleep. We find that a clearly defined still exists,” explains Professor Jef- their hybrid offspring. Those studies change in ecological conditions, from fery. “Except for the loss of eyes and yielded evidence showing that cave- surface to cave, is correlated with a pigment seen in the cave-dwelling fish differ from surface fish in sleep dramatic reduction in sleep in three form, the surface and cave-dwellers behavior because of a few dominant independently derived cave popu- are hard to tell apart. You can study gene mutations that became fixed in lations of A. mexicanus. Analyses of evolution very nicely if you have the cave populations as they adapted surface × cave hybrids show that both the ancestral and derived forms to their new life. the alleles for reduced sleep in the of evolving animals.” “We have documented a cave- Pachón [Tamaulipas] and Tinaja Jeffery is a leading expert on the related phenotype unsuspected [San Luis Potosí] cave populations developmental and evolutionary until now that might turn out to be are dominant in effect to the surface genetics of the blind cavefish. His the most basic adaptation of aquatic alleles. Genetic analysis of hybrids previous research provided evidence vertebrates to cave life,” Borowsky between surface and Pachón cavefish that the loss of eyes in blind cavefish said. His team plans to investigate suggests that only a small number is the result of natural selection, and further to parse out the evolutionary of loci with dominant effects are has inspired other researchers to take forces driving the convergence. involved. Our results demonstrate up Astyanax as a model system for It remains to be tested, but that sleep is an evolutionarily labile studying eye loss and evolution in Borowsky doesn’t think the cave- phenotype, highly responsive to general. Studying the evolution of fish need less sleep, exactly. Rather, changes in ecological conditions. cave fish may help provide clues they may need to be awake more. To our knowledge, this is the first about human forms of blindness “These fish live in an environment example of a single species with a such as macular degeneration and where food is generally scarce and convergence on sleep loss exhibited cataracts, and the University of episodically and unpredictably pres- by several independently evolved Maryland team is also exploring ent,” he said. “If you are asleep when populations correlated with popu- how studies of cave fish metabolism a bit of food floats by, you are out of lation-specific ecologies. might be used to better understand a meal and out of luck.” Source: Current Biology, volume the underlying causes of obesity The discovery might offer clues 21, number 8, pages 671–676, 2011, and diabetes in humans. “It turns to understanding variation in sleep doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.03.020. out that many of the mutations in among other species and even sleep genes studied in model organisms disorders in humans. That’s because University of Maryland biolo- like Astyanax are the same genes that the genes controlling sleep patterns gists have identified how changes are involved in human disease,” says in the fish are very likely to play the in both behavior and genetics led Jeffery. “By studying evolution, you same roles in other animals. to the evolution of the Mexican can see what sort of mutations and “This study is the first step to blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) genes are present in the population identifying the responsible genes,” from its sighted, surface-dwelling and how these can be selected for he said. ancestor. In research published or against.” Source: press release at www in the August 12, 2010 online edi- Jeffery’s research team showed .eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ tion of the journal Current Biology, how an adaptive behavior found in 2011-04/cp-tec040511.php called to Professor William Jeffery, together blind cavefish that gives them an ad- our attention by Jerry Atkinson. The with postdoctoral associates Masato vantage in locating food in the dark following Mexico News item is the Yoshizawa, and Špela Gorički, and is linked to a genetic trait. “Vibration abstract of that paper. Assistant Professor Daphne Soares Attraction Behavior” (or VAB) is in the Department of Biology, pro- the ability of fish to swim toward Abstract: “Evolutionary Conver- vide new information that shows the source of a water disturbance gence on Sleep Loss in Cavefish,” how behavioral and genetic traits in darkness. Postdoctoral associate by Erik R. Duboué, Alex C. Keene, coevolved to compensate for the Masato Yoshizawa measured this and Richard L. Borowsky. loss of vision in cavefish and to help behavioral response in both wild Patterns of sleep vary widely them find food in darkness. caught and laboratory raised cave among species, but the functional This is the first time that a clear and surface-dwelling fish using a and evolutionary principles re- link has been identified between vibrating rod at different frequen- sponsible for this diversity remain behavior, genetics, and evolution cies as a stimulus. Most cavefish unknown. The characin fish,Astya - in Mexican blind cavefish, which displayed VAB and would swim nax mexicanus, has eyed surface and are considered an excellent model toward the vibrating rod and poke numerous blind cave populations. for studying evolution. at it, while few surface fish did. 33 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

This behavior is advantageous for loss of vision and to help blind for feeding success in the dark caves cavefish find food in darkness. Tabasco where food sources are limited and This study adds important new An ancient ritual held in a Mexican large predators are absent. “Outside information about how Mexican cave has prompted a species of fish the cave, however, there are many blind cavefish have adapted to to develop a toxin resistance. Deep predators,” explains Jeffery, “and their extreme environment through in a sulfur cave in southern Mexico, indiscriminately going to a vibration evolutionary changes. The next step a group of indigenous people have would be a certain risk for predation in this research will be to identify for centuries asked their gods for for a surface-dwelling fish.” the gene or genes involved in VAB, bountiful rain by stunning the cave’s The cavefish responded most which offers the exciting possibility fish with a natural plant toxin. Once frequently and strongly to a vibra- of understanding this behavioral the fish have succumbed, the Zoque tion at a frequency of 35 Hz. “This shift at the molecular level. people scoop them into baskets for frequency falls within the range Source: Press release published eating. Now scientists are finding the that is detected by the superficial in Science Daily web site September ancient religious practice is impact- neuromasts,” explained Yoshizawa. 15, 2010, www.sciencedaily.com/ ing the fish’s evolution. “These specialized hair cells are releases/2010/09/100914171325 Those fish that are resistant to the part of the fish’s lateral line, which .htm. The following item is the ab- anesthesia survive to pass on their is the sensory organ used to detect stract of the published paper. genes, while the others simply meet movement and vibration in the sur- their demise. rounding water.” Abstract: “Evolution of a Behav- The religious ceremony is held in To confirm the role of the superfi- ioral Shift Mediated by Superficial the sulfur cave Cueva del Azufre cial neuromasts (SN) and the lateral Evolution of a Behavioral Shift [= Cueva de Villa Luz; see AMCS line, Yoshizawa measured the VAB Mediated by Superficial Neuro- Activities Newsletter 24, pages 48–54] after he inhibited the function of masts Helps Cavefish Find Food in each year at the end of the dry season the superficial neuromasts in both Darkness ,” by Masato Yoshizawa, during the holy week before Easter. cavefish and surface fish. “I used a Špela Gorički, Daphne Soares, and The Zoque grind up the toxic, carrot- non-toxic glue on their cheek region, William R. Jeffery. shaped roots of the tropical barbasco and then released them in the water. How cave animals adapt to life plant and mix them with lime to form This glue then peeled off from their in darkness is a poorly understood a paste, which they wrap in leaves. skin as they moved in the water, and aspect of evolutionary biology. Here They place the bundles about 110 removed the superficial neuromast we identify a behavioral shift and yards (100 meters) into the cave to hair cells, or at least reduced their its morphological basis in Astyanax poison its waters and anesthetize sensing ability,” explains Yoshizawa. mexicanus, a teleost with a sighted fish, which the Zoque believe are “You can imagine that it is kind of surface-dwelling form (surface fish) gifts from gods that inhabit the unlike waxing your legs.” and various blind cave-dwelling derworld. The collected fish supple- Without the sensing ability of the forms (cavefish). Vibration attraction ment the meals of the Zoque until SN, the cavefish no longer exhibited behavior (VAB) is the ability of fish crops are ready for harvest. the VAB, while the surface dwelling to swim toward the source of a water “We actually got to eat some of fish did not exhibit any more or less disturbance in darkness. VAB was these cave fish,” said researcher VAB. The team went on to explore typically seen in cavefish, rarely in Michael Tobler, an evolutionary the role that the number and size of surface fish, and was advantageous ecologist at Oklahoma State Uni- the SN played in VAB, as the cave for feeding success in the dark. The versity. “They’re not very good, by dwelling fish have more and larger potential for showing VAB has a the way.” SN cells and were the most likely genetic component and is linked Tobler and his colleagues were in to exhibit the adaptive behavior. to the mechanosensory function of the area investigating cave-dwelling Yoshizawa made a genetic cross the lateral line. VAB was evoked by specimens of the small, guppy-sized between the surface fish and the cave vibration stimuli peaking at 35 Hz, Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) dwelling fish to get a hybrid species. blocked by lateral line inhibitors, to figure out how these fish made The cave dwelling fish, who have first detected after developmental in- their way from the surface all the more and larger superficial neuro- creases in superficial neuromast (SN) way underground. And once in mast (SN) cells, were most likely to number and size, and significantly the dark reaches of the cave, Tobler exhibit the adaptive behavior. The reduced by bilateral ablation of SN. wondered how they survived in the hybrid fish showed an intermedi- We conclude that VAB and SN en- cave system despite the presence of ate number of neuromasts and also hancement coevolved to compensate toxic hydrogen sulfide there. exhibited an intermediate vibration for loss of vision and to help blind “We learned about the ceremony, attraction behavior reaction—more cavefish find food in darkness. and actually attended it in 2007,” than the surface fish, but less than Source: Current Biology, volume Tobler recalled. “The families each the cave fish. 20, number 18, pages1631–1636, take a certain amount of the fish From this, the research team con- 28 September 2010, doi: 10.1016/j home. The way we had ours pre- cluded that the VAB and SN en- .cub.2010.07.017. pared was that they were just mixed hancement coevolved to compensate with scrambled eggs, although I hear 34 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 other families fry them. They had a by M. Tobler, et al. with lesser amounts of microspar, funny salty taste to them, although Human-induced environmental and also have little to no porosity. I’m not sure if that’s because of their change can affect the evolutionary Cement-rich porous zones are similar sulfuric environment, or something trajectory of populations. In Mexico, to the non-porous zones, but contain the cook messed up.” indigenous Zoque people annually up to 50% porosity, with the pores To see whether this ceremony in- introduce barbasco, a fish toxicant, elongated in a radial manner parallel fluenced the evolution of these fish, into the Cueva del Azufre to harvest to the radial spar crystals. The three the researchers collected specimens fish during a religious ceremony. zone types alternate concentrically in from the annually poisoned waters Here, we investigated tolerance to an apparently random manner. Elec- as well as areas upstream that hadn’t barbasco in fish from sites exposed tron microprobe analysis indicates been affected by the ritual. They next and unexposed to the ritual. We that the carbonate is extremely pure placed barbasco root toxin into tanks found that barbasco tolerance in- low-Mg calcite (99.4 – 99.8 % CaCO3), holding the fish. creases with body size and differs with only minor substitution of Mg, Fish exposed to the annual ritual between the sexes. Furthermore, fish and to a lesser extend Mn, Fe, and indeed proved more resistant to the from sites exposed to the ceremony Sr for Ca in the calcite structure. A toxin than fish that lived elsewhere, had a significantly higher tolerance. microprobe traverse detected no able to swim in poisoned waters for Consequently, the annual ceremony statistically significant variation in roughly 50 percent longer. As such, may not only affect population struc- elemental composition from pearl the poison from the ceremony ap- ture and gene flow among habitat center to edge. Microprobe analysis parently has over time helped select types, but the increased tolerance in of the non-carbonate clay sized mate- fish that can tolerate it — fish that exposed fish may indicate adapta- rial in the pearls shows that a variety cannot get captured and killed by tion to human cultural practices in of minerals are present, including the Zoque. a natural population on a very small quartz and apatite. The abundance “What is most exciting to me is spatial scale. and distribution of porosity suggests that we were really able to find these Source: Biology Letters, volume 7, that a more soluble phase (e.g., ara- connections between the natural number 2, pages229–232, April 2011, gonite, organic matter) was removed world and culture, to find that over doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0663. by dissolution. generations, the local community Source: Geological Society of actually affected the evolutionary Abstract: “Petrology and Chem- America Abstracts with Programs, trajectory of this population of fish,” istry of Cave Pearls from Gruta de vol. 40, no. 6, p. 479 (2008). Tobler told LiveScience. las Canicas (Cave of the Marbles), The local government has now ac- Tabasco, Mexico,” by Shari Houston, Tamaulipas tually banned the ceremony, because Peter Mozley, Andrew Campbell, The historical route to Joya de they felt it might pose a danger to and Penny Boston. Salas was a long 4WD road from the cave fish. Cave pearls are relatively com- El Encino on the Inter-American “It’s very important that the cave mon in caves, but are typically pres- Highway (highway 85) south of and these fish are protected, but I ent in very low abundance. Gruta de Cd. Victoria. There is now a shorter think it’s also very important that las Canicas, a cave system developed road from Jaumave, southwest of the local people can live with these in Cretaceous carbonates in Tabasco, Victoria on highway 101. It would ceremonies they inherited from their Mexico, is highly unusual in that it be interesting to drive all the way ancestors,” Tobler said. “We see our contains a tremendous quantity of across the Sierra de Guatemala role as learning more about the actual pearls (estimated 200 million pearls looking for caves. Source: Mark impact of these ceremonies, to see if found on the cave floor to a depth of Minton, from www.janambre.com. we can develop recommendations a meter or more). The mechanism for mx/Turistam/?p=134. Mark points for the Zoque and the local govern- the formation of this vast quantity out that the description of Sótano ment as to what a sustainable way of pearls has not been determined. de la Joya de Salas there is rather to continuing this ceremony might Here we provide the first report of overblown. See AMCS Activities be.” the mineralogy, texture and chemis- Newsletter 32 for an article on the The scientists detailed their find- try of the Canicas pearls. The pearls original exploration of that cave ings online September 8 in the jour- were studied using standard opti- and maps. nal Biology Letters. cal petrographic and geochemical Source: September 4, 2010, ar- methods (electron microprobe and The exploration of the Nacimiento ticle by Charles Q. Choi at www.cs stable isotopes). The pearls can be del Río Sabinas was described in monitor.com/Science/2010/0914/ subdivided into three distinct zones an article by Sheck Exley in AMCS Religious-ceremony-prompts-fish based upon cement texture, pres- Activities Newsletter 10, 1979, but the -to-evolve. The published abstract ence of impurities, and porosity. map was not published there. follows. Clay-rich zones are enriched in clay- sized non-carbonate material, and See also the material about blind Abstract: “An Indigenous Reli- typically contain little to no porosity. fish under San Luis Potosí. gious Ritual Selects for Resistance Cement-rich, non-porous zones con- to a Toxicant in a Livebearing Fish,” tain mainly radially oriented spar, 35 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

enormous. Venturing into Los Tux- weather trip to Sumidero de El Po- Veracruz tlas looking for hollows or cavities poca, a 70-meter pit, at www.youtube Abstract: “Potencial Volcano Espe- that preserve volcanic shapes and .com/watch?v=9MCszMAN6ng. leológico: Los Tuxtla, Reserva de la harbor amazing forms of life is one The cave is also known as Sótano Biosfere,” by Guillermo Gassós. of the most positive activities for the de El Popoca, Resumidero del Po- La Reserva de la Biosfera Los enrichment of universal knowledge. poca, etc. Source: Tlamaqui e-mail Tuxtlas is characterized by its re- Probably the only limitation would list post by Ruben Aguilar. There is markable vegetal and animal diver- be the rainforest itself. a description and map of the cave sity. It represents the extreme border Source: English abstract (ed- in AMCS Activities Newsletter 12, of the neotropical rainforest in the ited) to article at www.oztotl pages 61–62. American continents. Both basalts .com/ps/reports/Potencial and basonites have been produced _Vulcano_Espeleologico_Los_Tuxtlas On December 22, 2010, a local as a result of the intense volcanism .pdf. The full article includes de- man fell into the 180-meter entrance in the area. Nearly three hundred scriptions and locations of lava shaft to Atlalaquía (Sótano) de Ahu- volcanic cones of basaltic composi- caves Cueva de los Murciélagos, ihuitzcapa in the Zongolica area, tion have been located, all of them Cueva de Yayo, and Cueva de Linda apparently by accident. The recovery at an elevation below 250 meters. Vista. There are maps of two of was done by members of Espeleo However, there is also a volcano, San them, reduced and compressed to Rescate México the next day. Source: Martín, whose height is about 1720 uselessness. Antonio Álvarez. meters. For that reason, the potential for vulcanospelelogy in the area is There is an impressive video of a wet- During Easter week 2011, Ramón and Ruth Espinasa and family members visited lava tubes on a small volcano along the road between Xalapa and Perote. The area had been visited before by members of the Sociedad Mexicana Exploraciones Subterráneas and the Sección Vera- cruz of the Club de Explorciones de México, and known caves include Cueva del Volcancillo, 570 meters long and 130 deep, Cueva de Tana- mpa, 1150 meters long, and Cueva de Tengonapa, so far mapped to 950 meters. They were shown Cueva de la Escalera, which they investigated and partially surveyed. They also visited a lava flow near Tlacolulan, where the Río Huichila flows underground in several places, including Cueva de la Escalera. Ramón Espinasa.

36 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 the Sumidero de los Ranchillos. I first arrived here Don Phi- Source: Tlamaqui e-mail list post by lomeno, in his 70s and Ha- Ramón Espinasa, April 27, 2011. cienda Chichén’s longest- serving employee, showed Yucatán me around the grounds. We Abstract: “Investigating Ancient came into an area where soil Maya Agricultural Adaptation was completely missing, through Ground Penetrating Ra- exposing nothing but an dar (GPR) Analysis of Karst Ter- expanse of white limestone rain, Northern Yucatán, Mexico,” bedrock. The Don knelt be- by Mandy J. Munro-Stasiuk and T. side a water-filled depres- Kam Manahan. sion in the rock, about the Landscape adaptation on the size of a yellow dog, and Haltúns. Jim Conrad. Northern Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, proudly told me how he is particularly difficult, as soils are vividly remembered the day when Guide to Mexican Natural History and thin and the terrain is devoid of it was he who discovered this very The Maya Road.” Some of his books any surface water other than the depression. are available for free download at occasional sinkhole (cenote) that In Maya such water-holding holes www.backyardnature.net/j/books/ connects directly to the groundwater in limestone bedrock have their own index.htm. system. Despite this, ancient Maya name. Such a hole is a haltún [solu- cities, including Xuenkal, emerged tion pan, tinajita]. You can see some The Red Bull “Cliff Diving World and thrived, likely because of their in the photograph. Series” has been held twice recently proximity to natural sinkholes. In In Maya culture, the haltún is at Cenote Ik Kil, near Chichén Itzá. the case of Xuenkal, these sinkholes, important for the simple reason Divers plunge from a platform 27.25 known locally as rejolladas, have that when you’re wandering in the meters above the water. Gary Hunt bases above the local water table forest and find one, you can drink won both events, one in April 2010 and, as such, do not provide direct its water. At least older Maya are (http://newslite.tv/2010/06/09/ access to the underlying water, but still acutely aware that humans sinkhole-cliff-diving-competit.html) they provide closer access. Recog- need unpolluted water, and that if and the second in April 2011 (http:// nizing that the presence of rejolladas drinkable water disappears, living redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/ was likely important to the ancient becomes impossible. For older Maya Event/Red-Bull-Cliff-Diving Maya the purpose of this study is to like Don Philomeno, the haltún de- --Mexico-021242941889931). characterize the rejolladas in terms mands great respect. Don Philomeno of their subsurface characteristics, spent several minutes explaining The December 2010 issue of México specifically bedrock configuration to me the proper way to clean one Desconocido magazine contains an and soil. Ground penetrating radar and protect it, and I felt honored to interesting article by Guillermo de analysis, as well as the results of be initiated in such a way into the Anda about archaeology in cenotes a test pit excavation, confirm the mystical realm of the haltún. of the Yucatan Peninsula. Source: presence of deep soils in the rejol- I’m thinking about haltúnes nowa- Gustavo Vela. lada bases. It seems that the smaller days because most days I pull up deeper rejolladas have the thickest a few buckets of water from the Miscellaneous soils and sediment. The ancient city 80-ft-deep well where the Brittle “Caves, their depictions, and of Xuenkal is constructed amidst a Maidenhairs live, keep each haltún the myths that accompanied them particularly dense cluster of rejol- in the area filled, and water various have always had a central role in ladas which may have contributed saplings we want to bring through Mesoamerican cultural traditions. to its location. Rejolladas, contain- the current dry season. Starting about 2000 B.C., the popu- ing significantly thicker soils than Also I’m thinking about the haltún lations living between Honduras the surrounding karst surface, and because if you want to see birds and north-central Mexico began the ability to sustain dense healthy you can’t do better than to position depicting caves on their monuments, vegetation would have been par- yourself nearby, and just watch the thereby starting a tradition that was ticularly desirable for the Maya to stream of species come in from the going to last until the Spanish inva- capitalize on. forest and settle there for a drink. sion and beyond.” The introductory Source: Acta Carsologica 39(1)123– The haltún is a wonderful thing. paragraph to an article by Davide 135, 2010. Full article on-line at Source: www.backyardnature. Domenici, In the Maw of the Moun- http://carsologica.zrc-sazu.si/ net/yucatan/haltun.htm. You can tain, in Kur Magazine number 13, downloads/391/10Munro.pdf. subscribe to Jim Conrad’s newsletter, December 2009, pages 22–29. e-mailed weekly from wherever he’s From Jim Conrad’s “Naturalist hanging out, at www.backyardna- There are Spanish/English and Newsletter,” issued March 14, 2010, ture.net/news/natnat.php. Jim has English/Spanish caving dictionar- from the Hacienda Chichén Resort written numerous books. Among the ies with over 500 words at http:// beside the Chichén Itzá ruins: When most popular are Mexico: A Hiker’s geography.lancs.ac.uk/Matienzo/ 37 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Yaax Nik Yucatán

Photos by Gustavo Vela Turcott

38 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

X Congreso Nacional Mexicano de Espeleológia The X Congreso Nacional Mexicano de Espleológia Espeleología y poblamiento del continente americano, of the the Unión Mexicana de Agrupiones Espele- una visión desde la investigación arqueológica. Karen ológicas, was held in at the Benemérita Universidad Trinidad Consuegra. Autónoma de Puebla in February 2011. The program Construcción del saber espeleológico ambiental: la nueva for the congress, from xcongresoespeleologia.org/ utopía (conferencia magistral). Karla Quintana Pearce. Documents/programa_X_Congreso.xls, was: Sunday, 6 February Friday, 4 February Cuevas de Cuauhtinchan, Pue., hito fundamental de la his- La espeleologia como actividad multidisciplinaria (confer- toria Tolteca-Chichimeca, códices e historia local: riesgos encia magistral). Jose Ayrton Lebegalini. y vulnerabilidades (conferencia magistral). Cecilia Tapia Exploración subacuática de los sistemas cavernícolas Margaona y Andrés A. Sánchez Hernández. de Quintana Roo (conferencia magistral). Zdeněk Exploración de Iztacxochitla, Puebla, México. Arturo Motyčka. García Gómez. La cueva como espacio natural dentro de la cosmovisión Saturday, 5 February maya actual. Raúl Ernesto Manzanilla Haas. Espeleosocorro: cuando la ayuda no puede esperar (con- Video dentro del volcan las cuevas de la erupción 2004. ferencia magistral). Efrain Mercado Vázquez. Chiara Pulvirenti. Geología estructural del sistema sarstico Zacatecolotla– Travesía a la Cueva del Río La Venta, Chiapas, México; 61 Las Grandas, la base para el desarrollo y formación de horas fotografiando la oscuridad. Jorge Antonio Paz cavidades. Rogelio Hernández Vergara. Tenorio. Ensayo de interpretación de algunos rostros pintados en La espeleología: El desarrollo de las funciones neurológicas cavidades zoques de Chiapas. Enrique Méndez Torre. para su Impactos del turismo en cavidades subterráneas de la adecuado desarrollo. Marie Montes. Huasteca Potosina. Alma Rafaela Bojórquez Vargas. Video Cuevas de Coahuila. Mónica Ponce Gonzalez. Análisis de procedencia de sedimentos de la resurgencia Proyecto de Exploración Geográfica y Espeleológica San del río subterráneo Las Granadas. Rogelio Hernández Fernando, Chiapas 2010, últimos avances. Kaleb Zárate Vergara. Gálvez. Una mirada hacia el oriente de Yucatán: actividades ritu- La espeleofilatelia en México. Jose Ayrton Labegalini. ales funerarias en la cueva de La Estrella. María José Importancia de la elaboración de un catastro de cuevas en Gómez Cobá. México: posibles usos y restricciones. Argelia Tiburcio. La espeleología, una asignatura indispensable en la for- Revisión de la posición de tubos lávicos en El Pedregal de San mación de licenciatura en turismo alternativo en la zona Ángel del Distrito Federal. Luis Samoyoa Navarrete. maya. Richard Marco. Bioespeleología (conferencia magistral). José Gpe. Palacios El uso de las TC en el análisis de la pérdida de los valores Vargas. patrimoniales del Valle Viñales. Ana N. Abraham La inestabilidad de laderas en el sur de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Alonso. Chiapas; uso de Costumbres, accidentes y mitología en las cuevas de exploraciones espeleológicas para su estudio. Jorge Antonio la Península de Yucatán. Carlos Augusto Evia Cer- Paz Tenorio. vantes. Mediciones de radón intramuros usando detectores de Lineamientos para la elaboración de un plan de manejo de carbón activado y la metodología de TNS en cuevas espacios subterráneos para la conservación y turismo de Ixtacxochitla, Puebla. Ramsés Alejandro Miranda espeleológico sustentable del municipio de Camerino Gambo. Z. Mendoza (Veracruz, México). Maili Alicia González Expedición Tlaloc. Jesus Dominguez Navarro. Machorro. Software de apoyo para espeleología. Israel Huerta Exploraciones en Sierra Negra, desde la cumbre hasta Ojo Ibarra. de Agua. Miguel Barragán Torres. Resultados de las estrategias deportivas para el buen La importancia de las cuevas en la cosmovisión de las futuro del karst culturas prehispánicas: mexicano. Saúl Aguilar Morales. una revisión nacional. Itzel Sigala Regalado. Problemática ambiental del suelo en la provincia de Estudio del área cársica de Boquerones, Ciego de Ávila, Camaguey. Obllurys Cardenas Lopez. Cuba. Carmen Julia Sánchez de la Torre. EspeleoCoahuila conocer para conservar. Monica Grissel Servicios de mapas temáticos en Web, mapoteca digital para Ponce Gonzalez. la informatización de la sociedad. Ana Elena Lambert Importancia de modelar el relieve entercera dimensión, Hernández. como apoyo en el estudio de las zonas cársticas. Mario Peregrinaje en el Puuc: aproximaciones al uso y función de Gómez Ramírez. Aktun Santuario. Fátima del Rosario Tec Pool. Quiropterofauna en Cuevas de la Sierra Nororiental del Monday, 7 February Estado de Puebla, México. Verónica Ortega Chávez. El carso de Cuba y la espeleología (conferencia magistral). Exploraciones en Sistema J2 Oaxaca. Omar Hernández Angel Graña Gonzalez. García. Cueva de Naica exploraciones e investigaciones 2006–2009 Presentación del XVI Congreso Internacional de la UIS (conferencia magistral). Carlos Lazcano. (Unión Internacional de Espeleología) Brno 2013. Cavernas como pisajes racionales y simbólicos (conferencia Zdeněk Motyčka. magistral). Luiz Afonso Vaz de Figueiredo.

39 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Dicts/intro.html. The Spanish is It is about two hundred pages in 15 the Words, Questions, and Answers that of Spain, so, for example, sótano megabytes of PDF file. Included are Commonly and Usually Found in the is absent, but they are still quite introductions to caving techniques, Treatment and Communication between useful. including vertical caving and sur- Spaniards and Indians, by Pedro de veying, as well as some material on Arenas, published in Mexico in 1611, The book Técnica y Formación cave science. from www.wdl.org/static/c/2836/ en Espeleología, published in 2000 service/2836.pdf. by Federaciós Española de Espe- Interested in brushing up on your leología and Escuela Española de Nahuatl? Download the Manual The program for the IX Congreso Espeleología, is free online at http:// Vocabulary of the Spanish and Mexican Nacional Mexicano de Espeleología, megaupload.com/?d=84B94BWF. Languages: In Which are Contained held in Tabasco in early 2009, was

40 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

published in “Mexico News” in available from the AMCS. participated in four international and AMCS Activities Newsletter 32. Al- four national cave-rescue courses, in- most all of the papers from that An article “Exploring Caves in cluding the ones held in December as congress can now be found in PDF Mexico: The Speleologist’s New part of the tenth-anniversary events. format at www.umae.org/paginas/ Frontier,” by John Pint is at www. With more than 170 members in cong09.php. mexconnect.com/articles/3669. thirteen Mexican states and affiliates in nine other countries, ERM is of- Kur Magazine, published by the Espeleo Rescate México has a ficially recognized by the Federación Italian group La Venta Esplorazioni website at espeleorescatemexico. Espeleológica de América Latina y Geografiche, is available as PDF files org. Its president Antonio Aguirre el Caribe, the International Union at www.laventa.it/ita/editoria/ Álvarez has provided the following of Speleology’s Cave Rescue Com- download-kur.html. As of now, information, which appeared on the mission, and the Dirección General issues 1 though 11, December 2003 website in Spanish. de Protección Civil in many states through December 2008, are there. In December 2010, Espeleo Rescate as the organization responsible for The group has done a lot of work in México celebrated its tenth anni- coordination and operation of cave Mexico. The AMCS sells four of its versary. It has participated in more rescue in Mexico. books, and much material from Kur than thirty cave-rescue or recovery The first rescue training course has appeared in the AMCS Activities operations, plus additional efforts was described in an article in AMCS Newsletter, including three articles in in similar environments such as Activities Newsletter 25. Two courses this issue. The magazine is in both mines and wells. Reports on many were held in the Cacahuamilpa area Italian and English throughout. The of the operations are on the web- in Guerrero in December 2010, the table of La Venta trips to Mexico is site. Although bodies could not be Fourth International Cave Rescue from their recent book From Forests recovered in five cases, they were Course and the First Cave Rescue to Deserts, page 51. The book is 95 percent successful. Members Management Course. Bernard Tourte and Christian Dodelin of Speleo Secours Français and Sergio García- Las cinco travesías mas profundas de México Dils from Spain were instructors. The five deepest through-trips in Mexico The Primer Congreso Nacional de Espeleosocorro was held in Taxco, Sistema Purificación, Tamaulipas 853m Guerrero, December 3–5, 2010. Lec- Tres Quimeras, Puebla 815 tures were: Sistema Tepepa, Puebla 765 Sistema Coyolatl-Esperanza, Puebla 620 Command Center Management and Sistema Río La Venta, Chiapas 405 Recovery Maneuvers in Progress: Dragonnière de Gaud, France, by Gustavo Vela, in September 2010 post to Bernard Tourte, Speleo Secours Tlamaqui e-mail list. Français. Risk Analysis and To Belay or Not To 41 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Belay, by Antonio Álvarez, ERM Reyes Orozco, ERM treasurer [see training coordinator. president. Mexico News, Guerrero, AMCS Management and Information Flow Hoya de las Guaguas, SLP, Rescue, Activities Newsletter 33]. in Cave Rescue Operations, led by Sergio Santana, National Res- Crisis Intervention in Cave Rescue by Martha Vallejo, ERM national cue Operations Coordinator [see Operations, by Enrique Bastida, liaison coordinator. Mexico News, AMCS Activities Cruz Roja México and ERM Mex- STEF Techniques in Nest Stretcher, Newsletter 30 or the full report at ico City. led by Omar Hernández, ERM espeleorescatemexico.org]. Presentation of His Book Sótanos Mexico City. (STEF stands for Rescue Operations in Veracruz State, de México: Abismos de Luz y Sistema de Transporte y Estabili- by Octavio Cruz, ERM Veracruz Sombras, by Ricardo Arias. zación Fácil, a system for handling coordinator. Petzl’s stretcher.) The ERM Story, by Jesús Torres Cid, The congress also included the Management of Material Resources ERM national training coordina- following workshops and round- in Cave Rescue Operations, led tor. table discussions. by Elke Schilling, ERM Mexico Rescue Operations in Chiapas State, City. by Manuel Hernández, ERM Planning and Organization of Camp- Basic First Aid in Cave Rescue Op- Chiapas coordinator. ing in Cave Rescue Operations, led erations, led by David Belmonti, Rescue in Resumidero La Joya, by by Jesús Torres Cid, ERM national ERM Mexico City.

history

Part of a letter, as published in the bastards (Richard, Jim, and I) were Huautla a bit early because he wasn’t April 1977 Windy City Speleonews, forced to flip coins to see which of sure that he could get his van out on dated February 3, 1977, from Mark us would be stuck surveying. I lost. the horrible roads. When we arrived Stock to Bill Mixon. This is the first After a couple of hours of surveying back at the surface, we found that a report on major discoveries in Sótano (the passage was narrow and sinu- group of Texans had arrived. de San Agustín during the first trip ous), we heard Jim and Richard. They Our group, except Jim Smith, back to the Huautla, Oaxaca, area since came back reporting having found a left the next day. Bill Stone drove 1970.—ed. huge lake that was a terminal siphon. his monstrous truck back with the Last December I went to Sótano de Richard took my place on the survey van to help pull Richard out of mud San Agustín with Richard Schreiber, crew so I could snoop out the lake. holes. His help was both necessary Jim Smith, Steve Knutson, Don Jim carried the extra ropes back to and appreciated. Brousard, E. T. Davis, and Phil Richard’s old lead. I followed the After we left, Jim, Bill Stone, Frank O’dell. The first day we rigged passage down to the lake and swam Binney, and Roy Jameson rerigged down to about the –1850-foot level. across it. It’s kind of weird swim- San Agustín and pushed the route The next day we got to Schreiber’s ming across a large underground I had found. They reported huge lead (he had been there with some lake when you’re solo. When I got borehole passage with much water. Canadians several years earlier) to the other side (only about 100 feet, At the end of what they found, there at the –1850-foot level. While Jim actually), I started poking around in was a fissure taking three times as and Richard were looking at Rich- the breakdown. After about forty- much water as I had seen. At this ard’s lead, I found an obvious route five frustrating minutes’ worth of point they wimped out (at least I through the breakdown, which went dead ends I found a way through. don’t think that they were out of to a passage going downstream. I I got into a 15-foot-wide, 40-foot- rope). They claim that the surveyed worked my way back to the others, high passage with four times the depth of San Agustin is now over who then started on the route I had amount of water that we had seen 2500 feet, but then that may have found. We only got about 500 feet in the stream at any other point in to be rounded downward knowing farther because we ran out of rope the cave. I progressed downstream, the Texas exaggeration factor. The after two drops. lowering myself on the lips of pot cave was definitely continuing at We had a day of rest, then E.T., Jim, holes. I reached a point, about 20 that point, but drier weather would Steve, Richard, and I took several vertical feet below the lake, where make things more pleasant. There is more ropes down to continue. Since I wasn’t sure I could make it back. a very good chance of connecting-in we had more than enough people That is where I wimped out. The field higher entrances, perhaps as much for a mapping crew it was decided calculated depth of the surface of the as 1000 feet higher. Supposedly, the to have a two-person push crew. lake was 2150 feet. cave can go 1500 feet deeper as well. Steve and E. T. volunteered to be After a day’s rest, we derigged Maybe North America will finally surveyors, while the three obnoxious the cave. Richard wanted to leave have something to match Europe. 42 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mark Minton May 2011 Depth in meters deep PITS of mexico

1 El Sótano (de El Barro) Entrance drop Querétaro 410 2 Sótano de las Golondrinas Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 376 3 Sótano de la Culebra Entrance drop Querétaro 336 4 El Zacatón (mostly underwater) Entrance drop Tamaulipas 335 5 Sótano de Tomasa Kiahua Entrance drop Veracruz 330 6 Sótano de Alhuastle P’tit Québec Puebla 329 7 Sistema Nogochl (Akemabis - El Santito) Pozo Ratoncitos Ahogados Puebla 310 7 Nita Xonga Psycho Killer Oaxaca 310 9 Pozo Poseidon Entrance drop Coahuila 288 9 Sotanito de Ahuacatlán 2nd drop Querétaro 288 11 Sótano del Arroyo Grande Entrance drop Chiapas 283 12 Sima Don Juan Entrance drop Chiapas 278 13 Sima Dos Puentes La Ventana Chiapas 250 13 Hálito de Oztotl Entrance drop Oaxaca 250 15 Cueva Santo Cavernario El Santo Tiro (Pozo Fabian) Puebla 245 16 Resumidero del Pozo Blanco Entrance drop Jalisco 233 16 Sótano del Aire Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 233 18 Sistema Ocotempa Pozo Verde Puebla 221 19 Sótano de los Planos Puits Tannant Puebla 220 19 Live in Busch Entrance drop Oaxaca 220 19 Sistema Soconusco Sima de la Pedrada Chiapas 220 19 Sótano de Eladio Martínez Entrance drop Veracruz 220 23 Sótano de Coatimundi Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 219 24 Pozo del Cerro Grande Entrance drop Jalisco 218 25 Resumidero el Borbollón Tiro Grande San Luis Potosí 217 25 Sótano de Sendero Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 217 27 Sima del Chikinibal Entrance drop Chiapas 214 28 Unnamed pit Entrance drop Chiapas 210 28 Kijahe Xontjoa Son On Jan Oaxaca 210 30 Nacimiento del Río Mante (underwater) Macho Pit Tamaulipas 206 31 Hoya de las Guaguas Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 202 32 Hoyanca Calpulalpan Entrance drop Tlaxcala 201 33 Hueholvastempa Entrance drop Puebla 200 33 Fundillo de El Ocote Entrance drop Chiapas 200 33 Hard Rock Cave Oaxaca 200 33 Nita Gatziguin Entrance drop Oaxaca 200 33 Sistema de la Lucha Entrance drop Chiapas 200 33 Kijahe Xontjoa Lajao Se Oaxaca 200 33 Sistema H3-H4 Puebla 200 40 Sima La Funda Entrance drop Chiapas 198 41 Sótano de Soyate Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 195 42 Sótano de Tepetlaxtli No. 1 Entrance drop Puebla 190 42 Cueva de los Murmullos (Cueva del Tízar) tiro de los Murmullos San Luis Potosí 190 42 Cuaubtempa Pozo con Carne Puebla 190 42 Sótano de Alpupuluca Entrance drop Veracruz 190 42 El Hundido Entrance drop Chihuahua 190 47 Sótano de Puerto de los Lobos (Sótano Hondo) entrance drop San Luis Potosí 189 48 Hoya de la Luz Entrance drop San Luis Potosí 188 49 Sótano de Hermanos Peligrosos 2nd drop Veracruz 186 50 Croz 2 Entrance drop Puebla 180 50 Atlalaquía (Sótano) de Ahuihuitzcapa entrance drop Veracruz 180 50 Sima de Veinte Casas Entrance drop Chiapas 180

43 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mark Minton May 2011 deep caves of mexico Depth in meters

1 Sistema Cheve Oaxaca 1484 2 Sistema Huautla Oaxaca 1475 3 Cueva Charco Oaxaca 1278 4 Akemati - Akemasup Puebla 1226 5 Kijahe Xontjoa Oaxaca 1223 6 Sistema J2 (Ozto J2 (Faustino, Barbie) + Last Bash (Hija Puta)) Oaxaca 1222 7 Sistema Nogochl (Olbastl Akemabis - El Santito) Puebla 1182 8 Sistema Ocotempa Puebla 1070 9 Soncongá Oaxaca 1014 10 Sistema Purificación Tamaulipas 957 11 Guixani N’dia Kijao Oaxaca 955 12 Sistema Perrito (Nia Quien Nita + Nia Nga’co Nita) Oaxaca 906 13 Sistema Tepepa (Ehécatl+Niebla+Xalltégoxtli) Puebla 899 14 Nita Chó Oaxaca 894 15 Sótano de Agua de Carrizo Oaxaca 843 16 Sótano de El Berro Veracruz 838 17 Sótano de Trinidad San Luis Potosí 834 18 Hard Rock Cave Oaxaca 830 19 Resumidero El Borbollón San Luis Potosí 821 20 Las Tres Quimeras Puebla 815 21 X’oy Tixa Nita Oaxaca 813 22 Nita Ka Oaxaca 760 23 Sistema H31-H32-H35 Puebla 753 24 Sonyance Oaxaca 740 25 Nita Xongá Oaxaca 739 26 Yuá Nita Oaxaca 705 27 Aztotempa Puebla 700 28 Sótano de los Planos Puebla 694 29 Sótano de Alfredo Querétaro 673 30 Cueva Santo Cavernario+Tototzil Chichiltic Puebla 667 31 Sistema de los Tres Amigos (Te Chan Xki) Oaxaca 659 32 Sistema Cuetzalan (Chichicasapan+San Miguel) Puebla 658 33 Cueva Tipitcli (Tipitli) Puebla 653 34 Sótano de Tilaco Querétaro 649 35 Nita Nashi Oaxaca 641 36 Cuaubtempa Superior Puebla 640 37 Oztotl Altepetlacac (Cueva Paisano) Puebla 638 38 Sistema Soconusco - Aire Fresco Chiapas 633 39 Sistema Atlalaquía Veracruz 623 40 Cueva de Diamante Tamaulipas 621 41 Sistema Coyolatl Puebla 620 42 R’ja Man Kijao (Nita) Oaxaca 611 43 Nita He Oaxaca 594 44 Meandro Que Cruce (Meandre Qui Traverse, H54) Puebla 588 45 Yometa Puebla 582 46 Sótano de las Coyotas Guanajuato 581 47 Sistema Los Toros Nuevo León 576 48 Olbastl Koltik (Sótano Chueco) Puebla 565 49 Arriba Suyo Sótano San Luis Potosí 563 50 Sistema Tepetlaxtli Puebla 535

44 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mark Minton May 2011 Length in meters long caves of mexico

1 Sistema Ox Bel Há Quintana Roo 222340 2 Sistema Sac Actun Quintana Roo 217495 3 Sistema Purificación Tamaulipas 94889 4 Sistema Dos Ojos (Sistema Jacinto Pat) Quintana Roo 82242 5 Sistema Huautla Oaxaca 62099 6 Sistema Xunaan-Há (María Isabella, 3B) - Tixik K’una - Templo Quintana Roo 58697 7 Cueva del Tecolote Tamaulipas 40475 8 Sistema Cuetzalan (Chichicasapan+San Miguel) Puebla 37676 9 Sistema K’oox Baal Quintana Roo 36744 10 Kijahe Xontjoa Oaxaca 31373 11 Sistema Toh Há Quintana Roo 29039 12 Sistema Tepepa (Ehécatl+Niebla+Xalltégoxtli) Puebla 28564 13 Sistema Soconusco - Aire Fresco Chiapas 27793 14 Sistema Cheve Oaxaca 26194 15 Sistema Coyolatl Puebla 23000 16 Sistema Tux Kupaxa Quintana Roo 18925 17 Sistema Aerolito Quintana Roo 18288 18 Cueva de Alpazat Puebla 15200 19 Sistema PonDeRosa (Pondazul, Edén) Quintana Roo 15019 20 Sistema Yok Ha’ Hanil (Río Cristal, Pool Tunich, Río Secreto) Quintana Roo 14008 21 Sistema J2 (Ozto J2 (Faustino, Barbie) + Last Bash (Hija Puta)) Oaxaca 13492 21 Chjine Xjo Oaxaca 12400 23 Atlixicaya Puebla 12200 24 Sistema Camilo Quintana Roo 11405 25 Sistema Río La Venta Chiapas 11020 26 Sistema San Andrés Puebla 10988 27 Cueva de la Mano Oaxaca 10841 28 Actun Káua Yucatán 10360 29 Grutas de Rancho Nuevo (San Cristóbal) Chiapas 10218 30 Cueva del Arroyo Grande Chiapas 10207 31 Sistema Dos Pisos (Ka’p’el Nah) Quintana Roo 10110 32 El Chorro Grande Chiapas 9650 33 Sistema Muul Three Quintana Roo 9630 34 Sistema Tepetlaxtli Puebla 9600 35 Sistema Chac Mol - Mojarra Quintana Roo 9193 36 Sistema Ek Be Quintana Roo 9165 37 Cueva Quebrada Quintana Roo 8921 38 Sistema Brumas Selváticas Puebla 8870 39 Sótano de Las Calenturas Tamaulipas 8308 40 Gruta del Tigre Quintana Roo 8200 41 Sistema de Tepepan Zaragoza (TZ48-TZ62 (Promesa)) Puebla 8000 41 Sumidero Santa Elena Puebla 7884 43 Sistema La Ciudad Puebla 7828 44 Cueva Yohualapa Puebla 7820 45 Cueva de la Peña Colorada Oaxaca 7793 46 Cueva de Comalapa Veracruz 7750 47 Sistema Zapote (Toucha-Há - Vaca Há) Quintana Roo 7697 48 Sistema de los Tres Amigos (Te Chan Xki) Oaxaca 7474 49 Sótano del Arroyo San Luis Potosí 7202 50 Sistema Perrito (Nia Quien Nita + Nia Nga’co Nita) Oaxaca 7148

Updates and corrections: Mark Minton, 8758 Frog Hollow Road, Linville, Virginia 22834, [email protected]

45 ARTICLESARTICLES

Lorenzo Armas descending in Olbastl Tlatekuintli, Puebla. Gustavo Vela. AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

sistema del tercer ojo

Peter Sprouse

he underwater caves of Quin- the groundwork for an expedition to hook us up with the principal from Ttana Roo are world famous, the following month. that group, Gil Harmon, who lived and rightly so. The longest mapped Joining me on the November trip in Paamul nearby. A quick phone call submerged caves on the planet are was my old caving buddy Cyndie led us all to a beachside restaurant located there, the result of several Walck, along with newer compan- with Gil and his wife. He agreed to decades of amazing exploration by ions Shane Fryer, Paul Bryant, Tone join us for many of our caving trips large numbers of divers. A stretch of Garot, and Joe Datri. We secured the rest of that week. the Caribbean coast centered around dormitory lodging at an environ- The next day we began our sur- the pre-Columbian trading center of mental center by the beach, a lovely veys in Sistema del Tercer Ojo, joined Tulum has been a veritable Mecca for stretch of white sand, palm trees, by Fátima and Carlos for a few hours cave divers, and these caves have and blue sea. before they had to head back home grown at rates that dry cavers can to Mérida and work. Just inside the only dream of, since they cannot fly ur first order of business was Cueva del Tercer Ojo entrance to through the passages like divers can. Oto accept an invitation from the system we glided through some But in the last few years awareness Gustavo Vela to visit Río Secreto, a low-airspace passage, where we has grown that there is a sizable role wild-cave tour in a system known as had been cautioned to be aware of for non-divers to play in the karst Pool Tunich. Gustavo had mapped tidal fluctuation, as the coast is only of Quintana Roo. It turns out that the cave, which at 14 kilometers is one kilometer away. Beyond that there are dozens, probably hundreds the longest dry cave in the state. obstacle, we were pretty much out of kilometers of cave to be mapped This close to sea level, typically at of the water, and in fact our shorty that don’t require diving. elevations around 13 meters, “dry” wetsuits never got used again. Jim I was busy exploring the deep pits merely means you don’t need scuba had mapped over 300 meters the of the northern border area in 2009, gear, so we found ourselves wad- year before, passing several other but Aaron Addison kept bending ing and swimming a fair amount. entrances and leaving most pas- my ear about endless caves to be Joining us for the trip were Mexican sages going. We spent a bit of time mapped at the far end of Mexico. By cavers Roberto Rojo, Fátima the summer of 2010 we had achieved Tec Pool, and Carlos Duarte. great success in Múzquiz, and I was We were led by tour guide ready to rotate to something new. Tania Ramírez, a veteran Jim Coke of the Quintana Roo Spe- with Gustavo of the cave sur- leological Survey was very helpful vey effort. We ran through in lining up a project at Sistema del several kilometers of cave, Tercer Ojo, arranging access with passing under a number of the property manager. This third skylights and collapse en- eye is adjacent to Sistema Dos Ojos, trances. The water passages which at 80 kilometers is the third were distinctive, in that we longest cave in the state. Jim had did not stir up the usual mud mapped several hundred meters of as we passed. The floors of dry cave in 2009 with plenty of leads the pools were instead cov- continuing, but hadn’t gotten back to ered with the remains of cal- pursue it, so he passed it off to me. cite rafts, making for lovely On a vacation trip in October 2010 water all the way through. I had a chance to visit the entrance These rafts had been on the and the property manager, laying surface when the original explorers passed through a few [email protected] years earlier. Tania was keen 47 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

relocating his survey stations, then long. The remainder of our week became lower and lower. Not the split into two teams to begin map- was spent checking out a number of easiest to sketch, but still way better ping. Cyndie led a team to the south, other caves. Gil Harmon, who had than Lechuguilla-style boneyard. where they spent the day working discovered Pool Tunich (Río Secreto) The six of us continued the next in a large lake lit by multiple sky- and a large number of other caves day without Gil. Cyndie, Shane, and lights. This shallow lake was filled over the years, picked out a cave for Tone finished up the spacious south with columns that were not made us to map to the west of Pool Tunich. section, while Paul, Jo, and I mapped of flowstone, but were actually tree This was an area of jungle that had to the north. Gil’s description was roots. The trees on the surface did been sliced by cuts for property-line accurate, and as the passage lowered not have far to go to reach abundant surveys, now somewhat overgrown. we reached the blowing constriction. water. Some of these roots belonged None of the lots had been built on We had not flown to Quintana Roo to the notorious chechen tree, which yet, and these senderos provided with rock hammers, but being Texas gives a burn like a stinging nettle, so routes into the jungle to search for cavers, that did not stop us from dig- we were warned not to touch these. caves. It took several hours for Gil ging. The narrow walls were solid The rest of us mapped into the mazy to relocate the correct survey cut bedrock or flowstone, but a selection north section of the cave, completing (“those GPS coordinates would have of loose rocks was used to bash and a number of loops. When we left the been handy”), but eventually we pry on the thin sheets of flowstone cave we were relieved to find that were at the lovely entrance to Gruta layered over sediments on the floor. the tide had not sumped us in. Escondida de Tara, named after the In about an hour we were through The following day Cyndie, Shane, daughter of his companion on the and back in walking passage. This and Tone continued mapping south exploration trip. led us to another collapse entrance, from the big lake in a series of dry A slope led down into a large sink- with passage continuing around the passages with occasional exits open- hole with an entrance in a headwall left side of it. We gained another 70 ing into the jungle. Paul, Joe and I on the south side. Massive roots meters or so before this gave out. continued mapping to the north, hanging from the short cliff above We could see that there was another passing some Maya walls that Gil the entrance gave it a jail-like ap- entrance with continuing passage told us were for raising pigs. Not pearance. Gil reported that the cave on the other side of this collapse, far beyond the walls we passed was moderately long and that he but our rendezvous time was ap- under a small skylight where we had explored it for some hundreds proaching, so we needed to rejoin could hear the sound of vehicles of meters both north and south from the other crew. Since we were at an passing by. Paul climbed up this this collapse sinkhole. He had seen entrance, we decided to return over to find that we were right next to no continuing leads, except for a low the surface rather than through the the main gravel road into the area. spot blowing air at the north end. cave. This can be risky when you This provided an easy access into By now it was late in the day, so we have just popped out in a spot in the back of the cave for day three only had time for a couple hours of the jungle where you have never of the survey. That was when we surveying. The parts we saw were been before. Of course my GPS was dropped into a lower-level crawl spacious and well-decorated. As is back at the Tara entrance, so I scaled that led through more low airspace often the case in these parts, there an azimuth and distance off of my into a large passage with a flowing were places where no walls were sketch and we set off with Suunto river. This river was shallow, clearly visible, only a forest of columns that in hand. Not very precise, but we showing surface riffles of flow. In both upstream and downstream directions it became wide and very low, to where further progress may require digging while trying to keep one’s nostrils above water. There was also another exit into the jungle in this area, though the nature of the jungle made it easier to just return the way we’d come.

he third day of mapping had Tabout wrapped up the survey of Tercer Ojo, though Cyndie did lead one more trip to wrap up another hundred meters in the south maze, bringing the cave to 1962 meters

Fátima Tec Pool among stinging roots in the lake room in Sistema Tercer Ojo. Peter Sprouse.

