Road trip: Day 8

Between the ducks and the birds there was no sleeping in today.  We were going to take a leisurely morning, but that soon changed. The owner of the campground came by to let us know he was leaving and wouldn't be back until mid-afternoon.  He mentioned he was going out to the settlement of San Francisco de la Sierra on a tour of the cave paintings.  Our plan was to ask about tours while in town. We asked if he could take us tomorrow but he didn't know as he only goes if he can get enough people.  He made a quick run to the hotel where the folks were staying that he was taking today to ask if we could join them.  They said ok so we had 15 minutes to get ready.  Mind you, we were still in our pajamas lounging around.  After a quick scramble to get dressed, brush our teeth and put some quick supplies together, we were off.

Suffice it to say my hands were more than a bit clammy from the nerves of driving to reach the cave paintings.  The first part of the road was Hwy 1 which isn't so bad except now we had a Mexican driving and they love to pass semi trucks on this narrown two lane highway.  Then we got off the main road and started the climb into the mountains.  While the road was paved, the driving was a bit too fast for my liking on such a narrow winding road with little to no guardrails and steep cliffs on either side.  Eventually the payment ended.  The last part of the trip was on a very rough dirt road.  Did I mention it was a very rough dirt road?  It was a VERY ROUGH dirt road.  And only wide enough for one car.  And not a single guardrail.  And VERY steep drop offs. Quite honestly, I didn't enjoy the scenery much. I was too busy freaking out.

We had to drive past the entrance to the paintings a short way to the settlement of San Francisco to get a permit and a licensed guide to take us to the paintings.   We had to laugh when we saw a sign for a hotel that has internet and wifi.  The internet has definitely connected the world.  This is a place that is difficult to reach by ground and yet they have wifi.  Go figure.

Here are some pictures from San Francisco.  The only real means of livelihood here is goat farming.  They raise goats for meat, make cheese and sell their goods back in town which is a few hours drive each way.  There were hundreds of goats along the mountainsides.

Here's the church that was built 3 years ago.

While everyone was checking out the church, I decided I would see if there was a place to use the bathroom.  I was the only girl on the tour and we had made one potty stop on the way in.  A potty stop meant they stopped the van on the side of the road.  (It's one thing when it's just me and Brett, but totally different with 7 men I just met. Not happening.)  As our guide spoke pretty good English, I asked him in English if there was a place to use the restroom.  He looked very perplexed and I thought he was going to send me to the largest cactus.  He then asked the guide that we had picked up to take us to the paintings and they were conversing quite a bit.  He said there was a mini market and I thought maybe he was telling me I could use the bathroom there.  Then he asked me if I wanted breakfast or what exactly did I want. I then realized that I had said restroom in English and he thought I wanted a restaurant!  He must have thought I was completely crazy, asking him quite seriously if there was a restaurant out here!!   I guess I should stick to Spanish.  I was then directed to the nearest outhouse, aka bano.

Here's the mini market.

Making cheese.

The paintings are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.  While some are difficult to decipher, they are still amazing considering they are estimated to be approximately 10,800 years old.  And yes, you read that right, 10,800 years!!

The red and black human figure (on the right) in this one is said to be the tribe leader and the colors represent good and evil.

The road back to civilization wasn't as bad as he stopped several times for us to take photos.  Stopping so often meant he was driving slower and I was able to actually enjoy it.   On one of the stops, we followed him through a makeshift path through the desert where there  were petroglyphs.  He said these were estimated to be older than the cave paintings.  Wow.  Very cool to see this kind of history.  The tour was 600 pesos ($48 US) for both of us.

The other guys on the tour were a motorcycle tour group.  They were from Arizona, California, Oregon and Germany and all met up in San Diego and were riding to Cabo and back.

There's an interesting cave in the mountainside.  Where?  Over there!
                                    

After we got back, we headed into town to see the mission.  The mission was started in the early 1700's and was completed in 1763 and is in remarkably in good condition.  Yet another spectacular piece of history.

After a long day, we ate dinner downtown at Los Arcos.  We both enjoyed a relaxing dinner of local fish.  $300 pesos ($24 US)  At dinner, we met two guys that were heading home from a trip to Cabo.  John lives in La Mission in northern Baja, just north of Ensenada and Rene is from California.  We had a great time with them, especially hearing the excitement in John's voice as he talked of the joys of living on the Baja.

It's raining right now and we're now back at camp and oh so ready to call it a night.  My nerves are still a little shot from today's drive:-)