48 sifon?

ENTRADA AGUA ARRIBA SISTEMA DEL TERCER OJO MUNICIPIO DE SOLIDARIDAD QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO

TOPOGRAFIADO POR:

JIM COKE, 2009

PAUL BRYANT, JOE DATRI, SHANE FRYER, sifon? TONE GAROT, PETER SPROUSE, CYNDIE WALCK 21-27 DE NOVIEMBRE 2010

DIBUJADO POR PETER SPROUSE

LONGITUD: 1962 M PROFUNDIDAD: 7 M NV

0 10 20 30 40 50

METROS

ENTRADA PIG PEN

El Gancho

ENTRADA ANGOSTA

ENTRADA XIBALBA

G H H E F

ENTRADA ENTRADA TERCER OJO MEAT LOAF ENTRADA VENADO

ENTRADA CLARABOYA LAGUNA

ENTRADA LAKE SKYLIGHT

ENTRADA B LAKE SKYLIGHT ENTRADA LAKE SKYLIGHT

B A Gatera de Tone

ENTRADA ENTRADA CLARABOYA HORMIGA ENTRADA CHICA VENADO ENTRADA HORMIGA

C D

AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Joe Datri in a column forest in Gruta Escondida de Tara. Peter Sprouse.

along the coast road, and after stopping in at the park I visited their office in Playa del Carmen to obtain caving permission. This park encompasses quite a large area of undisturbed jungle between Pool Tunich and the beach, and while they weren’t aware of the cave we had heard about, they did have three caves along their tourist trail. We took a look at the first two, both great leads with walking passage going off, and by the time we reached cave three we decided it was time to break out the mapping gear. This cave had two walk-in entrances in close proximity, and a vertical skylight just inside. Just past the skylight was a large lake where they stopped their managed to regain the original en- Oscar Francke at the UNAM Institute tour. The lake contained a number of trance. The other crew was not yet of Biology. We collected a number of columns and had passages going in there, so we enjoyed a tour of their arachnid specimens for him, includ- at least three directions. The center section and found them. Altogether ing scorpions, pseudoscorpions, lead headed southeast toward the this cave was now 944 meters long. schizomids, ricinuleids, opilionids, coast some 1500 meters away, with We hiked back to the car and had the and spiders. Some of these may the other leads heading up and down thrill of coming across a large fer de be new, and all will probably be the coast. Cyndie’s team mapped lance on the drive out. undergoing genetic sequencing the left lead up the coast, and they for the first time. Dr. Francke has a did finish that one. The down-coast hile our days were largely grant to conduct genetic studies on lead was mapped in wading passage Wfilled with caving, we did one hundred arachnids from the to another lake room. While I was round out our schedule with the Yucatan Peninsula. mapping in there with Joe and Paul, pleasures of the Caribbean coast. We a tour group arrived at the entrance- would usually surface before dark e had heard about a cave room lake, so we hushed up while and head for a local restaurant for Wdiscovered years ago on one the guide pointed a spotlight in our shrimp tacos and beer. Then it was of the many tourist adventure parks direction and gave his spiel. Then back to our beach accommodations and some night snorkeling on the reef. My favorite reef-dweller was the octopus, a strange, wondrous creature indeed. One favorite snorkeling stop was at Tancah, where we went to the Casa Cenote restaurant. This is where a major resurgence for the area emerges 20 meters offshore as a noticeable spring boil. Here you can enjoy a beer and swim out to the mouth of the underwater cave. The mixing of the fresh and salt waters creates a distinct shimmery effect and attracts huge schools of fish. On the science side of things, in addition to providing cave maps for the QRSS database we were also con- ducting biological collecting for Dr.

Joe Datri (left) and Paul Bryant in the entrance passage of Gruta Escondida de Tara. Peter Sprouse.

51 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Ricinuleid (top) and schizomid. Joe Datri. Paul Bryant and Peter Sprouse view a dry passage leading off beyond a lake in Sistema Kana Kiwi. Joe Datri.

we continued down-coast and got Sistema Kana Kiwi. We had mapped cave entrances and cenotes, most out of the lake, where wide passage 800 meters in it that day. of which appeared to continue on. about 1.5 meters tall continued on. There is plenty to do for the next We pulled out of there to check out ur last day in the area, 27 No- trip—which I am packing for as I the route toward the beach. On the Ovember 2010, was to be a short type these words. far side of the entrance room lake one since we would need to pack we got out of the water and found our bags for the flight out the next Acknowledgments: Jim Coke and two routes. We left both of these still day. I had arranged for a local guide the Quintana Roo Speleological Sur- going, as our trip was drawing to a to show us a number of caves he vey, Aaron Addison for logistics help, close. This cave did not have a name, knew about inland from Akumal. Gil Harmon for cave access, Luis Leal so we applied a local place name, At a quick pace we were shown nine of the Dos Ojos Dive Shop.

Sistema del Tercer Ojo

A pesar de que Quintana Roo es más famosa por sus largas cuevas subacuáticas, hay muchas cuevas no inundadas pendientes por ser exploradas. Ya que el área a lo largo de la costa está a tan baja altura, aún las cuevas secas contienen muchos lagos. El Sistema del Tercer Ojo fue topografiado en noviembre de 2010 hasta una longitud de 1692 metros. Durante la misma campaña se iniciaron las topografías del Sistema Kana Kiwi y la Gruta Escondida de Tara, ahora con 944 metros de longitud.

52 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

hoyo negro

Alberto Nava Blank

n 2007, Alex Álvarez, Franco Atto- A series of vertical grooves along located at 41 meters. Ilini, and Alberto Nava discovered the edge of the drop-off could have One important aspect of these a large pit inside the Aktun Hu Cave been created by the friction of ropes archaeological deposits is the close System (now part of Sistema Sac used repeatedly at the site. These proximity between the mastodon re- Actun). The ceiling above the pit is indentations start at 14 meters, just mains, which had not been recorded at a depth of 6 meters and is intact, at the edge of a small ledge, and are before in the underwater caves of so no access from the surface exits at scattered vertically along the wall the region, and the human cranium. the present time. The bottom lies at all the way down to 21 meters. (All Some sections of the northern area a maximum depth of 60 meters (197 stated depths are from the water are covered with thick layers of feet), with the average depth being 46 surface, not the lip of the pit.) They flowstone, and several large bones meters. The lip of the pit is at a depth vary in color from one part of the can be seen protruding from inside of 9 meters, where the diameter is 35 wall to another and are as deep as the calcite. One section displays meters, and the diameter expands to 2 centimeters. mandible fragments, while in an- 65 meters at the base. [See also the Just under these vertical grooves, other section the spine of a large other article in this issue by Alberto at a depth of 27 meters, there is a animal can be seen rising out of the Nava, as well as Franco Attolini’s hearth or fire pit 0.6 meters in di- sediment. article in AMCS Activities Newsletter ameter that contains charcoal and The southern part of the bottom is 33, pages 95–98.] bones from small animals. The walls relatively flat, ranging in depth from There are three tunnels that con- and speleothems above the hearth 46 to 49 meters (150 to 160 feet). The verge on Hoyo Negro at the depth are stained black, possibly due floor here has small corroded holes, of 9 meters. The East Tunnel comes to smoke emanating from from nearby Cenote Ich Balam, fires in the hearth. Bones of Hearths and blackened formations in Hoyo located 60 meters to the east of the small animals fill the spaces Negro. The arrows point to the hearth and pit. The second tunnel extends from between the stalagmites, and column shown in more detail in other the pit in a southwest direction, several blackened formations photographs. Daniel Riordan. leading to a low area where several appear to be totally scorched deposits from the Late Pleistocene or scarred. have been found. The fossilized remains of fauna, including, according he bottom of Hoyo Negro to Thomas Deméré, mastodon and Tis divided into two sec- tapir, are resting on the sediments tions, north and south. The of the cave floor at a depth of 11.5 north area is composed of meters. The last tunnel represents large boulders, breakdown, the continuation of the main passage and several flowstone for- and extends northwest for at least mations, with the shallow another 2000 meters. All three pas- peaks at 33 meters and the sages are filled with fresh water, and base of the boulders at 45 salt water is only found deep within meters. Most of the material the pit, where the halocline begins at in this area has a yellow color. a depth of about 17 meters. Several mastodon bones are The wall of Hoyo Negro contains located at 43 meters, and evidence of human activity at and a well-preserved human under the edge at the East Tunnel. cranium and several other human bones, including a [email protected] humerus and a radius, are 53 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Bone deposits in sediment in the northern area of the pit. Marks on the rod are 10 centimeters long. Left, Roberto Chávez- Acre; right, Daniel Riordan.

Closeup of the hearth indicated by an arrow in the photograph on the preceding page. Daniel Riordan.

Bones in the southern part of the floor of the pit. Roberto Chávez-Acre.

54 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 and the color of the floor and wall is ince the discovery of Hoyo Ne- white to gray. Several archaeological Sgro, several efforts to document deposits are located in this section. it have attempted to capture the One of them is a large pelvis, pos- site in its pristine state. In 2007, sibly from a mastodon. A cluster of photographer Daniel Riordan, with seeds can be seen resting on top of the help of Franco Attolini and Alex this large bone. Álvarez, conducted four dives to the site and captured over two hundred images of the main deposits on the north side of the floor. All images Grooves in the rock below the lip on included a scale and north arrow. the east side of the pit. Gideon Liew. Also in 2007, Alberto Nava, with the help of Susan Bird, collected forty minutes of video footage of the base of Hoyo Negro. In 2009, a video survey was conducted to help identify the general structure of the pit. A triangular survey route was established starting under the edge at the East Tunnel. The video survey shows the relative positions of some of the main deposits and includes several 360-degree video pans to provide a good sense of the dimensions of the area. This video endeavor utilized two powerful HMI lights that divers positioned above the videographer as the team moved along the survey path. All of these materials were shared with Guillermo De Anda and other Scarred and blackened column above members of the Facultad de Ciencias the area of hearths. This is the column Antropológicas at the Universidad indicated by an arrow in earlier Autónoma de Yucatán and Domi- photograph. Gideon Liew. nique Rissolo of the Waitt Insti- tute, who helped with preliminary

Another hearth, showing charcoal and bones of small animals. Gideon Liew.

55 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

56 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 identification of some of the deposits. The material was also shared with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia as part of a report on the site to Pilar Luna Erreguerena of the Subdirección de Arqueología Subacuática of INAH and Adriana Velázquez Morlet of Centro INAH Quintana Roo.

n 2010, in order to help support Ithe INAH research effort at Hoyo Negro, we decided that a map of the area was needed. The map will help researchers understand the site and will enable them to accurately record the position of their finds. With this idea in mind, we have started to create a map of the site. Due to the complexity and depth of the site, the mapping effort has been divided into two phases. Phase I will map Hoyo Negro to a maximum depth of about 15 meters, while Phase II will include collecting data from the pit itself. Phase I mapping tasks Salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen at depths in Hoyo Negro. Note that the hori- include a plan view that shows the zontal axis is just sample number, not depth, which is indicated by its own blue three entrance tunnels and some of line. For example, the salinity is about 28 ppt at a water depth of 20 meters. the details surrounding them, as well as an east-west profile aligned with the East Tunnel. Two one-week mapping efforts were conducted in December 2010 and February 2011 to support these Line plot of preliminary surveys of the pit, including perimeters near the top of objectives. In December, we col- the pit and water depths of 40, 60, and 80 feet. lected circumference survey data around the pit at depths of 40, 60, and 80 feet. A line plot of the data is included here. One additional task that was accomplished during this project was the use of a Hydrolab multi-parameter instrument to record data on water composition in Hoyo Negro. It is interesting to note the low O2 saturation level below 12 meters depth. In February, Alex Álvarez, Ro- berto Chávez Arce, Jacob Mellor, and Alberto Nava collected descriptive information on the walls of the three main tunnels, as well as a profile view that includes the East Tun- nel and the ceiling and floor of the pit. More detailed information on the East Tunnel was also collected during this project. Several photo- mosaics of the sides of the tunnels were captured by Chávez in order to evaluate techniques to be used for future work. During the February project we also had the opportunity 57 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

to conduct one dive to the southern future research and documentation Jim Coke section of the floor of the pit. We dis- efforts in Hoyo Negro. Eduard Reinhardt covered several new bone deposits Chris Underwood near the walls. The most impressive The following organizations and Christina Elson discovery was the pelvis of a large individuals contributed to the Hoyo Chris Sloan animal, most likely a mastodon. The Negro exploration and documenta- Fabio Esteban Amador adjacent meter-long leg bone is in tion efforts. Susan Bird very good shape, and it has a small Centro INAH Quintana Roo Sam Meacham collection of organic material on top Subdirección de Arqueología Roberto Chávez Arce of it, most likely some kind of seed Subacuática del INAH Alex Álvarez [see the front cover photograph]. Centro Investigador del Sistema Franco Attolini A preliminary version of the map Acuífero de Quintana Roo Fred Devos drawn from the data collected in Quintana Roo Speleological Sur- Christophe Le Maillot February 2011 is included here. vey Jacob Mellor We are gearing up to finish Phase Archaeological Institute of Amer- Daniel Riordan Araujo I of the mapping project in May and ica Guillermo de Anda June of 2011. Once this phase is com- Zero Gravity Dive Center Pilar Luna Erreguerena pleted, a final map will be produced National Geographic Society Adriana Velázquez Morlet and released to the community. This Nautical Archaeology Society Dominique Rissolo material will be provided to INAH Waitt Institute Thomas Deméré so it can serve as the baseline for Idelfonso Rodríguez

Hoyo Negro

En las profundidades del Sistema Aktun Hu hay un pozo bastante grande que contiene los restos de fauna del pleis- toceno tardío y los de un humano, además de evidencia de actividad humana. La documentación preliminar, mediante fotografías y videos, ha sido recolectada, produciendo más de cuatrocientas imágenes y alrededor de cuatro horas de video. Se ha iniciado un proyecto de largo plazo para producir un mapa que será usado como la base para la investigación futura en el Hoyo Negro. Se incluye una versión preliminar de este mapa en el artículo.

58 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

diving tulum’s chan hol

Barbara Dwyer

han Hol stands out as one of reliminary dives were diffi- through the cave, with its many Cthe Yucatan’s most pristine cave Pcult. The cenote was partially offshoots, cavernous rooms, and dives. Its shallow passages offer collapsed, its overhang inhabited fossil discoveries. For the next two both small and grand formations, by angry wasps. The entry pool years Kim continued his exploration, pre-Ice Age fossils, and a clean and measured about one square meter mostly at night after finishing work easy-to-follow layout. The cenote’s and was silty. Poking around with as a local dive guide. name translates from Mayan as small a mask and flashlight, Kim found Exploration paid off immediately, hole, but it has yielded big rewards an entrance 20 centimeters high yielding more and more beautiful for cave divers. and about a meter wide, with a big passage with varied formations. Chan Hol’s accidental discovery tooth-shaped rock obstructing the Chan Hol is reminiscent of the origi- in 2003 is part of its charm. Highway middle of the passage. “I stepped in nal portion of Sac Actun upstream of 307 had already been improved, but and took a deep breath. Dave held Gran Cenote. Small sidemount pas- much of the land around Tulum re- on to my feet, and I ducked under sages and bedding planes contrast mained undeveloped. The Yucatan and reached full body length inside with power cave, borehole tunnels, is laced with cenotes, and divers the cave entrance. There could be and large rooms with flowstone. were seeking connections. Explora- something there, but it quickly got There are highly decorated sections tion was underway in a handful of silted out. We’d need to go back with featuring spectacular and odd for- systems, including nearby Sistema dive equipment.” mations. Visibility is crystal clear, Toh Ha. On the first full dive, Kim used although percolation develops in A sharp-eyed local explorer first side-mounted tanks with a butt- lightly traveled passages. The aver- sighted the cenote as a clump of low- mounted canister. He had to wriggle age depth is around 10 meters. Only lying foliage just off the highway and twist to clear the re- south of Tulum. Robbie Schmittner striction. But just inside the Author Barbara Dwyer. Neil Benjamin. found a silty puddle in a collapsed opening lay a sizable room, cenote. Because Robbie had his its rock-covered floor slop- hands full with ongoing explorations ing down from the cenote and a dive store to run, he stored the entrance. Ledges and flow- lead for future reference. The cenote stone decorated the oppo- remained unexplored for about a site wall, and cave passage year, until Robbie mentioned the opened to the left and right. puddle to fellow divers Dave Sieff Just beyond the restriction, and Kim Davidsson. Kim, afflicted Kim found two Maya clay with exploration fever, seized the pots in good shape. opportunity. Kim chose the right-hand “I had been walking around the path (north), hoping for a jungle looking for virgin cenotes,” connection to Sistema Toh Kim recalls, “and had already tried Ha (Mayan for Motmot Wa- to squeeze into some small holes ter, referring to a species of not fit for my experience level or tropical bird). On his first comfort zone. This one was for sure dive he laid about 300 meters worth a try.” of line, calling the passage Xibalba (the underworld [email protected] of Maya cosmology). In the Reprinted from Underwater Speleol- other direction he would ogy, 38(2)6–9, April–June 2011. later install the main line 59 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

light flow is present. a step to assist cenote entrance and several dives in a single day. On a more recent dive in 2009, exit. There is a baño at the rear of Kim connected to a cenote across the house. Don Domingo proudly n 2006, German divers Alex and the main road, Cenote Ba’ab Zotz showed me his property last year, IThorsten Kampe found a nearly (Swimming Bats). This passage pointing out the chaca tree, which intact skeleton just off the main added another 1845 meters and was offers a remedy for the chechem’s ef- line about 400 meters into the cave. unlike most other parts of the cave. fects, his cenote-irrigated vegetable The Kampes found bones from the The tunnels are dark and narrow and gardens, and his chickens. extremities, vertebrae, ribs, and skull, require removal of at least one tank The property owners and diver together with some intact teeth. The to pass the restrictions. Brown, fluffy traffic have enlarged the entry since very slight dental wearing indicated “mung” and mud cover the floors the early days of exploration. A few that the person had died at a young and walls. Percolation is abundant, years ago, back-mounted entry age. El joven de Chan Hol (the young and one careless fin kick will reduce required turning to the right and man of Chan Hol), as he is known visibility to zero. There is little to no considerable wiggling, even for to scientists, lived more than 10,000 flow here. It’s an easy place to get smaller divers. Now, a large diver years ago, during the last Ice Age, lost, and divers are discouraged with bulky back tanks can easily when Yucatan’s caves were above sea from casual investigation. For that clear the floor or the ceiling without level. The way in which the bones reason, the route has not been made silting. The floor has suffered some were placed reportedly suggests that easy to find. damage, mostly near the entrance the boy was ritually buried. zone, and the occasional hand print Scientists expect that this discovery han Hol is located on Rancho or stage bottle damage is visible as will provide new data regarding the CLoma Linda, about 11 kilometers far as about 800 to 1000 meters in. settlement of the Americas, accord- south of Tulum on Highway 307. The original explorers want to em- ing to Mexico’s Instituto Nacional After the big bend in the road, look phasize conservation and request de Antropología e Historia (INAH). for the Rancho Loma Linda sign on that divers sharpen their buoyancy Its distance from the entrance and the right-hand side. Turn right at control, propulsion technique, and previous work done (Coke, J. G. IV, the end of the driveway and stop other skills before diving here. Perry, E .C., and Long, A., 1991, Sea after about 15 meters. Owners Don A line to the surface marks the level curve: Nature: 353, no. 6339, Domingo and Doña Hermina or cave entrance. It connects with the p. 25) are expected to corroborate their representatives greet divers, short “Torpedo” line, marked with radioisotope dating of its age. welcome them, and collect a fee of a double arrow, which indicates the El joven de Chan Hol is one of 150 pesos per diver per day. They fastest exit from the cave. Making a four such skeletons found in un- ask that divers be out of the water left at the next T (about a five-minute derwater caves near Tulum. Other by dark. swim) leads divers to the main line human skeletons that have been Jungle access is no longer neces- and numerous passages to explore. discovered in nearby caves are Eva sary. The owners built their home The little cave becomes large here de Naharón (Eve of Naharón), La in 2006 on the property. In addition quickly. Divers who choose the mujer de Las Palmas (the woman to providing tables, they installed a right-hand side of the circuit can note of Las Palmas) and El hombre de retaining wall between the cenote the longer path back to the entrance El Templo (the man of El Templo). and the highway, removed the itch- and then jump onto the Xibalba line. Their ages are between 10,000 and producing chechem trees, and built The cave is shallow enough to allow 14,000 years old. Other finds in area

Left, monkey skull and bones in Chan Hol. Right, Maya pots. Neil Benjamin.

AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Kim Davidsson heading out along the line. Neil Benjamin. underwater caves include tools, fire pits, and remains of animals that date from the late Pleistocene. Until recently, divers who knew where to look could see these remains. However, the entire skeleton was recovered by INAH investiga- tors for radioisotope dating. We had hoped to see a few remaining bones on our dives this past Decem- ber, but found only a box labeled with INAH’s logo. [See photos in “Mexico News” in this issue and http://www.inah.gob.mx/index. php/english-press-releases/61- anthropology/62.] Many more relics are visible if you look for them. Some examples are pottery and intact fire pits that can be seen along the main line and elsewhere. The first pots discovered, along with a monkey’s fossilized skull and some long bones, have Buceando el Cenote Chan Hol en Tulum been placed on a ledge just across from the entrance. El Cenote Chan Hol fue descubierto en 2003 por Robbie Schitt- Chan Hol remains under explora- ner. Kim Davidsson se convirtió en su principal explorador. La tion to this day, with new passage entrada a esta cueva subacuática fue difícil al principio, pero being found. For a brief time, until se ha ensanchado desde entonces. Se descubrió un esqueleto the connection to Toh Ha, it was the humano en 2006, y fue nombrado El Joven de Chan Hol, y fue longest single-entrance underwater recuperado por el INAH. Por un tiempo Chan Hol fue la cueva cave in Mexico. The total system is subacuática más larga de México con una sola entrada, pero ha 29,039 meters long, with a maximum sido conectada con el Sistema Toh Ha y el Cenote Ba’ab Zotz. depth of 14.9 meters. Sixteen cenotes El sistema completo tiene una longitud de 29,039 metros. have been reported in the system to date.

63 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

SUPERCAVERS AND SUPERCAVES Ergor Rubreck The editor of Outhouse Magazine, showering down upon it. Consenta said crinkled and crackled so loudly as to foremost outdoor adventure monthly, the crunchiness of the leaves made love- drown out conversation. I imagined asked me to pack my bag and fly to making a noisy affair at Camp 16. the noise would make amorous activity Oaxaca, Mexico, and interview Bob Rock, less private. famous supercaver. He was preparing After washing down a rasher of hue- Lunch at Camp 15 consisted of tubes to break the world cave depth record of vos rancheros, beans, and plantain seeds of guacharo butter, double refried beans, 7,432.6 meters set in Gruta Phreefall, that with two gallons of free-trade coffee, we and Ho Hos. Bob started to lecture me unbelievably deep hole—twice the size entered the yawning maw of the cave. on carbohydrate loading, but I told him of the Petronas Towers in Moldavia— It was so large you could park three 747 to stop, as my Ph.D. is in Nutritional that was bottomed by a Kurdistan caver tires in the Sala Grande. Gaucho birds Science and Arts. The lunch was not team just last year. The fact that none swooped and dive-bombed us with a very good. of them survived made it impossible to curious paste-like substance that did interview them. not taste good, either. We descended A couple more 600-plus-meter drops As I stepped off the Aer Mex 747 onto a 500-meter fixed rope. I was a little and we were at Camp 16, the jump-off for the tarmac I was met by a smiling Bob concerned, because where they fixed it the two-kilometer sump through twisty Rock, with tanned, chiseled face and an the electrical tape was coming unwound. little passages that looked all alike. The imposing seven-foot two-inch frame. At each stainless-steel bolt and rebelay super-cold water was at 0°C, and I was He thrust his hand down and forward I dangled and thrashed, hooking my handed an ice pick in case the liquid and squeezed mine like the Boston cowstail over each bolt, and traversing turned solid on my transit. I was fitted Strangler. “¡Ola, Ergor, mas tiempo no sideways, sometimes upside down. At with a self-contained breathing device si!” We reminisced about our caving the bottom, near Camp 15, I asked about and told that so long as the green LEDs together in Cenote del Muerto several the numerous windows we passed on were glowing I had nothing to worry years before. We were waved out of the the perilous descent. Bob said, “We don’t about. I sank into the depths and picked way because the afternoon plane was screw with them. They are horizontal up a clothesline that wound through and circling to land. cave and who cares about horizontal around boulders, drowned speleothems As we jounced and hacked our way cave? Depth is where it’s at—depth!” and speleogens, and one VW. through the rainforest in his eight-wheel Camp 15 was laid out on blue tarps Emerging in a gigantic hall, I pulled drive truck, Bob told me how the expe- over six inches of quicksand. The coffee myself up on a shale beach and awaited dition was going. “We have thirty-two was getting to me about then, and Bob the other divers. Bob Rock was next. ropes in place, sixteen camps staked motioned for me to use the pee bottle. He said the others had decided not out, and 300 kilos of beans staged,” he These deep supercavers are fastidious to dive when their refried beans took said. I asked about the golf bags in the and take out of the cave everything they to outgassing and floated them to the bed of the truck. He said they are not take in. Last year in the dreaded Santa ceiling of the sump in a bad air bell. We golf bags, but descending-rack bags. Anita d’Eques , Manuel Labour lost his scrambled along the beach in a tube 432 “We use twenty-five-bar racks on these right leg when it was shredded in a Ju- meters in diameter, slanting downward deep boogers,” he said, “and the bars are mar, and dutifully carried it 5,326 meters at eight degrees. We passed the bloated sodium-cooled titanium to withstand the back out of the cave. Asked whether it dead bodies of the Kurdistan dive team heat when we whiz down to the bottom hurt, he replied, “Only when I laugh.” arranged in a circle, heads to a butane of each pitch.” I could not hear any of the preparation stove, long since out of gas. At the expedition’s camp, which briefing at Camp 15 as the blue tarp Bob said, “Poor devils, they had just hung from hammocks in jungle trees “to set a brass elevation marker at their keep the tapirs away,” I met a striking world record depth when their butane statuesque redhead named Consenta. An tank leaked. Without mercaptan, they expedition member told me she was the could not smell the deadly CO gas con- champion pit rigger of Kazakstan in 2008, centration when their stove blew out. We and the current esmeralda of Bob Rock. stood still a moment in their memory, The twenty-seven-pound gas-powered then proceeded to the brass cap: bolting hammer that swung from her waist caused her to list to port about Gruta Phreefall fifteen degrees. She gave me a wink and World Depth Record a forty-eight-karat smile, a little nudge, 7,432.6m and a palm-scratching handshake. I did Kurdistan Deep Speleology Team not want to get too close as she inched perceptibly toward me for fear her bolt- Bob whipped out a trowel and a ing hammer’s muffler had not cooled length of measuring tape. He dug a hole down sufficiently. in the floor at that point 1.4 meters deep. “Stash your gear, get some grub and “Now, I have set the depth record, 7,434 some shut eye,” Bob said, “because meters!” I said that he could have dug a tomorrow we are going 6,272.6 meters deeper hole. He said, “That’s three years down to Camp 16.” I learned later from from now. I already have $7M lined up Consenta that Camp 16 was suspended for my expedition to Brazil next year. by parachute cord from a soda straw, and And I’m taking Amazonia. She’s the Consenta with plantains was constantly pelted by plantain leaves best caver in Brazil.” 64 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Sistema RÍo La venta, chiapas an unforgetable through-trip

Tullio Bernabei and Francesco Sauro

n 13 April 2008, a small group Manuel, and while I’m asking him We celebrated for a long time, and Oof cavers walk in light rain near if he remembers what this place was above the key passage used acety- the village of López Mateos, in Chia- like, I realize how stupid my ques- lene lampblack to write “Un sogno pas, Mexico. We are on a plateau, tion is. The great 1998 fires were a chiamato Río La Venta,” “A dream at about 750 meters elevation and a huge loss for him, as well as for the called Río La Venta.” few kilometers away from the Río planet in general. La Venta canyon. We are following Shortly before we reach the cave, n the initial chamber, safe from a friend and local guide, Manuel we come across a few trees and some Ithe rain, we allow ourselves a Pérez, who is the owner of the upper vegetation worthy of the name, photographic souvenir. Along with entrance of Cueva del Río La Venta, thanks to the microclimate gener- me, geared up and ready to go, are which is the largest underground ated by the entrance to the cave, a Marco Mecchia, Francesco Sauro, system we have found and explored gigantic subterranean collector that Marco Zocca (Juan Pedro), Giacomo during the course of our explora- leads, after almost 13 kilometers and Strapazzon, Carlos Sánchez, and tions in Mexico. It is late afternoon, a descent of 400 meters, to the bottom Mauricio Náfate—in all, five Italians, the light is already waning, and the of the Río La Venta canyon. We found a Spaniard, and a Mexican—a nice rain seems to have no intention of the lower entrance in January 1990, assortment. Gianni Todini and Lucas stopping. When we reach some sort during the first exploration of the Ruiz are also there, but they will of pass, Manuel announces that we canyon, and from there climbed up, return to the village for safety rea- are near the cave. Before us opens year by year, towards a hypothetical sons. During such long and complex a semicircular valley. When we upper entrance that the strong air descents, it’s a good idea to leave emerged up there for the first time currents led us to believe existed. But someone outside just in case, and it in 1995, the valley wasn’t visible, just it wasn’t easy. In 1994 the explorers is their lot to be sacrificed. They have forest, dense vegetation, and gigantic reached +300 meters, thanks to two another important duty, to meet us at trees. Massive chicozapote and ceiba cave camps and difficult climbs, but the exit, at the bottom of the canyon, create shade for a well-kept cafetal. a large, dark lake, Lago degli Ignavi together with Manuel Pérez, who is Now there are only sun-baked stones (Lake of the Slothful), and the dis- the only one to know the way back and small spiny shrubs. I look at tance from the entrance put an end to the village from there. to the exploration. It is Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Our mood is Reprinted from the English versions An attack from above was needed, good, our physical condition some- of articles in Kur Magazine number and we did that the next year, finding what less, as we have just spent ten 11, December 2008, and its techni- the entrance at the end of the cafetal or so very demanding days exploring cal supplement, published by La and discovering a large gallery that the Ombligo del Mundo [see article Venta Esplorazioni Geografiche in ran a few dozen meters below the elsewhere in this issue]. Francesco Italy. The English translations are surface. The air current was also has even had a cold and a fever for by Libero Vitiello and Chris Lof- present here, but not the hoped-for the last few days. But the desire fredo. Thanks to Antonio De Vivo connection with the cave below. On is strong: It is to be only the third for providing files of the English 25 November 1995, I had the good through-trip between Sumidero II text. Tono has also supplied the fol- fortune of making it through a col- and the Río La Venta entrance. The lowing accurate figures for the cave: lapsed area and descended, with first was carried out by De Vivo and Total length 11,020 meters, length of butterflies in my stomach, to the Rivadossi a few days after the con- through-trip from Sumidero II to Lago degli Ignavi. The connection nection in 1995, the second in 1997 resurgence 6600 meters, total depth was made, and it was possible to by Rivadossi, four other Italians, 432 meters, descent from Sumidero enter the upper entrance and come two Americans, and one Croatian. II to resurgence 405 meters. out at the bottom of the canyon. We plan to rig the pits with new

65 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

stainless-steel anchors. rough appointment for around 4 p.m. perhaps too much so for a trip that In fact, what awaits us isn’t at all tomorrow at the lower exit. Twenty will take at least 24 hours. I, in par- clear, and the reason is simple: No hours or so should be enough for ticular, have few extra batteries and one knows the cave apart from me, what we have to do. just a light change of clothing, even and I’ve only seen the beginning Outside night is falling, and the though I know that we will enter wa- and the end, but not the long central rain also falls, gently. We’re at the ter. But anyway, it’s a tropical cave; section. Let’s say that 70 percent peak of the dry season, the ideal time. one knows that it’s warm. . . . of the cave is unknown to us, but According to the locals, this is just a Finally we enter, strangely at ease in our favor we have an old route passing spot of bad weather, noth- despite the dark clouds gathering, description and a reliable team. We ing important. In our bags we have not only in the sky. We are tackling don’t even know the way back to the lots of rigging equipment and very an active cave while it is raining, we plateau from the exit, but for that we few personal items, just something don’t know most of the route, and we are counting on Manuel, Lucas, and to eat, a bare-bones first-aid kit, and are equipped as for an easy tour of Gianni’s external help. We make a little else. It is a very light approach, just a few hours. It’s like a film that we have already seen, yet we take a seat to watch it anyway. The gallery called Sueño Blanco welcomes us invitingly, very beautiful, as in the photographs. Marco has a small audio recorder on which we want to leave as many comments as possible, describing the cave and the new anchors we’ll be installing as we go along. Francesco seems to gain energy as he descends. He handles the heavy Hilti drill deftly, placing the steel bolts and the chains for the double-rope rappels in all the right places. We move quickly and get sweaty. Giacomo is afraid of histoplasmosis and is wearing a small experimen- tal mask that should allow him to breathe easily, even under exertion. Carlos the Spaniard takes some pictures, and Mauricio the Mexican brings up the rear and recovers the double rope in his usual calm way. We negotiate three pits of around 15 meters each and end up in a large gallery, the one discovered in 1995. It is over 20 meters wide and about 15 high. A climb up a calcite flow, and then ever larger spaces bring us to the collapse chamber where the connection was made. It is 9 p.m., the chamber is huge, but here I know where to go, and we soon reach the historic words written above the key passage. A strong breeze blows on our faces. It is always impressive to look out into the 30-meter pit that leads to the Lago degli Ignavi. The old rigging is rotten: both the rope and the carabiners show all of their thirteen years in the damp darkness. New anchors are installed, nice and safe. By now we are in harmony with the cave, moving quickly and cheer- fully. Marco uses wondrous words to describe our surroundings. 66 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

The Lago degli Ignavi really is sinister; its waters are extremely deep. Luckily an old rope goes up to the right, towards a hole in the wall, which allows us to avoid a swim. We re-rig a rather difficult cableway, which brings our sweat- ing to a maximum. New rope; the passage is now safe. From here on, no one knows the way, and we immediately realize that the old route description we have with us isn’t detailed enough for the complexity of this cave. Some searching will be necessary. We wander for a while in an area called Rami di Cnosso (Knossos Branches), following our compass more than the description, then see an arrow in lampblack that leads us to the summit of a large chamber. The side walls can’t be seen. It is certainly the Murciélagos Chamber, but it is house at López Mateos, Gianni and the way, and sooner or later we’ll too large for the bats to be visible. Lucas cannot sleep. They fear that meet up again. I feel that I’m a bit The descent through the chaos of the violence of the storm will tear responsible for finding the way, blocks has some difficult points, the roof off. Outside it looks like since I have the most experience in even in finding the way. I tell myself the Deluge. The ground is covered tropical caverns. I therefore make an that we should make some cairns, by raging torrents that gush under- effort to go ahead quickly, in order to but we are already behind schedule, ground as soon as they can. sort things out. Progress is difficult, and there is no time for that. and I must choose between different Only Carlos has an acetylene t two-thirty we are all beyond levels. Unfortunately, I’m also in the light, which isn’t powerful enough Athe series of waterfalls and give slipperiest area, and my main light for such large spaces. I discover that ourselves a break in order to eat has become very weak, to the point my electric light has less charge than something. We have no idea what is that I have to turn the Tikka on. After expected and is already getting dim- happening outside, and none of us an hour of balancing exercises, tired mer. As a reserve I have a three-LED knows what the normal water-flow and sweaty, I stop above a pit sev- Tikka, which may be too little for this should be at this point. And anyway, eral meters deep, where a rope that trip. The bottom of the chamber is we are in full dry season. We don’t I don’t have is needed. I’m almost slippery, and this slipperiness stays even remotely suspect the truth. certain that this is the right way. This with us for long stretches. It is a kind We start off again, fully recharged, should be the Galleria di Ollin. But of thin, slimy film, evidently depos- and enter the area called the Galleria there is no sign of the others. ited by large floods, which forces Genç Osman, where the stream is Leaving the heavy bag behind, us to be doubly careful. The gallery unavoidable. We enter the water, I reluctantly go back to see what’s finally becomes a gorge, and we find first to above the knee, then to the happening. Very little light, very the stream again. Soon afterwards, a waist. It is cold, but moving along tired, I’m alone and barely halfway roar heralds the Escala del Diablo, a you get used to it. Then the stream through. Finally I hear them, they’re series of waterfalls 30 meters high. suddenly disappears, in its place a coming. The meeting is hearten- The atmosphere is packed with mist, gigantic heap of blocks, the Salone ing and confirms that I had taken to the point that Giacomo tears his della Città Perduta (Chamber of the the right way. Marco’s tired voice mask off in order to breathe. It’s half Lost City). This is another huge and records, “Another long trek in a past midnight. dark place, where the direction to gallery, mostly high, far from the We notice some rope segments take isn’t at all clear. We stop and water. Slippery blocks, what a pain cut up by the floods; none of the study the map, without finding any in the ass.” rigging in place here is usable any clear answers. We finally return to the water, but more. Francesco makes a traverse to I take off to the right to have a the joy doesn’t last long. We are in do some rigging, complex and tak- look. The rest of the group remains up to our chests, and then we make ing about two hours, but effective. a bit behind, and I hear them taking difficult climbs above the stream I bring up the end of the line, trying another direction. I’m convinced that to avoid deep lakes. The group is to recover as much old material as my way is the right one, so I give a beginning to be tested, or, better, possible. shout to the others and keep going. surprised, by the length and diffi- At that same moment, in the small There are no noteworthy forks on culty of the passages. At ten past five, 67 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

we stop at the top of a 20-meter pit there isn’t any choice. I tie a that contains a strong air current. Its static rope around my waist name, appropriately, is Cascata del and 8 meters up place a Vento, Waterfall of the Wind. There protection on an outcrop. At is no evidence here of the storm that least if the main rope fails I continues to rage outside. There Gi- might not kill myself. When anni is waiting for dawn, sleepless I reach the anchor I’m hor- and worried. He’s in doubt about rified. The rope doesn’t fall what he should do. neatly from its carabiner, but Francesco rigs the 20-meter. At instead makes an incredible its base, the wind is even stronger, series of turns around rock and it is definitely cold. We move blades. In two points only a on hurriedly, dealing with passages few filaments are left. between large blocks, not so easy, I sort things out a bit and to the point of needing to rig and go on to the top, where I leave a rope. The Salone alle Porte re-rig it all with new gear. del Caos (Hall at the Doors of Chaos) I also discover who played is a critical point, because here is a this little joke on us—a huge 40-m ascent that has to be done on flood that filled up the Porte a previously fixed rope. We don’t del Caos, which is 30 meters see anything on the walls and con- wide and 40 meters high, tinue on. Then suddenly the area taking the floating rope to gets narrow and muddy. Something the top. When the water isn’t right. flowed away, the rope got The Medusa, with arrow showing the level We go back and search the walls stuck half way up the pit. reached by the flood. Tullio Bernabei. more carefully. It’s Marco who gives I attach a nice big stone to us the bad news. “There it is, the the bottom of the new rope, and or so meters longer, or if Francesco rope’s up there!” The rope we have I really want to see if it stays in had stopped to admire the view, to ascend isn’t where it should be, place for next time. Yes, next time. he would certainly have fallen. So but is visible above, piled up on a In the meanwhile, let’s get past it fortune has been helping us, but we protrusion, at least 20 meters above this time, as it’s starting to take a still have a price to pay. us. We can’t go back, because we’ve bit too long. Around noon, it has finally stop descended using double ropes that Above the climb starts one of the ped raining outside. Gianni and the we pulled down after us, but we most beautiful galleries I’ve ever others start descending towards the can’t go forward, because the rope seen. Now I know why the first ex- bottom entrance of the cave. that should have been there isn’t. plorers who came here, climbing up We’re stuck. from below, called it Forra dei Sogni, e face infinite obstacles, swims, We look at each other, extremely the Gorge of Dreams. This sight and Wscrambles, new rigging, col- discouraged, trying to imagine who the presence of pools of crystal-clear lapse chambers, and temporary the author of this joke might be. water give us back our enthusiasm. losses of the way. By now I’m only But there are no answers, nor do “Let’s go, maybe we’ll make up for using the Tikka for light and am we know of any murderers among the lost time.” We move on quickly, pretty tired, and above all anxious cavers. Luckily we have a drill and as the road is still very long. At the to reach areas that I know. Around many bolts with us, since one of our Corridoio dei Tapiri (Gallery of the 3 p.m. we sight the Salone Metnal; I goals was to re-rig the cave. We can Tapirs) we rest a while on a small don’t see anything familiar, but just therefore try an aid-climb to reach dry beach while Francesco rigs a the knowledge of having already the rope. It is 7 in the morning. Juan 40-meter pit, the deepest in the cave, been there, even if fourteen years Pedro starts, but the climb is slow that drops directly to the Lago Nero, ago, improves my mood. due to a layer of mud and rotten rock. the Black Lake. Juan Pedro goes From that moment on, except in Carlos replaces him, while those down second and at –20 meters a couple of places, I pick the right waiting below alternate between fits gives a yell. At a point where the direction, and we all go on feeling of sleep and cold shivers. Absurdly, rope lightly touches the wall, it is buoyant. On the fearsome Chac we are also suffering from thirst, not almost completely cut through. It rapids we find lots of water and having collected any water. seems impossible. It was new and chewed-up old ropes, but fortu- After a couple of hours’ effort, 15 only Francesco had gone down on nately we have the drill, and in half meters from the ground, a loop of the it. Juan sorts things out by isolating an hour everything is taken care of. rope is reached, and its end is thrown the damaged part with a knot. I fol- We have the impression that the down. I offer to go first, in order to low, and discover that at one point current is increasing. At one point I warm up. We don’t know what the on the wall, and only at that point, realize that we should be in the area rope is attached to 20 meters up or there is a thin calcite blade as sharp of the quicksands, where we used to how badly it may be damaged, but as a razor. If the pit had been even 10 clumsily sink in up to mid-leg, but 68 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 this doesn’t happen, and instead We feel as though we’re practi- When I get back to the climb, the the water level is high, very high, cally outside, and it is 5 p.m.; all in rope is in place and the others are so much so that we have to swim at all not so bad, considering all that already leaving. I join them, slowly. It several points. By now it’s clear that has happened. But the surprises is half past eight. Twenty-five hours something is wrong, and when we are not over. The descent into the in the cave, but it could have been pass under a waterfall that I don’t Salone della Cascata (Chamber of much, much worse. remember, I finally accept the hard the Waterfall) gets us lost one final There is nobody outside, and it truth. The rain outside has evidently time before we’re finally at the base is raining. We call out in vain, ask- continued, and the cave is flooding. of a 5-meter wall which leads up to ing ourselves what has happened. In this season it shouldn’t have hap- the exit. There should be a rope. But Maybe they’re at the Campo della pened, but it did. Our thoughts go there isn’t. Croce, along the river. We rig the to the Medusa, one of the last pas- We’re all very knackered, but the descent from the entrance and begin sages that await us. We know that drill still has some charge left, and heading down to the bottom of the there the water can reach the ceiling with a couple of bolts we can climb. canyon. The Río La Venta is in full and form a sump. That would really I climb onto Mauricio’s shoulders flood, and the beach no longer exists. stop us. and in a precarious balance attach an After a couple of hours of useless We run along the sand banks, anchor to the flowstone. It’s obvious searching, we return to the cave swim, run again. I don’t recognize that it won’t hold much, but maybe entrance with the idea of sleeping a the places, or I remember that here enough for me to go up a bit higher few hours and putting off all deci- we used to walk in ankle-deep water and attach a second, definitive one. sions until the morrow. Francesco and now we are completely im- As soon as I do that, I fall. and I settle ourselves down in a mersed. This is truly a big flood. The two of us roll down the slope, niche, lying on a damp copy of the The wind is strong, which means knocking some of the others over as cave map. It is a restless sleep, cold we can still pass through. We swim if they were bowling pins. It would and filled with nasty dreams, but for over 100 meters until we reach a be funny if it didn’t feel so tragic. still some rest after thirty hours on narrowing, through which we barely Nobody gets hurt, apart from a the move. squeeze ourselves with a dozen or nasty blow to my back, which has so centimeters of air left: It’s her, already been operated on for a her- ith the first light of morning the Medusa, even if the passage is nia. Someone else restarts the climb. Wcome Manuel and Lucas’s unrecognizable because the water I feel stupidly at fault, who knows shouts. It’s really a relief to see them. level is several meters higher. From why, and try to find an alternative They tell us that yesterday they later calculations, we figured out that way out. I insert myself into a high entered the entrance twice: in the the peak of the flood would have pile of blocks, crawling between the afternoon and in the evening around reached this point, probably closing boulders with only one very weak ten, without seeing us. Wicked fate it, one or two hours after we went light. I don’t find a passage and use had it that at ten o’clock we were through. Just in time, then. up the last of my energy. looking for them along the river: We just missed each other. All’s well that ends well? Not yet. Not having found us, Gianni had decided to take the car to the city and ask for the help from the local caving groups, even though a real rescue team doesn’t exist. We have to stop him, otherwise this story will become an international incident: five Italians trapped by a flood in the heart of a Mexican cave. . . . I tell Manuel to run to the village, go to the public phone and call the Ramos home in Cintalapa, where I hope Gianni will stop. Then, after an injection of painkillers for my back, we start off slowly with Lucas. The very steep, continuous climb 350 meters up a muddy track is an ordeal, especially for me and Mauricio. We find Gianni on the plateau; the phone call had come just as he was passing

Cueva del Río La Venta, the lower entrance to the system. Carlos Sánchez. 69 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

through Cintalapa. He meets us with a lot of time. energy. The route through chambers a couple of horses and the look of Along the way, from the upper en- is only rarely marked by cairns, someone who had been through trance to the exit on the Río La Venta, which are often destroyed by floods, a nightmare, maybe even worse one encounters fifteen descents and so one must improvise and try to than ours. At three in the afternoon three ascents. The longest drop is 40 follow the description and find, of Tuesday, April 15, we reach the meters. The main drops are equipped possibly using powerful lights, the car, after forty-four hours of travel. with Raumer Full Time stainless- best route. A compass can be very It was definitely an unforgettable steel expansion bolts, which, hav- useful. trip.—Tullio Bernabei ing a hanger and ring, have proven Also, the return from the bottom themselves to be especially suited of the canyon to the starting point n April 2008, a few members of the for rigging the pull-down rappels. shouldn’t be underestimated. That ILa Venta team, along with Mexican The longest drops are equipped in itself is a difficult excursion along and Spanish cavers, repeated the with doubly attached chains, again steep and slippery, hard-to-find legendary Cueva del Río La Venta of the Full Time type. The traverses paths. Outside support for the return through-trip. The main goal was to for reaching the starting points of is practically a necessity. completely re-rig the cave for de- the ascents and descents have been The time inside can vary, between scents using double-rope technique, rigged with new ropes, with the sixteen and thirty hours, depend- so that any future through-trips exception of a few brief stretches ing on the number of people in the would be simpler and safer. During where it will still be necessary to group and the unexpected problems our visit, we also tried to collect as replace the old 1997 ropes, which encountered, to which five or six much information as possible, in are often damaged by floods. hours’ walk to return to the starting order to create a description of the Unfortunately, we have observed point should be added. A bivouac at route and of the system’s geomor- that the cave is periodically affected the exit on the Río La Venta should phic characteristics. Unfortunately by floods, which are capable of fill- be considered. the arrival of an unexpected flood ing huge chambers, with the water One should absolutely not enter did not allow us to finish this last level rising even dozens of meters. if the weather is uncertain, because task properly. There can therefore be no absolute bad surprises could be in store, as we This traverse involves a number certainty that the in-place rigging, have learned from experience. of risks that should not be underes- especially the fixed ropes of the Required materials include two timated. Among them, and perhaps ascents and traverses, will be found 40-meter ropes, one 20-meter rope, the most insidious, is the constant in place after long periods of time. at least 30 meters of rope to leave difficulty of finding the way through We advise that anyone interested in behind at any necessary rerigging, huge chambers, collapses, and many repeating the traverse should bring and a drill, rigging bag, various bolts, lakes, often made dangerous by the a drill and bolts, in order to take care and a few carabiners. presence of quicksand. From the en- of any problems that may be found trance at Sumidero II until the Cueva on the way. ntrance coordinates of Sumidero del Río La Venta, one drops 450 me- A stream flows through the cave EII of Sistema Río La Venta: Zone ters and covers a distance of about that, in its lower reaches, has a nor- 15, 425248 E, 1868851 N (UTM). 10 kilometers, journeying through a mal flow of 500 to 1000 liters per Entrance coordinates of Cueva del sequence of underground landscapes second. There are very many flooded Río La Venta: Zone 15, 425784 E, of rare beauty and majesty. [See the stretches, beginning with the Lago 1871430 N. footnote at the beginning of the ar- degli Ignavi in the highest part of The Sumidero II entrance lies ticle for accurate distances.] the cave. The route we propose here 2.7 kilometers northeast of the Co- The entrance of Sumidero II is on avoids, where possible, entering the lonia Adolfo López Mateos, in an private land belonging to Manuel water. Despite that, many dips, even area which is currently deforested Pérez, who lives in the Colonia Ló- complete ones, are unavoidable in and characterized by deep karst pez Mateos. Before taking any step the second half of the trip. Luckily depressions. To reach the entrance, towards the cave, it is absolutely the temperature is fairly high in this we advise having the landowner necessary to contact him and ask for tropical cave, and as long as one guide you. permission. Whoever does not do keeps moving, the cold is bearable The large entrance, about 5 to 6 so risks compromising access to the and drying is quick. We therefore meters wide, opens at the bottom cave for everyone in the future. The seriously advise against using wet of a small closed valley. From the local inhabitants take a rather dim suits or similar equipment. The initial chamber, one takes a low view of cavers who go adventuring best solution is to go in with light passage to the left until reaching into the caves within their territory. and quick-drying clothing beneath a junction, from which to the right There is always the fear that they cave suits. one reaches the wonderful Sueño are going to raid some archaeologi- When crossing flooded galleries, Blanco conduit. After a few dozen cal treasure or steal something. On special attention should be paid to meters, one reaches the first descent this occasion, Manuel Pérez agreed the presence of quicksand, some- to rig. Two others follow promptly, to accompany our group to the times hard to see, which can cause all about 10 to 15 meters deep. At the entrance of Sumidero II, saving us problems and losses of time and base of the third drop, one follows 70 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 a lovely conduit that leads into a and continues through the chamber, the left-hand wall, shortly before the larger gallery, 20 by 10 meters. This keeping to the right-hand side until pit, that ascends about 15 meters to should be followed towards the descending almost to the level of the the dry conduit called the Corridoio right, in a southerly direction, and river. When the gallery narrows, you dei Tapiri (Hallway of the Tapirs). It then up a long, slippery slope. One scramble up a collapse and start go- is a highly decorated gallery, where continues along the main gallery ing down the aggravating Selva de stalagmites and columns emerge for about 400 meters, following the Pietra Gallery, smaller, though still from a sandy floor, creating a very cairns and doing some up-and-down about 10 meters in diameter. One impressive landscape. Following scrambling, until a larger chamber faces many climbs between blocks the notable air current, one reaches is reached, where one then descends along the active branch. After about a drop of about 15 meters that leads along the debris cone to the left. Here half a kilometer, the gallery turns to the large hall called Sforza Italia one must find, along the chamber’s into a very high gorge, the Galleria (“Exertion” Italy, a satirical play on wall, the passage through a collapsed Ollin–Rojo Blanco, with deep lakes the name of a certain political party), area that leads to the connection pit; and white-water rapids that are diffi- also characterized by large deposits follow the lampblack arrows. After cult to avoid. At the end of the gorge, of sand. Here one doesn’t descend descending the small pit, one is in a the torrent leaps down the imposing to the hall, but instead goes along small chamber overlooking a large Cascata del Vento (Waterfall of the the wall to the left, entering some pit of about 35 meters that drops into Wind), which is about 20 meters deep low conduits and passing through a large room. Heading north, one and is passed using a long traverse a crawlway on hands and knees reaches the shores of the tenebrous to the left, allowing a descent away between angel-hair formations. One Lago degli Ignavi, the Lake of the from the flow. From the base of the emerges on a large debris slope that Slothful. Here one goes up a tyrolean descent, where the mist and the leads to the edge of a large drop of to enter an obvious fossil gallery on wind are intolerable, one continues about 40 meters, which in turn leads the right wall about 10 meters from going down between giant cemented to a hall characterized by a gigantic the lake. After following this gallery collapse blocks, completing some cone of mud. At the base of the hall, for about 100 meters, passing another brief but insidious climbs, until an one sees the shores of the impressive opening to the river, one enters a impressive dry loop is reached that and gloomy Lago Nero (Black Lake). fairly complicated zone, the Rami di was the site of a 1995 camp. However, one must keep to the left Cnosso (Knossos Branches), where After passing this 180-degree to enter a passage where the water one needs to keep to the left at a fork, curve, one enters the beautiful Segna- is less deep, even if a full immersion the right leading in another direc- li di Fumo (Smoke Signals) Gallery, for about 10 meters is still necessary. tion to some blocked passages not which is 20 meters wide on average, The configuration of this section of shown on the map. The dry gallery having a characteristic barrel-shaped the cave can be significantly changed then leads to the large Murciélagos cross-section floored with clastic by floods; it’s possible that over time Chamber, where one descends again deposits underneath which the tor- these flooded sections could fill up to the level of the river and follows rent flows. At the end of the gallery, with sediment or instead become it for about 200 meters, keeping to one rejoins the river, then goes over deeper, possibly necessitating more the left, until a large waterfall is a gigantic hill of collapsed stones or less long swims. reached, the Escala del Diablo. This about 30 meters high that leads to Beyond this, one continues into obstacle is passed by a long traverse, the Salone alle Porte del Caos (Hall at the large Bella Addormentata (Sleep- permanently rigged, that ends up the Doors of Chaos). Here one must ing Beauty) Gallery, characterized by descending 30 meters in areas clear be very careful not to continue into deposits of sand and mud, for about of the powerful fall, a direct descent the hall, but instead to find the fixed 300 meters. One then enters into the being impossible. rope for a 30-meter ascent on the left- Via col Vento (Gone With The Wind) From the base of the Escala del hand wall. Once past the ascent, one Gallery, a succession of deep holes, Diablo, one follows the Galleria Genç enters the wonderful Forra dei Sogni gours, and small lakes with imposing Osman for about a kilometer, walk- (Gorge of Dreams), a normally dry formations. In the narrower parts one ing on the side sand banks where area incredibly worn by the waters notices the very strong airflow. One possible, although one is forced to which, during exceptional floods, climbs down a few meters and, after enter the water several times up to fill up the Salone alle Porte del Caos about 100 meters, reaches the edge the waist. One then enters the grand below and violently pour into this of a huge flowstone watered by the Salone della Città Perduta (Chamber imposing canyon. It’s certainly one stream, the Quarta Medusa (Fourth of the Lost City), which is about 200 of the most fascinating places of Medusa). Using a rope to descend meters long and 50 wide and strewn the entire traverse, notable for the this obstacle, one enters the wonder- with gigantic boulders that make complete lack of any clastic deposits ful Salone Metnal, in whose center finding the way very difficult. In the and for the scallops that cover all the towers a gigantic stalagmite called middle of the chamber towers an walls up to the ceiling. the Terza (Third) Medusa. Crossing enormous flowstone column. One The gorge, after heading steeply the hall keeping to the right-hand passes by the obvious dry branch down for about 100 meters, drops side, one goes into a narrower gorge to the left, called Orto dei Carciofini into a large pit with a sump at the that leads to an area characterized (Garden of the Little Artichokes), bottom. One must look for a rope on by dangerous quicksand. Next to the 71 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 23, reprinted from Speleologia 35, 1996. from 23, reprinted A somewhat more legible version of this map appears as a long foldout on somewhat more A page 17 of AMCS Activities Newsletter Anyone planning a visit should obtain copy of the Speleologia map, which is about 20 by 55 inches and on which place names mentioned in this article are AMCS has a copy of that map. legible. T he

72 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

73 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

longest lake, one must keep to the at several levels among collapses, the about 100 meters until emerging into right and then cross it at its middle mid-level being the best and easiest the Río La Venta canyon, through a (careful, as here too the morphol- route. One then goes down to the beautiful 10-by-8-meter entrance, ogy can change from time to time). level of the river, crossing another from which one has to descend 8 Another large formation is reached, large lake (Primo Lago). Here the meters with rope in order to reach the Seconda Medusa. After passing way becomes very complicated; the ground. several other lakes, one begins to the water enters tight passages, One goes down the valley for hear the loud roar of the river as it while, climbing through collapsed about 50 meters to reach the shores throws itself into the Chac Rapids. blocks, one reaches the Salone del of the Río La Venta. One goes upriver The gallery narrows quickly and Teatro (Hall of the Theatre), where for about 15 minutes to reach the descends about 20 meters, creating the formations are very spectacular. Campo della Croce, situated on a some dangerous rapids, which can It is also possible to reach the con- vast sandy loop on the left bank of be bypassed thanks to a ledge on tinuing passage directly through the river. There one can see a green the right that can be rigged with a the blocks, skipping the hall. One Christian cross on the other side of rope. Shortly beyond the rapids is a goes down this passage, walking on the river, stuck between the rocks large, semi-flooded gallery that leads some sloping rocks that have been about 15 meters up. From here one to a spot where the roof is low and strongly eroded by the water, until has to take an uphill track, initially drips copious amounts of water. The coming out in a great room full of passing over some rocks. The path very strong wind, which manages to collapsed blocks. One follows it, climbs the steep slope for over 500 make the water choppy, shows that keeping to the left at mid-height, to meters elevation, until reaching the passage is open. This is the Prima then scramble down through col- the edge of the plateau. From here, (First) Medusa, a gigantic flowstone lapses to the edge of a large 25-meter one continues until a first rancho, mass that fills up almost the entire flowstone that needs to be passed us- situated only a few hundred meters passage and where, in the case of a ing a rope. This leads to the gigantic from the edge of the canyon. One flood, the way could easily sump, and complex Salone della Cascata then follows several kilometers of blocking the exit. (Hall of the Waterfall), which is fol- well-used paths, returning to the One continues, crossing more lowed northward, passing next to vicinity of the Sumidero II entrance lakes and climbing up through a spectacular waterfall that loudly and from there to the car. Along blocks until coming out in the large pours over 500 liters per second of this route there are many forks that Salone Kinich Ahau, characterized water into the hall, resulting in a could be confusing. For this reason, by great collapses that hide the route large misty area. One goes up and we find it very important to recon- of the river. Keeping to the right, then descends a detrital slope until noiter the way, at least to the edge of beyond the hall one goes along a reaching the bottom of an imposing the canyon, or, better, to have some gallery characterized by a large lake flowstone on the left-hand wall. One local support. (Secondo Lago), which leads to a ascends 5 meters using the rope and It is an unforgettable experience, loop where one begins to ascend then keeps heading up for about 20 but also very demanding. It is defi- the right-hand wall, going along a more meters, along a dry stairway, nitely worth the effort, considering grand flowstone column. One then until entering a vast and richly that it is one of the most beautiful enters a gallery that can be followed decorated room. One follows it for through-caves in the world. —Francesco Sauro

Sistema Río La Venta, Chiapas, una travesía inolvidable

La primera travesía en el Sistema Río La Venta fue realizada en 1995. La cueva tiene 11,020 metros de longitud, y una travesía desde la entrada Sumidero II en las alturas hasta la Cueva Río La Venta en el cañón es de 6600 metros, con un desnivel de 405 metros. Cinco espeleólogos de Italia, uno de España y uno de México realizaron la travesía en abril de 2008. Se tuvo que reemplazar mucho equipo de armado en malas condiciones debido a las inundaciones, y el viaje tornó difícil debido a una tormenta fuera de temporada que provocó que la cueva se inundara. Para una mejor copia del mapa, ver AMCS Activities Newsletter 23.

74 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Travesía El semillero, veracruz

Edgar Soto Valdéz and María de los Angeles Verde Ramírez

he community of Totomochapa and one visit for three days in Janu- area of rimstone pools. The next pit Tis part of the municipio of Te- ary 2011. Besides the mapping, soil is 12 meters deep, and at the bottom quila, in the state of Veracruz. It is samples and cave organisms were is the start of a breakdown area with located in the Sierra de Zongolica, collected for biological analysis. blocks up to 3 meters in length. There which is in the southern part of the are also some stalactites. After that, Sierra Madre Oriental, in eastern l Semillero has a total length of the cave narrows to form a tunnel Mexico. Access to this area from E1331 meters, with a horizontal with a sand-covered floor. This is Mexico City is by federal highway extent of 1258 meters and a depth of considered the most suitable area 150 to the city of Córdoba, Vera- 90 meters. A large percentage of the in the cave for a bivouac. cruz, where you take the cut-off to cave is active, and it is predominantly Farther on, there is a room of large Amatlán de los Reyes, continuing horizontal. The cave has areas with proportions, covered with blocks. It south from there to the turnoff to fossils. Even in the dry season, water leads to another fossil meander that the town of Coetzala. Finally, you is up to a meter deep. The entrance ends in a 19-meter pit that goes to take the dirt road from Coetzala to (UTM 14Q0715614N 2074236W) an active stream passage. One can Totomochapa. Near this town is the is 1 meter wide and 4 meters in follow the passage upstream, where Sótano de Popoca, a place frequently height and leads to a dry meander it divides into two branches. Both are visited by cavers and hikers who 60 meters long. From that passage covered with rimstone, and one ends come to admire the 70-meter-deep one can access the first pit, 12 meters in a sump spring and the other in pit (see AMCS Activities Newsletter deep. After this, you can go through breakdown. If you head downstream 12, pages 59–70). However, there are a small section that ends quickly, or instead, you will pass through an other caves in the region that had you can continue up a 2-meter climb area of meanders and rimstone 120 not yet been explored. One of them, followed by a 4-meter climb. Beyond meters long. This branch also finally El Semillero, is the subject of this these obstacles is a small drop of 3 divides into two paths. One goes to article. The cave takes its name from meters that requires rope. Again it a wide gallery inhabited by a colony the place where the main entrance is necessary to climb, for 5 meters of bats, and the other to another is located. It is almost 1 kilometer up flowstone that leads to a small entrance (0716145N 2073835W). from the Río Coatl, which flows into Sótano de Popoca. The exploration and mapping of the main passage of El Semillero was completed in two visits in 2010

At the entrance to the cave, from left: Everardo Tepepa (guide from Toto- mochapa), Edgar Soto Valdéz, Ana Perez Trujillo, Arturo García Gómez, María de los Angeles Verde Ramírez, Ramsés Alejandro Miranda Gamboa, and Alberto Iván García Escobar. Edgar Soto Valdéz.

Verde: [email protected] Soto: [email protected] Translated from Spanish by Yazmin Avila and Jim Kennedy. 75 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

76 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Turritella snail fossil with calcite-filled chambers. Fossils in the ceiling of the third drop. Edgar Soto Valdéz. Edgar Soto Valdéz..

This entrance is on the Río Coatl, The fauna of the cave is composed participation in exploration and in and there is a water tank that is not of millipedes, cave crickets, rodents, the making of the map. yet operational. and bats, which is why the cave is We also thank Everardo Tepepa In addition to translucent stalac- very noisy. The cave has two rooms for guiding us, Doña Patricia and tites and stalagmites, there are helic- that host a colony of about thirty Don Lorenzo Tepepa for being our tites and small false floors of calcite bats. translators and offering lodging in around pools with bottoms covered their house, and Don Melquiades, with crystals. Also of particular inter- We thank Arturo García, Héctor owner of the land. Finally, we thank est are the fossils seen on the walls Guzmán, Alejandra López Por- the individuals who provided equip- and some ceilings, some of which tillo, Ana Pérez Trujillo, Amilcar ment for this exploration (Saúl Agui- have been identified as remnants of Jiménez, and Tepeu Eldae for their lar, GEU UNAM, Daniel Sánchez). Turritella snails and bivalves.

Alberto Iván García Escobar views spele- Travesía “El Semillero”, Veracruz othems at a collapse. Edgar Soto Valdéz. En el estado de Veracruz se ubicó una cueva con potencial de desarrollo y es conocida por los lugareños como “El Semillero”.En febrero y mayo del 2010 se llevaron a cabo las exploraciones de la cueva, mismas que nos llevaron a obtener la descripción, características generales y la topografía. Es importante hacer notar el carácter horizontal de esta cavidad, la cual compensa su desnivel con tiros y escaladas. Uno de los aspectos más interesantes de esta oquedad es la presencia de restos fósiles en las paredes y techos; estos son en su mayoría gasterópodos y conchas embebidos en la roca caliza con cortes en diversas orientaciones. Tam- bién se hallan con facilidad organismos cavernícolas como escorpiones, grillos y murciélagos. “El Semillero” tiene una profundidad de 90 m, un desarrollo de 1331 m y una extensión horizontal de 1258 m. La orientación preferencial de la cueva es hacia el SE.

Map of Travesía El Semillero, Totomochapa, Mpo. Tequila, Veracruz. Cartography by Alberto Ivan García Escobar ➙ and Ramsés Alejandro Miranda Gamboa. 77 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

exploring tamakas ecological park

Alberto Nava Blank

arly this year [2007] I received an these underwater resources, how- The first phase of our project was Ee-mail from my friends Alex Ál- ever, is not only relevant to landown- to identify the different cenotes on varez and Franco Attolini in Mexico ers. More importantly, understand- the Tamakas property. We located asking me to fly down to help them ing and preserving these resources a total of six entrances. Toward the explore and map the cenotes in is vital to safeguarding the future north, we found Aktun Hu and Rancho Tamakas, the site of a new of the state of Quintana Roo, as Cueva Seca; to the south, we found ecotouristism development project these caves hold all the fresh water Cenote Gorila, Cabeza Azteca, Isla in the Tulum, Quintana Roo, area. available to the region. Hence their Perdida, and Cenote Bóveda. The owner of the land, along with future is closely related to the health Aktun Hu and Cueva Seca held his investment group, was very in- of the area and the growing tourist the most potential for exploration terested in learning about the caves industry. and actually had some existing on and underneath his property. Rancho Tamakas is a small area, exploration line inside. The cenotes Among the things they wanted to approximately 50 hectares, located located to the south were part of know was where the water went, 6 kilometers from the Riviera Maya a large collapse. There was little whether the cenotes were intercon- coastline. The ranch is part of the water flow in these entrances, and nected, whether they connected to Ejido Jacinto Pat, which was cre- most of the pool sections were filled any other cave system in the area, ated in 1987 and is composed of 173 with calcite material that had been and whether these caves were good communal families, most of Maya deposited there over the years. Work- for snorkeling or cave diving. origin. The ranch contains six main ers at Tamakas had made channels This query from the landowner cenotes, two of which contain large in the material so that people could startled me, leading me to realize that underwater passages. The goal of venture inside the dry areas that cave divers have become an impor- the development group is to build made up most of the caves in that tant resource for local communities several small houses on the property part of the property. We did a couple in the Yucatan Peninsula. In the early while preserving as much as possible of reconnaissance dives in the south, 1990s, cave divers were considered the natural state of the land, its flora but most of the caves proved too pests to landowners, showing up on and fauna, and its water resources. small or too silty to explore. Cenote their land asking for permission to These houses will go on the market, Gorila, a mix of dry rooms and pools, dive in their wells. After that, and targeting as buyers the new wave of was the best option, but still not an for the next ten years, these divers ecotourists who are becoming com- initial target of our exploration. Its became solely a source of regular mon in the area. name comes from a large flowstone income for landowners as they visited the caves on their vacation s part of their develop- Alex Álvarez at the Aktun Hu entrance to the trips and paid entrance fees to dive Ament plans, the owners system. Franco Attolini. in their cenotes. Today, cave explor- of Tamakas are seeking to ers are seen by some landowners establish where to acquire as potential resources to help them land to expand their projects. gauge the value of their properties Cave divers can help inform and to determine how to best make their decision by discover- use of the caves and how to protect ing new cenotes connected them for the future. to the ones already on their Understanding and preserving property. This will then allow them to acquire adjoining [email protected] land containing the new Reprinted from Quest: The Jour- entrances and increase the nal of Global Underwater Explorers extent and value of their 8(4)22–25, fall 2007. eco-park development. 78 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 mound at the entrance that looks splits into four tunnels. Tunnels is connected to one of the smaller like King Kong. A, B, and C are narrow and highly cenotes on the southwest side of Aktun Hu and Cueva Seca, al- decorated with speleothems. Tunnel the property, Cenote Cabeza Azteca. though technically different caves, E is about 1200 meters long, and its This connection made the owner of are actually part of a very large morphology is more like a tall can- the property extremely happy, as he collapse that blocked water flow yon. The canyon narrows at about wanted to know if the cenotes on between the two entrances. Aktun 2100 meters of penetration, and all the north and the south were linked Hu is the entrance to the upstream leads are small and silty. together. A traverse dive across the (spring) section, while Cueva Seca Located 250 meters from Aktun property is now possible. is the entrance to the downstream Hu, Cenote Estaca is a large, dry We spent a couple of dives look- (siphon) section. [See also another chamber marked by a small hole ing for a connection between Aktun article on the initial exploration of at the top. Several tree roots extend Hu and Cueva Seca. Unfortunately, Aktun Hu in AMCS Activities News- down to cover the ceiling of the none was found, but we still have letter 33, pages 95–98.} room. Depending on the time of a few leads to check during future Our first dives were dedicated to day and the sun’s orientation, rays projects. resurveying the existing line. Togeth- of light shine through the opening At the request of the landowner, er, the upstream and downstream and can be seen from below. Cenote we spent one day checking Cenote sections had about 1200 meters of Estaca is within the Tamakas ranch, Gorila in the south. In order to line installed. Subsequent dives in and we were able to locate the small dive this cave, we had to first walk Aktun Hu extended the system out entrance in the jungle. through a tunnel that had been to about 4500 meters of explored Cenote Nariz offers good potential dug out by the landowner and then cave passage. The initial 900 meters for snorkeling. Based on GPS coor- walk through two connected dry of line runs along a single tunnel that dinates we collected, we had ranch chambers until we reached three cuts through two additional cenotes, workers cut a trail to it. As the cenote pools of water. Only one of them Cenote Estaca and Cenote Nariz. lies outside Tamakas, it provides had any reasonably sized passages, This tunnel is marked by very tall a suggestion in what direction to and we were able to lay about 90 columns along the way and some expand the park. meters of line before the passages extremely decorated rooms with The downstream section, or Cue- pristine tide pools. va Seca, measures about 900 me- Franco Attolini and Alex Álva- At about 1000 meters the cave ters of underwater passage and rez scooter through the E Tunnel in Sistema Aktun Hu. Daniel Riordan.

79 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Franco Attolini and Alex Álvarez in the main tunnel in Aktun Hu. Daniel Riordan.

compelled you to continue. Once you start, it’s difficult to stop. Time and resources are the only limiting factors. Exploring Rancho Tamakas was a great experience for the entire dive team, as we were able to explore and map 5700 meters of cave passages. Our exploration skills improved greatly as a result of this project, not only in terms of logistics, but also in terms of personal capacity. We refined our guideline and surveying techniques, we developed better procedures for staging equipment inside the cave to reduce set-up became too small for our equipment this mode of transportation can attest times, and we learned how to use configuration. to the fact that the ride is probably software tools for mapping caves Our day on the south end of the the best part of the day, especially and collecting GPS coordinates. In property was not very productive if you’re the one driving. Without the future, this will allow our team to from an exploration viewpoint. the resources from Tamakas, the conduct exploration more efficiently. However, it provided a great ad- exploration of these cenotes would It’s our hope to continue working venture through the caves, and we have been very difficult. with landowners in the area to help spent a lot of time listening to old them understand and document stories from the Maya workers. One uring our three weeks of explo- their aquatic resources. story was of an old sinkhole with Dration in Tamakas, we were able Spanish gold in it that could only to locate and visit many additional I would like to thank my team be seen when the sun shines in at cenotes in the vicinity of the ranch. members Alex Álvarez and Franco the right angle. However, they said We learned about most of those from Attolini, without whom this explora- it was very deep and scary. Maybe local workers who had discovered tion would not have been possible. next time . . . . them on their walks to collect wood Thanks also to all of the other divers or other resources from the jungle. involved in this project, Devin Mack- ogistics for exploring Tamakas Some of the cenotes were small holes enzie, Luca Maghelli, and Gianmario Lare interesting. The property is that did not invite further explora- Roca, as well as the Tamakas group, located 6 kilometers from Carretera tion, but some of them were large Alejo Chimal, Mauricio Muños, and Federal 307. Driving twenty minutes pools of clear, flowing water that Alfredo Saavedra, for their help dur- on an unpaved road took us to the surely contain underwater cave ing the exploration. Special thanks to entrance to the ranch, where Don passages. It seemed to us that once Jim Coke for his explanation of the Alejandro and his workers were you started exploring an area, you geology of the area and numerous happy to greet us and help us with would find many more cenotes that tips on mapping software. our gear. From there, a half-kilometer of jungle led to Aktun Hu and Cueva Explorando el Parque Ecológico Tamakas Seca and about one kilometer of trail led to Cenote Gorila. In order to transport the gear we Un grupo de espeleobuzos fue invitado en 2007 a explorar los required for exploration, two four- cenotes del Rancho Tamakas, cerca de Tulúm, Quintana Roo. wheel-drive Yamaha Rhino 660s Ubicaron un total de seis entradas. Actún Hu y Cueva Seca, en la were made available to us. These misma dolina en la parte norte del terreno, ofrecieron los mejores are four-wheel-drive versions of pasajes. Se exploraron 4500 metros de pasajes subacuáticos en golf carts and can handle the jungle Aktún Hu y se descubrieron otras dos entradas a la cueva. Cueva terrain very well. Each Rhino can Seca fue explorada por 900 metros y fue conectada a un cenote be loaded with two people, a set pequeño en la parte sur del rancho, el Cenote Cabeza Azteca, of doubles, three stage tanks, and brindando una posible travesía para espeleobuzos visitando el one Gavin scooter. Several trips parque ecológico. El único otro cenote en el sur que parecía pro- each morning and afternoon were metedor, Cenote Gorila, se volvió demasiado pequeño después required to move the equipment. de 90 metros. Most divers who have experienced 80 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

paisano 2011 expedition

Gustavo Vela Turcott

fter a two-year break since our 4WD. We’d already arranged the Alast Sierra Negra expedition, next stage of transport, and thirteen Franco Attolini, Al Warild, and I and mules and unassorted burros were a few friends once again set up camp ready and waiting to go. All that in the vicinity of Ocotempa, Puebla. remained was to settle the price to We’d come to continue exploration carry a ton of gear 900 meters uphill of some of the caves we’d left in- in the blazing sun. complete in 2009 and to look for new It took another day and a half to caves to explore. We planned to stay build the camp, dig a toilet, arrange for four or five weeks, depending a kitchen, and pick places to sleep. on the weather and what we found. As we knew it could—and probably This year we placed our base camp would—rain in abundance, we had up on the plateau, at 2300 meters, quite a collection of tarps to save us 500 meters higher than our previous from getting too wet. In the end, our camps at Doroteo’s house. This gave camp more resembled a multicolored us more direct access to the higher protest camp in the corner of Mexico parts of Tzontzecuiculi between City’s Zócalo than a speleo base 2400 m and 2700 m that we’d only camp, so we called it Campamento just touched in 2008 and 2009. [See SUTE, for Sindicato Único de los “Proyecto Akemabis 2008” in AMCS Trabajadores de la Espeleología. We were all surprised by this Activities Newsletter 32, pages 47–52, enormous snail. Gustavo Vela. and “El Santito 2009,” in number 33, ur first objective was Altepetla- pages 51–56.] Ocac (Cueva Paisano). Found on we had stopped two years before The plan was for an expedition a recce and explored to –40 meters and continued into the unknown of twelve to fourteen cavers to be in 2008, it had been extended to until they ran out of rope at about in the field from March 10 to April –316 meters on “rest” days in 2009. –370 meters on the edge of another 12, using generally light techniques: The strong breeze showed great pitch. no underground camps and 8- and potential, and its entrance is at 2400 The next day Beluga, Alejandra, 9-millimeter ropes. We even had a meters and probable resurgence at and Guillaume completed the sur- new super-mini power drill, only 380 meters. In two trips, Olga, Pablo, vey to that point and continued on. 1.3 kilograms with battery. and Al passed the short pitch where Once on rope, Guillaume could see Once we’d done the usual food and hardware shopping in Tehuacán, we moved up to Huizmaloc with This year’s finds only a few problems. My “new” Depth m length m truck appeared to be cursed. First it Oztotl Altepetlacac (Cueva Paisano) 638 1251 overheated on the trivial 2000-meter Olbastl Coltic (Sótano Chueco) 565 824 ascent up from Coxcatlán, and then Olbastl Tlatekuintli (Sótano Trueno) 145 185 it got stuck in the only patch of mud Oztotl Chokilistli (Cueva del Llanto) 55 95 on the last climb. But we got there Olbastl Kalsachiuki (Sótano Calcetín) 55 106 with only a little help from Franco’s Oztotl Tlasojtlalistli (Cueva del Amor) 51 119 Sótano Rampa su Madre 40 44 [email protected] Translated from Spanish by the TT33 49 50 author with help from Al Warild. TTE 34 34 59 81 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

that, while there was a pitch below, for prospecting among the sharp, shivered, they worried. After an hour there was also a big room a short loose karst, maguey, and pines. Gi- David appeared, equally sodden. He pendulum away. Halfway down it ant blocks that move, plants with explained how he’d thought to wait also became obvious that the pitch spikes, vines with thorns, and hard, it out (it was, after all, just a passing passed between giant blocks held scratchy thickets that you could storm), but as he was waiting under up by wet sand and good luck. With only see through for a few meters a cascade, he might just as well be a sense of imminent and violent exacted a price in blood, scratches, moving up. death, should we call it Juárezistan twisted ankles, and lost cavers. But A few days later Olga, Pablo, and or perhaps Ciudad Juárez? while the Betadine got a workout, Al took another look at the Sala Al, Chibebo, and I went down nobody had to spend the night out SUTE and, to their surprise, found for the next push and it fell to me in the wilds, and the worst injuries a window in the side of one of the to check Ciudad Juárez. I tiptoed were stubbed toes around camp. blind shafts. It went down a few away from the bottom of the rope, We did score a few good entrances unpleasant pitches to a really narrow taking care not to touch anything that got equally good names. Olbastl slot at –500 meters. Olga and Pablo more than necessary, and reached a Kalsachiuki (Sótano Calcetín [Sock]) are small, and they certainly don’t meander that appeared to continue, reached –35 meters to a domed “toe.” hesitate to push small passages. They but needed a rope—what a relief, Sótano Rampa su Madre (after a wiggled through the 17-centimeter I could go no farther and had to well-known Mexican expletive) went vertical slot followed by an interest- return to the rope and climb above to –50 meters, with hyper-technical ing 90-degree bend to see if there was the suspended blocks. Here we did rigging to cope with the numerous anything beyond. There was. a short pendulum and climb and loose blocks, some of which served Beyond yet another “interesting” landed at one end of a huge room, as anchors and others that fell all spot, the cave finally widened out the Salón SUTE. Excitedly we almost the way to the bottom and needed and looked like it was really going ran from one vantage point to the avoiding. somewhere. As we descended, we next looking for the vast descending followed our progress by mapping as passage that must follow. It wasn’t he next group in Paisano was we went. The passage moved away there. In the end, we settled for the TFranco, Marcela, and David, from the Sala SUTE, then abruptly biggest descending ramp, which led and after a quick tourist lap they turned back under it. It was bound to three small pitches and a few tight took a few photos and tried a pit in to do something once it passed back rifts that went nowhere. Feeding the the farthest corner of the room; it under the sala. It did. It became im- survey data directly into Auriga as choked after only 25 meters. Only passable at –638 meters. we returned, we found that the room 150 meters from the entrance, they Only one lead left: Ciudad Juárez. was more or less rectangular and 120 had the misfortune to be heading out The meander that appeared to con- meters long, 80 meters wide, and as the water from the only decent tinue didn’t, nor did a slightly deeper up to 35 meters high and that we’d downpour of the expedition was and dirtier passage, the description stopped at only –485 meters. Some- heading in. Franco and Marcela of which is better left unprinted. thing like this should continue. continued up and out to reach the It took five trips to remove all the Not everybody was tied up in entrance wet but intact, but David equipment. Paisano, so there was plenty of time was not to be seen. They waited, they etween Paisano trips, Franco and BAl found, less than 100 meters from Paisano, a nice-looking sótano some 60 to 80 meters deep. Franco and Beluga were the first down, and later Alejandra, Guillaume, and Al. The spiraling entrance pitches gave way to a strongly drafting squeeze, Moscalandia. Rocks dropped from the entrance were quite capable of bouncing their way to here, so the rigging was always suspended from the ceiling, with almost no possibility of our touching the floor. The apparently vertical shafts were in fact all off vertical, so an anchor in the roof would always land you on the opposite wall no matter how far you swung for a good hang. It was

Ricardo Pacheco at –300 meters in Olbastl Koltik. Franco Attolini.

82 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Franco Attolini, Marcela Ramírez, and David Tirado running around to illuminate Sala SUTE in Oztotl Altepetlacac. Franco Attolini. like redefining vertical. Even some of the stalagmites refused to line up with the rope hanging straight down, so we ended up calling it Olbastl Koltik (or Sótano Chueco [Twisted]). Once it had earned its name, it became more normal and settled down to comfortable shafts interspersed with tight meanders, a real alpine cave. As we only had one going cave and eleven cavers, we had plenty of excess energy to prospect higher up the mountain. Very early one morning Franco, Chibebo, and I took a look at the 2600-meter level. It was an exhausting day of blazing finally bottomed to a rock choke and n the very last day of the expe- sun, gigantic moving boulders, and mapped by Olga and Pablo when Odition Al, Chibebo, and I took spiky plants, but it paid off with they took their turn in the high camp a walk to the very highest areas of some great looking sótanos, the with Beluga. Tzontzi, at 2700 meters and above, deepest of which looked like around Exploration in Koltik also con- a 14-kilometer walk to an enticingly 80 meters deep. tinued through an “interesting” promising entrance we’d seen from a Full of enthusiasm, we arranged double squeeze (el Doble hiperfiltro distance in 2009 and dreamed about rolling camps in a beautiful, but dry sin fondo) that first squeezes you for two years. As we approached campsite, starting with a team of five sideways, then provides a unique through the typically scratchy scrub, to get all the gear up there, but only birthing experience onto the top of the 4-by-8-meter walk-in entrance leaving two behind to camp. Al and a pitch. A few more pushes and the came into view, and a steep ramp Franco descended the best-looking cave finally widened out and looked descended into the mountain for hole to around –120 meters with like it was really going somewhere. all of 100 meters before it hit a solid plenty of black below, but no more And it did too—to a just-passable Z wall. We walked the walls and poked rope. With an electrical storm raging squeeze followed by an estimated into every crevice. Nothing. I almost outside, neither was very keen to 20-meter pitch blocked by enough cried. Oztotl Chokilistli (Cueva del get out quickly. Olbastl Tlatekuintli rock spikes to bar human passage Llanto [Crying]) is an estimated 55 (Sótano Trueno [Thunder]) was at –565 meters. meters deep and 95 m long. Al Warild and Roberto Rojo rigging. Guillaume Pelletier and Alejandra López preparing dinner. Gustavo Vela. Gustavo Vela.

83 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

After five weeks for thirteen cav- the mountain. This has proved that ers we can call Paisano 2011 a suc- the mountain contains sizable caves cess, having explored two caves over with great vertical potential. We 500 meters deep and spotted seven didn’t find any thousand-meter-deep rattlesnakes without a single bite. cave this year, but we will. Explora- More importantly, camping on the tion continues. . . . edge of the plateau at 2300 meters On our way out, Franco and Al opened up an area that we never dropped by Ocotempa to say good- would have reached from the more bye to the officials and donate some comfortable campsites lower down rope to the village. The place was

Stalactite at –500 meters in Oztotl Altepetlacac. Gustavo Vela.

deserted except for four guys on a bench. Franco and Al greeted them and asked whether the Inspector (the highest authority in town), was about. No, he wasn’t. So they sat in the shade, had a drink, chatted a while, and eventually got bored. Re- turning to the four silent guys, they inquired about leaving the gear in the only open office. One of the four stepped forward. “Yes of course, it’s my office, and the Inspector asked me to wait for you and accept the rope and magazines.” Ah, life in the sierra, a different pace, a different way of thinking.

Participants: Lorenzo Armas, Franco Attolini, Alejandra López, Ricardo Lugo (Beluga), Ricardo Pacheco, Marcela Ramírez, Roberto Rojo (Chibebo), David Tirado, and Gustavo Vela from Mexico, Olga García and Pablo Martínez from Spain, Guillaume Pelletier from Canada Quebec(!), and Al Warild from Australia. Thanks to those who have gener- ously sponsored our ongoing expeditions: Limite X, Montañas y Caver- nas, Petzl and Carlos Magno.

84 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

We found this beautiful harvestman at –400 meters in the Sala SUTE, Oztotl Altepetlacac. Gustavo Vela.

Expedición Paisano 2011

La cuarta expedición Mexicana-Internacional realizada por Al, Franco y Gustavo en la Sierra Negra, en el estado de Puebla fue un éxito. En la expedición “Paisano 2011” se reunieron 13 espeleólogos de México, España, Australia y Quebec y durante cinco semanas se pusieron a explorar en las mesetas de 2400, 2600 y 2700 msm de la montaña Tzontzecuiculi. En Cueva Paisano o Oztotl Altepetlacac retomaron la exploraron a –316 m que habían dejado en el 2009, encontraron un gran salón al nivel –400 m, después unas partes estrechas al nivel –500m que retrazaron la exploración para que finalmente la cueva se cerrara en un paso muy estrecho al nivel –638 m. A la par de estas exploraciones encontraron y exploraron Sótano Chueco u Olbastl Koltic hasta el nivel –565m pero desafortunadamente también se cerró en un paso muy estrecho. Asimismo se realizaron muchos viajes de prospección por varias mesetas encontrando algunos sótanos, el mas grande de 145m. La expedición regresará para continuar con las exploraciones en la zona.

85 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

my little mexican adventure Ian McKenzie

The resurgence stage of Proyecto es los mulas?” I pleaded, but they just truck, and just about to leave, we were Papalo was over. Just Sheri Engler and waved and carried on. invited to El Presidente’s office for a chat. Nancy Pistole remained down at the Well, eight o’clock came and went, Fortunately I could now rely on Sheri’s river, waiting for the arrival of mules to as did eight o’clock the next morning. Spanish and take in occasional transla- haul the ropes, tents, and other equip- Great, I thought, here I am alone in the tions. After discussing our finds in the ment up to the road; everyone else had middle of Mexico, I don’t speak Spanish, valley, El Presidente calmly informed left for the llano to join the Cueva Cheve those that do are back caving in Cheve, us that some mule-money had gone part of the expedition, or for Ciudad or down at the river wondering where missing, and demanded payment of a Oaxaca to head home. After dropping los damn mulas are. I wished I had paid sort of village tax of a hundred thousand off a load of cavers and gear at the llano, more attention to the original mule ar- pesos. After the delays and stresses of I departed in the dawn mist for the long rangements; where had they come from? the past few days, now this; we were drive back to the trailhead to pick up I was about to start the long hike down stunned. The obligatory crowd had by Sheri, Nancy, and the gear. the mountain to at least let Sheri and now gathered at the door, fronted by I had lots of time, as the mules should Nancy know what was or wasn’t go- an obnoxious man in a blue shirt. We have left early that same morning and ing on, and perhaps discuss whether to refused to pay, at least, not without would return early that afternoon. After hide the gear and go get the others . . . consulting the others. Sheri claimed she a bit of paranoia about taking the wrong but surely there was something I could and Nancy had left all of their money road back, I found myself on familiar do up here. with their “husbands,” she knew more terrain by about one o’clock and slowly Then a helpful chap came along, lead- of Mexicans than just their language. passing a clot of villagers on their way ing a mule. Aha, I thought, and asked Blue Shirt was not impressed and asked to market. As the back of the truck was him how many mules he had, despite me how much money I had. “Tres mil still fairly full of junk, I passed most of being intimidated by the revolver he pesos,” I replied; about a dollar, to which them before spotting the most needy wore openly under his left arm. “Buenos they laughed. But it was true. Blue Shirt couple, an elderly lady with her hus- días, señor. Ah, quanto, quanto mulas. ¿Hai wanted to check my pockets, which band, who was drunk and bleeding cinco mulas?” The only man with five alarmed Nancy and Sheri; apart from not from a punched lip. I stopped and was mules was Señor something-or-other up wanting to be searched, Nancy actually immediately surrounded by the mob the road; I must speak with him. Okay, had enough money in her pocket to get before I could roll down my window that must be the guy, let’s do something her out of Mexico. Would they want to and explain “Deux seulement . . . er, no . decisive here. search the truck next? . . ¡Dos, dos personas, no mas!” The crowd Anyway, I did manage to arrange for The day wore on; we were not free to obligingly pushed the bleeding drunk five mules to go down to the river, but leave. El Presidente opened up a jar of and his embarrassed wife into the cab not until five the following morning, caña, a homemade liquor, and passed it of the truck and we were off. when it would be cooler. Made frantic around as Sheri insisted that we had to Having dropped off my charges and by the lost time and worried about Sheri consult with our jefe at the llano before refused payment of tortillas and refrescos, and Nancy, I slept in the truck right agreeing to spend money. Could El I jostled along to the trailhead, afraid on the mule-owner’s doorstep. I was Presidente provide us with an official that I was now a bit late. No mules, considerably relieved when five mules letter to take back to him? Blue Shirt Sheri, or Nancy. Well, that was just fine actually did show up, and soon we were jeered at this potential solution, and was by me, as I settled in for a sunny siesta. off through the morning mist down the starting to grate on even El Presidente’s Every half hour or so I’d wander to the track once again, me rubbing the sleep nerves. We were probably not alone in edge of the road and look down the hill, out of my eyes and absurdly proud wishing someone would punch Blue until finally it seemed that they were that I had managed to do something in Shirt’s lights out. awfully late. Spanish. End of Problem. Suddenly Blue Shirt left for a while, Eventually two men with loads of Not quite. When we arrived down in and El Presidente drafted the official let- wood came by. A painful and somewhat the valley several hours later, there stand- ter. We quickly piled into the Toyota to one-sided conversation ensued, but ing around the heaps of gear, along with get our jefe to negotiate this thing. It was I understood that they already knew Sheri and Nancy, were five more mules, now Somebody Else’s Problem, and we that I was waiting for friends to come the ones Sheri and Nancy had arranged drove off to the laughter of children. up from the river, having recognized themselves with a friendly farmer just about three Spanish words: amigos, up the river. We discussed what to do, Author’s note: I wrote this article in mulas, and río, and engaging in a lot of as my muledriver demonstrated his 1990 shortly after returning from four pointing and nodding. These two guys, skill with a rifle to their muledriver, and months in Central America with Randy who seemed to know quite a bit of the agreed that because my guy had come Spahl, but misplaced it for seventeen situation, advised me to wait here until the farthest (and had the gun), he won years before it appeared in the Journal “ocho horas” or eight o’clock, one of the contract. of Subterranean Metaphysics in October them sweeping his arm across the sky End of Problem? Not quite! After a 2007 [from which it was reprinted in to denote p.m., which would mean that long day, paying off the mules with our Canadian Caver 73, January 2011, and the mules hadn’t even left yet. “¿Donde last bit of expedition funds, loading the thence to here].

86 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

sistema sac actun 1987–2011

James G. Coke IV

t all started with an early-morning caught our attention, and Steve (upstream) and siphon (downstream) Iflight from the Tulum Naval Base circled back, coaxing his aircraft to areas. The siphon passage had been airport. Steve DeCarlo and I were perform low-altitude antics so both explored to unstable breakdown a uncomfortably cold as we drove of us could get a better view into the few hundred meters northwest of into the military camp at dawn. green island. A glint of water sparked Sistema Abejas. The Naval upstream The eastern horizon was beginning in both the south and north ends of section, now connected to Sac Actun, to brighten as a slice of the sun a large depression. We also caught was isolated from the siphon passage rose over the warm waters of the a glimpse of vertical walls. We had by a large area of open water in the Caribbean. Venus, the morning star, found a promising cenote that was cenote. Earlier explorations, in 1989, hovered just above the horizon in a fairly close to the Coba Road. by Paul DeLoach, Bill Gavin, Hilaire momentary flash of blazing glory. Hiler, and George Irvine provided We were challenged by a couple of istema Sac Actun was one of the key to making two important cold and very unfriendly sentries at Sthe first underwater caves to be connections. From their area, a tun- the front gate. A signed letter from explored in Quintana Roo. The cave nel was found in 2003 that skirted el Comandante and a cursory search was described in AMCS Activities Cenote Naval, connecting the Naval of Steve’s pickup truck opened the Newsletter 17, pages 100–103, where upstream and downstream sections. metal barrier to the airstrip. A few there is a map of 3 kilometers of This increased the length of Sistema gentle breezes announced a rising what is known today as the Classic Sac Actun to nearly 24 kilometers. sun as we conducted a preflight in- Area of Sac Actun. The cave received A second tunnel in that area was spection of Steve’s plane in the public increasing attention from cave divers discovered and showed promising parking ramp. A fragile coastal- after 1989. Sidemount explorations development to the southeast. This patrol aircraft with canvas wings expanded the cave to the northwest would eventually connect to Sistema and fuselage was parked nearby. and southwest. Further probes utiliz- Esqueleto (also known as Calavera or Steve’s Cessna was just as cold as ing this flexible gear configuration Temple of Doom) during 2005. we were, but the engine, protesting opened a complicated downstream our profane encouragement, eventu- area of the cave. In 1999, two com- A second article, in AMCS Activi- ally started. peting teams made an important ties Newsletter 30, pages 39–42, de- We managed to get “wheels up” connection between Sac Actun and scribes explorations in Sac Actun as as the sun climbed above the hori- the upstream passage from Cenote it was connected to Sistemas Abejas, zon. Turbulence was at a minimum, Naval, the Strangler Roots connec- Nohoch Kin (or Kiin), Muul Ha, and although it would not take the sun tion. Bil Phillips and Marike Jasper finally Nohoch Nah Chich caves. A long to heat up both the land and prepared an updated map of the 2004 connection to Sistema Abejas atmosphere. As we were flying low 17 kilometers of Sistema Sac Actun through breakdown rubble allowed a hunting for cenotes, we preferred to in 2000 after the Naval connection. new group of explorers to hopscotch have a calm atmosphere. We elected Both past Sac Actun and present over Abejas towards Altar Maya and to fly west along the Coba Road. Sistema Naval explorers contributed Nohoch Kin. Little was known about Within a few kilometers we spotted to the production of the new map the Altar Maya underwater cave, an old milpa that contained an island (see AMCS Activities Newsletter 25, which had been explored by a French of tall and verdant trees. Neither the page 79). team. The Sac Actun Exploration palapa nor the surrounding property Cenote Naval had been an ac- Team, a collaborative effort among had been used for years for grow- tive exploration project for Dan Nadia Berni, Steve Bogaerts, Kim ing corn and beans. The large green Lins, Mike Madden, Matt Matthes, Davidsson, Robert Schmittner, and dimple in the middle of the milpa and Chuck Stevens. Expanding on David Sieff, began a resurvey of Altar older explorations, they had made Maya, making connections to both [email protected] important advances in both spring Nohoch Kin and Muul Ha caves. 87 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

88 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Downstream Muul Ha advanced to complete. Diving equipment for Aktun Hu into high gear. Connec- slowly towards the Caribbean coast two was carried on horseback to the tions to the Aktun Hu section, the and a possible connection to Sistema Outland depression. The trip was Cenote Fenómeno region, and the Nohoch Nah Chich. Passages in more than 6 kilometers on rough and discovery of Hoyo Negro were made thinly bedded coastal limestone re- poorly made jungle trails that took in short order. Sistema Aktun Hu was quired the refinement of the crucial a toll on both horses and explorers. set to grow into a world-class cave, no-mount technique. A minimalist While the horses carried the heavi- both in length and archaeological approach to gear configuration, it est diving kit, Madden and Steve discoveries. permits underwater cave explorers Gerrard packed their personal gear, By the end of 2010, the most north to pass through very small passages water, and caving lights to the Out- western underwater passages in without too much delay. A connec- land entrance for the day’s excursion. Actun Hu were impinging on a tion to Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich After a few-hour exploration dive, subtle geological feature known as was finally made in 2007, making a long 6-kilometer hike to the trail- the Holbox Fracture Zone. Survey the system more than 150 kilometers head remained. Their diving gear and exploration missions to this area long. With the addition of Nohoch might follow that night, or the next are staged from Cenote Fenómeno. Nah Chich, work to extend Sac Actun morning. Mike and Steve found 1515 A long scooter ride takes a well-pre- could be done farther inland to try meters of going cave in the upstream pared team to a prominent junction. to connect other satellite caves. Here and downstream sections of Cenote Cave development inland is arrested larger passages in more consolidated Outland before explorations were at the junction. The southwest-to- limestone would provide a welcome abandoned. Logistics and concerns northeast Holbox Fracture Zone relief from the more irregular coastal for the horses’ safety on the rough produces an unmistakable reorienta- limestone beds. The rediscovery of trail were factors in the decision tion of trunk passages to parallel to Cenote Outland, near Sistema Aktun to quit the cave. The downstream the coast. Water flow changes direc- Hu, was one key to progress in this section of Outland was leading dition at this intersection. Fresh-water area. The explorers’ ultimate goal rectly towards Nohoch Nah Chich, flow emanates from the southwest was, and still is, a long-sought and but the passage was too constricted tunnel area. A small portion of the elusive connection between the old for backmount equipment. Further flow carries on through northeast- Nohoch Nah Chich passages and expeditions to the Outland cave oriented, fractured conduits. A large Sistema Dos Ojos. could not be justified in 1992. There portion of the fresh-water volume is were other things to explore in the diverted southeast towards Cenote ike Madden had established Nohoch Nah Chich region. Fenómeno and eventually Cenote MSistema Nohoch Nah Chich Outland. Through what tunnels does as the longest underwater cave n 2007, Alberto Nava, Franco Atto- the water flow? during the early 1990s. It was an Ilini, and Alex Álvarez discovered a Backmount dives in the down- amazing effort that took many tal- complicated array of interconnected stream sections of Cenote Outland ented explorers with diverse skills. cenotes within the Tamakas Ecologi- discovered a considerable flow Mike was quick to recognize that cal Park (see the article in this issue into restricted and silty sidemount his project would eventually wall by Alberto Nava, as well as Franco tunnels. Two probes in upstream out the largest Nohoch Nah Chich Attolini’s article in AMCS Activities Nohoch Nah Chich toward a likely tunnels if he continued to rely on Newsletter 33, pages 95–98). As their area for a connection to Aktun Hu traditional equipment configura- project at Aktun Hu developed, the demonstrated a likely hydrological tions and familiar cenote entrances. team became a familiar and trusted connection. Large volumes of fresh Madden encouraged his landowner group to local landowners and jungle water, perhaps from Aktun Hu, partner to search for new cenotes workers. It was not long before the flushed through impossibly thin in the most remote parts of Rancho team was invited to visit a special bedding-plane voids at the known San Felipe. Perhaps he would find cenote. The new cenote was de- end of Nohoch Nah Chich. The a more remote cave entrance that scribed as being close to Aktun Hu; problem of an Aktun Hu to Nohoch could be connected to Nohoch Nah diving equipment could be carried Nah Chich connection plagued many Chich. In the following weeks the to the cenote in just a few minutes. A explorers. And could there be con- landowner’s sons found two mag- reconnaissance trip revealed a large nections to other caves? nificent depressions. One depression and striking depression marked by Enter the wild-card caves, these was surrounded by high walls, lined tall limestone walls. Lining the walls being a collection of caves at the Lab with a near-continuous ribbon of was a band of crystal-clear water. A Nah Ha (or LabnaHa) Cenotes and crystal-clear water and obvious curious rock formation in one sec- Eco Park. Explorations in the Eco underwater cave entrances. One tion of the cenote poked through the Park are not well documented, as section of the depression contained water’s surface. This formation was access to the park is highly restricted. a few curious rock formations that called La Virgen by local residents. Cavers working within the resort’s emerged from the narrow pool. GPS and cave resurvey in La Virgen boundaries are secretive about their Madden was able to complete three confirmed the rediscovery of Cenote long-standing project. As a result, exploration dives at Cenote Outland. Outland. It was a keystone discovery, we have very little information Each dive required two or three days shifting future exploration efforts at concerning this collection of caves. 89 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

What we do know is not the result southern tunnel. After 500 meters of Aktun Hu. As close as the connection of intentional trespassing on the Lab shallow sidemount passage, Robbie was, a short and highly frustrating Nah Ha property. We are confident, broke into a larger passage just short open-water section of the cenote though, of the location of one cave, of a new cenote. Cenote Chi Chan pool separated Sistema Sac Actun possibly connected, south of Cenote Can (Little Snake) was located about from Sistema Aktun Hu. Numerous Aktun Hu. A second Lab Nah Ha 150 meters from the classic Nohoch dives staged from Chi Chan Can cave, Caracol, is located south of Nah Chich tunnels and was not produced more explored passage Outland Cenote. A few of Caracol’s difficult to find by land, creating a and a confirmed connection to Lab northern passages were reported to new staging point for explorations. Nah Ha’s Caracol cave. Finally, a be very close to Nohoch Nah Chich The new entrance would simplify dive by Robbie Schmittner in the some years ago. exploration in a complicated maze of southeastern area of Chi Chan Can shallow and low-visibility tunnels. resulted in a mandatory series of ith downstream Aktun Hu On one last exploration dive in decompression stops. During his last Wexplorations stalled, Robert upstream Nohoch Nah Chich, Rob- stop, he noticed a small cleft in the Schmittner took an interest in a bie pushed the end of the Knife Line. wall of the passage. The cleft was an connection project between Aktun This passage had been explored by illusion; it was a small window open- Hu and the Nohoch Nah Chich sec- Mike Madden in 1989. The new cave ing into a tunnel that looped around tion of Sac Actun. With the original started as a friendly hundred meters the eastern fringe of Chi Chan Can Aktun Hu team’s agreement, Robbie of sidemount passage, shriveling to cenote to the Knife Line Extension, started a resurvey of the downstream near no-mount dimensions just be- bypassing the open water. On Janu- passages in Outland. A single tun- fore emerging into a comparatively ary 30, 2011, to create an underwater nel, the BallBreaker, an extension of large cavern zone. This would prove cave 215 kilometers long, Aktun Hu south-trending passage, deviated to be the eastern end of Cenote Chi and Sac Actun became one cave dur- towards the east of an ever-shrinking Chan Can, opposite the passage from ing a decompression stop.

Sistema Sac Actun, 1987–2011

La primera entrada al Sistema Sac Actun fue descubierta desde el aire en 1987. Muchas conexiones subacuáticas a través de los años han propiciado un crecimiento im- presionante en la longitud del sistema. Recientemente, Aktun Hu, explorada desde 2007, fue conectada al Sistema Sac Actun en enero de 2011, creando un sistema con 215 kilómetros de pasajes subacuáticos.

90 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Caribbean coast caving

Juan Laden

arch 26, 2011, saw two groups is from Mexico City. handsome man, and we joked at the Mof four arc their way over After the slightly sporting drive tocayo, the fact that we had the same the azure waters of the Caribbean down to Akumal and a stop for first name. He couldn’t understand to land in Cancún on their way to provisions and beer at the super- why I don’t speak Spanish. mapping in a vast system of dry mercado, we finally went to the CEA Then it was on to the caves. Our caves in Quintana Roo on the Yu- headquarters to get our dorm rooms. objective was Sistema Katu Balam, catan Peninsula. The first wave of While the others got moved in, Peter which had been explored by Juan the crew consisted of Peter Sprouse and I took off in the car to make and his friends but not surveyed, (expedition leader), Juan Laden, arrangements for the two places and where some parts were unex- Gary Franklin, and Ryan Reid, all of where we were hoping to cave that plored altogether. They lead tours whom had arrived at mid-morning. week. All of this was facilitated by into parts of the cave, and it was After getting through immigration Peter’s Spanish. The first place we close to an already surveyed system and customs, we were swept up by went was an ATV park near the os- called Santa Cruz that had a couple our rental car guy and taken to one tentatious Xplor amusement park. A of cenote entrances. of those metal-sided yards that have quick stop established that we were The caving area that we were some new cars, but also some that welcome to continue mapping the focusing on is along the Caribbean looked like they could be used as caves. Next, in Akumal Pueblo we coast in eastern Quintana Roo. All props in the Road Warrior series. It met with Juan Pablo to look at his over the countryside are collapse was especially refreshing to be of- caves on Rancho Santa Cruz just west features that serve as entrances to fered, almost as soon as we got there, of the town. Juan Pablo was a tall, the caves. Close to the coast, all these either a cold soda or a beer. “Cerveza, por favor.” The second wave consisted of Barbara Luke, Chris Lloyd, Mike Pugliese, and Raquel Aguilar, who would arrive later in the day, after we had gotten settled into our dormitory at the Centro Ecológico Akumal, or CEA. From the outside, this whole crew could be considered unremarkable, but I have found that on Peter’s expeditions everyone is of top-notch caliber, “professional,” and always up for fun. Although Peter is based out of the Austin area and in all half of the crew was from there (Ryan, Gary, and Mike), the rest of us came from diverse locations: Barbara is from Blue Diamond, Ne- vada, Chris is from Guadalajara, I’m from Lander, Wyoming, and Raquel

Inside one of the entrances to Sistema Santa Cruz. Juan Laden. [email protected] 91 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mike Pugliese.

Juan Laden at a lake with a thick coat- ing of calcite ice in Katu Balam. Mike Pugliese.

collapse features are cenotes, and since not all of us knew each other, passages, we split into three teams as the land rises up slightly going and to celebrate making it down to and started surveying from the Lost inland, air-filled caves are found. such a wonderful place with caves Glasses entrance, named because Since the layer of rock above the pas- going as far as we could imagine. Plaut had lost his glasses there. The sages is thin, the caves are festooned teams were Chris (sketcher), Gary, with extensive root systems that are he next morning found us gath- and Ryan; Barb (sketcher), Mike, covered in calcite, prompting some Tering at the rental cars, gear and Raquel; and Peter (sketcher) and chicken-and-egg discussion about ready, and heading up north to Juan. We had a great day of mapping, which came first, the stalactites or Paamul to meet up with Gil Harmon got a good idea of the vastness of the roots. Due to the jungle growth and his wife Pat. Gil started coming the system, and got a little over a over most of the terrain it is difficult down to Mexico decades ago, and kilometer of passage. to find the entrances, but in recent he spends about half the year there It was a great first day that could years there has been a lot of subdi- and half back in northern Idaho. He only be ended with a little commu- viding of the land for development. has been exploring the local caves nity relations, stopping in at a jungle The resulting survey cuts and roads for years and has done some rudi- bar run by a local landowner. It was have revealed lots of entrances. At mentary surveying, running string difficult to extricate ourselves, but the time of year that we were there, lines through the booming parts one does have to eat, so we headed spring, the motmot birds are also of the caves. He is an enthusiastic for a taco shop in Puerto Aventuras helpful in locating caves. They nest and friendly guy who, along with for dinner. Then some of the crew in the entrances and have a distinct cohorts Bill Plaut and Rick Nelson, did some night snorkeling back in call as they advertise for a mate, and, has found numerous caves. Akumal. if one is attentive, he can follow their We drove into the back side of the On March 28, most of the crew calls to an entrance. area of the Río Secreto tourist cave, headed back to Paamul to pick up Peter and I came back from our which, at 14 kilometers, is the longest Gil and some of his group to continue little scouting trip satisfied that dry cave in the state. In our convoy mapping in Sistema Pulpo. Barb and there was plenty to do and that we of two black jeeps, looking somewhat Mike and I went to survey the cave had the permissions needed for a like members of a drug cartel, we northwest of Akumal that Juan Pablo couple of specific caves. We met up encountered a tribe of coatis, like had shown us, Katu Balam. Unfor- with the rest of the crew, who in the a bouncy cross between monkeys tunately I misunderstood which meantime had gotten moved in. We and raccoons, that crossed the road entrance we were supposed to start all decided to walk west over the between the two vehicles, a real hoot at, and we ended up resurveying highway’s disco overpass (most of to see. We followed a nice macheted part of Sistema Santa Cruz. It sure the overpasses are decorated with trail to the recently discovered cave was pretty, especially when we came pulsating colored LEDs) and into system that we would later name to the cenote entrance and realized Akumal Pueblo for a late supper. It Sistema Pulpo. After a short tour of the mistake I had made. While we was a good time to get acquainted, a couple of entrances and some large were chasing someone else’s tail, 92 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 the other crews were working on columns. Having the Bosch Sistema Pulpo and getting good rangefinders was a great kilometerage. Once again coatis help; it was vastly quicker were seen, at the entrance this time, than tape, and one could and they could have been the same shoot quick spray shots just tribe that we had seen on the road. to assist the sketcher. They spent another evening at the In Pulpo, both crews were jungle bar after caving, where Gary finding spectacular areas entertained all playing the guitar. of speleothems and water Our crew went straight home to passages, including a deep CEA, as I was coming down with lake in the 747 Room that some respiratory ailment and had would need cave divers. little energy for anything but cav- Plants in this karst area send ing. The whole crew did meet up their roots down through the with Patricia “Trish” Beddows, a rock and the cave until they Canadian hydrogeologist who was hit water. just finishing up a field trip with her The fourth day it was the students. She had been so kind as to same crews, with Barb, Mike mark all of the food left over from and I going to Katu Balam their stay and thereby transfer it over and the other two crews go- to our group in the kitchen at CEA. ing to Pulpo. This day ended We all went out to one of the local up being sort of a mop-up eateries and shared stories. for all of us, and we were Our third day of caving, March all able to mostly punch out 29, was somewhat of a repeat of the each of the caves to complete previous day as far as teams and the maps. Chris’s crew did Barbara Luke and Juan Laden under the skylight entrance to Katu Balam. Mike Pugliese. locations. Barb, Mike, and I first some loops that took them returned to Santa Cruz to remove at one point into some tight all of our survey markers and do crawls, and they ended up return- of sketching. The water, though cool some photography. Then we began ing to the Seven Skylights Room, enough to be refreshing, was warm the survey of Katu Balam. The other which in the end actually had nine enough for us to spend long periods two crews were over at Pulpo map- skylights but, in deference to Gil’s submerged, but by the end of the day ping lots more passage, with Bill nomenclature, kept the Seven Sky- we were getting chilled from hours Plaut joining Peter’s crew and Gil lights name. This had been mapped of being in up to our necks. Harmon doing recon. Gil remarked, the day before, and it was noted that After four days of surveying, “It is sure great to see you guys do the ceiling in the skylight area was the totals from all teams were still a proper survey, but it doesn’t look less than a meter thick. The biggest slightly above a kilometer a day, like much fun to do.” The Pulpo skylight was about 2 meters across, which was cause for celebration. crews were finding out the chal- and some of them had trees grow- Not that we needed any excuse. lenges of surveying passage that ing in them. Peter and Ryan spent a In the evenings we did the daily could exceed 30 meters wide with lot of time and added many meters data-entry and checked our surveys intermediate wall partitions and to the survey in the vast 747 Room against the line plots to make sure area before they played out there were no “issues” with our Barbara Luke in the jungle. Mike Pugliese. that end of Pulpo. Meanwhile surveys. Short of an occasional “beer my crew was up to our necks entry error,” things were shaping up in swimming passage with nicely, and it was great to see what crotch-deep guano and rot- we were adding to the overall area ting fruit dropped by bats. of mapped cave. The water was often so full of root hairs that one wondered arch 31 saw some shuffling of if there were scary things Mthe crews. Both vehicles first about. We surveyed to the went to Puerto Aventuras, and we last room, where Barb had to picked up Liliana Viola at our ren- sit on my knee while I braced dezvous with Gil. Peter and I teamed between the ceiling and the with Liliana, who hails from Uru- root-muck pile to give her guay and is married to a cave diver support enough to use both in the area. She had started out cave hands to sketch. I was really diving, but after having children thankful for the StenLight, as found it too stressful and decided to it was a real aid in lighting try air caves instead. We were going up the cave for that last bit to do some mapping at Sistema Sac 93 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mul, a cave that had been mapped a airflow, and then we got to a large few years earlier by Canadians from lake. This ended up sumping, and it the Alberta Speleological Society. An could be a good lead for the divers. entrance at the west end of Sac Mul Liliana filed this information away was actually a large collapse, and we for future reference. Heading back were able to work our way around to the main passage, we ventured the collapse while staying under the off to the right, but left it going in a drip line. On the far side we headed mazy area of columns. back into continuing passage via Barbara, Gary, and Mike went into the Termitarium Entrance. This led another cave shown to them by Gil westward to another entrance in a that might connect to the Sac Mul collapsed sink, which we named system. Chris, Raquel, and Ryan the Ant Lion Entrance. This col- went to a cave with a large entrance lapse appeared to separate Sac Mul that got it named Google Cave due from the next passage segment to to its visibility on imagery. In order the west, but we still had a passage to tie it in to the survey of Pulpo, to explore in the vicinity of the Ant they had to do an overland survey Lion Entrance. This passage was across the collapse, which required wide and spacious, and soon split. getting out the tape, because they We went to the left, and it soon got had difficulties with the laser in the quite hot and humid, indicating no foliage. Google turned out to be a Mike Pugliese.

XCARET AREA CAVES PLAYA DEL CARMEN, QUINTANA ROO

LINE PLOTS PREPARED BY PETER SPROUSE APRIL 2011

SURVEYS BY: ALBERTA SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY PAA MUL GROTTO, NSS ASSOCIATION FOR MEXICAN CAVE STUDIES

Sistema Sac Mul NT Gruta Escondida de Tara

Cueva Mordida Cueva Abejas de Hormiga

C. Elvis Sistema Pulpo C. Higo Sistema Fuera de Lugar

Cueva Google

Cueva Manos y Rodillos

0 1 2

kilometers

94 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 collapse with a large tree about a that we called Bone Spur meter across. It occurred to Chris and Bony A. These opened that most of the jungle in the area is into the same collapse as recent growth. Later, Gil told Chris the Termitarium Entrance. that there had been a big fire years Meanwhile, Chris and Ryan back, which might explain why the stayed and surveyed Broken jungle seemed to be so immature. Pot Cave and then headed While Chris and crew were tying up back over to a small entrance Google Cave and Peter, Liliana, and that they had passed the I were doing the Ant Lion Entrance day before. Inside, it was a area to Sac Mul, Barb and crew had little too small for the likes gone to the Tree Frog Entrance, of Gil, but it did open up in named for the red-eyed green tree places. Over all, it was a bit frog in the entrance. The cave that crawly compared to other this led into was named Fuera de caves nearby, and it ended Lugar, because the kind of passages up being christened Cueva it contained seemed out of place with Manos y Rodillas (Hands others in the area. and Knees Cave). It trended On April 1, half of the crew, Barb, parallel to Google with just Gary, Mike, and Raquel, decided to about 10 meters separating take a day off to go see the ruins at them. Tulum and Cobá. The rest of us met After returning from cav- up with Gil again and then went out ing that day, some of the to Broken Pot Cave, where some crew got in some snorkeling remnants of Maya pottery and a and turtle watching. But by stuccoed altar were all that was that time I was feeling a little Raquel Aguilar in the lake room with the lol- left after the pothunters had gone sick, so I decided just to rest. lipops in Sistema Fuera de Lugar. Chris Lloyd. through. After our little tour of that, Unfortunately, I missed the Peter and I went on to survey some one day when the wind was down the group kitchen organizing the more in the Sac Mul area, where and the water relatively clear for cooking of breakfast for everyone, we decided to map two “shelter” diving. so he was up especially early that caves, Cueva Higo and Cueva Elvis, morning. Peter, Gary, and Mike were that actually had decent amounts of e got up and out early the going to the ATV park to continue passage going off the sides of large Wnext morning, our seventh mapping in a cave from the Novem- surface collapses. Then we went on day of caving, since the crew that ber trip, Sistema Kana Kiwi. [The to Sac Mul to continue mapping in was going to the ATV park was sup- November trip is reported in the the western extension. We worked posed to get there before 8:00 a.m. to article on Sistema del Tercer Ojo in in a mazy area of loops and columns avoid running into customers. For this issue.] They mapped most of the that added two additional entrances several mornings Gary had been in remaining leads there, then started another cave closer to the highway. Sistema Dos Arboles took off to the northwest and showed signs of collapse and fill from highway construction. They passed under a number of additional entrances and left a number of going passages. In the meantime, two crews, Barb and I and Chris, Raquel, and Ryan went to Sistema Fuera de Lugar, via the Tree Frog Entrance, splitting up the right and left sides that hadn’t been done on the first day. We were trying to head toward other systems to link up with them, but that was not to be. Barb and I took the right side and ended up finding another very small entrance and then spending the rest of the day spiraling

Mike Pugliese in Sistema Kana Kiwi. Peter Sprouse.

95 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

down below the Tree Frog Entrance the drip line, but couldn’t through multiple layers of massive manage that, so this became breakdown. That made for difficult a new cave that they named surveying, as there are no real walls Cueva Mordida de Hormiga. in such a three-dimensional maze. They surveyed northwest Chris’s crew did a little crawling and from this entrance, which then got into very decorated and was called Cueva V, and left open cave with lakes and lollipop it going. Barb, Mike, and I speleothems that indicated a higher continued spiraling around water table in the past. below the Tree Frog Entrance Peter had arranged for us to meet in the breakdown, with nice that evening with a couple of local decorations in places. By cave divers, Italian Alex Reato and this time it was becoming Canadian Dennis Weeks. They enter- clear that we were in a deep, tained us with stories of the politics cone-shaped collapse feature in the cave diving scene. below the entrance, where On April 3, Peter and Ryan went there must have been a large, back to the west end of Sac Mul, deep void that created the where a collapse separates it from pile of breakdown blocks the next cave to the west, which they where we had been survey- named Cueva Abejas. They began ing now for two days. In the survey of Abejas, which is a cave the upper part of the cave that is generally about 50 meters there don’t seem to be leads wide, but it is divided by columns toward the northwest or east and partitions, requiring extensive toward Cueva Abejas. But lateral mapping. It trends westward lower down in the break- toward Sistema Fuera de Lugar, but down maze there are still lots Roots and calcite in Kana Kiwi. Mike Pugliese. an intervening collapse may prevent of leads, with possibilities in a connection. Barb, Mike, and I, and several directions. Secreto office. Tania is a very expe- Chris, Gary, and Raquel went back rienced caver, having participated to Fuera de Lugar, where Chris’s n April 4, we put Raquel on a with Gustavo Vela in the mapping group promptly headed into their Obus in Puerto Aventuras; she of that cave. Peter, Ryan, and Tania Northwest Passage area and popped was catching a flight back to Mexico went back to the Ant Lion Entrance out at another entrance, the Jungle City that day. Meanwhile we picked area of Sac Mul to try to find a con- Skirt Entrance. They were hoping up Liliana in Puerto Aventuras and nection westward that would stay to keep their survey underneath Tania Ramírez, who works at the Río under the drip line over to Cueva Abejas. They narrowed the gap, March – April 2011 Quintana Roo expedition survey totals mapping a small cave off the col- (not including surface surveys) lapse that they named Bruno after Cave name Length (m) Depth (m) Length* Entrances Tania’s dog, but did not make the SISTEMA PULPO 4055 15 10 connection. They then moved west into Cueva Abejas to map more loops SISTEMA FUERA DE LUGAR 1651 12 3 there, and Ryan learned sketching in SISTEMA DOS ARBOLES 1161 8 12 this cave. Liliana joined Barb and me SISTEMA KATU BALAM 861 10 3 to continue mapping the layer cake below the entrance of Fuera de Lu- CUEVA DE LAS ABEJAS 781 9 2 gar. At every turn more cave opened SISTEMA SAC MUL 754 15 2769 ? up, and just figuring out where to CUEVA MORDIDA DE HORMIGA 550 14 1 set stations was daunting. There was lots of scouting, backtracking, SISTEMA KANA KIWI 296 6 1096 3 and finding ways to make loops that CUEVA GOOGLE 295 10 4 didn’t create an excessive number CUEVA MANOS Y RODILLAS 277 19 3 of stations. Chris, Gary, and Mike went to Cueva Mordida de Hormiga, CUEVA OLLA QUEBRADA 129 5 3 mapping the main passage and the CUEVA DE ELVIS 94 3 1 Sandbox area. They made good CUEVA DEL HIGO 86 3 1 progress to the northwest, increasing the likelihood of connecting to CUEVA DE BRUNO 85 7 1 Total 11075 Gruta Escondida de Tara. April 5 was the day that Chris * including previous surveys was to fly home to Guadalajara, so 96 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

off of the same collapse, but of data entry lubricated with beer. are connected in at least one Peter would plot the day’s surveys area underground. Ryan’s and total the amounts. A beautiful team had lots of passage to picture on the computer screen with survey to the north, overlap- different colored lines for all of the ping into passage explored caves put things in perspective. It is by Gil many years earlier. an amazing thing to be able to spend They mapped under several the day surveying and then see the new entrances and cenotes, line plot of the cave and actually including Entradas Kirsty recognize stations and the twists and MacColl, Sanitario, Creep- turns of the cave that you had just ing Death, and Cerveza. spent the day in. We traded photos Barb’s team mapped the area and started packing, since we were around the west and south going to have to leave fairly early sides of the Dos Arboles colin the morning for the trip to the lapse and eastward to a sec- airport. ond collapse that contained the Dos Piernas and Opilión e had spent an intense twelve Entrances. In the past couple Wdays in Quintana Roo, with of days, some of the crew ten days of caving and over 11 kilo- had begun to exhibit respi- meters of mapped passage to show ratory distress similar to for it. Up to the date of our arrival, what I had contracted at the there were some 40 kilometers of beginning of the trip. Peter, total mapped passage of dry cave Ryan, and Barb all got some in the state, so we had just added 25 of the mung that Ryan called percent more to the total. And there Chris Lloyd taking notes in Cueva Mordida de the sickness spawned in the is plenty left to do. Hormiga. Mike Pugliese. dumpsters of Wyoming, We had an uneventful drive back due to my propensity for up the concrete highway to Cancún. he took the shuttle up to the airport dumpster diving. Poor Barb had We dropped off the rental car and got in the afternoon. On our tenth and lost her voice a few days earlier, so taken back to the airport, where we last day of caving, we went back to we ended up repeating the survey continued to edit the cave data while the ATV park. The crews were Ryan data quite a bit during our work in eating overpriced burgers at Jimmy (sketching again), Gary, and Peter the caves. The last two days we had Buffett’s Margaritaville. I was eating mapping north in Sistema Dos Ar- a party of three, so there was a bit of my boiled eggs and thinking about boles, and Barb, Mike, and I working relaying messages. how I was going to save enough to the south. These passages all go That night was the usual scene money for the next trip.

Espeleología en las Costas del Caribe

Espeleólogos de los Estados Unidos y México topografiaron 11 kilómetros de pasajes no sumergidos en Quintana Roo a finales de marzo y principios de abril de 2011, aumentando la longitud de los pasajes no inundados ex- plorados en el estado en un 25%. Las cuevas más largas fueron el Sistema Pulpo, con 4055 metros, y el Sistema Fuera de Lugar, con 1651 metros.

97 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

the nineteen-second shaft Múzquiz, coahuila

Dan Green

sing aerial photos and Google rigged and mapped about 30 meters only ledge in the cave where you UEarth, Peter Sprouse found before the trip ran out of time. The can stand up, a tiny interruption promising new caving areas near small 1-by-2-meter elliptical en- in the shaft at –230 meters they the town of Múzquiz in the northern trance sits on flat ground beneath a called Ledge 4-2, since it was only Mexican state of Coahuila. Initial gnarled oak; it would go unnoticed big enough for two cavers. Where recce trips had followed GPS coor- unless you walked within 4 meters Matt ran out of rope, he spotted a dinates to many new pit entrances, of it. Geoff Hoese, Colin Massey, rocky floor about 30 meters down. and a few caving trips had already and I took a crack at it on the first It sounded a lot like the cobble floor mapped fifty pits, some hundreds day of caving, but got chased off we’d found a few days earlier in of meters deep. At the end of May the plateau by sweat-hunting bees. another deep cave a few hundred 2010, I joined cavers from Canada, The bees were a problem all week, meters away, where the shaft just Mexico, and the US for exploration all over. They especially liked Colin jogged 10 meters and continued in the Los Ojos area west of Múzquiz. and followed him 25 meters down down, so this was encouraging. We camped off the main arroyo, Poseidon’s entrance rope, caus- The following day was the last along an oxbow on a remote ranch ing temporary insanity. When we day of the trip. Philip Rykwalder, road where thick thorn forests climb finally bailed, the bees followed Elliot Stahl, Paul Bryant, and I took slopes and thin out on the scrubby, him halfway down the arroyo back a hundred more meters of rope and flat-topped mesas where all the pits to camp. headed down Poseidon, vowing to are. We mapped twenty-one new After a bee-free attempt in Pozo finish the cave or rig all the rope and caves, including a cluster of the Poseidon a few days later deepest pits near Texas. that left cavers at the end of Matt Oliphant in Pozo Poseidon. Peter Sprouse. Peter had advised us that the caves their ropes 100 meters down, in Múzquiz are all vertical, so we’d an excited team led by Geoff arrived with six hammer drills, piles stumbled into camp and an- of maillons and bolts, and several nounced that rocks were still kilometers of rope. There were also falling for nineteen seconds. a half-dozen sketchers along to keep Everybody laughed. “Well, survey teams mapping. Throughout there are a few bounces,” he the week there were always a few replied, but then guaranteed deep caves on the go. They were that the shaft would drop mainly just big shafts with a few for another two hundred flattish spots to break up endless meters. Nineteen seconds, hours hanging in a harness. These two hundred meters—those caves are so predominantly vertical are big, crazy numbers. But, that each ledge gets a name. as it turned out, they were On the previous trip to the area, right. a pit called Pozo Poseidon had been Peter and Matt Oliph- ant gave it a go next and [email protected] spent twelve hours on rope, A version of this article appeared mapping and rigging down in Canadian Caver 73, January 2011, to –250 meters. After Matt pages 26–29. There is also an article had changed the rigging to on this project in the October 2010 avoid Skull Crusher Ledge, NSS News. they eventually reached the 98 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 leave it going for the next trip. Paul in Coahuila. We derigged, went in an hour before me with the with each of us eventually hammer drill and all the rope, so hauling about 100 meters when I dropped in he was already of rope. I gingerly inched rigging new territory. The shaft bells across the anchors to avoid out beneath the entrance to about 6 knocking anything down on meters in diameter and then slowly Elliot and Philip below, and corkscrews downward, so neither somewhere above me Paul Paul below nor the entrance above was doing the same. was visible. The walls were as loose and shattered as earlier teams had uch of the caving over described; Matt had advised us not Mthe week was like that, to breathe on anything. Twenty min- though most of the other utes later a few microscopic zingers caves were solid and less started to whiz by, and I knew Philip stressful. There were lots and Elliot were on rope above. I of short and blind pits that worked my way down the lines were quickly GPSed, rigged, and eventually could see the lights and mapped. Farther along from the rest of my team, strung out on the same mesa as Posei- on the nylon jungle gym rebelayed don was Pozo Los Arcos, the and redirected countless times up most enjoyable vertical cave Dan Green in Pozo los Arcos. Elliot Stahl. and down the entire length of the I’ve explored—big, clean, shaft. Matt had done an incredible soaring pitches with solid bedrock sketch, with one instrument/tape job keeping the rope off the delicate all of the way down. It was split up person following me. Stationed at a walls. Soon I reached Ledge 4-2 and nicely with ledges and bottomed out bolt, I’d cross over and wait for the could communicate with Paul, who in a blowing constriction at –298 me- tape to be clipped to the rope above had rigged to the floor and found it ters. If cavers start visiting the area and lowered to me, then record the to be the bottom of the cave. What to drop pits, Arcos is sure to become instrument readings by the person we had hoped was a cobble-floored a classic. With few places to get off above. Then we’d descend to the ledge was a mud-sump floor com- rope, the vertical exploration in next bolt and repeat. It was fast and pletely covered in the freshly shat- these caves is entirely different from efficient, and I really enjoyed it. tered rock that riggers had been other kinds of caving. We’d use one During the week Peter recce’d knocking down the shaft all week. rigger out front with a drill and the another area at a higher elevation We all bottomed and finished the rope, and this worked well as long and found another cluster of pits last 50 meters of survey. The entire as there was enough rope carried and a nice campsite. The mesa land- cave, from the small entrance to to the front. Surveying was differ- scape looks endless, and Peter an- the mud floor, was a single shaft ent, as only two people can really ticipates decades of good caving in 288 meters deep, the deepest shaft work on it. I’d follow the rigger and Múzquiz. The ranchers who own the property are excited that, after all their years of working the land, somebody else finds it interesting too. The local TV network in Múzquiz knows when Peter is in town and sends camera crews for interviews. But recently planned trips to the area have been postponed because of the growing instability in the region. Violence, especially near the border, among warring drug cartels has claimed over thirty thousand lives this past decade, with more than five thousand murders in 2010 alone. The short drive to Múzquiz from Aus- tin crosses into Mexico at Piedras Negras, between Nuevo Laredo and Juárez, both hotspots. The local police in Múzquiz intercepted our

Dan Green in the entrance to Pozo los Arcos. Elliot Stahl. 99 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

0 m Entrada

POZO QUE NO ES

-25 m Muzquiz, Coahuila Topogra ado con Suuntos y cinta 27 y 28 de Noviembre 2010 12 y 13 de Febrero 2010 30 de Mayo 2010 -50 m por Aimee Beveridge, Andrea Croskrey, Joe Datri, Jose Fernandez, Nt Jean Krejca, David Ochel, Matt Oliphant, Mauricio Perezgomez, Mark Sanders, Matt Zappitello, y Saj Zappitello

Dibujado por David Ochel, 2010

Profundidad: 298 m -100 m Simbología PEP

Per l 220º

pasaje de “boneyard”

-150 m 32

The Evil Rock Pit

-200 m

Pasaje del Parto

Pozo de Ronquidos -250 m

-298 m

0 m 12.5 m 25 m 2010-07-2201 escala doble!

100 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Entrance 0 ENTRADA 0 POZO LOS ARCOS MÚZQUIZ, COAHUILA LONGITUD: 330 M PROFUNDIDAD: 298 M outline of 20 lower levels TOPOGRAFIADO CON SUUNTOS Y CINTA PAUL BRYANT, DAN GREEN, VINCE MASSEY, ELLIOT STAHL 31 DE MAYO - 2 DE JUNIO 2010 40 DIBUJADO POR DAN GREEN

50 NT

0 10 20 80 METROS

FIRST LEDGE NT (plan sections)

100 100 DEPTH: 288 METERS AND PETER SPROUSE GEOFF HOESE BY DRAWN Grim Looming Rock of Death Skull Crusher Ledge 1 120 2 SCORPION LEDGES 0 5 10 3 METERS

140

150

160

PROFILE: 90 DEGREE VIEW PERFIL: VISTA 270 GRADOS

180 JOE DATRI, DAN GREEN, GEOFF HOESE, MATT OLIPHANT, RON RUTHERFORD, PHILIP RYKWALDER, PETER SPROUSE, TERRI SPROUSE, ELLIOTT STAHL, BILL STEPHENS BILL STAHL, TERRI SPROUSE, ELLIOTT PETER SPROUSE, RYKWALDER, RON RUTHERFORD, PHILIP OLIPHANT, DAN GREEN, GEOFF HOESE, MATT JOE DATRI, 2010 - MAY FEBRUARY SURVEY TAPE AND SUUNTO 200

200

COBBLE LEDGE

220

Ledge 4-2

240

MUZQUIZ, COAHUILA

- 250 260

280

air

POZO POSEIDON 288 METERS 300 METROS

101 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

caravan of Toyotas before clearing us to proceed to the mountains, and did the same as we passed back through on the way to Austin. The worsening situation has slowed the stream of cavers driving into Mexico.

Mike Pugliese, Paul Bryant, and Joe Datri hike on the mesa. Peter Sprouse.

El Tiro de Diecinueve Segundos, Múzquiz, Coahuila.

Al oeste de Múzquiz, en la zona de Los Ojos, hay mesetas de caliza con muchas cuevas con un desarrollo esencialmente vertical. Du- rante una campaña en esa zona, espeleólogos de Canadá, México y los EE.UU. topografiaron veintiún cuevas nuevas, incluyendo una donde las rocas caían por diecinueve segundos, pero rebotando en repisas. Desafortunadamente, debido a las condiciones imperantes en el norte de México, no hay planes para regresar a la zona en el corto o mediano plazo.

102 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

la cueva de toscano: A most unusual cave

John Pint

hen bat researcher Leonel out our tape, compass, and clinom- its food in about fifteen minutes. “I WAyala invited me to visit a eter and began surveying. Well, the read about this cave in a book on cave he had found overlooking Lake floor of this crack was slanted up- Mexican bats,” said Leonel. “The Chapala, I figured it had to be typical ward at an angle of about 49 degrees, author visited this cave decades of every other cave I’ve seen in the and when we got up to the very top ago.” Leonel’s bat book is called Los area: a closet-size hole that only gets we found ourselves standing in the Murciélagos de México, by Bernardo dark at night. However, when he doorway of a big room 8 meters high Villa (UNAM, 1966). So far this book casually added that he’d appreciate with horizontal passages going off has successfully led us to two caves my help in surveying and mapping in two directions. “What?” I gasped. we knew nothing about, so I would Cueva de Toscano, I figured his cave “Leonel, this looks like a real cave— say the cavers of the world should might even turn out to be two or why didn’t you tell us?” Leonel, look into sources like this for redis- three closets long. Well, I was in for however, was too busy watching the covering long-forgotten caves. a big surprise. screen of his video camera to answer While Leonel took notes on the One day Leonel and I picked me. He had lit up the roof of the big bats’ behavior, Luis and I went off to up caver Luis Rojas and drove off room, which was in total darkness, survey the passage on the left, whose toward the town of Jamay, Jalisco, with invisible infrared light and was walls were slanted at a 51-degree which is located at the eastern end watching the antics of the many bats angle. Here we spotted several of Lake Chapala. We parked in roosting there. Zooming in on two of flat spiders of the sort you’re more front of a lakeside restaurant, and these playful creatures, we could see likely to find crawling on the rocks Leonel went off to talk to the owner every one of their whiskers of the land on the other side of the in perfect focus. Leonel also Luis Rojas and Leonel Ayala at the entrance highway. “We have permission to had a device that lowers the to Cueva de Toscano. John Pint. visit the cave,” he announced a frequency of the bats’ voices little while later, and off we went. to within human range, so we After working our way through a could all hear the chattering, grapefruit orchard, we came to a high twittering, and whistling of promontory overgrown by a giant the socializing, quarreling amate tree whose tendril-like roots and love-making that was formed a bizarre kind of Chinese going on above us. What a string curtain. show! The trail took us to a higher point We learned that there are from which we could see the lake in two kinds of bats living in all its glory. A little higher yet, at an this cave, both rather re- elevation of 1650 meters, we came to markable. One of them is a fissure in the rock, 2 meters wide. Pallas’s long-tongued bat “This is it,” said Leonel. (Glossophaga soricina), fa- Aha, I thought, just a crack. That’s mous for having the fastest about all you can expect in volcanic metabolism of any mam- conglomerate like this. But we took mal in the world, similar to that of a hummingbird. The [email protected] other is the Jamaican fruit Reprinted from www.saudicaves bat (Artibeus jamaicensis), .com/mx/toscano/. This web page one of the world’s most ef- also contains a video of the bats taken ficient mammals in terms of by infrared light. food digestion. It processes 103 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

alongside Río Caliente. you avoid sleeping “under the good old stars” in Mexico, and that goes e also discovered a chinche for sleeping in caves too. Believe it Whocicona on the wall, a blood- or not, we put up tents when we do sucking vinchuca or assassin bug. sleep underground. This is the dreaded Triatoma infestans, Fortunately, the chinche hocicona which transmits trypanosomiasis or doesn’t bother people who are wide Chagas disease, the infirmity that awake and moving around, so we laid Charles Darwin in his tomb. weren’t worried and carried on our These bugs have radar-like heat sen- survey. sors in their antennae and subsist on a diet of blood. They’re most com- s soon as we crawled into the mon in South America, where they Aright-hand passage, we knew typically glide into your bedroom this cave was something out of the on air currents, inject a quarter-inch ordinary. We found ourselves in an long needle into your neck and suck almost square tunnel 75 centime- John Pint pursues assassin bug with out up to seven times their body ters wide by 85 high and perfectly camera. Luis Rojas. weight in blood. Then, uncouth straight. Normally this means you visitors that they are, they defecate are in a man-made passage inside on nubs sticking out of a wall. That’s on your skin, thus depositing the a mine, but this tunnel in Toscano where I turned around, but climb- parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which Cave showed no sign of chiseling ers Luis and Leonel took over the up to twenty years later, might give or chopping. We followed it for 12 survey. you a heart attack. As there is no cure meters to a room where we had to On the other side of the water for Chagas disease, according to the walk above a deep crack half filled were passages heading left and University of Texas, I recommend with water, supporting our weight right, and once again they were

104 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

The chinche hocicona or assassin bug. John Pint. Jamaican fruit bat. John Pint.

Luis Rojas in a square passage. John Pint. square crawlways like the I was standing outside of and first. The left branch ended above the cave entrance when I abruptly after 27 meters, suddenly saw Leonel’s head pop up while the right-hand one right out of the ground. A weird cave curved around toward the indeed it turned out to be, with a cave’s entrance and actu- total of 118 meters of passages, most ally passed underneath the of them nearly square and about a entrance fissure, only to end meter high and wide . . . mighty sus- at the foot of a 9-meter-high picious, eh? Well, we are waiting for tube about a meter in di- the experts to explain it all to us. ameter.

La Cueva de Toscano: una cueva bastante inusual junto al lago de Chapala

La Cueva de Toscano es una pequeña cueva en conglom- erado volcánico. Contiene dos especies de murciélagos, y en las paredes hay chinches hociconas (o vinchucas). La mayor parte de los pasajes son gateras de perfil cuadrado con altura y anchura menores a 1 metro cada una, y una segunda entrada es un tiro inclinado de 9 metros.

105 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

the encounter of the long count keeper Barb MacLeod 1972

Old the dust that sifts upon the altar older still; “But come, let’s hurry on,” he called, “you said you came to A thousand years since man stood here or walked beneath this learn;” hill; The torch I carried flickered low; it hadn’t long to burn; Above, the tangled forest wild where once the temples stood, On and on, my mind adrift on seas of fallen stones But here the tendrils never reach, nor falls the rotting wood. That broke on shores of oozing mud that hungered for my bones.

Old the bowls where incense burned, and older yet the stones; “But what about the sun o’erhead, the great and mossy trees, They whisper, warn to not disturb the endless sleep of bones; The moon, the wind, the stars, the rain, why can’t I learn from Deep and black, the river calls; the Maya answered then; these?” The water spirits beckon still to those who venture in. “You shall meet them all;” he said, “you’ll come to know them well, I chose this cave where spirits dwell to find the finest thread But hurry, for your torch burns low, and with it ends the spell.” That takes me to the edge of things where wisdom lies ahead; For this place I could not prepare; by unperceived design The shadows rose, and with me travelled now the taunting phantom I stood before the altar there and waited for a sign. fear; The torch became too short to hold; he said, “I leave you here. The writing on the mossy stone the ancients did incise; Perhaps you’ll find a vaulted room where daylight trickles in; It danced and faded, and it touched somewhere behind my eyes; The damp green moss and songs of birds could guide your foot- Above the glowing coals I raised my trembling fingers high, steps then.” And there let fall the white copal that calls the spirits nigh. I watched the scattered embers fade, the dying of the light; The pungent smoke curled upward, casting shadows on the wall; And now my silent universe was filled with starless night; My shadow, solitary, stood—but I was not alone at all! But through my resignation came the challenge of his words: I could not breathe; the air was thick with breath that reeked of Perhaps I’d find the sunlit room, perhaps I’d hear the birds . . . . slime; “I’ve come,” said he, “and now with me you’ll cross the edge of Now plunged into total darkness, on I groped along the ground, time.” But suddenly I saw the crack where sunlight filtered down! I cried for joy and scrambled on; the rocks below me rolled, My hardhat and my carbide lamp he made me leave behind; The air was thick with mist, the sun a flash of cherished gold. With pitch-pine torch I stumbled down to where the stream does wind; Before me now a narrow path around the breakdown wound, Chill and black, the water stood; I shuddered but stepped in; Where tracks of many unshod feet impressed in dust I found; From rock to rock I waded as he drew me from within. . . . And rows of jars in shadow waited, catching dripping water clear Collected for the month Muan, the fifteenth of the year. The powdered marble stalagmites before me seemed to grow; Behind me, silently, they moved—but this I did not know; I climbed to meet the tangled vines with birdsong overhead; The vampires bared their needle teeth and fluttered past my head; Ecstatic as I found the trail that through the forest led; “Behold, the bat god welcomes you,” my unseen guide then said. But when I’d reached the ridge beyond, my unbelieving eyes Across the emerald valley saw the gleaming temples rise. “Take heed, do not be frightened here; you know these caverns well; So now at last, the play unfolds; I’ve crossed the edge of time; Your eyes have marked the way back out; you’ll have a tale to It’s counted out by twenties now, in cycles sung to rhyme; tell.” So many things to ask of them: How did the world begin? I’d told myself these words before; I grappled with them now, And what do all these pictures say? How will the katun end? But terror seized the moment and I turned—I know not how. For this I’d learned their words for wind, and stars, and rain as The cave behind looked strange to me, as strange as that ahead. well; “They look the same exactly,” my guide, then laughing, said; I wonder will these Maya old their secrets to me tell? “The way in is the way back out, outside your mind or in; I’ve journeyed from beneath the earth, a stranger strayed afar; It’s just another way to go back where we all begin.” Perhaps I’ll learn to count the days in pictures, as they are.

I’d had enough; I started back—it seemed to matter then, The dusty lamp and hardhat speak a muted mystery. But every lead I followed only took me deeper in; How came I then to leave them here, and where then can I be? “And so, the joke,” he laughed aloud, “you’re here, you’re where Old the dust that sifts upon the altar older still, you are; But how long since I stood there, or walked beneath this hill? For once you’ve let go of the past, you cannot go too far.”

106 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

caves of the juquila canyon area, oaxaca

Marco Mecchia and Leonardo Piccini

The text is from part of a longer left (looking downstream) join the article on the geology and caves of the Juquila Canyon canyon in the upstream section of area in the technical supplement to Kur The watercourse flowing inside the gorge, further subdividing the Magazine number 7, published by the the canyon originates on the lime- western part of the highland. The La Venta Esplorazioni Geographiche stone area, enters the range at an canyon sides are sheer, sometimes group in 2006. The area map is from elevation of approximately 1950 forming almost vertical walls that that article. The cave maps and table are meters, flows across it northward reach up more than 500 meters. the supplement to Kur number 8, June for a first stretch, and then, with During the dry season, in winter, 2007. Together the two supplements con- a sudden bend, heads eastward; the water in the main canyon is a stitute “A Synthesis on the Knowledge finally, after having covered ap- modest stream all the way down to of the Karst Phenomenon of the Juquila proximately 40 kilometers, it leaves La Huerta springs, located at an eleva- Canyon, Oaxaca, Mexico.” the limestone massif at 800 meters tion of approximately 1200 meters. The Río Juquila is spelled Xiquila on elevation and joins the Río Salado. The tributaries are normally dry. some maps. Two important tributaries from the Several springs gush out from

107 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

108 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

109 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

both sides of the riverbed at La phreatic features. Both this passage in elevation. The range contains Huerta. In this area, in fact, the in- and the other fossil caves explored rounded crests covered by woody cision of the canyon has reached a in the canyon are probably relicts vegetation, particularly on the north- less permeable formation, made up of an ancient phreatic drainage net facing slopes. The highland’s sides of limestone reefs alternating with collecting the waters that filtered are covered with detrital deposits, marl and sandstones that underlie down from the highland. Then their particularly thick and wide in the the strongly karstified limestone flows were cut and deactivated by lower bands. that forms the upstream stretch of the deepening of the canyon. All explored caves are concen- the canyon and the highland. Another interesting, well-known trated in two areas: Cerro Tequelite One of the spring outlets, the cave is located in the secondary (TK zone) and Mahuizapan (MZ Grotta-Sorgente (GS), located on the canyon of the Río Grande, which zone) a little to the north. All fifteen left side, may be explored for about penetrates into the limestone massif caves explored are located in the 70 meters to a terminal sump. Dur- near the village of Puerto Mixteco. higher areas, mostly close to the ing the winter of 2003, its flow was We are talking about Puente Colosal crests and in areas of gentle slopes a few tens of liters per second. The (PC), a natural 250-meter-long tun- around 2600 meters in elevation. For total flow in the area of springs is not nel. This imposing passage, located the most part they are relicts of verti- known, but it is significant even in on the valley floor, is 50 meters high cal caves, intersected by erosion and the driest periods. According to the and never less than 15 meters wide. showing clear signs of senescence, available information, there doesn’t Ñuiñe paintings and inscriptions as decaying stalactite and stalagmite seem to be much difference between are present on the gallery walls; the deposits clearly demonstrate. The the flow of the dry season and that archaeological studies date them longest cave is MZ-2, at an elevation of the wet one. to before the Conquest, between of 2600 meters on the southern crest Along the canyon, besides the AD 300 and 800. Today the cave is of Cerro Pericón. This cave consists Grotta-Sorgente, several cave en- completely dry, but in the past it of some parallel interconnected trances may be spotted, both close evidently carried a big stream. shafts with flowstone walls. In the to the riverbed and on its steep sides. The Grande Traforo (GT), just isolated highland section south of the Upstream of La Huerta, at elevations downstream of La Huerta, is 100 me- Puente Colosal canyon we explored between 550 and 580 meters, four ters long and still an active river cave. the 20-meter-deep JQ-5 pit, located openings cut by erosion have been It may give an idea of the origin and close to the top of the ridge, at an explored. These are short passages appearance of the Puente Colosal at elevation of 2600 meters. up to 10 meters in diameter, most the time of its formation. probably ancient conduits of phreatic Right-side (east) origin, that are plugged by fluvial Left-side (west) highland deposits after a few meters. The only highland This highland is characterized by cave with a significant development The western section of the high- plateaus that present, in contrast to is Cueva Dos Ojos (DO), located on land consists of a 15-kilometer- what may be found on the left-side the left side almost 300 meters above long range connecting, from south highland, several wide and shallow the active springs. This is an almost- to north, Cerro Tequelite, Cerro dolines and some collapse hollows. straight, dry passage a little more Pericón, and Cerro Verde, the lat- Twenty-six caves have been explored than 1 kilometer long, also showing ter reaching almost 3000 meters in this area, most of which have a vertical development explainable as relict caves cut by surface erosion. Some occasionally active sinkholes are also present, but they may be followed for only short distances. The explored caves are concentrated in two areas: Cerro Granudo (CG zone) PUENTE COLOSAL in the northwest, in the municipio of (NDAXAGUA) Tepelmeme, surveyed in 2003, and Mpo. Tepelmeme de Llano la Cumbre, in the southeast Morelos, Oaxaca (IX and TSA zones), in the municipio UTM 14 6 82990 E, 19 84800 N of Santa María Ixcatlán, surveyed elevation 1790 m in 2006. length 255 m, depth 37 m Cerro Granudo. The longest cave is the Sótano de la Laguna Prieta Survey: A. De Vivo, U. Vaca, (CG-3) located near the top of Cerro Expedición Juquila 2002 Grande. The entrance consists of a Drawn by A. De Vivo wide collapse doline opening on a 140-meter-deep shaft, formed by (from Kur magazine #1, technical notes two joined parallel pits. A ledge supplement, p. 8, 2003) made of blocks of rock opens on 110 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

111 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

112 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

113 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

114 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

115 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

116 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 a 40-meter vertical drop to a high is a wide depression located on top gorge, a few meters wide, heading of the highland, artificially dammed southeast. A further 35-meter-deep in order to form a vast basin for pit leads into a chamber with big livestock watering. The caves are breakdown blocks on the walls. The located in the surrounding hills bottom section is partially filled with and valleys. breakdown and detrital deposits; the The longest cave in this area is gorge is definitely plugged by mud Sótano Rodeo (IX-1). It opens south- and organic material. east of the llano, in the woods, as a The other important cave is the 10-meter-diameter triangular pit. Pozo de la Vaca Ladra (CG-4), not At the base of the wide entrance far from CG-3. Its entrance, also of pit, almost 40 meters deep, a debris collapse origin, leads into a 12-meter- slope leads to drops of 4 and 10 deep pit. At its base a debris slope meters, leading to the top of the big opens through a small window onto pit, 75 meters deep. A small canyon a 100-meter vertical drop. The drop at its bottom is plugged by debris consists of an elliptical pit with a after about 20 meters, at a depth of 4-by-6-meter cross-section, decreas- 135 meters. ing to 3-by-4 at its base. A side crack For the most part, the other ex- along the generating fracture of plored caves open in the small val- the pit leads after a few meters to leys of the Terrero San Antonio, 2 to 3 a 7-meter drop, plugged by mud at kilometers north of Llano la Cumbre. the bottom. Among the caves opening on the Among the lesser caves we only sides of the small valleys, the one mention the Pozo de la Mosca Moles- having the most vertical develop- ta (CG-5), 40 meters deep, containing ment is Sótano la Calavera (TSA-6), inactive speleothems and closed by consisting of a single 77-meter-deep detrital deposits at the bottom. shaft. Llano la Cumbre. Llano la Cumbre The small valleys form small

117 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

caves show morphologies typical of convective circulation of thermal waters, with calcite covering typical dome-shaped areas. Should the observed clues be confirmed, we might think of an ancient phase of natural blind basins, aligned in a that after a dozen meters ends up in a karstification produced by the ascent north-south direction and drained chamber, where two different routes of hot fluids through fractures, and by sinkholes. Probably, before the may be followed for a maximum of therefore the two caves might be sinkholes formed and the waters got 30 meters both upstream and down- among the most ancient ones in the absorbed in the underground, they stream. The occasionally active one region. Afterwards, the two caves formed a single valley, a left-hand shows a meandering, slightly sloping would have been brought to light tributary of the Río Seco. At the course and ends up in a shallow pool by the erosion of the highland. In present time the small valleys are at –39 meters. Sumidero San Antonio, the more crossed by arroyos active only in the In the same valley, 700 meters ancient hydrothermal morpholo- wet season. By following the arroyos, downstream of TSA-15, we find the gies are locally covered by features two sinkholes were discovered and second cave, Sumidero San Anto- formed by the flow of the stream explored for a few tens of meters, nio, 100 meters long. This cave and sinking into it. Cueva Perfecto 3 (TSA-15), upstream, Cueva el Calacote (TSA-10), which All the caves described up to and Sumidero San Antonio (TSA-4), opens 2 kilometers farther west, now in this sector are in limestone, downstream. are particularly interesting for the whereas the last cave to be described Cueva Perfecto 3 starts with a study of the geological evolution of is in Tertiary conglomerates. The 20-meter pit and continues in a gorge the area. As a matter of fact, these now-isolated strips of the originally 118 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 wide conglomerate plain, several tens of meters thick, are located on the eastern edge of the highland. The Cueva de la Loma del Muerto (IX-3) Cuevas del área del Cañón Juquila, Oaxaca is found in the locally sub-horizontal reefs located on top of the forma- Espeleólogos del grupo italiano La Venta exploraron tion, which consists of limestone cuevas en el cañón del Río Juquila (o Xiquila) y también pebbles. The cave opens on a wall en las alturas en ambos lados del cañón. El artículo with two big “eyes.” The entrances resume los resultados de los viajes. lead to two ascending passages that do not connect and are completely closed after a few meters. The passages feature small chimneys in their ceilings, 1 to 2 meters wide and 3 to 4 meters high.

book review

Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover Mexican projects through 2003, and Cueva Charco, near Cheve. It was the Deepest Place on Earth. James M. part 2, much shorter, is on Alexan- misleading to write that Chris Yea- Tabor. Random House, New York; der Klimchouk and the exploration ger’s body was hauled out of Cheve 2010. ISBN 978-1-4000-6767-1. 6 by of Krubera through the same year. in three days; the whole recovery 9 inches, 286 pages, hardbound. This is especially welcome, because project took two weeks. More of $26.00. relatively little has been published them are merely annoying. Abkha- in English about that project. Part sia is not in southeastern Georgia. That guy should be on drugs. To 3 covers the expeditions of both It is actually at the opposite end of judge by the fifty-three very short teams in 2004, which is when the that country. The names of the first chapters in this book, he has an book really ends, although a short team to reach Saknussemm’s Well attention-deficit disorder. He ends afterword updates things somewhat. in Cueva Cheve are wrong. Cheve’s the tiny chapters with cliff-hangers, The Mexican caves were and still Camp 2 is not 3.1 miles from the many of them contrived. He eas- are essentially tied at about 1480 entrance. The correct distance is ily gets overexcited. Everything is meters deep. Krubera turned out 2.3 miles (3.7 kilometers). This list super—supercaves and supercavers, to be the deepest known cave by a could be extended past the point terminology I hope doesn’t catch good measure, at 2,191 meters. We of tedium. on. Sometimes he is completely out will probably never be sure where There are a lot more things that are of control. Cavers don’t go about the “deepest place on earth” really right than wrong, of course, and the “banging like human wrecking balls is, although Krubera will be hard to subject is a fascinating and, yes, excit- into rock faces.” beat. There is a sixteen-page insert of ing one. While Tabor’s enthusiasm This book is about the quest for color photos, including one that in- for the triumphs is sometimes over world-record-deep caves and es- cludes my decidedly non-supercaver the top, problems and controversies pecially about the men who have self, but the book is otherwise not have not been whitewashed. I can’t been the principal leaders in the illustrated. say that the principal characters are explorations of Sistemas Huautla I never did get used to Tabor’s seriously misrepresented. The gen- and Cheve in Oaxaca, Mexico, and giving all the dimensions of caves eral public will get an only mildly Krubera Cave in Abkhasia, Repub- in Mexico and Europe in feet, but distorted view of some hard-core ex- lic of Georgia (or not, depending I suppose it might be appropriate ploration unfamiliar to most of them, on your politics). With regard to for the unsophisticated audience for and cavers will enjoy reading it, as both caves and leaders, the goal of whom the book clearly was written. long as they’re not expecting more the author was to “compare and Of greater concern are the errors or than a lightweight writer careless of contrast,” like a feared college es- half-truths for effect. A few of them facts and more than a little given to say assignment. The first half of are significant. There was not, in fact, hyperbole.—Bill Mixon the book is about Bill Stone and the a lot of digging involved in pushing

119 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

michoacán-colima expedition December 2010–January 2011

Peter Ruplinger

his was my ninth fantastic night. 50 centimeters. They don’t worry Tcave-mapping expedition to One of our objectives on this trip me at all. What do bother me are the Coahuayana area of Mexico. The was to map El Tapasón, a cave high the tarantula-size black spiders that Coahuayana valley is on the border on the opposite side of the mountain we often see in Coahuayana caves. between Colima and Michoacán, from where we have spent the past Unlike tarantulas, they have pointed near the coast. Now that we’re back, few years mapping Cueva de La legs and delicate little fangs. Like the the questions that Kent Forman, Josh Canoa, Michoacán. [See AMCS Ac- tindarapos, they appear to be blind. Kaggie, and I are most often asked tivities Newsletter 33, pages 75–76.] They give me the creeps. are “Did you find any cool caves?” Pedro Mendoza, who had helped us and “Did you have any scary experi- on prior trips, introduced us to his ext to El Tapasón was a small ence with drug violence?” Yes, we neighbor Rafael Juárez, who knows Nfissure cave that went in about explored and mapped nine caves. the Tapasón side of the mountain 10 meters and then up as a chimney We did a lot of rigorous hiking up well. We ascended 400 meters over approximately 12 meters to the sur- steep mountains through dense and a distance of 4 kilometers through face. A stone’s throw to the south was beautiful jungles. No, we didn’t have dense jungle to reach El Tapasón. The a small tomb-like cave about a meter any scary experiences with drug vio- name means “the large cover.” The in diameter. It went down about 3 lence, but were continually careful cave entrance is a large overhang that meters, horizontally about 3 meters, where we went and what we did. We has sheltered locals for mil- passed two clearly visible marijuana lennia. The cave was some- EL TAPASÓN fields and no doubt others, sheltered what of a disappointment. Palos Marías, Michoacán from view by dense vegetation. Once We had heard that it was WGS 84 13Q 0654507 2079124 elev 550 m we were stopped by the army, inter- large and possibly connected sketch 31 December 2010 rogated, and searched. to Cueva de La Canoa. The Pedro Mendoza, Rafael Juárez, Peter Ruplinger, If you are planning a trip to Mex- cave went in only about 20 Josh Kaggie, Kent Forman ico there are two major points to meters. It was, however, a remember. Don’t be out at night. beautiful cave with numer- Personally know the people in your ous formations. immediate area. It is their territory. Pedro ventured into the The importance of territory can’t be cave with us. Rafael had overemphasized. Mexicans are anx- promised his mother that he ious to help if they know who you wouldn’t go in. So he stayed are, but if you’re in the wrong area, outside and prepared us a and they don’t know you, you may scrumptious barbeque of get shot. Don’t go on others’ property venison from a deer that he without asking permission. Don’t had shot just the day before. go into the back country without a His mother believes caves local escort who personally knows are inhabited by evil spirits. the people where you will be caving. Perhaps she is correct. We Similar advice could be offered for didn’t see any ghosts, but we Mexican cavers coming to the United did see several large spider- States. Don’t wander or drive into like creatures which the lo- what may be hostile neighborhoods cals call tindarapos. Cavers of major cities, during the day or know them as amblypygids. They have pinchers and leg- [email protected] spans sometimes exceeding 120 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

EL RINCÓN in the new year. Josh came pit, but due to the late hour, Kent Palos Marías, Michoacán back a little after twelve, and I hadn’t had time. On this trip WGS 84 13Q 0652412 2080232 elev 293 m boasting that he had sung we did. The cave is over 120 meters sketch 31 December 2010 Moon River. In the mean- deep. It took nine minutes to descend Mario Villanueva, Pedro Mendoza, Peter Ruplinger, time, Kent became a hero and twenty-five to climb out. Kent Kent Forman, Josh Kaggie by fixing the family’s virus- and I both came face to face, just infected computer. I shocked inches away, with one of those big everyone by relating a story black ugly spiders. At the bottom about finding a venomous the air was bad. A cigarette lighter snake in the cave and then wouldn’t begin to light. Kent and I producing it from within my had to breathe twice as fast as nor- shirt. It was rubber of course. mal. I didn’t venture past the room Exon, their eight-year-old where we got off rope. Kent went boy, roared with laughter on to a second, highly decorated and was delighted when I room with a 30-meter ceiling. This gave him the snake. second room had a pit at the far end. The next day we made Due to the bad air, Kent prudently a return trip to Cueva del didn’t drop this second pit. [There is Rumbo a Chanchopa (Cave another sketch map of Cueva Rumba on the Way to Chanchopa). a Chanchopa in AMCS Activities It is located north of the Newsletter 33, page 77.] Coahuayana valley, near and down another 6 meters. Due to the town of San Gabriel, Colima. wo days later, back in Palos its structure, we named it Pierna del Chanchopa is the name of the town at TMarías, Michoacán, one of the Perro (Dog Leg). On our descent, we the base of the mountain where San town’s oldest residents, Sirilo, took teamed up with Mario Villanueva, Gabriel is nested. Chancho is one of us to a cave near the summit of the another of Pedro’s friends. He took several Mexican words for pig. There immense mountain northeast of us to a hill topped by a mound of is a large hog farm in Chanchopa, so Palos Marías. Sirilo is eighty-five sharp, jagged limestone. Snake-like perhaps the town is named after the years old. He has hunted deer and roots wove over the mound like hog farm. The people there go out of harvested exotic hardwoods in this countless guardian serpents. Under their way to be cordial, but the area area all his life. Sirilo rode his little the mound was a maze of cave pas- stinks. How would you like to live donkey. The rest of us walked. To sages. In the lower area there were in a stinky town called Pigville? Dur- save time we didn’t take the switch- many potsherds. The cave isn’t ing last year’s visit to San Gabriel, backs, but marched straight up the immense, but its Swiss-cheese pas- Rodney Mulder had descended the hill. It was an arduous hike. Josh fell sages couldn’t be surveyed in the on sharp, weather-eroded limestone time we had. It has entrances on the CUEVA DEL OTRO LADO and cut his shin. Kent, who always east and west sides of the mound. Palos Marías, Michoacán carries everything he might possibly Locals know this cave as El Rincón WGS 84 13Q 0652381 2080298 elev 540 m need in his huge backpack, produced (The Corner). I don’t know why. To sketch 31 December 2010 butterfly sutures and other first-aid the east of El Rincón is a small cave by Kent Forman items to dress the wound. The scari- that may have been used as a tomb. est experience of our climb was when Mario chose to name it Cueva del the area where we were sitting to rest Javero. Javero is the name of a large suddenly began to slide down the tree below the cave. hill. The rocks rumbled like thunder. While I was preparing a sketch Fortunately they only slid about 2 of El Rincón, Kent and Josh went to meters. When the rocks stopped, the west of El Rincón and explored my left leg was pinned to the knee our sixth cave for the day. Mario between two boulders. Fortunately scratched his head and couldn’t I was able to remove it. We carefully think of a name for it, so I named it crept to safer ground. Cueva del Otro Lado (Cave on the Sirilo said there are numerous Other Side). caves on the mountain. It’s just a matter of finding them. He found t had been a rough day. In the this cave ages ago when he shot a Ievening a local family headed by deer. He tracked the wounded dear Ricardo and María invited us for to the entrance of the cave, where dinner. It was a lot of fun. Their two it had fallen. Sirilo wasn’t aware charming teenage daughters were of a name for the cave. Mario said enchanted with Josh and dragged we should call it Cueva del Venado him off to a karaoke party to usher (Cave of the Deer). 121 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

CUEVA RUMBO A CHANCHOPA San Gabriel, Colima WGS 84 18°53.814′N 103°43.544′W elev 449 m resketched 3 January 2011

Peter Ruplinger, Kent Forman, Josh Kaggie, profile looking east José Luis Verduzco cave has bad air

profile of left passsage looking south

CUEVA DEL VENADO Palos Marías, Michoacán WGS 84 13Q 0653782 2084097 elev 798 m sketch 4 January 2011 Sirilo Varajas, Mario Villahueva, Peter Ruplinger, Josh Kaggie, Kent Forman

The cave was in a beautiful area with huge trees. There was only one opening, but it quickly divided into two parallel fault-like passages. Expedición Michoacán-Colima, Once again, we simply did not have diciembre 2010-enero 2011 time to make a detailed map. About halfway down the right-hand pas- Se exploraron y topografiaron varias cuevas en sage, I found what appeared to be los alrededores de Pal Marías, Michoacán, y San a pedestal. It consisted of four fist- Gabriel, Colima. size stones with a dish-like stone on top of them. It had been placed in a shrine-like corner. Below the pedestal was a large, elegant pot, broken to pieces. Although moderate in size, the cave was heavily decorated. Almost every surface was covered with veils, stalactites, stalagmites, and shark-tooth draperies.

122 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

the experience Roberto “Chibebo” Rojo

A strange movement wakes me up. big. When we are inside a cloud, the with cabinets, a cupboard designed by I open my eyes as a tremor shakes the deforested area enshrouds us in an air D’Tirado, an installation of solar cells silent land. Camerino speaks loudly on of desolation. The dead trees, painted based on Warild’s design, a rustic tripod the radio, “Get out of there!” A skinny black by the previous fire, loom large in for separating trash, a rustic storage box, dog, almost translucent, looks toward the whiteness, a grim reminder of past a cypress swing for three, a campfire area, the sky, and the puddle on the dirt road human devastation. Twice we see a pair and a high class latrine. Life is quiet. sways in waves. In front of me, an old of eagles passing nearby. I think they are We used to get water from a little cistern, clinging precariously to the wall, approaching us to investigate. spring about 20 meters from the camp, propped up by stilts, looks like it will In the small forest, however, the views but, as usual due to human overuse finally fall. Small pieces slip, and I am and feelings are totally different. On clear of the resource, we now must travel afraid they all will come down. After days, if we pay attention, we can see an 25 minutes carrying 25-liter containers nearly a minute, the earth settles. It is explosion of life: beds of moss; strange from a sinkhole where there is water. as if a giant stretches at dawn. fern fronds dotted with sori; plants with This will be done while we wait for the Calm returns to me. For some reason, modest but beautiful purple, green, and little spring to recharge. We have already as I sit in my truck, I remember another yellow flowers; sensuous tangles of vines learned a lesson. cold night that forced me to move to the that embrace the trees; bromeliads sitting Our little society is evolving rapidly. truck cab in order to put on the heater. on branches; and Spanish moss hanging We leave the practical phase, and can My mind wanders. I hope that no hay-like, making wise bearded trees. And now devote time to luxury. The camp one was in a cave during the quake. I the trees: large cypress trees that give us table is full of graffiti, some of them true review the list of my companions: David, shelter and shade. There is a hum of in- works of art. Alexandra, and Pacheco went yesterday sects everywhere: bees feverishly work- You have to walk around carefully. to Tío Chueco. By this time they should ing from dawn, metallic flies searching Olga just found a beautiful rattlesnake. be out. I dread thinking of going through for food, giant crane flies dancing while And although the scorpions in this region the very small passages in that cave, and flying, jewels of beetles walking on the are not normally reported to be harmful imagine how they must have felt during plants, simple but beautiful butterflies to humans, we find some, even under the ground shaking. valiantly fighting the air currents, con- our mattresses. Relieved, I continue reviewing my fident syrphid flies smoothly hovering The hours of work are ongoing and list. Olga, Pablo, and Beluga are camp- in the rays of sunlight filtering through sometimes debilitating, really tiring. ing the farthest away, about three hours the forest. When the clouds break in and Some of us rise at sunrise, others a little from base camp, which itself is in a investigate, the forest changes its colors later, but there is always activity. One remote location. Surely they have been to a disturbing monochrome tone and must wash the dishes, make breakfast, go awakened by the movement of the trees all becomes gloomy. But this is just an for water, make repairs, charge batteries, overhead. Gus and Lencho must have intimidating phase that the forest some- prepare gear, and go. Even people who been surprised on the road through the times likes to adopt. stay in the camp hardly have a moment karst. Al and Franco are in the camp. I Even though there are times when of solace. Some of us are dressed in can imagine their shock, and then their entire days pass like nights, the birds rags, our clothes ripped (as well as our spontaneous jokes afterwards. signal their change of mood through their skin) by sharp edges and thorns. Pants Surely everybody is fine. singing. One, two, three . . . maybe ten sometimes almost disappear under Up here, we form a small community species of songbirds can be heard, from multiple patches. of which I am proud to be a member. Our a discrete “pit pit” to long “uh uuuh.” If you are going out to prospect for camp is installed in a pass between the But the glorious spring stands out with caves, you have to carry enough water, mountains and between two lands, one its impossible and redundant song. On wear a hat, and perhaps most impor- without trees (though it is being refor- one occasion, in the night, an owl perches tantly, dress in comfortable but tough ested) and another with a beautiful forest on my tent, and curious, we watch each clothes. It is especially important to that bears witness to what the nearby other a long time. wear gloves. Nature here is inhospitable hillside was like a few years ago. Between these two different areas, and sometimes hostile. The plants have From the deforested area we can is our country, the country of cavers. thorns everywhere and are organized look through the mountains and see It is a strange triumvirate endowed into real traps. The rocks are as sharp the imposing Tzonztzecuiculi, majestic with libertine/liberal democracy. In as razors and dance beneath our feet. and challenging. It also allows us to see this independent place is a system of Beluga dropped a big block on his the starry sky, and, one special morning, non-existent government, splashed with leg; Allan fell down; Gustavo had the where the great full moon sat down on anarchy and rebellion. point of a branch buried in his back; a the hill to rest at eleven o’clock. I later We have all the necessary facilities for plant pricked David’s eye; Olga hit a tree; learn that this was one of the few oc- living, including a large multipurpose Marco, Franco, Al, and I got lost; my foot casions where the moon has been that table with seats of pine planks, a kitchen was trapped under a sliding block; and

123 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Lencho’s cheek was pierced by a sharp Once out at the cave we must gear up. about vertical theory. While on rope branch. This is how nature is playing Cavers have always seemed like super- we take a downward spiral that is only with us. It reminds me of a crowd playing heroes. They wear helmets that once had understood when we see the map that with the local drunk after a party. When a flame on front and now carry lights so is formed from the data collected. we walk, the plants push us, pull us, hit strong that they seem like locomotives. There are caves large and small, but us in the head, and bite us in the ribs or They wear suits of strange colors and each has its own personality. During the back. The rocks move beneath our almost indestructible material, as well Al’s birthday, after the now-traditional feet and make us stumble, or they take as gloves and high boots. They also have cake, Lencho and I enter a new cave. We off and make us fall into holes. After extraordinary powers such as the abil- make a short drop of about 12 meters, the commotion is over and everyone ity to navigate through unusual terrain when suddenly there is a glorious beam looks around to see . . . all those rocks on ropes (in fact, when I see the skill with of light illuminating the cavity. Where it and plants just look innocent. They are which a spider moves on its thread, I can ends, green plants form a nice tapestry immobile as if they were not guilty of not avoid thinking of cavers), are able to between old blocks of fallen rocks. A anything. We just hear the giggle of the cross impossible straits, get where no- little farther, a salamander moves slowly passing breeze. body ever was before, go upriver, jump with its cartoon fingers and eyes. After The reward: good adventure, always into the voids, and spend long hours in passing the tight area of the cave with its beautiful changing scenery (in fact, it still the dark and cold without eating more rough caress, Lencho tells me, “Come, amazes me that the same type of vegeta- than small portions for energy. They also see the grass.” I think he is joking, but tion or rock, at every turn, is completely have the ability to dispense altogether when I get to him, I sit beside him and different), and some (or many) marks on with what ordinary people call bathing. turn off my light. A green fluorescent the skin. But above all, we are rewarded The caver helps the environment by not line lights up before my disbelieving by finding new caves. having any resistance to the free flow of eyes. About 3 meters away from us, and The terrain is tricky. Sometimes it gases between him and his surroundings. in area no bigger than 20 centimeters, is seems that there will be something big Cavers also have special harnesses and the bottom of another sinkhole. I can see in a sinkhole or a valley we explore, artificial limbs in the form of ascenders, brilliant leaves, and the overall image but we find no more than tangles and descenders, and ropes. In their bags of an unreachable paradise shakes me. dirt. At other times, out of nowhere, they carry weapons (drill, hammer) Returning through the cave passage, the ancient eye of a cave sticks out from and bullets (bolts, hangers, carabiners, Lencho finds the remains of a skunk the vegetation, mysterious, hidden in maillons, etc.), webbing, and slings. They who probably decided that this magical the jungle or forest. We approach with also sometimes carry laser weapons for place would be his grave. excitement, as the fresh breath that hints measuring cavities, and, to complete the Like a family of moles, we advance at its depth inevitably calls us to it. With picture, wear a spur called the Pantin. through the crawlways looking at the fear, anxiety, anguish, and joy, we must Below the surface, the landscape is back of the person in front of us or lis- prepare to enter. like another world. Large vertical wells tening to his voice. Like spiders, we get If we are traveling to a cave, we need with clean-washed walls seem to end in on our ropes, advancing on thin threads. to be prepared with proper equipment small puddles, but then continue through Like salamanders, we seek the dark and surveying gear. Loaded and men- inhumanly narrow passages where the places, wet and cold. Like bats, we are tally prepared for an arduous day, teams cave presses your chest and you have to attracted to the dark, dark cavities. But go out from the camp and disappear fight to pass through, sometimes aided as humans, we move into the unknown behind the hill, accompanied by shouts by gravity. And speaking of gravity, in in search of knowledge and emotion. of “Gloria o Muerte,” “Éxito,” or “Nos these places you realize the relentless More than half a kilometer deep, sit- vemos pronto.” force that pulls us down. The rocks ting in the solitude of eons, imperturb- The way to reach the cave area is have so much energy here, and I’m able amid the stone walls, I see a tiny simple: circumnavigate the sinkhole, past not talking about metaphysics. Large yellow spider walking near me shyly. “Las Tablas,” climb up to the tree trunk blocks are in such a precarious balance I am amazed to see that life is gaining that seems to smack us all, cross Panda that you can almost see the release of ground in the most unexpected places, Pass, go through the rattlesnake zone, kinetic energy when you move some of and I get happy knowing that we inhabit past the Y tree near the burned stick, the smaller rocks. With a hair trigger, a world that is fantastic and sublime. past the cut agave, over the high point they are under extreme tension and can I hear the voices of my approaching on the trail, down the road through the randomly collapse, ready to drop tons colleagues. It is time to go, the “street” little pines, and past the Maya pyramid and tons of material. is just hours away, and we are ultimately before we finally get out of the difficult Hanging on the line, one must have beings of light, foreigners in this country area. Then we cross to Tío Chueco, past everything secured to the harness, as the in darkness. We must go out, go up, the Cave of Love, head to the raining vacuum calls with its ancient force to speak, and live. Our lights disappear, rock, and finally get to the conversation anything that is loose . . . even us. and also our mood. But that place will tree. The funny thing is that everyone The environment outside the caves remain always. (Translated from Spanish has his own mental map of the road toys with us, and the cave’s interior also by Yazmin Avila and Jim Kennedy) with different landmarks and his own has its jokes. It gives us wrong perspec- nomenclature. tives and angles, leaving us guessing

124 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

pozo de agua verde

Peter Sprouse

t was one of those Eureka! mo- I hadn’t been on in about fifteen Land Cruiser, which needed a pull Iments. I was perusing the northern years. This is the road that leads to get up the bank. deserts in Google Earth, where I west across the northern swath of As we continued north, we could spend many an evening. Northern Coahuila to what used to be the La see to our west the mountain range Coahuila doesn’t have a lot of trees, Linda crossing into Big Bend. I call where we knew the pit was located. and this spot jumped out at me: a this the Road That Goes On Forever, Our first shot at taking a road toward black hole on the side of a mountain, and since we had 150 kilometers to it was a dud; we ended up on top of with a major drainage dumping into go that day, we got to it. The pave- a bluff with no way across an arroyo. it. It was a long way from anywhere, ment ran out, leaving endless dirt There were some nice ammonites at least anywhere that mattered. road. Thanks to some local advice exposed in the creek bed, however. Although it was only 9.6 kilometers and Google Earth, we located our This left us with one last, vague road southwest of Dryden Crossing, turn north toward the Río Bravo that I had traced off Google Earth. Texas, getting to this pit was going onto a road that progressively got It was clear that no one had driven to require a long journey through more obscure as we passed through this in years, because we were soon the desert from Ciudad Acuña. But successive ranches. Finally, with only driving through tall shrubs with al- first I had to figure out who the ranch the nearly abandoned Rancho Agua most no trace of a road. But we knew belonged to, for surely there would Verde between us and the river, we where to look and soon regained it, be locked gates to pass through. So got to a serious washout that stopped and we dropped down into a valley I began to work the contacts I had us temporarily. It was a pretty deep that was as close as we could drive developed through years of explor- waterhole with the road continuing to our goal and made a nice camping ing on the ranches of the area. After a on the other side, and there was spot. We still had some daylight left, few months of calling and e-mailing, no way around it. So gunning the enough time for a quick recon up to trying to explain where it was I was engine I drove the 4Runner into it the pit, only 1.4 kilometers distant. trying to go, I reached a woman and managed to make it up the far The walk was an easy and pleasant in Piedras Negras who owned the bank. Joe was not so lucky in his one, and anticipation built as we Rancho Agua Verde. She said they didn’t know about any caves on the ranch, but agreed to let us go anyway. To my surprise, she assured us that there were no locked gates involved in the journey. Nine of us set out for Agua Verde in late May 2009. Along on this trip were Aimee Beveridge, Paul Bryant, Joe Datri, Mignonne Gros, Geoff Hoese, Kristina Hager, Ron Rutherford, Terri Sprouse, and me. Knowing we had a very long drive across the desert, we camped the first night at Lake Amistad, Texas, and crossed into Mexico early in the morning. We picked our way through Acuña to an obscure road [email protected] 125 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

0 10 20 30 40 50 METERS airflow

abandoned drainage channel entrance offset

ENTRANCE

POZO DE AGUA VERDE MUNICIPIO DE ACUÑA, COAHUILA

SUUNTO AND TAPE SURVEY 23 MAY 2009 B GEOFF HOESE, RON RUTHERFORD, PETER SPROUSE LENGTH: 110 M DEPTH: 50 M

DRAWN BY PETER SPROUSE

10 PROFILE: 45 DEGREE VIEW

50 airflow

126 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mignonne Gros rappeling into the pit. Peter Sprouse.

was strong airflow. Clearly this was the way on. These few areas of dark zone turned up some interesting cave fauna, including a possible new species of scorpion in the genus Pseudouroctonus. The first order of business was mapping, however, so Geoff, Ron, and I set about doing a circumference survey of the entrance chamber. Our survey circled the others, whom Joe was directing in a nude-calendar photo shoot. We tried not to look. Once the survey was done, Ron and I dove into the dig. We made good progress pulling rocks out of the hole, but the threat of col- rounded the last hill. Worries that slope. The west end of the chamber, lapse from above was constant. We our feature might have been a pond at the foot of the slope, consisted of moved forward about 3 meters, but or non-cave of some sort evaporated a flat silt floor. Clearly this pit takes where we called it quits there was when we looked down into an im- a lot of water, and this flow would no indication of how much more pressive hole. It was a classic col- reach this plain and flow along the digging it would take to get out of lapse pit, and we could see that the back wall to try to find an exit at the the breakdown zone. floor was covered with breakdown foot of the breakdown slope at the sloping down to flat silt way back north and south ends of the plain. At ith a very successful day under the dripline. We scouted out the south end it was possible to enter Wbehind us, we had a grand the only clean rig-point, which was the breakdown for several meters, dance party in the desert that night. in the arroyo that drained into the but nothing looked promising there. It went till quite late, and when some pit, where solid bedrock could be The north end was quite a bit more people headed to their tents they had found and the danger of rockfall interesting. We were able to crawl in to suffer a line dance that encircled was minimized. for about 5 meters, with the bedrock them. This silliness was quashed wall on our left and boulders to the when a vigorous thunderstorm blew ith plan in hand, we returned right, overhead, and underneath in, drenching the desert. We still had Wto the pit in the morning, and us. Branches were jammed into the another day available for explora- Paul set some bolts for the rigging. breakdown ahead of us, and there tion before we had to head for the Just under the lip was the source of a small waterfall that emerged from a bedding plane, no doubt pirated from some flow farther up the arroyo. Directly below on the breakdown slope was a large colony of green ferns that was the focal point of the pit’s floor. Eventually all of us had had our turns on rope, and we set about exploring the cave. The breakdown slope descended to the west, back under the surface arroyo. At the southeast corner of the chamber was an obvious side passage, probably formed along a fracture, that sloped up to an end. Less obvious were possible routes on at the bottom of the breakdown

The floor of Pozo de Agua Verde, with the patch of ferns below the lip where the arroyo pours into the pit. Peter Sprouse. 127 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

From left: Geoff Hoese, Joe Datri, Terri Sprouse, Ron Rutherford, Aimee Bev- eridge, Paul Bryant, Kristina Hager, Mignonne Gros, and Peter Sprouse. Peter Sprouse.

border, but with the recent rain we figured it would be best to get past the waterhole the next day. In the morning we wanted to let things dry out for a bit before trying the water hole, so we decided to tour the Rancho Agua Verde. The mountain range we were camped along was cut by a canyon to the north of us, so first we drove up that way. The road ended short of the ranch, at an abandoned ranchito that had an extensive array of fighting-cock houses, each constructed of two desert ranches—time for a swim! day’s travel back across northern slabs of Boquillas flagstone leaned The giant cold-tub was quire re- Coahuila. together. Heading north from there freshing, and afterward we set out As we drove south, we managed on old roads, we spotted a metal on another overgrown road toward to get back across the waterhole in water tank on a distant low hill. where the map indicated the ranch the same manner we had passed it These are often a real treat on the headquarters was. This road took us two days before. With that potential along the top of a bluff over show-stopper behind us, we contin- a deep canyon that drains ued on south to rejoin the Road That toward the Río Bravo. At Goes On Forever. We drove to the one point it was nearly over- west into a large canyon to explore grown, and we had to do a bit and find a place to camp for some serious vegetation the night. We scanned the limestone trimming, but we made it canyon walls, but did not see any to the ranch. The buildings obvious caves. We found a good were closed up, with no one campsite on a ranch, at a pleasant at home. It was only another elevation just getting up into the kilometer to the river, so we trees, including piñon pine. In the drove on up to it. We sat on morning we made the long drive top of a limestone cliff over back into Ciudad Acuña, stopping the muddy river, staring at there to wash the cars so that we wouldn’t get turned back by the U.S. Peter Sprouse. Texas, knowing that to get there would take another Department of Agriculture.

Pozo de Agua Verde

El Pozo de Agua Verde está bastante cerca de la frontera entre Coahuila y Texas, pero el camino desde Ciudad Acuña es largo y difícil. Fue descubierto mediante imágenes de Google Earth. Hay un pasaje no explorado con una corriente de aire en el punto más bajo en el fondo del pozo, pero no se sabe cuanto material habría que remover para llegar a un pasaje en la roca subyacente.

128 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

tabasco underground

Laura Rosales Lagarde, Roberto Porter, Vickie Siegel, and Eladio Terreros Espinosa

This and the following Tabasco ar- those that have adapted to darkness 5051 meters of surveyed passages ticles are English-language versions and lower nutrient availability and (Pisarowicz et al., 2005). It is called prepared for the AMCS of chapters writ- feed and conduct all other activities a cave system because it has more ten for a 2011 book La biodiversidad of life inside the caves and those than one entrance. This system can en Tabasco: estudio de estado, edited that occasionally visit caves, coming discharge 10 to 20 cubic meters per by D. J. Palma-López and E. Mata- and going between the surface and second of water during the rainy Zayas, one of a series books on Mexican subsurface. states to be published by the Comisión Figure 2. Aerial photograph of highly dissected Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso ver sixty caves have been karst morphology forming mogotes or cockpit de la Biodiversidad (c o n a b i o ). Thanks Omapped in Tabasco in karst in the Poaná region, Tacotalpa. A dirt to Laura Rosales for making these avail- the Macuspana, Tacotalpa, road at bottom center serves as scale. able to us.—ed. Teapa, and Tenosique mu- Jim Pisarowicz. nicipalities, and there are still arst is defined as the ensemble many more to be explored Kof phenomena caused by the (Pisarowicz, 1987; Siegel, dissolution of rocks by underground personal communication; and surface water, expressed as cavi- Figure 3). The deepest cave ties or caves (Lugo Hubp, 1989). In in Tabasco is Sótano del Mad- the state of Tabasco, karst forms part rigal 5, with 74 meters from of the region of hill and mountain the entrance to the bottom; slopes, especially close to the base of vertical gear is required to the slopes at the fluvial plain. Karst visit it. Sistema Agua Blanca morphology varies from moderately is the longest cave in Tabasco developed, as in the Sierra Tapijulapa at present, with a total of (Figure 1), to highly dissected (Figure 2). The rocks subject to dissolution are mainly Cretaceous limestone and dolostone and some younger limestone, conglomerate, and sand- stone (Siegel and Pisarowicz, unpublished results). Some of these rocks are affected by folds, faults, and joints (Meneses-Rocha, 2001). These structures modify the water flow and therefore the cave-formation processes, affecting the shape and size of the cave passages. Cave passages serve as a refuge or home for a variety of biological species, from microorganisms to vertebrates, both

Figure 1. Moderately developed karst relief of the Sierra de Tapijulapa viewed from the Puxcatán River. Roberto Porter Núñez. [email protected] 129 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

season, forming the Río Mambuyil and feeding the waterfalls of Parque Estatal de Agua Blanca (Figure 4; Porter Núñez, 2007). Besides this system, at least twelve other caves have been surveyed in the park, some of which are used as tourist attractions. These caves also have an important ecologic role in the region, because they serve as refuges for various species, including a colony of around a hundred thousand bats in Gruta de la Diaclasa (Porter Núñez, 2007). The relief in the Poaná region, north of Sierra Tapijulapa, was formed from what was a block of carbonates by a pronounced dissec- tion and dissolution along fractures or discontinuities into isolated hills or tower karst (mogotes) (Figure 5). The caves in this region tend to have a flat floor and sometimes go through the mogotes where they formed (Figure 6). Some of them are located at the base of the towers at the present fluvial plain level, and some at higher elevations associated with old river terraces (McDonald, unpublished data). The caves at the base of the mogotes are still actively forming, while those at higher levels formed in the past. Gruta de las Canicas, in Teapa, is unique in the world because it contains millions of cave pearls or canicas (Stucklen and Pisarowicz, 2002). How these pearls formed or accumulated is still a subject for future studies (Houston et al., 2008). Since water is the shaping agent of karst landforms, the groundwater flow-path provides a simplified explanation of cave formation. The area where the water sinks or infiltrates into the ground is called the

Figure 3 (top). Location of the caves surveyed by Caves of Tabasco Project, National Speleological Society, modified from Seth Spoelman, unpublished data.

Figure 4 (middle). Gruta de la Resur- gencia during the dry season. This is one of the entrance to Sistema Agua Blanca System where speleogenesis is still active. Roberto Porter Núñez.

Figure 5 (bottom). Vickie Siegel in the karst in the Poaná region, Tacotalpa. Laura Rosales Lagarde.

130 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Figure 6. Seth Spoelman in a passage in Safari Cave in the Poaná region, Tacotalpa, with an evident contrast between the cave walls. One was sculpted by water when the cave was totally filled with water, and the other has flowstone formed after the water level dropped. Vickie Siegel.

recharge area (Figure 8). Here, the anhydrite (CaSO4, calcium acidity of the water increases as it sulfate). This water can fur- infiltrates through the soil, and it ther react in the subsurface Figure 7. José Antonio Nieves Rodríguez in then attacks the underlying rock, or get enriched by deep one of the rooms at Gruta de las Canicas slowly enlarging fractures to form gases until it discharges as with a floor covered with cave pearls. caves and carrying all the dissolved hydrogen-sulfide-rich water. Roberto Porter Núñez. minerals away. The infiltrating water Sulfidic water containing Figure 8. Sketch showing a simplified model continues its underground journey, this H2S gas emerges from tending to concentrate in an aquifer several springs at or near of groundwater flow and cave formation, or the rocks able to hold water in Tabasco’s mountain slopes, modified from Toth, 1999, and Klimchouk, 2007. cavities, fractures, or pores. Finally, the groundwater returns back to the surface at the discharge point or spring (Ford and Williams, 2007). But because of the geologic context in Tabasco, the cave-formation processes and groundwater flow are more complicated than shown. Speleogenesis can still be active, such as at Sistema Agua Blanca, Ma- cuspana (Figure 4), or inactive, like in most of the caves at Poaná (Fig- ure 6) or Arroyo Chispa, Tacotalpa. Meanwhile, the mineral-enriched water can reach the caves and release the minerals it is carrying, forming speleothems such as stalactites and stalagmites like those in Grutas de Coconá (Figure 9). Some groundwater is driven deeper into the subsurface, traveling through longer paths, increasing the time it has to dissolve the rocks and become more mineralized. In Tabasco, some of the rocks at depth contain minerals more soluble than the calcite in limestone, such as halite (NaCl, sodium chloride) and 131 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

such as the Balneario El Azufre at Teapa or Cueva de las Sardinas [Cueva de la Villa Luz] in Tacotalpa (Figure 10, Rosales-Lagarde et al., 2007; Hose et al., 2000). The toxic hydrogen sulfide, with its characteristic rotten-egg smell, escapes to the atmosphere as a gas. Lengthy exposure or high concentrations can be fatal. Such conditions are found in some of the darkest and most remote chambers of Cueva de las Sardinas, where despite our ability to detect low concentrations of this gas, our senses soon get numb.

The presence of H2S can greatly affect the cave’s morphology and appearance (Figure 10). Spring water with high sulfide concentrations is clear (Figure 11), but when the sulfide is oxidized to elemental colloidal sulfur it colors the water white (Figure 12). The dissolved sulfide and perhaps the sulfur are nutrients for microorganisms that form white strings or pink filamen- tous and mat-shaped colonies.

When H2S passes to the atmosphere, it can be oxidized to produce yellow patches of elemental sulfur (Figure 13) on the walls or corrosive sulfuric acid. Some microorganisms form hanging films called snottites, where they enhance the production of this acid while feeding on the hydrogen sulfide (Figure 14). When the sulfuric acid comes in contact with the carbonate rock on the cave walls, ceiling, or floor, it dissolves the rock, producing a white gypsum paste or clear crystals of gypsum called selenite. The presence of microorganisms associated with the gypsum may indicate their involvement in these reactions. The best example of

Figure 9 (top). The Salón de los Fan- tasmas in Gruta de Coconá, Teapa, contains a variety of speleothems such as stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. Roberto Porter Núñez.

Figure 10 (middle). Simplified scheme of the chemical reactions affecting Cueva de Las Sardinas, modified from Hose et al., 2000, and Palmer and Palmer, 1998.

Figure 11 (bottom). Balneario El Azufre, Teapa, one of several sulfidic springs in Tabasco.Laura Rosales Lagarde. 132 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Figure 12 (above left). Diana Northup inspects the white stream coming out from the Cueva de Las Sardinas (Cueva de la Villa Luz) resurgence, in contrast with the surface stream from the left. The white water is due to the presence of colloidal sulfur and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria colonies. Kenneth Ingham. this speleogenesis process is Cueva de las Sardinas. In this cave the H2S Figure 13 (above right). Selenite and elemental sulfur (yellow) are some in the water and atmosphere serves of the minerals deposited in the walls and ceilings of Cueva de Las Sar- as an energy source for a very rich dinas and other sulfidic caves in Tabasco. Louise Hose wears safety gear ecosystem, despite its toxicity. One for protetion from toxic hydrogen sulfide. Dan Jones. of the most distinctive habitants of this cave is the fishPoecilia mexicana Figure 14 (below left). Colonies of sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophic (Figure 15). microorganisms informally called snottites. They hang from ceilings and walls in Cueva de Las Sardinas. Kenneth Ingham.

Figure 15 (below right). The sulfidic water inside Cueva de Las Sardinas and its most prominent inhabitant, the fish Poecilia mexicana. These fish measure an average of 3 centimeters (Plath, personal communication). Roberto Porter Núñez.

133 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Figure 17. Example of a cave map, including a plan view, profile or lon- Figure 16. Héctor Gómez Alejo with some of gitudinal section, and transverse sections (Siegel, 2009). the archaeological remains found in Tabasco caves. Roberto Porter Nuñez.

here is evidence of human cave are the Caves of Tabasco Project of who started the project, and Peter Texploration dating to at least the National Speleological Society, Lord. Penelope Boston, my adviser, 1000 years BC (Terreros Espinosa, Sociedad Espeleológica de Tabasco, opened the door to this project and 2006). From that time till the Span- and Grupo Jaguar Extremo. has supported me [Laura Rosales, iards’ arrival, Zoque people left Besides their cultural use, sev- the genuine author of this article] ceramic objects, and between 700 eral caves in Tabasco are exploited through it. Louise Hose, Diana and 1500 AD they also placed ob- as tourist attractions due to the Northup, Mike Spilde, and other sidian blades and human burials in beauty of the rock formations or members from the Subsurface Life in at least twenty caves in the Tabasco speleothems in them, like those at Mineral Environments (SLIME) team mountain ranges (Figure 16; Ter- Grutas de Coconá, Teapa (Figure got me started by sharing their work. reros Espinosa, unpublished data). 9), or the sense of adventure gained Martin Plath, Ingo Schlup, Michael For these earlier visitors caves were by the visitors. The speleothems Tobler, Dr. José Palacios Vargas, and sacred places. Furthermore, this has potentially contain a record of past other researchers shared their ideas lasted to the present time, and local climate (Ford and Williams, inhabitants still perform rituals, 2007). To know how climate Figure 18. Arroyo Azul karst spring at Taco- including witchcraft ceremonies, has changed in the past can talpa serves as a drinking-water source for inside the caves for the purposes of help us understand present several communities in the area. requesting rain, prosperous crops, changes. Caves can also pre- Laura Rosales Lagarde. and improvement in their economy. serve evidence of changes in An example of these rituals is the the landscape or past floods. “La Pesca” ceremony conducted at Cave springs can be a water Cueva de las Sardinas (Pisarowicz source for nearby commu- and Hose, 2001; Tobler et al., 2011). nities, as at Sistema Cerro Later, in 1892, Rovirosa docu- Blanco or the Arroyo Azul mented his exploration of Grutas karst spring (Figure 18). de Coconá at Teapa, now a tourist cave (Figure 9; Rovirosa, 1978). More Acknowledgements: Many recently, several caving groups have people have contributed to documented their visits to the caves the development of the study of Tabasco by producing cave maps. of Tabasco caves. All the These maps serve as the founda- members of the Caves of tion for further studies. A complete Tabasco Project shared their cave map consists of a plan view, a enthusiasm for finding and profile, and cross sections as shown surveying the Tabasco caves, in Figure 17. Some of these groups especially Jim Pisarowicz, 134 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 and knowledge. The inhabitants number 75, p. 183–216. Rovirosa, J. N., 1978. Viaje a Teapa and authorities in the Tacotalpa, Pisarowicz, J., 1987. Caving in Ta- y a las sierras que concurren Teapa,and Macuspana municipali- basco. AMCS Activities Newsletter a la formación de su valle. In: ties hosted us and shared their caves 16: 30–37. Obras Científicas de José N. Rovirosa with us. Consejo Nacional de Cien- Pisarowicz, J., P. Rykwalder, L. Hose, (1887-1910), Consejo Editorial del cia y Tecnología and the National and C. Amidon, 2005. Return to Gobierno del Estado de Tabasco, Cave and Karst Research Institute Tabasco. AMCS Activities Newslet- Ediciones de la Sociedad Mexicana provided economic support. The ter 28: 27–57. de Historia Natural, México, D.F., Instituto de Geología at the Universi- Pisarowicz J., and L. D. Hose, 2001. p. 687–711. dad Nacional Autónoma de México, The Acid Test: Cueva de Villa Siegel, V., 2009. Tabasco 2009, AMCS Pemex Exploración y Producción, the Luz. AMCS Activities Newsletter Activities Newsletter 32: 70–76. Comisión Nacional del Agua, and 24: 48–54. Stucklen, B., and J. Pisarowicz, 2002. the Instituto Nacional de Geografía Palmer, A. N., and M. V. Palmer, Tabasco 2001: AMCS Activities y Estadística supported us with data 1998. Geochemistry of Cueva De Newsletter 25, 34–39. and logistics. Hugo Gutiérrez Jurado, Villa Luz, Mexico, an Active H2S Terreros Espinosa, E., 2006. Arque- Marcia Bardy, and Diana Northup Cave (abstract). Journal of Cave and ología zoque de la región serrana reviewed this document. Karst Studies 60: 188. tabasqueña. In: Presencia zoque: Porter Núñez, R., 2007. Estudio de una aproximación multidisciplinaria The Caves of Tabasco Project has factibilidad de actividades de (D. Aramoni Calderón, T. A. Lee a Web site at http://www.garot turismo alternativo en el Parque Whiting y M. Lisbona Guillén, .com/Tabasco/. Estatal Agua Blanca. In: Plan coords.). Universidad de Ciencias Maestro para el Desarrollo turístico y Artes de Chiapas, Consejo de Ford, D., and P. Williams, 2007. Karst del Parque Estatal Agua Blanca, Ta- Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de Hydrogeology and Geomorphology, basco, México (C. Zequeira Larios, Chiapas, Universidad Autónoma John Wiley and Sons, 562 pp. L. Gama Campillo, A. Galindo de Chiapas, Universidad Nacional Hose, L. D., A. N. Palmer, M. V. Alcántara, eds.). Universidad Autónoma de México, México, Palmer, D. E. Northup, P. J. Bos- Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, D.F., p. 223–256. ton, and H. R. DuChene, 2000. Tabasco, México. Tobler, M., Z. W. Culumber, M. Microbiology and geochemistry Rosales-Lagarde, L., P. J. Boston, M. Plath, K. O. Winemiller, and G. G. in a hydrogen-sulphide-rich karst Spilde, A. Campbell, and K. W. Rosenthal, 2011. An indigenous environment. Chemical Geology, Stafford, 2007. Cuevas de Tabasco: religious ritual selects for resis- 169: 399–423. en búsqueda de la extensión de tance to a toxicant in a livebearing Houston, S., P. S. Mozley, A. R. la espeleogénesis hipogénica fish.Biology Letters 7: 229–232. doi: Campbell, and P. Boston. Petrol- en el área (abstract ). I Congreso 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0663. ogy and Chemistry of Cave Pearls FEPUR / V Congreso FEALC, Des- Toth, J., 1999. Groundwater as a from Gruta De Las Canicas (Cave cubriendo el mundo subterráneo de geologic agent: An overview of of the Marbles), Tabasco, Mexico: América Latina y el Caribe, Programa the causes, processes, and mani- Geological Society of America de Conferencias y Actividades, p. festations. Hydrogeology Journal Abstracts with Programs, 40: no. 135–136. 7: 1–14. 6, p. 479. Klimchouk, A., 2007. Hypogene Spe- Tabasco Subterraneo leogenesis: Hydrogeological and Morphogenetic Perspective. National El carso o carst se define como el conjunto de fenómenos causados Cave and Karst Research Institute por la disolución de rocas por agua subterránea o superficial, y uno Special Paper No. 1, Carlsbad, de los fenómenos son las cuevas. En el estado de Tabasco el carso New Mexico, 106 pp. forma parte de las regiones de colinas y las bases de montañas, so- Lugo Hubp, J., 1989. Diccionario Geo- bre todo cerca de la base de las pendientes en la planicie fluvial. La morfológico. Universidad Nacional morfología del carso va desde un desarrollo moderado, como en la Autónoma de México, México, Sierra Tapijulapa, a uno bastante avanzado. Las rocas que sufren la 337 pp. disolución son principalmente calizas cretácicas y dolomitas, así como Meneses-Rocha, J. J., 2001. Tectonic algunas calizas más jóvenes, conglomerados y areniscas. Algunas de evolution of the Ixtapa graben, an estas rocas son afectadas por los pliegues, fallas y diaclasas. Estas example of a strike-slip basin in estructuras modifican el flujo de agua y por lo tanto los procesos de southeastern Mexico. Implications formación de cuevas, influyendo en la forma y tamaño de los pasajes. for regional petroleum systems. In: Los pasajes de cuevas sirven como refugio u hogar para una variedad The western Gulf of Mexico Basin: de especies, desde microorganismos hasta vertebrados, tanto aquellas Tectonics, sedimentary basins, and que se han adaptado completamente a la vida en la oscuridad y a petroleum systems (C. Bartolini, R. la baja disponibilidad de nutrientes y toda su vida transcurre en el T. Buffler, and A. Cantú-Chapa, interior de las cuevas, como aquellas que ocasionalmente visitan las eds.). American Association of cuevas, alternando entre la vida en la superficie y debajo de ella. Petroleum Geologists Memoir 135 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

cave bats of tabasco

Cornelio Sánchez-Hernández and María de Lourdes Romero-Almaraz

ats belong to the class Mammalia, obtained. Frugivorous bats help in the and one of them, the pollenivorous Bmembers of which, among other dispersal of the seeds of many fruit bat Glossophaga morenoi, is endemic, characteristics, have their bodies trees, and they help reforestation in found only in Mexico. Of these spe- covered with hair and feed their the areas where they are distributed. cies, sixteen feed on insects, eight offspring with milk. Some people Additionally, the excreta, or guano, on fruit, five on pollen, and three think that bats are blind mice with of many types of bats is used as a on blood. One species is omnivo- wings, but this is not true. Bats are fertilizer with a high concentration rous, one is piscivorous (it feeds on a different group, and they are not of nitrogen, and it is also the basis of fish), and one is a carnivore. Also, blind. When they are born, they many food chains in caves or other fourteen of the species breed once a already have wings. For this reason, places where it is concentrated. year; eight, twice; and nine species, they make up the order Chiroptera, three or more times per year. Four a word that derives from the roots ats are mainly nocturnal, and they species are considered threatened, chiros = hand and pteron = wing, that Bnavigate by echolocation, that is, and four are endangered (NOM- is, mammals with hands modified they emit ultrasounds through the 059-ECOL-2001). into wings. larynx. When echoes return, they There are many caves in Tabasco; In American pre-Hispanic cultures are heard by the bats, allowing them among the most important are Cueva they were considered gods and to detect the presence, form, and de las Sardinas [Cueva de la Villa symbols of long life, wealth, and movements of objects. Thus they can Luz], the caves of the Teapa region, fertility; and they were recognized find their way and their food even where the best-known is Grutas de as messengers from the sky, the in complete darkness. Coconá, and the Agua Blanca cave earth, and the underworld because They have great physical endur- system in the municipality of Ma- they inhabit caves or the interior of ance and capacity for flight, and cuspana. In Cueva de las Sardinas, the earth. But today, little is known some species can migrate hundreds colonies of thousands of bats of the about their importance, and the or thousands of miles in search of family Mormoopidae, such as Mor- bad reputation of vampires (bats places with favorable temperatures moops megalophylla, Pteronotus davyi, that feed on blood) has favored the and abundant food. For example, the P. parnellii, and P. personatus have destruction of their populations. We free-tailed bats Tadarida brasiliensis been recorded (Gordon and Rosen, cannot deny the problem that the travel from the southern United States 1962; Palacios-Vargas, 2009; Ibáñez et existence of vampires is for men and and northern Mexico to central and al., 2000), as well as smaller colonies domestic animals, because they are southern Mexico, and every year they of P. gymnonotus (Ibáñez et al., 2000) the main vectors of rabies, but bats return to their places of origin. Other and M. nigricans (Rosales L., personal that do not feed on blood are more species live in extremely cold environ- communication). numerous and are important from ments, and they do not migrate, but In the region of Teapa there are various points of view. hibernate, that is, they lower their twenty-six species in five families Among bats, there are insectivo- temperature and metabolism to a level associated with caves, among which rous species. They are the most im- at which the energy cost is very low, we can highlight the presence of Bal- portant predators of nocturnal insects and they can survive in hibernation antiopteryx io, because this is the only that may become pests. Other bats for four or five months without food place where it has been recorded in are pollenivorous or nectivorous, and during the winter. Tabasco, as well as six of the eight they carry out the pollination and endangered or threatened species fertilization of plants of economic n Tabasco, sixty-one species of (Sánchez-Hernández and Romero- importance for food and culture, Ibats have been recorded, and Almaraz, 1995). In the Agua Blanca like the agave from which tequila is of these, thirty-five (57 percent) system there are at least nineteen are associated with cave systems species. This area is very important [email protected] (Sánchez-Hernández et al., 2005), because some species considered 136 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

bats associated with caves in the state of tabasco

Scientific Name Common Name Feeding Reproductive Status Caves Habits Events NOM-059 1 2 3 Family Emballonuridae Balantiopteryx io Thomas´s Sac-winged Bat Insectivorous 1 x Balantiopteryx plicata Gray Sac-winged Bat Insectivorous 1 x x Peropteryx kappleri Greater Dog-like Bat Insectivorous 1 Pr x Peropteryx macrotis Lesser Dog-like Bat Insectivorous 1 x Saccopteryx bilineata Greater Sac-winged bat Insectivorous 1 x

Family Noctilionidae Noctilio leporinus Greater Bulldog Bat Piscivorous 2 x x

Family Mormoopidae Mormoops megalophylla Peters´s Ghost-faced Bat Insectivorous 2 x x x Pteronotus davyi Davy´s Naked-backed Bat Insectivorous 1 x x Pteronotus gymnonotus Big Naked-backed Bat Insectivorous Pr x Pteronotus parnellii Common Mustached Bat Insectivorous 1 x x x Pteronotus personatus Wagner´s Mustached Bat Insectivorous 1 x x x

Family Phyllostomidae Micronycteris microtis Common Big-eared Bat Insectivorous 1 x x Desmodus rotundus Common Vampire Bat Hematophagous 1 x x x Diaemus youngi White-winged Vampire Bat Hematophagous Pr x Diphylla ecaudata Hairy-legged Vampire Bat Hematophagous 2 x Chrotopterus auritus Woolly False Vampire Bat Omnivorous 1 Th x Trachops cirrhosus Fringe-lipped Bat Carnivorous Th x Lonchorhina aurita Common Sword-nosed Bat Insectivorous 1 Th x x Macrophyllum macrophyllum Long-legged Bat Insectivorous 2 Th x Anoura geoffroyi Geoffroy’s Tailless Bat Pollenivorous 1 Choeroniscus godmani Godman´s Long-tongued Bat Pollenivorous Glossophaga morenoi Western Long-tongued Bat Pollenivorous 3 Glossophaga soricina Pallas´ Long-tongued Bat Pollenivorous 3 x x Hylonycteris underwoodi Underwood´s Long-tongued Bat Pollenivorous 2 x x Artibeus intermedius Intermediate Fruit-eating Bat Frugivorous 3 Artibeus jamaicensis Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat Frugivorous 3 x x Artibeus lituratus Great Fruit-eating Bat Frugivorous 3 x Carollia sowelli Sowell´s Short-tailed Bat Frugivorous 2 x x Carollia perspicillata Seba´s Short-tailed Bat Frugivorous 3 x x Carollia subrufa Gray Short-tailed Bat Frugivorous 2 Dermanura phaeotis Pygmy Fruit-eating Bat Frugivorous 3 x x Sturnira lilium Little Yellow-shouldered Bat Frugivorous 3 x x

Family Natalidae Natalus stramineus Mexican Funnel-eared Bat Insectivorous 1 x x

Family Vespertilionidae Myotis nigricans Black Myotis Insectivorous 3 Pr x x Myotis velifer Cave Myotis Insectivorous 2 x NOM-059 status: Pr, protected species; Th, threatened species. Caves: 1, Cueva de Las Sardinas; 2, Teapa municipality; 3, Parque Agua Blanca.

137 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

rare are found there; among them are Chrotopterus auritus, Trachops cirrhosus, and Lonchorhina aurita (Sánchez- Hernández and Romero-Almaraz, 1995; Castro-Luna, 2007).

n spite of the extraordinary crea- Itures that bats are, they are among the animals that are least understood and most threatened by man. The mere mention of the word bat makes most people think of dirty and dangerous creatures. This makes them feared and pursued creatures and fa- vors their indiscriminate destruction, without considering that without them some ecosystems cannot be sustained, and this could lead to the extinction of many species, including man. In addition to deliberate destruction, agriculture, ranching, urbanization, and nowadays climate change are altering or destroying the areas where bats feed, thus causing a decrease in their numbers and in some cases their extinction. It is undeniable that education is the best weapon for the conservation of bats, because it makes people aware of their diversity and importance. This must be done at all levels. If people get to understand the issue of vampires and to know about the biology, behavior, and importance of beneficial bats, they will help to reduce disturbance and mortality of the beneficial species. However, to benefit their populations we must also preserve natural areas appropriate for the bats’ existence. Their roosts must be protected from van- dalism, and, as far as possible, people must be requested not to visit those places so they do not cause them unnecessary disturbance. When the roosts are part of a tourist attraction, the administrators should see that they remain isolated and in total or semi-darkness, so that light and the presence of people do not chase the Photographs of some bats recorded in the caves of the state of Tabasco. bats out of the area. 1. Gray sac-winged bat, Balantiopteryx plicata; photo Cornelio Sánchez Hernán- dez. 2. Peters´s ghost-faced bat, Mormoops megalophylla; photo Cornelio Sánchez Acknowledgements: To Laura Hernández. 3. Greater bulldog bat, Noctilio leporinus; photo Cornelio Sánchez Rosales for reporting the presence of Hernández. 4. Common mustached bat, Pteronotus parnellii; photo Cornelio the Myotis nigricans colony in Cueva Sánchez Hernández. 5. Common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus; photo María de las Sardinas and for her logistical de Lourdes Romero Almaraz. 6. Mexican funnel-eared bat, Natalus stramineus; support. To José Palacios for provid- photo María de Lourdes Romero Almaraz. ing us literature about Cueva de las Sardinas. To Ingo Schlupp for the invitation to collaborate on the project. Laura Lara and Laura Rosales helped 138 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 with the English translation. gymnonotus (Chiroptera, Mor- Autónoma de México, 215 p. moopidae) from Tabasco, Mex- Sánchez-Hernández, C., M. L. Castro-Luna, A. A., 2007. Cambios ico. Southwestern Naturalist 45: Romero-Almaraz, and C. García- en los ensamblajes de murciélagos 345–347. Estrada, 2005. Mamíferos. In: en un paisaje modificado por ac- Palacios-Vargas, J. G., 2009. Los Biodiversidad del estado de Tabasco tividades humanas en el Trópico Estudios Bioespeleológicos de (J. Bueno, F. Álvarez, and S. San- húmedo de México. Tesis de Doc- la Cueva de Las Sardinas y sus tiago, eds.) Instituto de Biología, torado en Ecología y Manejo de Perspectivas. Mundos Subterráneos UNAM−CONABIO, México. p. Recursos Naturales, Instituto de 20: 22–26. (Also printed in IX Con- 285–304. Ecología, A. C., Veracruz. 119 p. greso Nacional Mexicano de Espele- Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Gordon, M. S., and D. E. Rosen, ología, Memorias, pages 170–173, Recursos Naturales, 2002. Nor- 1962. A cavernicolous form of http://www.umae.org/cong08/ ma Oficial Mexicana NOM-059- the Poeciliid fishPoecilia sphenops articulos/memorias35.pdf.) ECOL-2001, protección ambien- from Tabasco, Mexico. Copeia 2: Sánchez-Hernández, C., and M. L. tal—Especies nativas de México 360–368. Romero-Almaraz, 1995. Murcié- de flora y fauna silvestres—Cate- Ibáñez, C., R. López-Wilchis, J. lagos de Tabasco y Campeche: una gorías de riesgo y especificaciones Juste B., and M. A. León Galván, propuesta para su conservación. para su inclusión, exclusión o 2000. Echolocation calls and a Cuadernos 24. Instituto de Bi- cambio—Lista de especies en noteworthy record of Pteronotus ología, Universidad Nacional riesgo. Diario Oficial, 6 de marzo del 2002: 1–56.

Murciélagos de Cuevas de Tabasco

Se han identificado sesenta y un especies de murciélagos en Tabasco, y de ellas, treinta y cinco han sido asociadas con sistemas de cuevas, y una de ellas, el murciélago polinífero Glossophaga morenoi, es endémico, únicamente encontrado en México. De estas especies, dieciséis se alimentan de insectos, ocho de frutas, cinco de polen y tres de sangre. Una especie es omnívora, una es ictiófaga y una es carnívora. Cuatro especies se consideran amenazadas de extinción y cuatro están en riesgo de extinción. Debido a la mala repu- tación de los murciélagos vampiro, es necesario educar a la gente para que sea entendido que la gran mayoría de murciélagos son benéficos y no deben ser molestados. La preservación de áreas esenciales para los murciélagos es también importante.

139 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Arthopod Ecology in Cueva de Las Sardinas, Tacotalpa, Tabasco

José G. Palacios-Vargas et al.*

ueva de Las Sardinas (aka Cueva here have been several studies of three of them are based on guano, Cde Villa Luz) is located 2 kilo- Tthe arthropods in Cueva de Las three on dead leaves, and three on meters from Villa Tapijulapa, in a Sardinas, but they are mainly taxo- colonies of snottites; three places remnant of tropical forest locally nomic (Estrada and Iglesias, 2003; that had only bare soil serve as a known as Parque Villa Luz, in the Estrada and Mejía-Recamier, 2005; control. municipio of Tacotalpa, Tabasco. The Palacios-Vargas and Estrada, 2003; In each selected room, we col- importance of this cave has been Palacios-Vargas et al., 2009) and say lected about 600 cubic centimeters stressed by Hose (1999) because of little about the communities and the of sediment. These samples were its rich biodiversity, especially the complex food webs that occur there. taken to the laboratory for processing chemoautotrophic bacteria that are Ecological data of micro-arthropod and arthropod extraction. Extracted developed in elongated biological communities are provided here arthropods were fixed in alcohol, structures with a gelatinous (or based on quarterly sampling from separated by species, and counted. mucus-like) appearance calls mocoti- March 2001 to March 2002. Then, we calculated the abundance, tas or snottites (Hose and Pisarowicz Biodiversity in this ecosystem indices of ecological diversity, and 1999). There are three kinds of energy was studied in three different habi- comparison of species diversity sources in this cave: the guano from tat types in twelve different rooms for each season of the year. Using bat colonies, the dead leaves and inside the cave. The ecosystems in statistical methods, we evaluated other detritus falling through the skylight openings to cave rooms, and the presence of colonies of snottites and other types of bacteria. The rooms where these resources are located provide both uniform environments and niches that are habitats for flora and fauna. Micro-arthropods, principally springtails (insects) and mites (arachnids), are the most diverse and abundant organisms in the soil and other subterranean environments. Some authors have considered them “plankton underground,” for their important role in the underground food chain, helping to recycle nutrients and providing food for other, larger animals.

[email protected] *Gabriela Castaño-Meneses, Daniel A. Estrada, Blanca Mejía,Leopoldo Cutz, Ricardo Iglesias, and Carmen Figure 1. A. Mesostigmata mite. B. Neanuridae springtail (Americanura sadina- Maldonado sensis). C. Hypogastruridae springtail. D. Dicyrtomidae springtail.

140 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 the effect of the habitat type at each are the dominant group. In Cueva Estrada, D. A., and B. E. Mejía- collection point on the density of the de Las Sardinas, springtails (Figure Recamier. 2005. Cunáxidos de arthropods. 1B–1D) are only sixth in abundance, la Cueva de Las Sardinas, Ta- A total of 27,913 specimens were after the Mesostigmata, Astigmata, basco, México, in Memorias del collected, with the greatest abun- Cryptostigmata, Prostigmata, and VII Congreso Nacional Mexicano dance in the guano habitats (21,422 beetle larvae. de Espeleología, Monterrey, México. specimens, or 7 specimens per cubic The rich fauna in this cave can p. 44–46. centimeter of cave soil), followed be explained by the diversity of Hose, L. D. 1999. Exploring one by the plant-detritus habitats (4,455 microenvironments and sources of of the World’s Strangest Caves. specimens, or 1.5 cm−3), the bacterial- nutrients available for arthropods. The Explorers Journal (spring): colony habitats (1,614 specimens, The surrounding vegetation may p. 22–27. or 0.5 cm−3), and finally the control also have an important role. Hose, L. D., and J. A. Pisarowicz. areas (422 specimens, or 0.1 cm−3). La Cueva de Las Sardinas has 1999. Cueva de Villa Luz, Tabasco, The environment has a significant the most diverse fauna known in Mexico: Reconnaissance study of effect on the density of arthropods, Mexico, around 170 species if adding an active sulfur spring cave and especially in the dead leaves, while the arthropods and bats. However, ecosystem. Journal of Cave and the collection points and their inter- some species live in several different Karst Studies 61:13–21. action with the habitat did not seem environments, while others have Palacios-Vargas, J. G., and D. Es- to have a great effect on the density limited distribution. trada. 2003. Comparación entre of micro-arthropods. los colémbolos que habitan dentro Plant detritus had the highest di- This project was made possible de la Cueva de Las Sardinas y las versity, followed by the control areas, thanks to support from CONACyT que viven en el exterior. Memorias guano, and the soil under bacterial project 3965-V. The field work was VI Congreso Nacional Mexicano colonies. Species with the most resis- done with the help of Ada Ruiz Cas- de Espeleología, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, tance to highly acidic conditions are tillo, Saúl Aguilar, Mariano García Chiapas, México: 11–14. mites of the families Histiostomidae and Arturo Fuentes. Palacios-Vargas, J. G., J. C. Simón (Astigmata) and Oppidae (Cryp- Benito, and J. Paniagua Nuca- tostigmata). The mites, mainly Me- Estrada, D. A., and R. Iglesias. 2003. mendi. 2009. Especies nuevas sostigmata, are the most abundant Biodiversidad de ácaros oribáti- de Americanura (Collembola: micro-arthropods in Cueva de Las dos (Acari:Cryptostigmata) de la Nenauridae) de América Latina. Sardinas (Figure 1A). This is very Cueva de Las Sardinas, Tabasco, Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, different from what have been found México. Entomología Mexicana 80:431–443. in other caves, where springtails 2:46–52.

Ecología de los artrópodos de la Cueva de Las Sardinas, Tacotalpa, Tabasco

La Cueva de Las Sardinas se encuentra a dos kilómetros de la Villa Tapijulapa, en un relicto de selva tropical conocido localmente como Parque Villa Luz, en el municipio de Tacotalpa, Tabasco. La riqueza faunística de la cueva de Las Sardinas puede explicarse por la gran diversidad de mi- croambientes o fuentes de nutrientes disponibles para los artrópodos. La vegetación circundante también puede tener un papel importante. La Cueva de Las Sardinas es la que tiene la fauna más diversa de las que se conocen en México, ya que si sumamos los artrópodos y los murciélagos tienen cerca de 170 especies. Sin embargo algunas viven en varios de estos ambientes y otras tienen distribución restringida.

141 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Microorganisms at Cueva de Las Sardinas

Diana Northup and Dan Jones

ueva de Las Sardinas (Cueva de Because of this bacterial acid pro- sulfide and other gases. These bio- CVilla Luz) is really a paradise of duction, the snottite biofilms are films contain communities rich in microbial biodiversity, with the pres- very acidic and can have pH values Epsilonproteobacteria, which oxidize ence of the groups Bacteria, Archaea, below 0, which is more acidic than hydrogen sulfide, and also some Ar- and other micro-organisms that live battery acid. chaea that generate methane gas. in various types of communities Other organisms that live in snot- along the rooms and streams of the tites include different species of n the darkest and deepest regions cave. White biological structures bacteria, archaea, nematodes, some Iof the cave, there are rocks covered with viscose appearance, known as fungi and protozoa, and other mi- with a green biofilm sticking out mocotitas or snottites, hang from the croscopic invertebrates. Little is from the stream. Within this green walls and ceilings of the cave. These known about the other organisms biofilm are communities of Archaea snottites are formed by microbial from snottites, and there are still of the genus Ferroplasma, a group biofilms or aggregates of microor- new species to be discovered and of organisms that get their energy ganisms surrounded by gel secre- described. from iron, prefer acidic conditions, tions, or mucus, used as a protective In other places in the cave, a thick and have no cell wall. Other com- mechanism. The snottite microbial black sludge covers the white bottom munity members include the TM7 community is formed primarily by of the stream. Oxygen is nonexistent phylum, a new division of bacteria, an acid-loving, sulfur-eating bac- here, but sulfate-reducing bacteria and bacteria that like salty or acid terium known as Acidithiobacillus turn sulfate molecules into hydrogen conditions and have names like thiooxidans. A. thiooxidans consumes sulfide that is used by other bacteria. Salinisphaera, Acidithiobacillus (which

hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas from Thick biofilms called phlegm balls also lives in the snottites), Haloth- the cave atmosphere, and produces cover the fractures where springs iobacillus, and Acidiphilium. Some of

sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as a byproduct. emanate, discharging hydrogen these bacteria metabolize sulfur or

Snottites hanging on the wall in one of the rooms in Cueva Phlegm balls cover an opening in the wall at Phlegm de Las Sardinas. Image size ~10 cm. Kenneth Ingham. Spring in Cueva de Las Sardinas. Kenneth Ingham.

142 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Green biofilms cover rocks sticking out of the stream in the Biovermiculations on the wall in the Ragu Passage. Image Big Room. Image ~30 cm. Kenneth Ingham. size ~30 cm. Kenneth Ingham. iron, rather than the organic carbon that we humans eat. Above the stream and in dry places like the Ragu Passage, bio- Microorganismos de la Cueva de Las Sardinas vermiculations bloom on the walls of the cave. These biovermiculations La Cueva de Las Sardinas es realmente un paraíso de la bio- resemble worm tubes on the walls diversidad microbiana con presencia de los grupos Bacteria, and contain a diverse community Archaea y otros microorganismos viviendo en varios tipos de of Bacteria and Archaea, including comunidades a lo largo de las cámaras y arroyos de la cueva. organisms that generate methane or Las “snottites” o mocotitas son formaciones de color blanco con utilize sulfur, carbon, iron, nitrite, or apariencia y textura viscosa que cuelgan de las paredes y el ammonia for energy. techo de esta cueva. En algunos lugares de la cueva un espeso So, in whatever community the lodo negro cubre el fondo del arroyo color blanco. En este lodo microbes live, they can take advan- no existe el oxígeno pero bacterias reductoras de sulfato con- tage of the environmental condi- vierten moléculas de sulfato en ácido sulfhídrico, usado a su tions, difficult for others, provided vez por otras bacterias. Sobresaliendo del arroyo color blanco, by Cueva de Las Sardinas. The en las cámaras más oscuras y profundas de la cueva hay rocas microbes, in turn, are food for other cubiertas por biopelículas verdes. organisms that live in the cave, including the fish of the speciesPoecila mexicana.

143 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Wes skiles 1958–2010

It was in the fall of 1980 that I first assistant outside bring in several boxes and was determined to capture on film met Wes Skiles. I had driven down to with $20,000-worth of Benthos deep the essence of the undertaking and to Jacksonville non-stop from Maryland submersible camera gear. He and Wes buoy the spirits of those who chose to to continue training in deep diving with then disappeared for some time together, continue on. He succeeded in both. He Sheck Exley. Sheck was teaching me how and the next thing we saw was this tank knew exactly what he needed to get, and to dive deep on air for an expedition I sled carrying all this camera gear that I watched as he spent more than a week had planned for 1981 to the San Agustín bolted under an Aqua Zepp. hanging on rope, and twenty-seven rolls sump in Oaxaca. He recommended I Leo Dickinson was also there in 1987, of film, to get one picture of the entrance pick up a set of twin 104s and went so filming a documentary with Wes’s help to the Sótano de San Agustín that he far as to recommend a dive shop where for HTV Britain. Following the longest knew was a keeper. He did that fifteen I could get them, the Aquifer Dive exploration dive of the project, almost more times in other places, and the result Center in Jacksonville. It happened to 1400 meters from the entrance in B Tun- was the National Geographic story on the be the dive shop owned by Clark Pit- nel, Leo interviewed Wes, who had just expedition printed in September 1995. I cairn. Wes worked for Clark and split turned thirty, and said, “Do you feel owe a great debt of gratitude to Wes for his time equally between surfing and you’ll be able to keep this up?” And doing that. Had he not brought the team cave diving. So at that time Wes was Wes responded, on film, “As I get older I back together, it is doubtful we would a 23-year-old cave diving surfer bum, know things will become more difficult, have gone on to continue exploration doing anything for a weekly cave div- but we’ll just change that with technol- beyond the San Agustín sump. ing fix and catching the next wave. Like ogy” . . . and keep on diving. I had the privilege of working with several of us who were lucky enough in There was a long gap before I saw Wes Wes at Wakulla Springs again in 1999. that era, Wes had the good fortune of be- again. It was Thanksgiving 1993 and we This time he had a much more mature ing Sheck’s protégé—a redneck protégé were testing the Cis-Lunar Mk4 in Ginny style and a crew of six working for him. with a wicked sense of humor. Springs before a planned expedition to But he carried that same gleam of excite- I lost track of Wes until the fall of 1987, Huautla in the spring of 1994. Then I ment in his eye at being where it was when an unusual series of events led to saw Wes at a barbecue at Woody Jas- happening and the same determination a three-month permit to explore Wakulla per’s in February 1994. It was a send-off to get the shot. He was now a regular Springs in Florida. By that time, Wes was party for two important expeditions that with National Geographic, and his foot- well known as one of Florida’s top cave spring —for Sheck and Jim Bowden’s age was at the heart of the hour-long divers, and there was little question he push on Zacatón and for our project at documentary “Mapping the Labyrinth” would be involved with the project. So Huautla. Late that evening Wes broke that captured the essence of the effort to was National Geographic. The expedi- out some videos he and Kenny Broad build the first 3D cave map. I enjoyed tion was short on cash, and we had let had collaborated on, and with a tongue- the frequent evening campfires we had this fact be known to our sponsors at in-cheek smile warned us to learn from at Indian Springs, where the team was National Geographic. At that time, the these videos so we would not make the based for that project, with Wes telling best-known underwater photographer at same mistakes on the upcoming projects. tales of his upcoming projects. National Geographic was Emory Kristoff. One was the infamous “Jacque Eye-Ear” The August 2010 issue of National Not long after sending the emergency escapade in which a famous French Geographic Magazine had on its cover note to NGS, Wes and I were working on free-diver (played by Kenny) attempts what may be Wes’s most stunning image gear when comes a knock on the door. to swim from Devil’s Eye to Devil’s Ear ever, and a three-page foldout inside. Wes goes and answers it, and there, in a on one breath. The second was “Captain He went out at the top of his game. trench coat in the rain, is Emory Kristoff. Safety,” an insane underwater horror The best underwater photographer on He walks in and, doing his best James flick with monsters with glowing eyes this planet. Cagney impersonation, says, “Da boys and Aqua Zepps that flew upside down. I would have worked with Wes any- in DC heard yer message, so dey send Both used novel points-of-view that where. Under any conditions. On this me to deliver de money.” Whereupon were early indicators of Wes’s genius planet or off it. He was a true expedition- he opens the trench coat and slaps a behind a camera. ary man, a true brother in exploration. wad of $3,000 in cash on the table. Then A few months later, during much If there is life after death, or existence he turns to Wes and says, “Hey kid, I sadder times following the loss of Sheck in a parallel dimension, I know that hear you knows how to run a camera in Zacatón and our Scottish teammate Wes is out there now, showing them underwater?” Ian Rolland in San Agustín, Wes came to how to make perfect pictures. Carry on And Wes is stumbling for words. So Huautla. He arrived like the cavalry on a brother.—Bill Stone Kristoff continues, “Well, de boys in the white horse, instilling new enthusiasm in de basement at 17th and M sent me with a demoralized team. He was on official (Condensed from a tribute in Underwater another present for yuz.” And he has his assignment from National Geographic Speleology, 37(4)24–26, October-December 2010.)

144 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 reprint

the diamante story four years under the el abra

Mark Minton

The Sierra de El Abra was one of the be exceedingly difficult to carry in. unappealing cave was not at all most popular caving areas in Mexico The stage was therefore set for a intimidating. Armed with a single during the 1970s, perhaps partly because new flurry of activity in this caving rope for the drop we had been told it was relatively close to the United region. about, we set off with high hopes of States. The narrow limestone range is Cueva de Diamante was first a big scoop. We quickly reached a the first ridge inland from the Gulf of located by William Russell at the “pit” that we rigged and descended, Mexico roughly between Valles, San bottom of a very large sink (later only to find another drop which was Luis Potosí, and Mante, Tamaulipas. surveyed: 0.5 by 1 kilometer and 76 obviously not climbable. Returning To the north it merges with the Sierra meters deep) on the northern edge of to the rope, we found the series of de Guatemala. Almost entirely without the road about a half kilometer from steep 2- to 3-meter-high flowstone roads or trails, many of its most signifi- the crest. The cave was named for cascades to be free climbable. These cant caves were seen from the air and the numerous and often well-formed were later named Frog Falls for the reached by arduous chops through the Herkimer diamonds (doubly termi- many green tree frogs clinging to the thorny forest. This article, reprinted nated quartz crystals) found in the rock. We then moved the rope down from AMCS Activities Newsletter 8, arroyos leading to the cave. There to the next drop and rigged in. Ten May 1978, pages 6–15 plus foldout map, are two entrances: a low crawl tak- meters down, the pit is intersected by reports the exploration that made Cueva ing the arroyo and an obscure karst a ledge and is divided by a very thin de Diamante the fourth deepest cave window a few meters to the south. bedrock partition. Following what in Mexico at the time, and the deepest The initial reconnaissance party of was apparently the main route, to outside of the Huautla, Oaxaca, area. William Russell and Andy Grubbs the left of the partition, we arrived explored approximately 90 meters at the bottom in another 10 meters. he Christmas caving season of steeply sloping flowstone-filled There, a small passage leads back Tof 1974 was a very special one phreatic tube to a depth of 40 meters, under the one above and quickly for AMCS activities in the El Abra. where they were stopped by a short drops to another pit. Since we had no An unprecedented stroke of luck pit. Although the cave apparently more rope, we were forced to retreat befell us in the form of a road con- takes large amounts of water dur- and check out the other side of the structed from El Salvador on the ing heavy rains (walls scoured clean partition in the first pit. Both sides Inter-American Highway directly and almost no mud present) and has of the pit below the partition were across the range to Mina Otates on reasonable air movement, it was not found to be climbable; for ascend- its eastern crest, a distance of about considered a high-priority find. The ing climbing is actually easier than 18 kilometers. The placement of this passage is small, generally 2 meters using the rope. road was auspicious indeed, since high by 1 meter wide, and is often A narrow, jagged, highly sculpted it led into one of the most desir- nearly plugged with flowstone. canyon quite unlike any of the pas- able yet inaccessible regions of the Other caves draining sinkholes in sage above led off from the other jungle. Not only are numerous pits the El Abra have generally been side of the pit. This torturous pas- and sinkholes visible from the air, short and unimportant (with the sage dropped steadily and finally but the range is also at its highest exception of Monos), so the lead led to an overhung 7-meter pitch. point above the coastal plain, thus was not immediately pursued by Being without rope and faced with providing the potential for very deep its discoverers. a choice of turning back or risking caves. The importance of the road A few days after the discovery of a climb, we naturally opted for the is stressed here (there are not even Diamante another group arrived in latter—after all, we could see bigger any burro trails) because without the area and took interest in the cave. passage below. Richard Minton and it the equipment, especially rope To our group, with caving origins in Steve Barbee managed to squeeze and water, necessary for extended the Midwest and much less experi- through a vadose trench a meter exploration of a major cave would ence in Mexico, the small, relatively back up the passage and emerged 145 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

partway down the pit, from where We sadly had to leave for home checking around produced a survey they could easily climb to the bot- after this brief but tantalizing look station—we had reconnected with tom. The drop was thus named into Cueva de Diamante. Exploration the Crystal Room route about 80 Size 28 Pit after the limiting waist had been stopped by pits at every meters down. What a bummer— size of the trench. I remained on turn, each one moving air. Little two of our leads were now finished. top hammering at the hole with a did we realize at that time that we The cave was 276 meters deep, not mini-crowbar and finally enlarged had already seen virtually the entire even the thousand feet we had been the slot enough to fit through—if I horizontal extent of the cave. hoping for. took off my belt. The larger passage While part of the group derigged, we had seen very quickly narrowed he following Easter (1975) a Neal, Barb, and I set out on the grim down and once again we were inch- Tgroup of Texans led by Andy task of mapping the 180-meter- ing along in a miserably tight fissure Grubbs returned to Diamante to long canyon passage leading off changing levels frequently in order to check the Crystal Room area. From the bottom of the other side of the squeeze through. This passage is so the bottom of the room they found first pit. Progress was quite slow, tight that it is not always possible to a semi-chimneyable slot leading since shots were of necessity rather turn one’s head or feet around, and down 15 meters to a hand-line drop. short. We stopped for a rest at the there is frequently no floor—just a This led to another drop for which enlargement in the passage noted narrow crevice waiting to swallow they had no rope, so they returned previously about halfway through up a carelessly dropped item of to the surface. Mike McKee fell 4.5 the canyon. Barb reached over, equipment or a misplaced foot or meters on one of the climbs when a picked up a funny-looking rock, leg. The fissure ends abruptly and handhold broke, but wasn’t hurt. and handed it to Neal. “What’s is intersected by a slightly larger Armed with additional rope they this?” Neal could hardly believe canyon to the right. returned the following day and his eyes; it was a well-preserved Our hopes began to rise as we rigged a few more short drops to mastodon molar. A frenzy of digging rounded a corner and came into a tight squeeze overlooking a deep in the mud bank and stream gravel wider passage that seemed to be fissure. This fissure, approximately produced several horse-like teeth getting bigger. It did so, but only 40 meters deep, was descended and unidentifiable bone fragments. for about 10 meters before pinching and partially explored, but time Samples were collected for further back down as tight as ever. Many prevented an accurate assessment study, and were later found to date Herkimer diamonds were found in of leads. The area was named Hand- from the Pleistocene. Proceeding on the stream gravel in this area. The burger Hill due to the sharp rocks from the Bone Room, we mapped fissure beyond snaked its way along encountered and was estimated to the remainder of the fissure without and finally began getting exceed- be 300 meters below the surface. incident and left a rope at the top of ingly tight. As we contemplated Spurred on by the Texans’ dis- the drop that had halted exploration leaving this nightmare, I noticed coveries in March, a large group of the previous year. an apparent widening in the lower cavers (John Ferguson, Harold Gold- A return to the end of Canyon- part of the canyon, and chimneyed stein, Mark and Richard Minton, lands, as the torturous fissure is down for a closer look. Much to my Neal Morris, Cady Soukup, Ron now called, was made a couple of surprise I was greeted by an echoing Tilkens, and Barb Vinson) headed days later. This time an extra rope black chasm. Lack of rope forced an back to Diamante for the Christmas was brought along in anticipation exited group to return to the surface ’75 season. There was now a consid- of what lay ahead. The drop at the and tell of our find. erable amount of passage known but end of the canyon turned out to Since our trip was near its end, not mapped, and leads abounded. be 25 meters down into a larger we decided to map in to the first We decided to map the Crys- pit and then explore the next drop tal Room route first, since Harold Goldstein topping out of the entrance on the left side of the partition. This it was easily accessible and pit. Hal Lloyd. drop also led into a different sort of reportedly had a going lead passage than we had seen before. at the bottom. Although All of the flowstone was highly several leads were checked, crystalline, and small alcoves in the nothing was passable. Rocks pit walls were filled with 6-inch- could be rattled on down in long crystals of dogtooth spar. A narrow fissures, but it would short passage at the bottom led two take extensive blasting to different directions, both ending in open anything up. The other pits. The largest of these was also pit lead at the bottom of the covered with dogtooth spar; it was second drop was explored later dubbed the Crystal Room. The while surveying, and after main watercourse, however, seemed two more extremely jagged- to be down the smaller shaft. Her- walled drops we found our- kimer diamonds and inch-long white selves in familiar-looking isopods abounded. surroundings. Indeed, a little 146 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 canyon. Unfortunately the larger including a 95-meter length for the ran out of rope; again, we climbed passage quickly turned narrow and big pit plus two extra ropes for what- down. About 8 meters below the end became totally impassable. Was this ever lay below. Progress was rapid of the rope we had to stop, at the top the end? In desperation we took to and soon the big rope was lowered of another drop. We had mapped the walls of the canyon and began into the blackness. I rappelled in first, in: only seventeen stations, but 180 climbing to higher and higher levels admiring the spaciousness of the vertical meters were netted. looking for a way through, finally drop—an uncommon luxury in Dia- The trip out was slow, being finding one about 5 meters up from mante! I was quickly snapped back complicated by failing lights and the floor. A false floor was present to reality, however, when I backed bad breakovers, including the worst for a while, but then gave way to a over a ledge and saw the end of the top-out I’ve ever done, a V-shaped 20-meter drop. Since I was ahead rope swinging free. So already one slot completely undercut with the of the others, who had the rope, I of our extra ropes had to be brought rope lying in the bottom. By the chimneyed across and down the into play. The pit ended up being 92 time we returned to Richard, he had far side of the pit. From the bottom meters (302 feet) deep and became grown much worse. Before reaching a canyon passage led 15 meters known as the 300. Three meters of the 300, he began to vomit. This was to another pit that was obviously canyon led to a 14-meter pitch that a serious situation, since there was unclimbable. Chimneying back up immediately opened into a 9-meter no way we could pull him up that turned out to be much harder than I drop with another hole visible in 92-meter drop; even if we could, had anticipated, since all the ledges its floor, a scenario to be repeated getting him through Canyonlands were sloping down and covered with many times in the days to come. would be impossible. Two of us greasy mud. But after considerable The last rope put us down another decided to go up to where the sup- time and sweat, I returned to the 14-meter pitch and left us look- port crew was waiting and send others. We rigged our final rope, ing down a similar hole. This was them down. After nine hours of collected rocks, and headed for the amazing. In less than twelve hours waiting, they were happy to see us new pit, which had considerable we had pushed this side of the cave but saddened by the prospects of get- air movement. An apparent floor nearly as deep as the Crystal Room ting Richard out. After a lot of rest, 15 meters down turned out to be a route. And it showed no signs of Richard mustered his strength and ledge; rocks fell free for four and a letting up. On the way out we were clipped onto the rope. Three hours half seconds. We could hardly be- treated to Diamante’s penchant for later, after falling asleep on a ledge lieve our ears. But the lead would bad breakovers. They are among the only to awaken bobbing in mid-air, have to wait, because this was our worst anywhere. Nearly every drop he made it over the lip. From then on last trip of the year. The thought of requires some bizarre contortion to it was smoother going, and the last dragging a 100-meter rope through get over the lip. person emerged after a staggering Canyonlands was dismal indeed, Our next assault was divided thirty hours underground. but we were already making plans between a push team of four, each to return. carrying a rope, and a support crew his cave was getting serious: that came in seven hours later. The Tnearly 400 meters deep and ne of the problems with caving purpose of the latter group was to still going. It was now clear that Oin Mexico when one lives far rig handlines at some of the more trips would be very long. Oh, how away is that trips happen only infre- dangerous climbs (Frog Falls, Size 28 we missed the comparatively easy quently. It was an entire year before Pit), place bolts to alleviate some of Crystal Room route. Why didn’t it we once again collected a crew (John the worst breakovers, and bring in go, instead of that horrible canyon? Ferguson, Harold Goldstein, Max extra food, water, and carbide. After We also had a new factor to consider. Miller, Mark and Richard Minton, rigging a couple more short drops What if we didn’t reach bottom this Neal Morris, Tommy Shifflett, Cady the lead team came to a 30-meter trip? But we had to; it couldn’t be Soukup, Ron Tilkens, and Barb Vin- pitch—our first 1000 feet were now much deeper. The estimated height son) and headed south. This was to in hand. Unfortunately, Richard of the range was less than 500 me- be the final year at Diamante. We became ill at the bottom of this drop ters; the cave plus sinkhole already were all determined to see it through and decided to wait there. Four me- totaled over 470 meters. We were also to the bitter end and had brought ters of stoopway led to another drop. running out of rope, a fate we cer- enough rope to rig the cave nearly Although the rope we used was too tainly wouldn’t have predicted. We 500 meters deep, surely enough for short, it was possible to free-climb decided on one final trip, taking all the El Abra. We also realized that the last dozen meters. For the first available rope, and agreed to derig the rather cavalier approach of past time several small side leads were even if we didn’t reach bottom. trips would no longer be possible. present, but we were anxious to push A five-man team entered the cave There were enough obstacles and on. Our last rope, about 60 meters, and made good time to the 300-meter pits that a more organized plan of was tied off and thrown into the nar- level, where ropes were reshuffled action was needed. row slot ahead. It was found piled to maximize use of the available With the above considerations on the floor only 12 meters down, lengths and to allow the last two in mind, a rigging team of five per- but another slot beckoned, so the drops done previously to be rerigged sons carried six ropes into the cave, rope went down it, too. Again, we with ropes long enough to reach 147

AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 bottom. Climbing pits is dangerous and flowed equally in two direc- was a bad cut, 3 centimeters long and anywhere, but at –320 meters on tions. A brief reconnaissance showed a half centimeter deep on one end. sharp rock prone to breaking off it that each led to a drop; we opted to Amazingly, it wasn’t bleeding badly, is especially bad. A few of the leads continue basically “straight ahead.” but a quick exit (hah!) was impera- noted previously were checked, but There was enough rope left to tie it tive. Neal and I left, while the others just looped back in vertically. The off again and go down another 20 began the slow grind of derigging. main lead was finally rigged with meters, which I did. Two short drops Once on the surface, I was bandaged one of the precious remaining ropes were followed by a larger one, and by our resident nurse, Barb, and then and was descended. Sitting in what that’s where the cave won. I threw she, Cady, and Max, an all female appeared to be another tight canyon the remaining rope in, knowing it party, valiantly entered the cave to at the bottom (oh no, not more can- would not reach bottom, and cau- relieve the push crew. Over the next yon), one could hear running water. tiously rappelled all the way off the twenty-four hours two more groups Aha, I thought, perhaps a base-level end, stopping on a tiny ledge about of people wearily entered the cave, river passage lay ahead. 5 meters above an apparent floor. including Neal, who had come out The canyon went only about 5 This one was unclimbable, but even only hours earlier. In order to move meters before the bottom dropped had I been able to continue it would so much rope through the canyon, out and our last rope had to be de- have been to no avail; I could see where one usually needs both hands ployed. Two short 6-meter pitches yet another black hole in the floor just for balance, it was decided to later the water appeared—a very below. This shaft also went up into a tie all the ropes end to end, station small waterfall, really only a heavy dome different from the way we had people along the way to help pull drip. But its source was significant; entered and was larger in diameter and prevent snags, and pull them it came from a dome we hadn’t come than the last several. through as one continuous snake. down. This was the first time we had We surveyed all we had seen and This unorthodox technique worked seen evidence for input other than were preparing to check the other admirably for the monumental task the way we had come. The water lead when I slipped topping out and at hand. Finally all the people, four- landed directly on a small partition cut my hand on the razor-like rock. It teen ropes, and one cable ladder were

149 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

back in camp. The last push and all to deal with one of the less desirable derigging saw people in the cave properties of Goldline, its tendency continuously for fifty-two hours; to form kinks and snarls. There was Neal was in for forty-two of those. barely enough rope free from a large tangle to allow one to touch bot- e now had a cave over 450 tom. Getting the rack off rope with Wmeter deep, with two leads nearly full tension required a lot of both of which were taking water, gymnastics. blowing air, and going down. Ob- What came next was unbelievable: viously the range was higher than Hal yelled up that there was a five- we had been led to believe. The second pit ahead. This at 500 meters cave was deeper than any of us had down. We were especially excited ever been before, which made it at this point, since one of our secret difficult to judge our abilities. With desires was to beat Sótano de Nogal twenty-six- to thirty-hour trips now (–529 meters), the big find of the the norm, endurance was becoming previous year. Marion won the dubi- a limiting factor. Would we be able ous honor of going first, in a trickle to finish this cave? Camping under- of waterfall. He stopped at a major ground was out of the question. It ledge 55 meters down and explored would be almost impossible to drag a small side shaft. It went. Neal and in the necessary gear. And even if we I rappelled in, noting a large passage could, there wasn’t a suitable place intersecting the pit 25 meters below Neal Morris assaults the Double Slot to put up a camp. So the prospects the lip. The main shaft continued Drop at –350 meters. Marion Smith. for future exploration were grim but from the ledge and sounded deep, exciting. In spite of attempts to give but we were all feeling burned out. The rest of the group descended and away the leads over the next year, It looked as though more rope would began poking into every hole we there were no takers. By December be needed anyway, so we decided to could find. Tommy found a muddy of 1977 we found ourselves planning leave it all for another day. crawl and canyon, but it pinched out to do battle once again. The notoriety Gathering additional ropes, we after about 30 meters. The relatively of Diamante had spread, bringing headed back in two days later with spacious bottom room was character- Hal Lloyd and Marion Smith into visions of two thousand feet danc- ized by several enlarged intersecting our ranks to replace John Ferguson ing in our heads. With all the drops joints and a conspicuous absence of and Ron Tilkens. A massive rigging rigged, we zoomed down to the water. (We had expected to hit base trip was organized during which we leads in no time. We opted for the level.) It was hard to believe, but four planned to move all the necessary main shaft, again with Marion in years after its discovery we were rope into the cave. In order to mini- the lead. A few minutes later the finally at the bottom of Diamante. mize waste of rope, we brought along familiar call for more rope rang out. A lack of time and energy pre- a 180-meter length of Goldline to cut Marion had stopped on a small ledge vented our checking any of the other for each new drop we encountered. where a large boulder was wedged leads, including the other major pas- (In spite of its stretch, the abrasion into the elliptical shaft, unsure of sage at the waterfall divide discov- resistance of Goldline makes it the whether the rope would reach bot- ered the previous year, which may preferred rope for Diamante, with tom. I descended with more rope, even be the “main route” down. The its unusually sharp, jagged walls.) sending down a shower of broken cave was derigged as far as the 300 Using the snaking technique of the projections that elicited a tirade of on the bottoming trip. A subsequent previous year, ten people succeeded expletives from below. We tied off twenty-four-hour effort by nine in reaching and rigging the 300 in a a new rope and Marion descended. people completed the derigging, mere sixteen hours. Although the main line turned out again via the snake technique. On the next trip the remaining to be long enough, I also had to go known drops were rigged. At one down the second line, because one hen the survey was tallied up, point we had trouble tossing the rope doesn’t step off a ledge attached be- Wwe had –621 meters (–2038 down a drop due to its getting caught low 100 meters of stretchy Goldline. feet), the fourth deepest cave in on projections. The rope eventually The next person down derigged the the Western Hemisphere and the got so entangled that a second line second line without getting off the only two-thousand-foot-deep cave had to be rigged so that someone main line onto the ledge. outside of Huautla. A relatively could go down and straighten things After a minor clearing out of small group of people has put in out. We were finally at the lead after wedged boulders, we used some over fifteen hundred man-hours in thirteen hours. The floor I thought knobs for convenient, if somewhat their four-year obsession with the I’d seen the previous year turned dubious, rig points for further prog- cave, which really isn’t finished yet. out to be only a wide ledge; the ress. Finally, cautiously, Marion Although several leads remain, there real bottom to the drop was over 30 reported a solid-looking floor. There are no plans to return soon. Allow- meters below. At this point we had was a scant 6 meters of rope to spare. ing for the depth of the sinkhole, 150 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 the bottom of the cave is nearly to push Tommy’s Lead, shown on the de El Abra. Memoria del Congreso 700 meters below the surface. The map at about –440 meters. Some prog- Científico Mexicano, III, Ciencias triangulated height of the range is ress was made, but a slot leading to a Físicas y Matemáticas, UNAM, only 728 meters; thus potential for pit that sounded deep was too narrow. México D.F., pages 238–266 plus increased depth is rather limited, They suspect that the pit intersects the unnumbered plates. Reprinted in although a horizontal base-level known cave farther down. The article AMCS Reprint 10, 2009. passage is still conceivable. The on this trip is Shifflett, Tommy, 1988. Fish, Johnnie, 1977. Karst Hydroge- presence of a small nacimiento, of The Return to Cueva de Diamante. D.C. ology and Geomorphology of the the Río Tantoán, on the coastal plain Speleograph, vol. 44, no. 5, cover, pages Sierra de El Abra and the Valles– just to the south lends credence to 3–8. Reprinted BCCS Newsletter, vol. San Luis Potosí Region. PhD dis- this possibility. Diamante is clearly 13 (for 1987), pages 2, 5–14. sertation, McMaster University, the most difficult cave in the El Abra Significant reports on the Sierra de Ontario, 469 pages. Reprinted and also the deepest, nearly twice El Abra include: 2004 as Association for Mexican the previous record of 318 meters for Cave Studies Bulletin 14 with title Hoya de Zimapán. The promising Atkinson, Gerald, 1982. An Updated Karst Hydrogeology of the Sierra de Otates area thus lived up to and far List of the Caves of the Sierra de El Abra, Mexico, 186 pages. surpassed all expectations. El Abra. AMCS Activities Newslet- Morris, Neal, 1989. Sierra de El Abra ter 12, pages 87–92 plus foldout Cave Map Folio, Association for Postscript: In January 1988 a re- location map. Mexican Cave Studies, Austin, turn visit was made to Diamante. It Bonet, Federico, 1953. Datos Sobre Texas. Ten folded area and cave was organized by Tommy Shifflett las Cavernas y Ostros Fenómenos maps in envelope. and John Ganter. The main goal was Erósivos de las Calizas de la Sierra

La Historia del Diamante: cuatro años bajo El Abra

Esta es una reimpresión de un artículo de la AMCS Activi- ties Newsletter 8 acerca de la exploración de la Cueva de Diamante, Tamaulipas. Ubicada en la Sierra de El Abra, es una cueva muy difícil debido a que la mayor parte de los pasajes son pequeños. Fue explorada a una profundidad de 621 metros de 1974 a 1977. Un grupo de espeleólogos regresó a principios de 1988 para revisar incógnitas en la cueva, pero no se descubrió mucho.

book review From Forests to Deserts: A Journey in Ocate in Chiapas, the Río Juquila the caves and karst of Mexico by the Caves of Mexico. Corrado Conca, canyon and adjacent highlands in Carlos Lazcano. There are cave or Antonio De Vivo, Leonardo Piccini, Oaxaca, Cuatro Ciénegas and the area maps or color photographs and Guiseppe Savino, editors. La surrounding mountains in Coahuila, on almost every page; many of the Venta Esplorazioni Geografiche, and the Cave of the Crystals in the photos are full-page or larger. There Tresivo, Italy; 2009. ISBN 978-88- mine at Naica, Chihuahua. This are also versions in Italian (available 95370-06-4. 8.5 by 8.5 inches, 155 book summarizes those projects in from www.ecstore.it/default/cultura pages, hardbound. €30. a handy, compact form, except for -generale/la-venta/index.html) and The Italian group La Venta has Naica, which is the subject of another Spanish. The English-language ver- been making trips to Mexico since book with similar format, if many sion is available in the U.S. from 1990, mainly caving or cave-related. fewer pages (see review in October the Association for Mexican Cave Their principal project areas have 2009 NSS News). The book begins Studies (amcs-pubs.org) and other been the Río La Venta and Selva with a nice overall introduction to cave-book sellers.—Bill Mixon

151 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

back to the ombligo

Francesco Sauro

t takes a combination of several We had to explore it at all cost. We Rather than fading away, the myth Ifactors to turn a geographical place then decided on a new approach, continued to grow, and sooner or into a myth. That is the case, cer- from a new direction, the sky. While later it was bound to capture some- tainly, for the Ombligo del Mundo, the helicopter of the Procuraduría body else’s attention. the Navel of the World. Thanks to General de la República drug squad this name, a simple depression on the lowered Tono and Gaetano into that en years had gone by since Earth’s surface became in time the giant mouth, it became increasingly Tthe Ombligo was first reached. goal towards which the dreams of clear to everybody that it was not During this time the La Venta ar- many explorers spiraled, irresistibly going to be a stroll in the park. The chaeological project focused on the attracted by the mystery surround- two explorers reached the Ombligo study of some Zoque sites in the ing that place. and lowered themselves into it for a Selva El Ocote, in the highlands It began in 1993. While looking hundred meters. However, they had above the steep walls of the Río La at the aerial photos of the Selva El to spend a night in the dark embrace Venta’s canyon. Often the archaeo- Ocote in Chiapas, we became aware of the forest, then the helicopter just logical surveys led farther into the of the presence of a gigantic sótano, about crashed into the top of the forest, heading northwest. From the a circular abyss that swallowed trees with the two of them hanging aerial photos and the maps, it was the forest into the darkness of the from a hundred-meter-long rope. soon realized that the Ombligo was underground. This abyss, however, An umbilical cord, holding them at not that far away from those areas. opened in the middle of another one, the verge of the world. While pursuing other goals, project the forest itself: impassable, feared, Those adventures had hundreds members had once again bumped but also rich in mysteries, lost cit- of cavers dreaming—people like into that legendary cave, possibly ies, forgotten shamanic rites, and me, who in those years read the discovering an alternative route dreadful animals like jaguars and stories and watched the interviews to reach it. A new hope was born: nauyacas. All this fed our curiosity on TV, from which we could sense finding a new path to reach the about the place and the desire to how much those explorers had been abyss in a few days, so that it could explore it, but this seemed impos- captivated by the mysteries of that finally be explored safely and easily. sible to carry out. place. They were also encouraged by the We tried in 1994, even though we In 1998, thanks to a huge effort beautiful friendships that had been knew that the chances of succeeding that lasted for weeks, the Ombligo established with the locals during were slim. Despite the help of Carlos was finally reached by land. A seem- the archaeological expeditions. The Sánchez, one of the most skillful ingly endless trail 35 kilometers long hospitality of Don Reymundo, Don guides in the reserve, the group was opened by dozens of people, Antonio and, in particular, of Don had to give up a few kilometers both foreign explorers and locals, so Lorenzo’s family, provided an im- before reaching the hole. The next that just two of them could descend portant base for the success of the year another attempt, once again again into the abyss and continue project. Lucas and his brothers were designed in an Alpine style with its exploration. Beyond the initial indeed the key that allowed us to moving camps, was stopped even chasm, the cave continued into a open this northwest passage. earlier. This made the mystery even deep room where the light and the The forest appears very inhospi- more compelling and turned the Om- chatter of the parrots did not reach. table, suffocating, a place into which bligo into one of the most difficult Its bottom, though, seemed to be the westerners move around with great speleological targets of those years. end. But while derigging the ropes difficulty, fearing every step. In there to leave, the two explorers, preoc- it feels like one has been blindfolded Reprinted from Kur Magazine num- cupied with the lengthy return to and spun around many times, so ber 12, June 2009, published by La civilization lying before them, saw that his sense of orientation is lost Venta Esplorazione Geografiche. The another lead, a tunnel that continued forever. Valleys come one after the English version there was translated in the dark and that they could not other, all looking the same, through from Italian by Libero Vitiello. explore. primary forests and thick mazes of 152 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 thorn bushes growing in recently to reach a great depression that slope, we reached the edge of the burned areas, a real-life selva oscura became known as Tarzan’s Valley. precipice. The wall in front of us, that challenges the mind, not just the They thought they had reached their slightly overhanging, was almost body. In contrast to western explor- target, but they could not locate it. 200 meters tall. A thick forest of ers, locals move around in this envi- Only on the very last day did they small wild banana trees fills up the ronment with complete nonchalance; realize that they had not gone far bottom of the abyss. At the bottom they are not afraid; they know the enough and that the abyss lay in the of the wall we could glimpse the forest and its secrets and can climb next valley. Once again, an expedi- entrance of a tunnel. Was that the like monkeys above the green sea to tion was stuck close to its target; but opening that had not been entered find the right path. they knew they were almost there. in 1998? We were dying to descend It is only after having grasped, And it was with this knowledge that, into it, but at that point, with the at least to some extent, the way of exactly one year later, the Ombligo trail open, it was time to go back thinking of these people that one can 2008 expedition began. and prepare the final attack. We were believe that such a task can actually going to set up an advanced camp be achieved by light expeditions, ruth be told, we still had many on hammocks right at the mouth of without sophisticated equipment, Tdoubts when we left in March the abyss. It took almost a week to go GPS, helicopters, and whatever 2008 from Plan de La Reyna to set back, pick up the other members of else. up the base camp in Tarzan’s Valley. the expedition, organize the complex And so it happened that yet anoth- Gianni and Lucas’s search the previ- logistics of the porters, and finally er person was irresistibly bewitched ous year had relied on map-reading, get back to the valley. by the myth. In 2003, La Venta mem- sun-based orienteering, and a series We spent three days on the edge ber Gianni Todini decided that the of gut-instinct decisions along the of the Ombligo del Mundo, differ- goal was possible and began explor- way. The Ombligo was near, but how ent teams switching between the ing the forest with Lucas, studying near? Figuring this out was the task base and advanced camps, enjoying paths and finding springs that could of our first small group. Crossing the the voices of screaming monkeys provide water, something as precious jungle to reach Tarzan’s Valley was a and resting on a hammock tied to a as gold in this karst land devoid of grueling march, which the first time tree bearing the marks of a jaguar’s surface streams. Within a few years, took us nine relentless hours. Our claws. The place was magic, surely, valleys and peaks were learned, and, path was complex but logical, enter- and slowly the camp deep in the slowly but surely, the mystery began ing the northbound closed valleys forest began to feel like home. De- to unravel. The Ombligo was there, and proceeding along their bottoms, scent after descent, many mysteries behind those three peaks, the only flatter and less obstructed, thereby began to unravel. We found traces certain landmarks one could infer getting closer and closer to the Om- of the previous visits, and, finally, from the little information gathered bligo. Tarzan’s Valley appeared to be we too could enjoy the awesome from the previous expeditions. In the best place to set the camp, even view of the abyss from the inside. March 2007 a new attempt began. In though the closest spring is about Lucas came down with us and, two weeks a small group of explor- four hours away by foot. Fortunately, together with Gianni, immediately ers opened a new trail and managed the trip is much easier for our local focused his interest on the opening friends, even while carrying that had previously been seen. We From Kur number 2. Tulio Bernabei. very cumbersome 20-liter passed the debris of a collapse and jerrycans. entered inside some flowstoned The day after setting up halls. Enthusiasm was sky-high as the camp, Gianni and Lucas we proceeded downward over some took off to cross the last pass large rock steps, but soon we faced and enter the Ombligo’s another collapse, this time too big to valley. It was from there, be passed. The following day we de- on that hill, after climbing a cided to go back to the deeper room tree, that Lucas finally saw explored in 1998. We descended into the upper wall of the great it for 70 meters and crawled inside a abyss. Now there were no series of terrible keyholes at its base. more doubts—the abyss We knew that at the time Tono, being was only two hours away alone, did not want to tackle them. from camp, and this time We tried our best, but we could not we were going to explore get through. The Ombligo had de- it for real. cided to keep its secrets for itself, the The following day we all violent airflow, arriving from who reached it. The cave made knows what underground rivers, itself known by the noise mocking us. of dozens of yellow parrots The last day was dedicated to whirling inside its mouth. photo and video documentation. After climbing up a small Don Lorenzo and Don Antonio, 153 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

ombligo del mundo Surveyed by T. Bernabei, A. Davila, M. Mecchia, M. Nafate, L. Ruiz Perez, C. Sanchez, F. Sauro, G. Strapazzon, G. Todini, M. Zocca (2008) Entrance La Venta Esplorazioni Geografiche

PROFILE

PLAN Entrance

From Forests to Deserts, page 88.

following the now-open trail, joined somebody will come, with new ideas Francesco Sauro, Marco Mecchia, us at the edge of the legendary abyss. and greater resolve, and will succeed Tullio Bernabei, Giacomo Strapaz- And then, reluctantly, we all left that in adding more stories to the legend zon, Marco Zocca, Mauricio Náfate, magical place, somewhat dejected, of the Ombligo del Mundo. Carlos Sánchez, Alicia Dávila, and for we had not been able to enter El Lucas and Abram Ruiz. Special Ocote’s belly. Participants in the expeditions thanks go to the families of Don Along our way back, a few hun- Ombligo 2007 and Ombligo 2008 Lorenzo Ruiz, Don Antonio Cip- dred meters from the Ombligo, were Gianni Todini, Luca Sgamel- rianes, and Don Reymundo Flores we noticed some peculiar rocky lotti, Stefano Soru, Lucas Ruiz, Corzo. structures at the side of the valley. On closer inspection, we were left gasping upon realizing that we were looking at Zoque ruins. No Regreso al Ombligo one had ever thought that they had expanded so deeply into the forest. El Ombligo del Mundo, en la Selva del Ocote, Chiapas, fue visto One of these sites, a small platform, desde el aire por espeleólogos italianos del grupo La Venta en 1993 looked almost like an altar. So there y fue visitado por primera vez en 1998. En 2007 falló otro intento we were, sitting under the foliage de llegar a él, pero en 2008 finalmente se tuvo éxito. El grupo pasó of huge trees, surrounded by the tres días ahí, y al momento de partir descubrieron antiguas ruinas noises of a living entity, the forest, Zoque en la jungla a unos cientos de metros del pozo. and it dawned on us that the myth of this place is way older than we are. And who knows, maybe one day

154 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

REPRINT

mexico’s caves and caverns

This is the text of the 1964 edition of a cenotes of Chichen Itza and Dzibil- of this, which we quote here, and we small thirty-two-page pamphlet promoting chaltun are proof of this; they have should like to mention that a great deal visits to the caves of Mexico, published returned countless human remains of it is true to this day. Many peoples by the PEMEX Travel Club. There were and many valuable offerings. of Northwestern Mexico (and other a few other photographs in the pamphlet, The “Seven Caves”, or Chicomoz- regions) continue to act and think as but the quality of their printing did not toc, is almost a magic word in ancient their forefathers did: encourage reproduction. Aside from cor- Mexican history. This is a region On the Arizona-Mexico boundary recting, I hope, the errors made by the OCR associated with many groups. The (in New Trails in Mexico): “A visit was software and some obvious misspellings, Otomies lived in the caves, which were made to the so-called Montezuma’s I have not edited the material, so things taken away from them by the Toltec- Cave, once sacred to the Papago as like use of accents or punctuation are not Chichimecs. We hear a great deal about the principal habitation with which consistent.—editor the Seven Caves in ancient Mexico, and tradition credits Sihu, also called Iitoi, the legendary Seven Cities of Silver are the most important mystical person- Mexico is a country of caves, cav- a result of this tradition. In looking for age of all Papago mythology, being erns, grottos. This is only natural in the all-important caves the Spanish their elder brother as well as creator an extensive region of mountains, conquerors confused them with real of the world. The cave is called Elder especially where volcanoes are fre- cities, and of course, where there was Brother’s House. . . It is situated at quently active, where they raise up mineral wealth. But so important was 6 miles’ distance from Fresnal. We hills and create cavities. Of course this this region, the starting place of many climbed nearly 1000 feet, and on the is not unique; many other countries groups, that Jimenez Moreno has south side of a hill, below the peak, are mountainous and have numerous claimed that it is synonymous with our guide, the medicine-man, pointed caves, complete with the stalactites the idea of the mother’s womb, the out the entrance to the sacred-place, and stalagmites that are so spectacu- beginning of life as remembered by half hidden among bushes. lar here. man. For thousands of years people “It was closed with a wall of loose But there is something special about lived in caves, especially in western stones and was so small that a man Mexico’s caves. As in other places, Mexico and southwestern United could only squeeze through with also (especially the Southwest of the States (the Pueblo Indians devel- difficulty. The cave was found to be United States), they have mystical- oped extensive “apartment houses” spacious and well formed. At one religious significance. Since the time up and down the faces of cliffs). In corner was depositied several hun- that man found shelter under rocks Arizona, New Mexico, all along the dred arrows (sacred to many groups), he painted the walls, made offerings, Sierra Madre Range, in Zacatecas, in upright in a bunch, with nothing but undoubtedly to thank his deities for the region of the Tarahumaras and the wooden part remaining. No flint giving him a roof, protection, and to Cazcanes, caves were the preferred points were visible. There is another ask for aid in the hunt. habitation. Some groups from the U.S. cave on the east side of the Baboqui- Man created great works of art on Southwest believed that they had come vari Range . . . where a considerable the rocky walls of Altamira, Lascaux, from the center of the earth through number of obsidian tipped arrows Les Combarelles, La Mairie, Pech- a large cave. were secured. . .” Merle, Niaux, Barranco de Vallarta. At the end of the past century Carl And about another cave visited: And in other caves he worshipped, Lumholtz made numerous long visits “There was an entrance to a subter- buried his dead, left ceramics, textiles, to the Southwest and to Northwestern ranean cave which he (Lumholtz’ jewelry, but did not execute paintings, Mexico, for the American Museum Indian guide) distinctly remembered In some parts he continues to regard of Natural History. The results of his not to be the right one, and here we caves and rocks as sacred. work here is not only a mine of eth- noticed some marks cut in a sahuaro The Zapotecs of Oaxaca believe nological information but a series of which was growing near the hole that themselves descended from great delightfully entertaining books: New led downward. Our cave turned out rocks and trees. The Mayas of Yucatan Trails in Mexico, Unknown Mexico, to be a long natural tunnel, the bottom considered the cenotes, underground Symbolism of the Huichol Indian. of which ran for some 20 feet below caves with subterranean rivers, not Lumholtz found a great deal of sig- the surface. The roof of the tunnel only the givers of life (water) but as a nificant information regarding caves, had fallen in for about 10 yards just place to which to return life. The sacred mountains, rocks. He describes much where the entrance to the holy place

155 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

had been, and hence our guide did adjoining which are three god-houses the Piedras Verdes River flows. As the not at first recognize it. The passage consecrated to three other great gods, name indicates, there are innumerable is believed by the Indians to run west- and three dedicated to lesser ones. caves in the green feldespar stone. ward underneath the mountains, then These stand on a small level space These caves were not inhabited just under the sea until it reaches an island scarcely ten metres square, situated as they are, but were improved by where Elder Brother’s wife lives. The at the foot of an argillaceous rock that their owners, who worked many stone god has another though less important rises almost perpendicularly about walls in order to form rooms, painted “house” some miles from this cave 50 metres. The rock inclines slightly the walls in flat colors and also deco- on the same side of the mountain. forward. Its color is dark red, hence its rated some of them with figures, made . . It evidently filled Quelele with association with Grandfather Fire. . . In doors, installed wood. and even had dismay that ‘Iitoi’s house had fallen the little temple of this god, which in a grain silo in the middle of one great down’. The god himself had caused the picture stands in the background, cave. Adobe was a popular building this destruction in anger against the an ancient idol was recently to be seen. material and is found here. In some people who no longer came to deposit This locality, which is Teaka’ta, owes caves there were signs that two-stories offerings and do him homage. Some its name to the presence of the temple. houses had been constructed inside. old, weather-worn sacrificial objects This name is the same as that applied There were many physical remains were observed around a small natural to the hole in the ground in which the also, such as corn and beans, yucca terrace down in the opening, as well Huichols cook deermeat, mescal, etc., sandals, wooden and stone weapons, as in the cracks of the rocky sides. between hot stones covered with an and mummies in foetal position. Our guide was too old to descend earth mound. It here refers to the cavity Many of the northwestern Tarahu- himself, but he asked the two Indians, underneath this temple, where stands mara Indians still live in caves. Guadalupe and Clemente, to perform a still more ancient and important idol Today we continue to discover inter- the sacrifice for him. They clambered of the same god. . .” It is interesting esting cave remains like this, and shall down and Guadalupe deposited in a to note that rocks, fire, and the most discuss it further on (example, Cueva crack of the old lava the ceremonial important food and drink were closely de la Candelaria, recently investigated objects we had brought along. These associated. by the Institute of Anthropology). objects were an arrow, as a mark of Caves and rocks being almost one, In order to facilitate the study of respect and for the use of the god, it is worth noting that rocks and stones Mexico’s caves and caverns, we shall a prayer-stick, colored by red ochre were considered sacred, too; they were organize this booklet geographically with a small eagle plume tied to its either regarded as gods themselves inasmuch as is practical: from north top, to secure luck in hunting; a bunch or as fetishes: “Gods in the form of to south, from west to east. How- of yucca fibre tied in a knot, in order small stones. Frequently gods are ever, we prefer to first mention all that the wind might be favorable to us; represented by small pebbles of some the grottos that are easily accessible some cigarettes for the god’s personal curious shape or color, which are kept for the speleologist or just the curious use; a piece of blue glass bead necklace, in the god-houses carefully wrapped explorer. Therefore we shall take the for the god to use as appendages for up in rags. . . main highways from the United States his ears and for the septum of his nose “Fetishes.—Stones, generally chal- border down to the center and south On their own account Guadalupe and cedony, having a peculiar shape or of Mexico, and will mention some Clemente each placed a strand of fibre color, become fetishes of the Indians, out-of-the-way places for those with in order that nothing untoward should and are plentiful, especially in the unusual interest in the hundreds of happen to either of them while on neighborhood of San Andrés. Some- mountain holes that are so character- the expedition, asking especially for times there is a whole heap of such istic of Mexico. protection against storms. . .” stones, in which case every one is In his Symbolism of the Huichol thought to be related to every other MONTERREY– Indians: “Generally the caves contain stone within the same heap; the whole MEXICO CITY HIGHWAY some small spring or pool of water, heap being one family, so to speak, and called a kutsa’la in which children called by the same collective name, VILLA GARCIA CAVERNS must be bathed at certain seasons. At after the principal member. All are Monterrey, capital of Nuevo Leon the kutsa’la of Grandmother Growth instruments in producing rain and State, is the first large city the visitor (a goddess) every Huichol must wash bringing good luck; and ceremonial encounters on his way south into himself once a year with the holy wa- arrows and votive bowls are placed Mexico, from Laredo, Eagle Pass, ter. Sacred caves are called by the same near them”. Brownsville, and a number of other name as the god-houses . . . si’liki. The Lumholtz (in Unknown Mexico) border cities. As Monterrey is con- caves of Grandmother Growth and visited many cave-houses, like those nected with western Mexico (Torreón, Mother West-Water are called their of the Pueblo, in the Sierra Madre Oc- Guadalajara, etc.) by excellent high- houses. . . cidental Range, near Nacozari, Sonora ways, and all are connected with the “. . . a place in this valley (Santa and around the state of Chihuahua. United States border and then with Catarina) which is the most important He dedicates a few chapters to these, southern Mexico, it is possible to reach of the sacred spots in the Huichol which are very interesting reading these famous grottos from almost country. Its chief feature is a little Many of his explorations are in Cave any point. Monterrey is an enchant- temple dedicated to Grandfather Fire, Valley (Valle de las Cuevas), where ing city, with narrow old streets and

156 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 picturesque houses contrasting with about 8 miles to the north of the town Villa Garcia, accompanied by guides wide new avenues, sleek modern ar- of Villa Garcia. Right now we shall carrying torches and who finally set chitecture and great department stores, mention another similar cavern, less off fireworks inside the halls. Many hotels, restaurants, theaters. This is an known and little explored, across the other well known excursionists have industrial center and it is interesting to canyon from the Villa Garcia, located seen these great galleries, although visit the breweries and factories, all of in another cliff, and at the north of a probably not so many as more easily whom are happy to have visitors and mountain called Puerto de Cristo. This accessible Cacahuamilpa. receive them courteously. is called LA NEVADA and is famed, The three-hour excursion through The environs of Monterrey are also, for its formations of stalactites these marvelous caves, of more than so beautiful that it is easy to believe and stalagmites. We have heard that 5 miles in length, is an experience that the hills are full of spectacular there is another in the neighborhood that will stay in the memory, forever, scenery and exciting caves (for the called LA BRUJA, or the Witch. along with the impression caused by Villa Garcia Caverns are not the only The mouth of Villa Garcia Caves is a magic wonders in Cacahuamilpa and ones). The city is 1,762 feet above sea majestic archway carved by Nature, 12 Juxtlahuaca . . . and perhaps Mulegé, level, which gives it a comfortable meters high and 15 wide. In the small Candelaria and other exciting but less year round climate, a little cool in the entrance cave there is a restaurant and easily accessible places, if you are really winter, somewhat warm in the sum- bar, a welcome convenience for hikers. a cave-fancier. mer. It is located in a valley at the foot The altitude at this point is 1,110 meters Like the 12-hour trip through Jux- of Saddle Mountain (Cerro de la Silla) above sea level. A large door provides tlahuaca, one can dedicate an entire and Miter Mountain (Cerro de la Mi- access to the caves, and from here on day to Villa Garcia, if every strange tra). Although the latter is the higher, we enter the world of fantasy and leave invention of Nature, every simulated the former conforms to its name, as automobiles, factories, stores and other fountain, curtain, snowman, tree, it looks like a great saddle from the everyday things behind us. waterfall, and the thousand and one distance. The Sierra Madre Range We do not know the history of natural art works caused by water peaks in the background tower over all Villa Garcia before the middle of the on stone, is examined. One of Villa this. There are interesting excursions past century. The fact that there was a Garcia’s outstanding features is that in this region, and it is worth while to town relatively near the caves makes its galleries are not always horizontal stay in one of the city’s good hotels us think that its presence was known. and neatly arranged, but are frequently while exploring such exciting places as As caves and rocks were worshipped abrupt, great chasms at one side or Horse Tail’s Falls, about 20 miles south here long ago, it is probable that this another. This makes the formations ex- of Monterrey and then west (from El cave, too, was a sacred place. Be this citing, dramatic, splendid to look at. It Cercado), Chipinque Mesa, a lovely so or not, the first news the modern also makes them dangerous, although mountain resort about 15 miles out world had of the marvels in the Hill of the excellent work by Sr. Pedro Wood of town, Huasteca Canyon, 10 miles the Friar was between 1843 and 1845. and other enthusiasts of the Monterrey west of the city and two miles south The priest of Pesqueria, as Villa García region has eliminated these problems of the Saltillo Highway (from Santa was then called, was Fray Juan Antonio as much as possible. Neat cement or Catarina), the Devil’s Canyons, and de Sobrevilla. He was accustomed to wooden stairways connect room with Villa Garcia Caverns taking long walks in the country. Many room, floors are inspected to eliminate To reach these fabulous grottos, take times Sobrevilla noticed mouths of slipperiness, signs are frequent, lights the highway south from Monterrey to caves in the mountain above. Eventu- are plentiful, and there are the indis- a point 3 miles below Santa Catarina, ally he managed to climb up the craggy pensable guides. or 13 miles from the former city. Turn rocks and discovered the marvelous Another special feature of these off here to the west and continue about caverns, , which at that time acquired grottos is the abundance of water. the same distance to the picturesque the name “Friar’s Grottos”, and the Although subterranean rivers are not little town of Villa Garcia. Until fairly mountain “Hill of the Friar”. only frequent in these places but are recently it was necessary to continue The first time Sobrevilla entered the very cause of the formations, there from here by horse and with a guide. the caverns he did not dare go far, but seem to be more lakes, pools, brooks, in However, due to the energetic inter- later, accompanied by people from Villa Garcia than in other caverns we est of Sr. Pedro Wood, President of the town and equipped with ropes have visited. This makes the scenery— the Lions Club of Monterrey in 1946, and lanterns, he reached the gallery for underground there is scenery as as well as that of the Governor of the now called The Room of Light. From special and striking as there is above state at that time, Licenciado de la this time on the fame of the caverns ground—more beautiful. There is an Garza, and President Aleman, the Villa spread. People of many nationalities enchanted air, this is a winter’s dream Garcia Caverns were equipped with came to visit Villa García. General frozen in time. The millions of apparent electricity, steps were made inside, Zaragoza, Mexican hero not only vis- icicles are reflected in all their crystal- tunnels enlarged, and the access to the ited the caves and held a banquet with line delicacy in the clear calm water place made easier. Still, however, it is 100 persons in this Room of Light. It below. And one of Nature’s strange necessary to cover the last lap on foot is mentoned that the famed liberals touches is the existence of fish and in- or by horse, although there are plans Guillermo Prieto, Gomez Farias and sects who live and swim in the eternal to install a small cable car. Dr. José E. Gonzales, and Bishop Mon- midnight (before the appearance of The entrance to the grottos is found tes de Oca examined the splendors of electric lights), without eyes.

157 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Mirror Lake is one of the halls with marvelous grottos of Nuevo Leon state There must be many who are not afraid the floor a lagoon, the ceiling a great has contributed a name to one or more of underground currents, or perhaps arch rich in formations. Another is now of the halls. Some times these names there are none, for many names are cut called Inca’s Pool, for the platforms are accepted generally, sometimes into the stone at the far end. resemble artificial planting platforms they are for their inventors alone. All Among other names (and forma- in agriculture-wise ancient Peru; this names are descriptive mostly for the tions) that fascinate us are Castle of room was “Small Water” previously. forms of the stalactites and stalagmites, Talismans. Hiding Place of the Mon- Some of these underground lakes sometimes for other reasons, such as sters, Fountain of Meringues, The have permanent water supply and the case of the Hall of Winds. Here Convent, formerly called Cloister of others are fed by the constant filter- the “chiflon del diablo”—the devil’s the Sisters because two little girls, ing that is so typical. A unique phe- draft—flutters skirts and makes people sisters, were lost here in 1889. They nomenon, supposedly the only one turn up their collars. Part of this im- were daughters of a guano collector, of its type known, is a pool called by mense Hall of Winds was named and wandered out of the sight of their the not-too-pleasant name “Grave of “Treasure Vault”. father, where they remained for 18 Blood”, although the “grave” itself “Jungle of Pagodas” is another hours until found. is really lovely. Any geology student name we particularly like. This is There is a “Christmas Tree”, with knows that the oxidation—by water part of a great salon where needle-like hundreds of branches and, seemingly, or otherwise—of certain minerals spires rise up in oriental splendor. In mounds of gifts at its feet, in every produces red tones. This is probably the middle of this room there are two one of these caves. There is a Frozen the case here unless there is cinnabar in tall, slender marble-like fingers rising Fountain too, that gives forth not the rocks, for the water is truly tinted from the floor, one 5 yards high, the water but stalactites. There is, in fact, like blood. other 8 yards. If there were sun inside a formation for every taste at Villa The Hall of Dawn reminds those the caves we would call these sun Garcia, and perhaps the best thing of us who have lived in the far north dials, as their delicate shadows cut about the caverns is that they are quite of the aurora borealis, which lights across the floor sharply and seem to near the U.S. border, a short distance the Canadian sky. In this magnificent be indicating hours. from the great city of Monterrey, and hall, whose roof is more than 90 yards 28 halls, balconies and galleries are easily accessible. high, there is an opening high up, and those that are explored to date. “Vault Leaving this place of a thousand de- as daylight pours through it breaks of the tannery” is hung with many fine lights and returning to the main high- into a thousand rays that ricochet formations that appear to be hides way, look at your PEMEX road map to from one alabaster form to another, hung to cure. As we walk through see the many other attractions along causing a breathtaking effect. It seems one gallery and another, we are sur- the route. As you go south toward to us for a moment that someone is prised by the Rajah’s Palace. similar Mexico City you will pass attractive cit- playing tricks with a mirror, but it is to the countless pagodas built for an ies, such as Valles and Tamazunchale. only good old Nature again, who has oriental princess. The Cataracts look The GRUTAS DE QUINTERO caves cut through millions of years of rocks like a live waterfall, and we can hardly are near El Monte, Tamaulipas. When with her minimum but constant flow believe that the leaping water is really you come to the less tropical state of of water. still rock. The Hand of the Dead is a Hidalgo you will go through Actopan, The Hall of Light has similar ef- figure which appears to be a ghostly now a hamlet, but where there is a fects to the aforementioned one. Here hand with one long finger pointing magnificent early colonial convent there are massive formations, one to the sky. The Chamber of Colors is now turned into a museum. A walk resembling a Madonna, one a gigantic just that: where Nature has taken her through the stately halls and gardens, skull. It is possible to see almost every paint brush and has liberally applied or over the castellated roofs, so typical form, human, animal or plant. We varied tones to the walls. In contrast of the sixteenth century, is reward- wonder how Tom Sawyer felt when to this is the Range of Shadows, where ing. Driving west fromActopan you he and Becky Thatcher were trying to what seems to be a miniature mountain will reach Tula in a couple of hours. find a way out of the cave while the range projects long dark forms against This is the site of the ancient Toltec Indian was chasing them. Every time great vaults. empire. The city, almost a millen- they turned around they must have In every one of these caves we find nium old, is well preserved and has seen another pursuer in the natural what we think is a pulpit, or altar, or been reconstructed by the Institute of limestone figures. niche. Frequently people place saints Anthropology. Something special here At Villa Garcia we find the famous or candles in these. Villa García has are the enormous anthropomorphic Stone Flowers, often called orchid of its “Saint’s Niche” also. . . columns that once sustained the roof of the mineral kingdom, until recently In the Phoenix Bird hall, a great the Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli Temple. Also thought to be exclusive with the Sky- gaping gallery, there is a 15-yard-high near Actopan is Ixmiquilpan (check line Grottos in Virginia. These flowers, stage called The Theater. With its rock your map), where there is a sixteenth formed by water on stone and tectonic curtains and semicircular form it really century monastery and church with pressures, are colored by oxidation does look like a setting for Shakespeare extraordinary frescoes. These seem to of the rock’s mineral content, which or Cervantes. The Swimming Pool is have been taken directly from the codi- produces reds, greens, blues. what its name implies: a pool of calm ces, or preconquest picture books, with Everyone who has entered the water where the daring may dive in. the addition of European Romanic

158 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 motifs. There is an indigenous center and one is usually quite a bit lower “scarlet grottos” are in Durango, but in Ixmiquilpan that has an arts and than the other, like the houses in Taxco not too far from the capital of the crafts museum and a store connected or Guanajuato. A good strong lamp bordering state, Torreon, in Coahuila. with it where handsome woven goods and much care is needed. The first hall, They are reached by a fine highway and other crafts may be bought. The at the entrance, is 50 yards high and is from the latter city. It is claimed that market in the town on Mondays is but an introduction to the rest, as it has they are larger than Kentucky’s Mam- colorful and is also a good place to buy few stalactites and stalagmites, and no moth Caves, as they measure 15 ki- folk art. If you turn off for Tula you can strange formations. At the back of this lometers (about 10 miles) long, but to directly to Mexico City from here room and at the left there is a narrow are perhaps somewhat smaller than via the Queretaro highway. passage that goes down and down Cacahuamilpa. Or if you prefer the more western (via wooden stairway, fortunately) to Durango is famed for its mountain route to Mexico from Monterrey, turn other galleries. of solid iron, one of the three in exis- west at this city for the Guadalajara From this second room, called Hall tence (another is in Baja California, a Highway and go south where indi- of Silence, we go on down to the Sec- third in Sweden). The whole state is cated for the nation’s capital. ond Silence Hall, where we find more rich in metals and minerals, and we see But before abandoning the region formations, in rose tones. The third this in the brilliant tones of oxidized there are other fabulous grottos to see. room, which is also reached by going metals in the cave’s interior. Thus the These are the Xoxafi Caverns, very downwards, is striking in its columns name “Scarlet”. The walls of Mapimi little known. and lovely figures. Agustin Perez Leon really look like a true underworld . . . The Xoxafi are located in the Mez has given the various names of natural glowing and red! quital Valley, home of the Otomies, architecture and sculpture here: The Excursionists, especially those of the Indian group responsible for Chinese Tower, the Dromedary, the the Everest Club, have delighted in Ixmiquilpan and for the wonderful Bison and the Harp. naming the halls according to their woven goods here. As the visitor The Laberynth follows, which takes physical appearance. Thus we find drives through this country south us through winding corridors to a Witch’s Vault, The Kidneys, because of Monterrey he will observe great plain hall, the darkness before the of the form, the Limb (it sounds as if mountain peaks and crags. Many of light, Cinderella before she becomes a doctor had a hand at some of the them are dotted with caves, but not all the princess. For the next,. Chorus of naming), the Waterfall (every grotto are known. Mexico is a mountainous the Fairies, is really a dream, where has a simulated rush of water, made country, prone to earthquakes, and gnomes and pixies play among the of stone), the Lone Pillar . . . similar to as the rocky earth suddenly moves it stone lace curtains, crowns of flow- one at Xoxafi, the Weir, another Hindu creates, not only new valleys and new ers, slender columns and hundreds Temple, Three Marys. The latter name peaks but also pockets inside itself, the of corners in which they hide. has more significance for Mexicans, as numerous caves of Mexico. Xoxafi reminds us of a plot dreamed it is commpn in this country to name Kilometer 126 on the Mexico-Laredo up by Jules Verne, especially of Hol- three mountain peaks that way. There Highway is the turning off point for lywood’s realizations of this great is a “Tres Marías” or Three Marys be- the town of Lagunillas, a litte more author’s works. It is marvelous, a place tween Mexico City and Cuernavaca; it than a mile away. From here Xoxafi from another world, yet mysterious, a is the highest point on the road. Then, is but a short distance, on a hill called little frightening. Perhaps one reason too, at any soda fountain ask for Tres Loma del Zopilote. These caverns are for the latter is that little has been Marias and you will be served the easy to reach, and we find the people explored and there are countless dark classic three peaks, except that they of the area more than anxious to help corridors to the unknown. will be of ice cream. as guides, as they are very interested Getting back to the grottos, whose in attracting visitors to their caves, MAPIMI, colors go from brilliant scarlet to dull rivals of the more spectacular Villa DURANGO STATE red to pink to magenta, they are not so Garcia. Mexico is really a country of con- thoroughly explored as, for example, Next to the yawning mouth that is trasts. Great mountain peaks (modern, Cacahuamilpa and Villa Garcia. At the entrance to Xoxafi, there is another if we compare them with the more some points it is even necessary to entrance to still different caverns, the ancient Appalachians, although their crawl through a narrow passage. But latter called Cristo Grottos. However, geological youth is challenged by the reward is great, for the interior is an these are of difficult access and for the Rockies) with gentle valleys in amazing spectacle of slender stalactites specialists only, who furthermore between, dry desert and lush jungle, and stalagmites, combined with bub- should go well equipped and accom- flat extensions of land and the even bly forms, all whims of limestone and panied by excellent guides. Cristo, like more frequent rocks and crags. And, thousands of years of trickles. There Candelaria in the Laguna region, has a of course, the enormous number of are spacious halls with, it seems, no vertical entrance and it is necessary to caves and caverns. Every state in the end, and tiny intimate rooms, one or lower oneself—or be lowered—with Republic has many, although most of which is called the Tabernacle. There cables or strong ropes. them are not known. But the few that are the altars and niches found in all Although the entrance to Xoxafi is are constitute a real treasure ground these caverns. It seems that there is not vertical, like Cristo, the caves in for the explorer. a great crystal chandelier in every this area have sharply defined rooms Take Mapimi, for example. These room.

159 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

The light of the lanterns reaches the region of Mapimi (we remember the Institute of Anthropology. So the into far corners, and sometimes does that there are other popular caves specialists set out, accompanied by not illuminate the bottom of a black here, carrying the name of Mapimi), various students. The result of the abyss that appears at our feet. But the and, feeling thirsty, sought water at expeditions which followed was a sweet with the sour . . . we must expect the foot of a mountain near the Sierra richer knowledge of ancient peoples bottomless holed in these grottos, al- Mojada and he found a cavern which of the region, as well as exploration though, fortunately, they are few and, he entered. There he says he saw nearly of even more caves. where excursionists have penetrated, 1000 bodies wrapped in cloths and En route, the anthropologists ex- are well marked. bound with bands, placed symmetri- plored the Ventana (Window) Cave This northern region of Mexico is cally and in groups; he also says that in the District of Pedriceña, Durango, well dotted with caves. In the neigh- it seems that they were placed in the where they found human remains. boring state of Coahuila there are the order of families, for in the different The mouth ot this cave (Candelaria) caverns of Arteaga. In El Leon, Tamau- groups there were adult bodies and at the top of the mountain, is a hole lipas, there are others. Guerrero has those that appeared to be children: all located horizontally, with a diameter various (Juxtlahuaca for example). “El preserved the position of a man who of about 1.30 meters. It is not an easy Caballero”, near Saltillo, is outstanding is sitting on the floor with his hands cave to enter, as this must be done by for its various colors; the walls are rich toward his knees, holding these at the means of a rope ladder, and vertically. green, white, coral, orange and black height of the chest. . . Immediately he The cave is shaped like a cone. with the tones. Where grottos are easily reached had 3 or 4 mummies taken out, whose largest part farther down and with the they are mentioned in this booklet. In objects he removed and which I send floor inclined toward the southwest, every region there is a large city (or as samples with their respective de- where there is an entrance to a much small) that can be used as a base for scriptions. . .” larger gallery. This second and larger operations: Durango, the capital of Where is this exciting Candelaria room is, however, lower, for its ceiling the state of the same name, Torreón, Cave? is 4 meters high and that of the first modern and comfortable, Monterrey, It is found northeast of Torreón, is 9 meters. Chilpancingo, Acapulco. capital of Coahuila State, but near the The second chamber is to the south border of Durango, where the two but below the first. It has a very ir- CANDELARIA CAVE, come together. In this region there regular floor, with enormous cracks COAHUILA are countless caves, some in Coahuila, that lead to other rooms. Exploring all While still in northern Mexico, some in Durango. Torreón, for that this is dangerous and unnecessary, as we think it is worth while to discuss matter, has a twin city, Gomez Palacio, the first room is the one that was used the Cueva de la Candelaria, whether almost like St. Paul and Minneapolis. as a cemetery. It does seem, though, we visit it or not. Many articles have Gomez Palacio is in Durango. that the first and the second were one, been written about this well-known This is the farming region called La but were separated due to upheavals mortuary cave, and one excellent Laguna. There is a good highway that of the earth, and cave-ins. book: “Cueva de la Candelaria” by goes through Torreon and connects the The first room was used by peoples Pablo Martínez del Río, Luis Aveleyra city with east, west, south and north. of the Laguna area as a funeral deposit, Arroyo de Anda, Manuel Maldonado Candelaria is located in the Valley of or graveyard. The bodies were not Koerdell and Ignacio Bernal. These Delicias, in the southwestern part of buried, but were wrapped in mummy men are all technicians of the Institute the state, although it is northeast of burials, such as those that we find so of Anthropology of Mexico. Other Torreón. The cave is situated on the commonly in South America. The an- specialists and scholars have visited northern side of the extreme northern thropologists found the remains very this and other caverns in the immediate part of the small Candelaria Range, to mixed up and many artifacts removed, region, including Arturo Romano, now the south of the Delicias Valley. It is all this by treasure hunters, probably Director of the Museum of Anthropol- about 3 ½ hours by a fair road by car from centuries back. However, it was ogy, J. Alden Mason of the Museum from (and to the northest of) the town possible to see that the wrappings for of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. called San Pedro de las Colonias. the mummies were of finely woven Edward Palmer, who made a collection Although Candelaria had been dis- cloth which at times was decorated of six mummies and their costumes covered in modern times it had also with colored lines or geometric de- for the Peabody Museum of Harvard been forgotten. However, in February signs. All of the figures were in the University in 1880, Dr. Walter Taylor, of 1953, a group of students from the foetal position, and they were tied in American archaeologist, and many Secondary and Preparatory School order to keep them that way. others. “Venustiano Carranza”, in Torreón, Offerings accompanied the mum- The first news of Candelaria in explored the cave under the direc- mies: weapons or objects that had modem times was in 1838, when Fer- tion of the director of the school and belonged to the individuals when they nando Ramirez wrote from Durango their professor. The cave had been were alive. Leather was used to cover on the 15th of June, to Carlos María located by Sr. Luis Tolamantes, and the faces, and also as bands, belts and de Bustamante: the students made various excursions. for strips around the waist. One of “This important discovery is due to They brought back written facts and the most attractive of the ornaments casualty, for an hacendado (gentleman samples of the material found, which was a type of beading woven in with farmer) of this region was walking in they sent via the mayor of the city to the hair. These beads were made of

160 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 small seeds with holes bored in them, deformation like the majority of the Other caves in the area are Cueva or were cut out of bone, and formed people of Middle America (although del Angosto (Narrow), at the north into flowers. northwestern Mexico can be consid- of Candelaria, also used for burial The mummies were deposited be ered as Arid America). purposes; Cueva de La Hundida tween great stones or on top of coas Tests made on the ancient mate- (Sunken), northwest of Torreon and (planting sticks) which served as beds. rial found show that it is not so old Gomez Palacio and in Durango State; Although these coas are signs of an after all, and probably goes back only the “Buen Abrigo” or Good Shelter agricultural people, the group which about 500 years, or just before the Cave at the foot of Sierra San Lorenzo, studied the region believes that the Conquest. The caves might even have explored in 1925 (one of the visitors, Laguna inhabitants were nomads and been used during the early period of Sra. Cuatápara, gave a piece of cloth used the sticks for digging up roots. colonization, when some Indians did with a human figure woven on it to At times, instead of coas, the bod- not want to embrace Christianity and the Museum, assuring that it was from ies were placed on fine mats of reeds, continued their rites in the private of this cave); caves explored by Alden many of them bound with cords in the mountainous cavities. Martínez del Mason, such as Del Vapor. Del Agua, bright colors, especially red and blue. Río cites one of the early missionaries, Del Indio, Del Macho, Del Cura, De The mummy bundles were separated, Father Alegre: “. . . In one town some los Poderes, De los Jeroglíficos (rock also, by large cactus leaves, from the injured voices were heard during the drawings or glyphs), and others. It nopal plant, or with palm fronds. night, asking for help, coming from is well known that there are many Among the most frequently found an Indian who was violently pulled petroglyphs in this region. objects we can name, above all, san- to the mountain by an invisible hand. There are many archeological sites dals. There are as many as eight They followed him, with two priests, all over Mexico, including the north varieties, these determined by the to a gully full of sheer walls and caves. (see PEMEX’s guide to archeological material used, the type of weave and . . They found the Indian without a zones): Casas Grandes, Sitio Schroeder, the shape of the toe and the heel. sign of life, until after a long time he Toluqilla and Ranas, Chalchihuites. Tightly woven sandals are thin and came to and asked for baptism. . . On The latter site, in northern Zacatecas loosely woven ones are of thick soles. that occasion they found there many state reached by the Mexico City-El There are all sizes, indicating that even burials full of skulls and human bones, Paso Highway, has a series of interest- small children used sandals. Bows that the Indians covered with many ing caves, either natural or man-made. and arrows were found in numbers stones so that the dead would not ap- The entrances are small and are usually here, too. There are bow strings six pear before them. . .” This reminds us on a hillside, but the interiors are large feet long. The propelled lance, Middle of the Huichol tradition (Lumholtz): and have connecting rooms. The more America’s favorite weapon and called “. . . that they originated in the south, easily-reached cave at Chalchihuites the atlatl is not missing at Candelaria. got lost underneath the earth and is Fortaleza (Fort) del Chapín, about 5 There are knives, fishing equipment came forward again in the east. . .” miles southeast of Chalchihuites. including nets, cloths—many of them (via caves?). “There are a great many There are petroglyphs in many parts destroyed by rats, the yahual—straw sacred caves devoted to various gods of Sonora State. 4 miles northwest of wreaths used to carry bundles on . . .” and “. . . Rock crystals express Granadas there are rock engravings the head, a quantity of jewelry that hailstones as well as the Corn Mother; of human figures, also some that rep- includes necklaces and bracelets of they are also the ancestors or relatives resent the deified dragon fly found in seeds with tiny vertebraes of reptiles of the Huichol.” many sites in Arizona and northern (supposedly related to witchcraft), The Candelaria expedition visited Mexico. There are 3 places with rock deers’ horns for ceremonial use, small many other caves in the region of paintings in the bed of Los Balos cases for thorns that were used for the Laguna. among them the Coyote River, a tributary of Bavispe, part of self-sacrifice (in bleeding by pricking Caves, north of Torreon, near the Can- the Yaqui River. the flesh), and handsome baskets. The delaria and Paila Caves, 50 kilometers But for the most spectacular cave latter are compactly woven, as fine as (30 miles) northeast of Parras, where paintings in Mexico, we must go to those of the Basket Makers, and were there are artifacts similar to those at Baja California, near Mulegé, below undoubtedly used for containing liq- Candelaria. Paila is in the Arroyo Santa Rosalía, on the Gulf of California uids and for heating by throwing hot del Muerto of the Sierra de La Paila, coast. Santa Rosalía may be reached by stones into them. Coahuila. To reach this place, start air (Trans-Mar de Cortés Line) or by The fact that only two fragments from Parras, grape region, go north, boat which leaves Guaymas, Sonora, of ceramics were found (although crossing successively the Torreon- three times a week. There are also boats perhaps some were stolen previously) Saltillo Highway, the railroad line, the (large enough to transport cars) that proves that these people were authen- so-called Paila “mire”, which is the go from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, to La Paz; tic Basket Makers. A predominance bottom of an extinct lake. Paila has a others from La Paz to Topolobampo, of basketry, especially of the type for vertical entrance like Candelaria, but Sinaloa, and from Ensenada, Northern hot food and for water, is a proof of unlike the latter has only one room Baja California, and La Paz, Southern lack of pottery. From the human bones instead of various. Here the only Baja California. found it is seen that the inhabitants example of cloisonné decoration on Barbara Dahlgren, who studied of the Laguna were tall, and that calabash gourd from northern Mexico these paintings, claims that they are they did not practise artificial skull was found. the finest on the continent. She says:

161 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

“They are found . . . on the roofs and fingers thrust at one on all sides, but on the Cacahuamilpa road. There is a walls of caves and rock shelters, quite at the same time there is no feeling of side road leading north here, winding high in the mountains. The sites are claustrophobia, for the place is ample, around a mountain, and it’s worth always somewhat isolated and difficult though deep. It is well arranged, too, following it to the top, where there is to find, since the entrances appear to for steps carved out of the rock go a magnificent ancient city, complete have been disguised by piles of rocks down the steep walls, around the with pyramids, ball court, recently and stones. The fact that they are canyon and under the falls, to come found stelae with Mayan hieroglyphs always found close to a permanent out the other side and continue under (although this is not properly a Mayan spring leaves no doubt that they were overhanging rocks. This is an ideal city, but rather one with Mayan influ- dwellings or gathering places.” Mrs. place for a picnic. ence). There is also a type of cave here, Dahlgren describes the Cave of San or underground room that has been Borjitas, inland a short distance from CAVERNS OF called an observatory. the town of Mulegé. There are various CACAHUAMILPA After this delightful detour we reach types of figures painted on the walls, The fame of these spectacular cav- a green valley sheltered by sharp cliffs mostly human but some animal, and erns is so great that they have been ex- and are at Cacahuamilpa. Through the there is a shark. The paintings “could plored by almost every distinguished efforts of PETROLEOS MEXICANOS be attributed to sympathetic magic, visitor to Mexico over the centuries, a fine parking space was built that as in the cases of the deer, the shark and one finds them mentioned in en- can accomodate an amazing number pierced by an arrow, and the probable cyclopedias in various languages. of cars, so that even on Sundays and symbols of rain. The people transfixed It is very easy to reach Cacahuamil- holidays, popular times for these cav- by arrows represent enemies, sacrificed pa and they, as well as their sister erns, there is no feeling of crowding. In victims, or victims fallen in battle.” The caverns Juxtlahuaca, in the same state this area there are many restaurants, age of the Mulegé caves is not known, of Guerrero, should be visited in the novelty shops and a swimming pool. but undoubtedly they are preconquest inevitable trip to the Paradise of the It seems that all the townspeople sell and of considerable age. Pacific, Acapulco. canes worked of local wood, taking It is a journey of less than 100 miles advantage of the forms of the branches * * * from Mexico City to Cacahuamilpa, in order to leave an animal head at the Getting-back to central Mexico, we or 46 miles from the flower-drenched top to hold onto. As these canes cost the find grottos right outside of Mexico city of Cuernavaca, capital of Morelos magnificent sum of a few cents apiece, City. These are in the beautiful ancient State. So this makes the site attractive we always buy a number of them, not ceremonial center of San Juan Teoti- as a one-day excursion also. Take only because they are charming but huacan, the metropolis full of magnifi- either the scenic free road that winds because they are extremely useful in cent buildings and pyramids, some of through pine forests to Cuernavaca, or the journey into the stalactites. which date back to before the time of the fast toll highway. Then go south The entrance to the caverns is in a Christ. A restaurant has been installed to Alpuyeca, a tiny town with an in- lovely cool setting: A man-made wide in the grottos, called, appropriately, Las teresting church. It is easy to identify path leads up to it, but on the left a Grutas. It is a pleasant experience to Alpuyeca because it is right on the sharp but not deep cliff cuts off. This relax and eat in these cool, deep caves hundred-kilometer mark. Every kilo- barranca is lush with green tropical after examining the marvelous remains meter on Mexican highways is marked, vegetation, inviting and cool. A path left us by the Teotihuacanos. giving the distance from Mexico City leads down over the rocks and through or the main city in the region. This the rich plants to the mouth, or rather MEXICO-ACAPULCO makes it much easier for the driver. mouths, of two great caves, immedi- ROUTE So when you come to a white cement ately underneath the entrance to the There are two outstanding caverns marker at the side of the highway with Cacahuamilpa Caverns. This spot is on this route: Cacahuamilpa and Juxt- “100 km.” on it, you know you are that called Dos Bocas (Two Mouths) because lahuaca. However, we suggest a third distance from the Republic’s capital the Chontalcuatlan and San Jerónimo stop (and a fourth or fifth possibly, and, in this case, at Alpuyeca. Rivers (the latter with its place of ori- which we shall mention later on). The road to the caverns goes west, gin in the Nevada de Toluca, extinct The extra stop is not a cave, properly then southwest, and the kilometer volcano in the State of Mexico) join speaking, but is a great hole in the marks begin again. So when we come here after a long underground voy- ground with a refreshing waterfall. to the number 49 we are not only at age, and form what is called, from It is San Anton Falls on the outskirts Cacahuamilpa but 49 kms. from the Cacahuamilpa on south, the Amacu- of Cuernavaca (ask directions in turning oft point on the main high- zac River. This is an interesting and that city) and in our opinion should way. Vegetation is more tropical here little-visited part of the caverns, for definitely be visited by the cave-and- and we pass a number of picturesque here one can observe the calm, cold cavern-explorer. This large cavity is towns: Miacatlan, Tetecala, Coatlan del water below, walls of calcareous strata of great and unusual beauty, for its Río, Coyutla, Chavarria and Michapa. with great regularity, and the vaults walls are gigantic basaltic formations, However, the most important extra of the roof that often reach a height like inverted icicles one on top of the sight on the way, and one we’d advise of 100 meters. The calcium carbonate other, dark red in color. It is a strange not missing, is a detour to the archeo- is in a constant though slow state of experience to have those thousand logical zone of Xochicalco, at km. 12 dissolution, in contact with the waters

162 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 that filter through karstic soil. This The Monuments, or The Souls, or mentions that “they now figure as causes the formation of the stalactites Dante’s Pass among the most notable (caverns) and stalagmites that turn the caverns Holy Water or the Baptistery that are known in the entire globe”, into magic places. These Dos Bocas, The Lagoon or Little Lagoons, or and visitors and chroniclers from the as well as the caverns above, are such Ponds time of the conquest to the present magnificent subjects for geological Palms Groves, or Palm Trees, or the have spoken about them. study that they are included in a field Bottle of Champagne Usually the discovery of the Cav- trip taken every year by students of Imperial Salon or The Empress’ Sa- erns is credited to an Englishman, geology at the National School of lon who entered the maze with his dog Anthropology, and are included in the The Little Baskets during the past century, and failed Mexico-Acapulco Geological Route of The Labyrinth to come out. Although undoubtedly the XX International Congress of Geol- Virginia’s Promenade in the High these grottos were known and used ogy held in Mexico, and published by Gallery for ritual purposes even before the the Institute of Geology. The Organs time of the conquest, the story of the The entrance to the caverns is a great The Glory Englishman is sad but probably true. natural doorway, 70 feet high and 156 Little Inferno About the middle of the past century feet wide. This is brightly lighted by The Diamond Table the Englishman, a tourist, decided to daylight, but as we penetrate, elec- Pail of Snow explore the caves, and entered with his tricity takes the place of nature and dog and with a lantern. He certainly brings out every detail of the glistening Some of these names have reasons did not realize that the caverns are towers, tunnels, lacey curtains and other than physical formations. For extensive, which is a fact that amazes human and animal forms created over example, The Imperial Salon was people even today, and he probably the millenniums by water filtering on named in honor of Empress Carlotta, wasn’t well prepared. It is believed beds of limestone, gypsum, rock salt who visited the famous caverns and that he penetrated too far and that his and volcanic material. inscribed on the wall: “María Carlotta light failed. In this condition it would Although the size of these immense reached this point”. Holy Water Salon be almost impossible to retreat with caverns is not known exactly, some- or The Baptistry has a tiny stream certainty. The rooms are vast, there are what more than 6 miles have been of water that is constantly running innumerable entrances and it would explored. The height of the arches var- from the peak of a stalagmite. This be the easiest thing in the world to ies between 40 and 100 meters. There was blessed by the Bishop of Chilapa get lost. Add to this the slipperi- are various halls or galleries, the first during a visit to the place. ness of the floors (one pass is called measuring more or less the same as It takes about four hours to cover Soap Maker’s Pass and another The the Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns in the guided tour of the different gal- Gummed or Sticky Pass) which would New Mexico: approximately ½ mile leries, and this does not include all cause incredible danger in the dark- long, 400 feet wide at the maximum that may be seen. It is not advisable, ness. The dog, with canine instinct, and 350 feet long. A long stairway however, to continue alone, as it is managed to get out and went to the of various hundreds of meters leads possible to slip on the glasslike surface, town of Cacahuamilpa, where he spent down from the ample vestibule at the or get lost amidst the maze of whitish three days in the plaza, howling, and entrance to the first great hall. alabaster-type formations. A couple trying to attract the attention of the Each gallery is divided by natural of skeletons found inside the caves, people. They thought he was rabid, formations into various rooms. The including a very old one partially however, and drive him off. A number rooms have a multitude of names, covered by stalagmites, bear testimony of months a group of explorers entered according to the shapes that suggest to the latter. the caves and found the body of the these, and according to the person or There are many legends and much tourist with that of the dog at his feet. persons who have observed them. We fact about Cacahuamilpa. Many writ- There is today a mound and a cross cite some of the rooms in the Central ers have written on the wonders of the over their grave. Gallery, according to the order in which place, including PEMEX journalists. Citing Ing. Benítez, a priest who they are found: A large part of tile PEMEX TRAVEL officiated in San Mateo Ixtla from CLUB BULLETIN for February, 1954, 1789–1793 wrote a manuscript in which The Goat or the Lobby was dedicated to these grottos, and he mentions “a very ancient account The Fountains “Cacahuamilpa, The Subterranean of very marvelous things that are seen The Sugarplums Palace”, a booklet in English, is the in some enormous caves not far from The Dawn work of one of PEMEX’s writers. An- here”, and tells a romantic story which Thrones or Portal of the Cherubs tonio García Cubas, noted Mexican may or may not be factual: “A chief of The Cemetery or The Reliquary historian, has written a great deal a tribe that existed much time before The Ovens about Cacahuamilpa, some of which the conquest of Don Hernán Cortés, in The Tower and the Tribune, or The we shall cite further on, the Marquesa the region of Tetipac, as he had been Braziers Calderón de la Barca dedicated one dethroned, he wandered over the Rocks of the Dead or Volcano Salon of her famous letters to the site, the mountains in search of a safe shelter The Belfry, Main Square or Plaza of Universal Dictionary of History and and found these caverns, and, marvel- Arms Geography, Appendix, T. II, 1855, ing at what he saw, thought to profit

163 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

by them in resorting to a stratagem to regain the throne. This chieftain had a daughter whom no one knew, and, firm in his purpose, he trained her to present her to his people as a deity. He went to visit an old man who had remained faithful to him, and he brought him with him to the caves, where he showed him that apparition. The old man, in turn, went back to the tribe and told the people, in a frightened manner, what he had seen inside of the caverns. Followed by other elders of the tribe and by many other Indi- ans, he came again with them to the grottos, penetrating into them to one where the divinity (the daughter) was on a pyramid shape form in the center. When she saw them enter she lifted her voice and menaced all with razing the region with fire from the infernos, if they did not ask pardon of their Prince and return the power to him.” It seems that this stategy was successful . . . “and it is well known that this tribe continued for some time to worship in secret, in the mysterious sanctuary of that assumed divinity. . .” It does seem odd to us that a chieftain would have a daughter whom no one knew, and who would be content to spend the rest of her life inside some damp, if beautiful, caverns. However, this is probably a later attempt to explain preconquest worship in (and of) caves, which we know to have been true. Antonio García Cubas, Mexican historian, mentions another legend which is supposed to be responsible for introducing the world to Caca- huamilpa. “An incident revealed to the civilized world the importance of this prodigious natural work. It is said that a criminal who found refuge in the Caves, stayed in these during the time he was being pursued; when this time was up he could return to his home, then astonishing the people of Tetecala with his fantastic tales; they immediately arranged the first expedition. . .” This incident is supposed to have taken place in 1833. Before this, according to the same historian . . . “the same Indians . . . did not dare enter the Grottos, believing, in their blind fanaticism, that the first stalagmite in the figure of a goat was the incarna- tion of the bad spirit, which prevented access to the interior.” From this we gather that the caves had been visited,

164 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 at least, as far as “The Room of the to the computation of a learned trav- the shining stones, our awe and as- Enchanted Goat”. eler . . . the rocks which support the tonishment increasing at every step. A tradition accepted as fact is an great arch so symmetrically disposed Sometimes we seemed to be in a incident from 1812, during the War as to resemble a work of art. The sun subterranean Egyptian temple. The for Independence. An Insurgent chief was already high in the heavens, architecture was decidedly Egyptian, named Rubi was defeated in this year shining with intense brightness on the and the strange forms of the ani- by Spanish troops commanded by wild scenery that surrounded us, the mals resembled those of the uncouth an officer named Lopez. Guided by rocks and trees and rushing waters; a Egyptian idols; which, together with a girl called Jacinta, Rubi fled to the sensation of awe came over us as we the pyramids and obelisks, made me Caverns, entering the Solachi Cave, stood at the mouth of the cave, and, think, that perhaps that ancient people coming out three days later through turning from day to night, strained took the idea of their architecture and its present entrance, where he then our eyes to look down a deep descent of many of their strange shapes from joined the forces of General Galeana into a gigantic vaulted hall, faintly some natural cave of this descrip- (of the Revolutionary movement) in lighted by the red embers of a fire tion, just as nature herself suggested Cacahuamilpa. which the Indians had kindled near the idea of the beautiful Corinthian One of the most charming accounts the entrance. We made our way down pillar. of a visit to the famous Grottos is given a declivity of, it may be, 150 feet, sur- “Again we seemed to enter a tract by Frances Calderon de la Barca, wife rounded by blocks of stone and rock, of country which had been petrified. of the first Ambassador to Mexico from and remained lost in astonishment Fountains of congealed water, trees Spain after the winning of the Indepen- at finding ourselves in this gloomy hung with frozen moss, pillars cov- dence from the latter country, in her subterranean palace, surrounded by ered with gigantic acanthus leaves, book of letters, “Life in Mexico”. We the most extraordinary, gigantic, and pyramids of 90 feet high losing their cite from her thirty-third letter: mysterious forms, which it is scarcely lofty heads in the darkness of the “The Cave of Cacahuamilpa, whose possible to believe are the fantastic vault, and looking like works of the actual wonders equal the fabled de- productions of the water which con- pre-Adamites; yet no being but He scriptions of the palaces of Geni, was, stantly trickles from the roof. who inhabits eternity could have cre- until lately, known to the Indians alone, “Twenty four huge pine torches ated them. This second hall, as lofty or if the Spaniards formerly knew were then lighted, each man carrying as the other, may be nearly 400 feet anything about it, its existence was one. To K. . . and me were given lighted in length. forgotten amongst them. But although wax candles, in case by accident any “We then passed into a sort of double in former days it may have been used one should go astray from his com- gallery, separated by enormous pyra- as a place of worship, a superstituous panions, and lose his way, as would midal formations—stalagmites, those fear prevented the more modern Indi- too certainly happen, in the different which are formed by water dropping ans from exploring its shining recesses, windings and galleries and compart- on the earth. The ground was damp, for here it was firmly believed the evil ments of the cave, and be alone in the and occasionally great drops trickled spirit had his dwelling, and in the form darkness! We walked on in awe and on our heads from the vaults above. of a goat, with long beard and horns, wonder, the guides lighting up the Here Gothic shrines, odd figures; some guarded the entrance of the cave. The sides of the cavern with their torches. that look like mummies, others like few who ventured there and beheld Unfortunately, it is indescribable; as in old men with long beards, appall us this apparition, brought back strange the fantastic forms of the clouds, every like figures that we see in some wild tales to their credulous companions, one sees some different creation of his dream. These are intermingled with and even the neighborhood of the en- fancy in these stupendous masses. It pyramids, obelisks, baths that seem chanted cave was avoided, especially is said that the first sala, for travelers made of the purest alabaster, etc. A at nightfall. have pretended to divide it into halls, number of small round balls, petrifac- “The chain of mountains, into whose and a very little imagination may do tions of a dead white, lie about here, bottom it leads, is bleak and bare, but so, is about 200 feet long, 170 wide, forming little hollows in the ground. the ravine below is refreshed by rapid and 150 in height—a noble apartment. Here the cave is very wide—about 200 stream, that forms small waterfalls as The walls are shaded with different feet, it is said. it tumbles over the rocks, and is bor- colors of green and orange; great “When we left this double gallery, dered by green and flowering trees. sheets of stalactites hang from the we came to another vast corridor, Amongst these, is one with a smooth, roof; and white phantoms, palm-trees, supported by lofty pillars, covered satin-like bark, of a pale golden color, lofty pillars, pyramids, porches, and with creeping plants, but especially whose roots have something snakish a thousand other illusions, surround with a row of the most gigantic cau- and witch-like in their appearance, us on all sides. One figure, concerning liflowers, each leaf delicately chiseled, intertwining with each other, grap- which all agree, is a long-haired goat, and looking like a fitting food for the pling as it were with the hard rock, the Evil One in that form. But some one colossal dwellers of the cavern. But and stretching out to the most extraor- has broken the head, perhaps to show to attempt anything like a regular dinary distance. the powerlessness of the enchanted description is out of the question. We “We arrived at the entrance of the guardian of the cave. gave ourselves up to admiration, as cave, a superb portal, upwards of 70 “We passed on to the second sala, our torches flashed upon the masses of feet high, and 150 feet wide, according collecting as we went fragments of rock, the hills crowned with pyramids,

165 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

the congealed torrents that seem to in the variety! and I can imagine the Lopez de Santa Anna (once President); belong to winter at the north pole, and unfortunate man wandering amongst Guillermo Prieto, an outstanding in- the lofty Doric columns that bring us obelisks and pyramids and alabaster tellectual; President Sebastian Lerdo back to the pure skies of Greece. But baths and Grecian columns—amongst de Tejada (who took advantage of his amongst all these curious accidents frozen torrents that could not assuage visit to make his own joke, by writing produced by water, none is more curi- his thirst, and trees with marble fruit “Lerdo de Tejada passed this point” ously exquisite than an amphitheater, and foliage, and crystal vegetables under the “María Carlotta reached this with regular benches, surmounted that mocked his hunger: and pale point” inscribed by the unfortunate by a great organ, whose pipes, when phantoms with long hair and figures Empress who lost her crown and her struck, give forth a deep sound. It is in shrouds, that could not relieve his sanity due to the French intervention in really difficult not to believe that some distress—and then his cries for help, Mexico); the geographer and traveler gigantic race once amused themselves where the voice gives out an echo, Baron Von Humboldt; Porfirio Díaz, in these petrified solitudes, or that we as if all the pale dwellers in the cave long-time President and dictator; have not invaded the sanctuary of answered in mockery—and then, his General Pedro Baranda, first Governor some mysterious and superhuman torch becoming extinguished, and he of the State of Morelos; the Marquise beings. It is said that this cavern has lying down exausted and in despair Frances Calderón de la Barca; Ga- been explored for four leagues, and yet near some inhospitable marble porch, briela Mistral, Chilean poetess who that no exit has been discovered. As to die. dedicated one of her famous poems for us, I do not know how far we went: “As we went along, our guides had to the caves; intellectuals and writers our guides said a league. It seemed climbed up and placed wax candles such as Mariano Escobedo, Orozco impossible to think of time when we on the top of all the highest points, y Berra, Velazquez de Leon, García looked at these great masses, formed so that their pale glimmering light Cubas, General Carlos Pacheco, and drop by drop, slowly and rarely and pointed out the way to us on our re- President Ignacio Comonfort. at distant intervals falling, and looked turn. The Indians begged they might back upon the ages that must have be left there “on account of the blessed CAVERNS OF elapsed since these gigantic forma- Souls in purgatory”, which was done. JUXTLAHUACA tions began. As we returned, we saw one figure we Leaving these million-year old won- “At length, on account of the loose had not observed before, which looks ders of Cacahuamiipa, we direct our stones, the water, and the masses of something like a woman mounted car south in search of other spectacular crystal rock that we had to climb over, on an enormous goat. To one hall, on grottos, Juxtlahuaca. our guides strongly recommended us account of its beauty, some travelers The highway goes southeast, and to return. It was difficult to turn away have given the name of the ‘Hall of if we join the Acapulco super-road our eyes from the great unformed Angels’. It is said that, by observation, at Amacuzac, we can speed right on masses that now seemed to fill the the height of the stalagmites might down past Iguala to Chilpancingo, cave as far as the eye could reach. It determine the age of their formation, state capital, and then to Petaquillas, looked like the world in chaos-nature’s but where is the enterprising geologist our turning-off place. Or from Caca- vast workshop, from which she drew who would shut himself up in these huamilpa we can join the Taxco road, the materials which her hand was to crystal solitudes sufficiently long for make a short detour southwest, and reduce to form and order. We retracted correct observation?” include this marvelous city of silver our steps slowly and lingeringly “. . . Some day, no doubt, this cave mines, silver-working shops and through these subterranean palaces, will become a show-place, and mea- picturesque cobbled streets in our feeling that one day was not nearly sures will be taken to render the trip. There are good hotels in Taxco sufficient to explore them, yet thank- approach to it less dangerous; but as and it is worth staying all night here ful that we had not left the country yet, one of its charms consists in its if the visitor is not acquainted with without seeing them. The skeleton of being unhackneyed. For, long after, this place, so authentically charming a man was discovered here by some its recollection rests upon the mind, and filled with tradition and old archi- travelers, lying on his side, the head like a marble dream. But, like Niagara, tecture that it is considered a national nearly covered with crystallization. He it cannot be described; perhaps even monument. had probably entered these labyrinths it is more difficult to give an idea of There is a road sign indicating alone, either from rash curiosity or to this underground creation, than of Gruta de Juxtlahuaca on the Mexico- escape from pursuit; lost his way and the emperor of cataracts, for there is AcapuIco Highway; the grotto road perished from hunger. Indeed to find nothing with which the cave can be goes to the east. This is beautiful the way back to the entrance of the cave compared. . .” countryside, rich, exuberant. In the is nearly impossible, without some Almost every renowned visitor to stretch from Petaquillas to Juxtla- clue to guide the steps amongst these Mexico, as well as Presidents of this huaca many interesting towns and winding galleries, halls, and issues and country, and, of course, the usual much colorful scenery is passed. The entries, and divided corridors. Sunday and holiday excursionists, Hacienda Tepechicotlán is one, then Though there are some objects so have investigated the Cacahuamilpa come Mochitlan, Quechultenango, striking that they may immediately be Caverns. Some of the outstanding Coscamila and Colotlipa. The Rio recognized, such as the amphitheatre names in this long list are: Empress Azul (Blue River) comes into existence for instance, there is a monotony even Carlotta, wife of Maximilan; Antonio just south of Quechultenango, and

166 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 continues with the name Rio Limpio picturesque name of cacaloxóchitls However, here there are no formations (Clean River). Its transparent waters mark the mouth of Juxtlahuaca, which that represent soldiers, or battles, but fill the Toma Vieja Dam, which waters is 4 meters wide and five high, with there was a dreadful destruction of culivated fields on the ex-Hacienda a vestibule of about 15 meters. The the beautiful limestone formations San Sebastian. There is a bathing place guardian trees are covered with flow- over 30 years ago, and that is what here, called “El Chorro”. The Clean ers at certain times of the year. . reminds one of a battle. Fortunately, River joins the Huacapa and together Electric light has not yet been in- the constant dripping of underground they reach Coscamila, where the joint stalled at Juxtlahuaca, so it is neces- waters on the rock have little by little rivers are now Blue River, as the water sary to take lanterns and flash lights. formed new figures, but the name of has acquired this color. There are powerful gasoline lanterns, the room will probably remain. There is a fine spa fed by springs which the guide will secure, that il- The many interesting halls continue, here, the Borbollon. The river follows luminate as well as electricity. At the and we pass through one named in our course and, in fact, is responsible beginning there is a passageway called honor of the iguana, type of lizard, for the magic formations of Juxtla- “La Lagunita”, about 25 meters long because of a figure that looks like this huaca, as the Chontalcuatlan and and 3 wide. The floor of this is under animal; the Bull’s Neck, a fairly long San Jeronimo are responsible for shallow water after the rainy season, passage that we go through bent over, Cacahuamiipa. At Embudo (Funnel) from September to November (wear because of the low roof; the Hall of the Dam the Blue River takes the form boots). There is a small room adorned Bulls; the Gallery of the Bells, where of many shining waterfalls that lose with columns formed by nature’s a clear bell-tone is found by touching themselves in the rocks and reap- hand at the end of the passage. From the formations with metal or wood; pear a short distance below in one here to the Hall of the Inferno, a tiny the Marimba and the Teponaxtle (the churning stream. Soon the Blue joins room and therefore hot, and because latter a preconquest drum) much for the White River and both go on to of this, its name. the same reason; the Cave of the Dead, the coast. The Funnel, well-named, The guide takes us to another room where human skeletons in sitting reminds us of a similar phenomenon called “Elephant’s Trunk” because of a position were found many years ago, at Tzaráracua in Michoacan, near the formation that appears to be the head probably because some intrepid ex- city of Uruapan. of an elephant with his long trunk. plorers had entered the caves without If you haven’t a car, there are buses Then we pass, on the right, what the proper provisions; rooms in which from Chilpancingo to Colotipa and seems to be an enormous cactus. The we see simulated waterfalls, and oth- intermediate points. The road is all- extreme heat continues. As the path ers whose walls appear to be covered weather as far as Colotipa, but the goes upward we pass many halls, all by xicalcolhiuqui, the fret design seen last stretch from here to the grottos is with fantastic forms made of stalactites at Mitia, Yagul and other preconquest passable by vehicle only in dry weather and stalagmites. There are columns, cities; the Little Car hall, which seems (the rainy season is from June through figures that seem human or animal to have a car made of stalagmites in September in this area). There are good or brought from fairyland. Then sud- the middle. This Little Car room is hotels in Chilpancingo and a guest denly we are in a great room starkly spectacular both in color (mainly black, house in Colotipa, but our suggestion devoid of these limestone and water with rosy formations in contrast) and is to continue on to the beautiful port of phenomena. in figures: there is a high relief made Acapulco if possible. There is an official Now the path goes downward and by Nature at one side that is called the guide and guardian in the caves who soon we are out of the high tempera- Crown of the Holy Pope. is very helpful. Our advice is that no ture zone and what has been called The Hall of Dry Lagoons seems to caverns, or even smaller caves, should the Path of the Inferno. Returning be just this, with many small “lake- be visited without a guide who knows to the Inferno Room, or Door, we go beds” on the floor. There are Halls the place thoroughly, or without the off in another direction, to a gallery of the Virgin and of the Bride. The proper provisions. On all these excur- that is low and narrow. This is rich Bride actually has a figure of a lovely sions, wear slacks (washable, because in formations, and the water drips, young woman dressed in white wed- they are likely to get muddy) and drips, as it goes on creating fountains, ding clothes, or so it seems. And the low-heeled, comfortable shoes. Take pillars, and myriads of forms. Farther Virgin Room has one that resembles a sweater along, as the temperature ahead there is a very large hall where the Virgin of Guadalupe with hands inside is sometimes lower than that we find the Sacrifice Stone, set in a in attitude of prayer. outside. hole almost 40 feet deep. This Stone Other galleries that attract our at- It is about five miles from Colotipa is called Sacrifice only because of its tention because of their descriptive to Juxtlahuaca. The guide will secure shape, for no ceremonies were held names and their interesting formations horses if these are desired, but on foot here that we know of. are The Pulpit, the Canopy, the Tunnel the excursion is delightful, as the Río The halls are, in general, of white of Love, the Aqueduct, the Room of Blanco follows one and the vegetation alabaster hue, but we now go through Apaches, the Dance Hall, the Tiger and is rich and tropical. a rose-toned room, where the pointed Serpent, the Baptistery, the Enchanted The vegetation is even thicker and stalactites stand out like white needles Fountain, the Curtains, the Column lovelier at the entrance to the grot- against the background. We reach of Independence, Hall of a Thousand tos, and a cluster of houses shows us the Fifth of May Gallery, named for Marvels, Room of Surprises, the Rose that we are here. Two trees, with the a battle famous in Mexican history. Room and The Clubs.

167 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

Some of the halls preserve the line refers to something connected with The Galleries of the Thousand of flood waters, so common before the Tigers. On the other hand, both Marvels can have no better name. and now controlled. The Pulpit, of the ocelot and the serpent are well- There are various halls, one with a course, resembles this, and we almost known motifs in Mesoamerican (and subterranean swimming pool. Antonio fancy ourselves in church. The Cur- South American) art and symbolism. Hernandez Sanchez, who has written a tains and Altars need no description, The eagle was another. Miguel Co- booklet on Juxtlahuaca for the Tourist as they are Nature’s representation varrubias has written extensively on Department of the State of Guerrero, of these objects. Many tunnels lead this subject, and Heine-Geldern has claims that in 1957 these galleries were us from room to room, some high, made many comparisons with the completely covered with water, and it whose ceilings are almost lost in the same motifs as used in the Orient, was necessary to swim across them. shadows, some so low that we must and has shown how there must have Now swimming is a pleasure and not a crouch down and follow the guide who been transpacific exchange of ideas, necessity, as the water evidently drains knows every corner of these fabulous custom, objects. At any rate, the fig- off in the aforementioned well. Here grottos. Some halls are crowded with ures painted at Juxtlahuaca demand there is a wonderland of marble-like stalagmite touching stalactite, and a professional study. structures, curtains, designs, figures, some are mysteriously devoid of these The Baptistery is a splendid little everything we could wish to see, and, formations. Perhaps this is Nature’s baptismal font, or fountain, that con- like cloud formations, we interpret way of letting us breathe between tains pure spring water. The entrance each one as we wish. fantastic adornments, of alternating to this place is not yet perfect, so a Beyond this there are more halls, the classic and the baroque. connecting tunnel is being excavated. but the entrance is difficult and not We find something here that is Juxtlahuaca has not received the at- yet prepared for visitors. So we return not common in every cavern of this tention that Cacahuamilpa and Villa to our starting point in less than two type, rock paintings. Perhaps other García have seen, and lacks not only hours, although a thorough examina- caves have had their walls covered by a complete installation of electricity tion of all the halls takes twelve! Of drawings but time and the dripping but also stairs, guiding ropes, etc. The course each group may see as much water have covered them up. In the enthusiasm of the guide-caretaker as it chooses of these underground Apaches Room there is a painting in supplants these things in part, as he wonders. Two or three hours inside yellow, black and red of a man with spends all his spare time putting up will suffice if one wants a general feather head dress, carrying a bow, signs and arrows and preparing steps impression plus a close study of a few and a woman seated with a child in where they are most needed. halls. Or stay the whole time, cover the her arms. As these paintings have We cannot stress too emphatically entire route, and be back at the starting not been studied we have no idea of the need of a guide in these caverns, point in almost thirteen hours. From their age. They may be very old or or in any others. For example, in front this you can calculate how much food relatively modern. If they belong to of the Baptistery there is an enormous to take and how many lamps to carry. the preconquest era, they could not well, apparently bottomless. Andrés, Aside from regular gasoline lamps we have been executed before 990 A.D., the guide, has descended 30 yards would suggest a couple of powerful as the bow and arrow (common in in this deep well, but the light of his flashlights with extra batteries, and the Northwest since long before this) lantern has shown no bottom. It is thick candles with plenty of matches was not introduced to the central thought that flood waters that have (the latter to place on stalagmites to area of Mexico until the Chichimecs covered many of the galleries at dif- mark the way). The guide, of course, brought it with them about this date, ferent times drain off here. You see it is a mine of information and is most or somewhat later. Here is a challenge wouldn’t be a good idea to wander helpful. to archeologists and artists, a study of around alone without sufficient light After leaving the caverns of Juxtla- this unusual wall painting. and experience, with occasional wells huaca there is still the return trip via A tiger and a serpent are painted on like this present. horseback or on foot. If you wish to the wall of the Tiger and Serpent Gal- One of the most dramatic of the see much of the caves, go to nearby lery, in the same colors as the Apaches. formations is the Enchanted Fountain. Chilpancingo to spend the night, The Mexican tiger, or ocelot, is in an This is really a fountain, with clear where there are good hotels and fine attitude of attacking the serpent. Some cool water. It measures 10 yards in food. And then continue south along people have seen in this painting an its length and is 4 yards wide at its the broad highway to the incomparable indication of the marking of a buried widest point. At one side a great thick Paradise of the Pacific, Acapulco, for treasure and have dug at the foot of it, column reaches up to the ceiling, where a visit which is the opposite of cave without finding the treasure. We see it seems to turn back and reach for the exploring: a few days of lazy living something else. It is very probable that floor again, in many stalactites. An in the sun, stretched out on the beach the paintings are preconquest, and in immense curtain formation surrounds or in a hammock in the shade under that time there were two organizations the fountain at the other side. Three a palm tree, coconut drink in hand, of warriors here, the Tigers and the “islands” are inside the fountain, two or eating sea food while watching Eagles. One had to be an outstand- with vertical columns and the third turquoise waters. Contrasts make life ing soldier to be admitted to these with a frog-like figure seated on it, more interesting. exclusive groups. Perhaps the painting contemplating the water. * * *

168 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

It is impossible to record all of Mex- are dramatic and stunning. There are and painted cloths.” ico’s caverns, but we have been told of archeological remains also. Among Mrs. Dahlgren goes on to describe another cave along the Acapulco route, other things, remains of incense burn- an enormous cave, mentioned by Fa- which, however, is not well known. It ers have been found, showing the ther Burgoa, that was located in the is at the town of Acuitlapan, on the old ceremonial character of the grottos. We limits between the Mixtec and Triqui highway (not the super toll road) to have a daring friend who tried to find zones, halfway on the road between Taxco, Guerrero. It would be wise to the end of the caves, but he spent two Justlahuaca and San Miguel Chicahu- inquire about this in Taxco, the lovely days inside and reached nothing but castla, where the gods “who took care silver city, where you will probably more and more halls full of nature’s of giving the waters and irrigating be staying anyway. Then, too, at San fantasy in the form of embroidered the seeds and fruits which sustained Francisco Cuadra, a ranch-hotel near rocks. Convinced, of the enormous them and which would help them in Taxco, there are countless abandoned size of Tezonapa Caverns, he turned their work.” mines that can be explored, although around and followed his rope guide These water gods were so famous they are man-made and not natural back to the outside world. that people came from great distances caves. OAXACA: We have mentioned that to make sacrifices to the god of that We should also like to note the exis- the Zapotecs believed themselves de- cave. We might mention that the tence of a cave with rock paintings at scended from great rocks. They, as well “sacrifice” referred to was the prick- its entrance in Cualac, or Cototolapan, as the Mixtecs, worshipped caves and ing of tongue or ear lobe with maguey Guerrero. This village is in the nort- mountain peaks. Barbara Dahlgren, in thorns in order to let blood. There are ern part of the state, southwest of the her book “La Mixteca” describes many 5 caves in the region of Yanhuitlan and boundary with Puebla State, near the of these religious beliefs. She says: Herrera and Davila Padilla mention towns of Huaxuxtitlan, Cuautla and “. . . For the worship of their gods . . . another that is between Coixtlahuaca Chiepetlan. It is in a direct line, but each town had a temple in its center and Tequicistepec, dedicated, also, to west of, Zoquiapan, Oaxaca, and is and adoratories in caves and on nearby the water god. In order to reach this also en route from Atlixco, Puebla and peaks. . . In Achiutla the temple was cave it was necessary to pass through Matamoras Izucar, with Olinalá in the on the top of a near mountain, a place a long and narrow tunnel which then same line but farther south. There were of such difficult access that they had opened up into a large room. The main habitations inside in former times, another adoratory with another idol idol was an immense stalagmite, but where remains of corn and sandals in a cave of Yanhuitlan (parenthesis to there were other figures around it. have been found. An interesting his- say that this town is on the Mexico- Abel Palacios recently discovered a torical codex (picture-writing book) Oaxaca highway) for the ‘feeble and cave which is entered by a long tunnel wos found in Cualac. It dates from the women who could not go up the sharp in Tepelmeme, District of Coixtlahuaca, XVI century but is post-conquest, as it mountains of Achiutla’. . . That the Oaxaca. The coincidence is so great is executed on European paper. This mountain peaks were sacred is a fact that we cannot help but feel it is the codex was made known by Lizardi confirmed as much by archeology as same cave mentioned in the chronicles Ramos, and a description of it and the by the chronicles. The mountains of and then in Dahlgren’s book. The Te- region may be found in “El Códice de the Mixteca are literally sown with pelmeme cave has been investigated by Cualoc” by Florencia Muller. ruins, among the outstanding are Dr. Alfonso Caso and specialists from Yucuñudahui and Monte Negro, next the Institute of Anthropology. The tun- VERACRUZ AND to Tilantongo. The Proceso de Yanhu- nel here is 200 meters long, 100 meters OAXACA itlan mentions no fewer than seven wide (here is a discrepancy, because The number of mammoth caves hills in that region, where sacrifices Davila Padilla says that it is narrow), with stalactite and stalagmite forma- were made, and about Tamazola and and 70 high. It is found 15 kilometers tions in Mexico is really amazing. They Tecomaxtlauca we know, respectively, (10 miles) to the north of Tepelmeme. are scattered all over the country, most ‘that they had their idols on the highest The outstanding feature of Tepelmeme of them unknown except to intrepid peaks in their hermitages’. . . Caves are Cave is that at a distance of 10 meters explorers, archeologists and excursion places of adoration, . . . citing Eurgoa inside the cave there are polychrome clubs. We shall mention a few here, and the testimonies of the Proceso de paintings on the walls. and will say that the descriptions of Yanhuitlan, their importance in the Mix- Right near the city of Oaxaca, capital Cacahuamilpa, Villa Garcia and Jux- tec cult was fundamental. In the hill of the state of the same name, there tlahuaca fit almost all of them. of Cervatillos, next to Chalcoatongo, are caverns with stalactite formations. The Grottos of TEZONAPA, Ve- there is a cave that was the ‘cemetery These are found in Sola de Vega, twenty racruz, are south of but near the that was generally venerated by all the minutes by car or bus southwest ot flower-drenched city of Cordoba. towns and dominions of the Mixteca Oaxaca City. Ask in Sola de Vega, for From Tezonapa there is a gravel road in . . . a great cavity or cave’, with the directions in reaching these spectacular to the entrance, so the caves are easy mummies . . . of their kings and lords caverns. to reach, but are not illuminated with . . . with small altars like niches, in The Grottos of Montiflor is found on electricity. The entrance is a large which they had a number of idols, of a tobacco hacienda, property of Sr. Al- mouth in the rock, 20 meters, high and various figures, and a variety of ma- varo Alvarez, on the Mexico City–Valle 40 meters wide. The formations inside terials, of gold, metals, stones, wood Nacional Highway. This highway is

169 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

paved as far as Valle Nacional, Oaxaca. and then their makers sit up, candles to live the rest of her life. This place, About 6 kilometers (4 miles) before glowing against their faces, talking of course, is Xtucumbi-Xunan. There reaching the latter city the hacienda soft Zapotec, all night long. If you is a tree-trunk stairway that is 1,400 is found. After asking permission to happen to visit Mitla when it is not feet long and goes down to the water visit the caves, walk about 10 minutes New Year’s Eve (which is most likely), level, 500 feet below the surface. The to the entrance. This is a very small see some of these petition-figures in entrance is along a narrow trail, until entrance and plump people might not the church of Tlacolula, where there is we reach a ledge that overlooks the get through easily. An archeologist also a colorful market every Sunday. impressive series of pools (there are friend of ours actually found inside the And now that you are in the neighbor- seven; perhaps the other two are in shoe of a non-slim investigator who hood, don’t miss the Tule tree at Santa different cenotes out of sight). Blind had been there two years previously María del Tule, near Mitla. This is the fish swim here, as well as iguanas. but had had trouble getting out. The largest and oldest thing alive, and is In Yucatan State, two of the most rooms inside are large but care should supposed to have been blooming at famous cenotes are in Chichén Itzá, not be taken, as these caves are virtually least 2,000 years ago. far from Mérida. One is the cenote used unexplored. Take not only lights and for drinking water and the other is the ropes but go with a guide. There are YUCATAN Sacrifice Cenote. Much magnificent no official guides, but a workman from The peninsula of Yucatan lies to jewelry was taken from the latter and the ranch may possibly be persuaded the southeast of most of the rest of many human bones were found here. to go along. Mexico . . . or, rather, east, but sepa- Supposedly, people were thrown into Among other caves in the state of rated in part by the Gulf of Mexico. the well as offerings to the gods. The Oaxaca are rock paintings, at the foot It was fairly inaccessible until recent favorite story is that the victims were of Guiengola Mountain, a fortified hill years and therefore has a culture and fair young maidens, but anthropolo- with ancient ruins near the city of customs almost its own. In many parts gists who have studied the remains Tehuantepec. They are found in rock of Yucatan the people still speak Maya, have found a predominance of male shelters and are of Mixtec type. and the isolation in ancient times was skeletons. It is said, also, that if the vic- On the hill of Ixtaltepec, off the so that the culture developed with tims managed to stay afloat in the well highway between Juchitan and Ixte- little interruption over more than a a day and a night without drowning, it pec, on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, thousand years, leaving us great tes- was considered that they had been in there are rock paintings, also of late timonies of Maya genius. The entire contact with the gods, and they were Mixtec style. peninsula is dotted with magnificent taken out and much revered. Just outside Mitla, the sacred city ruins, such as Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, The Cenote of Mukuyche, which that was called Lyobaa in prehispanic Kabah, Zavil, Mayapan, and scores of means Dove-tree, is called this be- times, there is a cave on a hillside that unexplored cities in Quintana Roo, the cause of the countless doves in the is still worshipped. The cave repre- eastern part of the peninsula. area. To reach Mukuyche, take the sented the womb, or beginning of life, As a result of the limestone rock and Merida-Ticul road (or railroad) as far and, as we have seen, the end also, for karstic soil that constitutes most of the as the Mukuyche Hacienda, which is in caves people were buried. In the peninsula, the rivers run underground. 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Mérida. Zapotec region it was the mouth of the When it rains the water penetrates in- This is a beautiful hacienda, where earth jaguar through which man came stead of staying on the surface. In order many varieties of fruit are grown. into the world and through which he to obtain water, the people have wells The cenote has an open part which returned to the earth. This particular or windmills. But the main source of we enter, and the rest is a great lime- cave, only one of many in the area, was water is from the caves or cenotes that stone vault inside. Stone steps lead particularly sacred. Early Christian are found everywhere. Chen means down to the water level, about 50 feet fathers, in their desire to eliminate cenote or well, and we see from names below the surface. The pool is another paganism, placed a cross at the mouth in Yucatan where these cenotes are. For 50 feet in diameter, shallow near the of the cave, which was soon torn down example, Chichén Itzá means “Mouth” steps but about 20 feet deep at the far by the people. So another cross was (chi) of the “well” (chen), of the Itzaes, end, where it disappears under the erected farther down the hill, and for ruling family of that area many many rocks. Although it has a slight cur- some reason it stayed. Little by little centuries ago. rent, indicating that it is part of the the Zapotecs—not only of Mitla but of Bolonchén means nine wells, as there underground river system, the water the entire region— began to pray to the is a group of cenotes in the town of at Mukuyche is cool and ideal for bath- cross and not the cave. Now it is called Bolonchenticul, Campeche. Point ing. Empress Carlotta, who wrote her the Cross of Petitions, and every New of departure: city of Campeche, in name on the wall at Cacahuamilpa, Year’s Eve the inhabitants of the valley western Yucatan. All of the cenotes took a dip here, and before her time, bring their petitions . . . little figures are in a gigantic cave, the Gruta de Stephens, who wrote two wonderful formed of beeswax, twigs, cloth, etc., Xtucumbi-Xunan . . . “Hidden Woman”. books on the Mayan area (illustrated in the image of that which they most There is a folk legend that deals with by Catherwood), raved about the desire (a house, animals, a child) and a beautiful maiden who had an un- marvels of this cenote. place them on the hill, below the cross happy love affair and sought a most The Cave of Loltun in Yucatan (“Stone and below the cave. These are blessed solitary but beautiful place in which Flower” caverns) are of great extent,

170 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34 with many galleries. Its walls are jungle and it will not be long before somewhat by masonry. The very covered with ancient paintings and Mérida is well connected with the bottom, below this ledge, is covered glyphs. To reach some of these out- major cities of Quintana Roo. What with cool water. Just above the water of-the-way caves, consult a travel was once an odyssey will be in the the pictographs are cut into the stone agency in Mérida. They will be willing near future a comfortable excursion. wall. There are apparent glyph-blocks to help, and it is frequently necessary Furthermore, recent investigations which have not been deciphered. The to ask permission to visit cenotes on have turned up so many ruined cities Carnegie expedition came to the con- people’s property. that a trip to this region will be more clusion that after the introduction of Balancanché is a suburb of Chichén and more exciting. Christianity the people of the region Itzá, and can be visited at the same time As a trip to Mérida is highly rec- had used the cave (and perhaps others) that one sees the ancient city. There ommended to the visitor to México, as a retreat in which to continue their are good hotels at Chichén and it is who can study in the vicanity count- former ceremonies. The pictographs, advisable to stay at least overnight, less archeological sites as well as the or glyphs, it is suggested, were prob- for there is much to see.. Chichén Itzá fascinating cenotes, we suggest that a ably the result of an attempt to use and Balancanché are about 75 miles jaunt to the east coast of Quintana Roo hieroglyphs after real knowledge of from Mérida on the good highway be added to the itinerary. This will be this art or type of writing had gone. that leads to Valladolid. most rewarding. We have heard many A crude stone idol was found in the Balancanché is a series of caves rumors of caves along this coast, which cave, which strengthened this theory. which were long ago dedicated to would not surprise us, as the soil is The idol made of a stone slab was the worship of Tlaloc, rain god. The similar to the rest of the peninsula. decorated, too, with the same type of name of the caverns means “Hidden Concretely, we can describe a sacred pictographs. There was also an altar adoratory”. The Institute of Anthro- cave at Tancah, where there are ruins, in the form of a miniature pyramid pology has installed electricity here and which is near the exciting center covered with plaster. but otherwise it remains are as they of Tulum. were found. Most of the ceremonial The first complete exploration of INTERESTING CAVES IN objects are incense burners in the the east coast of Quintana Roo was THE STATE OF HIDALGO form of the rain god. There are also done by the Carnegie Institution of In Tulancingo, Hidalgo State, there stalactite and stalagmite formations. Washington, under the direction of is an archeological site called Hua- A shallow river runs through the Dr. Sylvanus Morley, and the results palcalco, excavated by archeoiogists caves: The ceramics are very similar published in 1924 by Samuel Lothrop. Florencia Muller and Lizardi Ramos. to that from Tula, Hidalgo, which This book. called “Tulum, an Ar- This is a very interesting zone, as it was proves the Toltec immigration from chaeological Study of the East Coast occupied many thousands of years ago, the latter city to the Mayan area after of Yucatan” is excellent and still quite and had continuous occupation, since 1000 A.D. up to date, as little intensive work has then until after the Spanish conquest. Undoubtedly there are many such been done in the region since then. There are many structures, including a ritual caves in Yucatan. Not long ago a Now, of course, the Mexican Institute pyramid with preclassic fresco paint- humble farmer named Bernardino Us of Anthropology is dedicating serious ings (from 150 B.C.), additional build- Col followed an animal he was hunt- attention to the area. ing periods throughout the centuries ing and had wounded to the low hills Lothrop describes a cave near until the time of the Aztecs; then a (there are no mountains in Yucatan), Tancah, which in turn is about 3 miles Spanish colonial church was erected where the creature disappeared. On up the coast (north) from Tulum. Al- on top of this pyramid. moving a large rock to look for it, though this is the only cave examined There are various caves at Huapal- the man discovered the entrance to a by the expedition, the type of limestone calco, one of them explored. This is cave. This cave is 6 kilometers (4 miles) soil and rocky coast would undoubt- Cueva del Chivo (Goat Cave). A flint northwest of the town Ozkutzcab. edly make possible any number of hand axe, that dates back to prehistoric Ceremonial objects were found here caves. The expedition had heard of a and preceramic times, was found in the also, as well as glyphs and drawings long hieroglyphic inscripion cut on the cave, under two stucco floors that had on the walls. walls of the cave, when they were in remains of other periods of occupation. QUINTANA ROO: Quintana Roo is Belize, but when they explored the site More recent remains from Goat Cave still a Territory and a part of the Penin- they discovered that the “hieroglyphs” are fragments of obsidian knives, balls sula of Yucatan, to the east of Yucatan are pictographs instead. of copal incense, skeletons of children, State. There are regular flights to Isla This cave is about a quarter of a and ceramics from late preconquest Mujeres and Cozumel, both of which mile inland from the coast. Workmen periods. have good hotels and have become at the coconut plantation at Tancah can Although there is little cave-ex- outstanding tourist attractions. There is lead a visitor there. There is a cenote ploring in Tulancingo (archeological regular boat service from Cozumel to nearby, as well as remains of ancient sites may not be examined without Tulum, and a certain amount of food architecture. The cave is semicircular, written permission from the Institute is sold there, especially fish from the about 20 feet and nearly 100 feet long. of Archeology, if this involves any dig- Caribbean. There is a flat ledge near the bottom ging), Huapalcalco itself is interesting, Highways are being cut through the that has been leveled and improved with its pyramid and other structures.

171 AMCS Activities Newsletter NUMBER 34

To reach this place, take the Mexico These amazing finds, which es- would recognize the small hybrid City–Tuxpan, Veracruz, Highway as tablish man in America as sedentary corn of so many thousands of years far as Tulancingo, at 140 Kms. The and with a formed agriculture almost ago. However, for those with spe- archeological zone is 4 kilometers 9,000 years ago, are filling in a blank cial interest, the headquarters of the north of town. which is the “Neolithic Revolution”, “Tehuacan Archeological-Botanical described frequently by historians but Project”, whose results are being THE AMAZING CAVES not proven before, as MacNeish points studied by Dr. P. C. Mangelsdorf, of OF PUEBLA out, by archeological finds. the Botanical Museum of Harvard The caves in the southern part of In Coxcatlán, which is south of University, are in Tehuacan, Puebla, at Puebla State, the most famous of which Tehuacan, a famed mineral spring the Peñafiel Hotel. To date, 365 caves is Coxcatlán, explored by Dr. Richard resort, a long list of objects has turned in Puebla, Tamaulipas, Chiapas and MacNeish and other specialists, are up, including not only these very other states, have been studied . . . filling in many missing links in ancient ancient proofs of agriculture, but one for every day of the year, like the American history. From these caves, as lithic instruments, ceramics, cloth, churches in Cholula! And who knows well as from others in the southeast of sandals, cord. etc. We do not suggest what exciting results will come from Tamauliipas, have come gourds, chili, amateurs’ exploring caves with this the study of these remains. Then, too, and pumpkin more than 8,000 years type of remains, as in all probability there are thousands of caves in Mexico, old; beans 6,000 years old; and corn invaluable objects would be destroyed. so history may be pushed back more and squash 4,000 years old. No one but a specialist, for example, millenniums yet.

Cuevas y Cavernas de México

Esta es una reimpresión del texto de un pequeño libro de 32 páginas de 1964 promoviendo visitas a las cuevas de México que fue publicado por el Club de Viajes PEMEX.

172