Sharksbaja - 8-20-2005 at 01:55 PM
Caves are cool. Awesome to explore, they hold mystique and secrets of the past and can be extremely fascinating and beautiful.
I have read and been told of sacred places where many caves hold bones from past dwellers of Baja.
I have not been exposed to caves in Baja as they are mostly located in areas away from roads and kept secret for good reasons, I've been told.
You can see caves everywhere in Baja but most of them are very small.
I have visited some great caves in the U.S. and enjoyed spelunking a few small caves.
My question is, do complex caves systems exist in Baja of the cavernous sort, complete with stalagtites etc?
Not that I'm aware of but,
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 03:50 PM
1
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 04:14 PM
Mike Supino - 8-20-2005 at 05:00 PM
Sharksbaja,
If you continue with your "spelunking", you'll have to clean it up yourself!
2
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:09 PM
3
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:10 PM
4
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:11 PM
5
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:12 PM
[Edited on 8/21/2005 by jrbaja]
6
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:16 PM
7
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:18 PM
8
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:20 PM
9
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:21 PM
10
jrbaja - 8-20-2005 at 05:22 PM
bajaloco - 8-20-2005 at 05:25 PM
All great shots JR...my personal favorite was # 7...thanks
JR
Baja Bernie - 8-20-2005 at 07:14 PM
The view from #2 is a killer and you framed it wonderfully.
Thanks guys
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 11:58 AM
After stopping at La Cueva de los Cadavres in photo 8, we drove north through the brush and cactus on what was onc e a road for the rest of the day.
We had heard of some caves in another area so we decided to explore since we had plenty of supplies. We came upon a better road after a few hours
and ended up in a small community. The people were awesome as usual and we shared some donations with the kids.
One of the townsfolk had a shop and this is where I had me machete made from auto body parts and my axe made from a leafspring. (Muy fuerte!)
Sharksbaja - 8-21-2005 at 12:05 PM
I take it that means "Cave ot the cadavers"
Very interesting, thank JR.
The hatchet
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 12:10 PM
[Edited on 8/21/2005 by jrbaja]
Machete
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 12:14 PM
The Shop
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 12:16 PM
[Edited on 8/21/2005 by jrbaja]
Sharksbaja - 8-21-2005 at 12:38 PM
Can you purchase any of those in Baja? Is it a biz?
We spent the night
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 12:51 PM
outside the village after exploring the area around town, sharing stories with the locals, eating and learning about the cuevas in that area. The
guides were of course related in some way or another so we had a pretty good time to say the least.
In the morning, we drove to the base of a mountain/mesa/butte to the northwest and donned our packs, water, GPS and camera stuff and started to
climb. There was a well used animal trail and as we climbed, the newest of our guides was showing me all the different edible plants. Personally, I
was glad we had modern day botanas because those old guys palates musta sure been different than mine!
We take a branch off the main path to a smaller cave which was littered with animal bones and evidence of many a feast. This is why the guides are
always happy when I bring the dogs!
We then arrive at the top of a hill and look down into this big ol cave at the top of the mountain. There are wild onions growing everywhere
(cebolla de los cerros) I think they were called, and this garden hadn't been tended in a LONG time. Unfortunately, the "second harvest" would
probably have tasted better.
We climb down into the cave and there is this spring. At the top of a mountain? I found this mighty peculiar but the dogs loved it. There was
evidence of people living there with scraped up metates (primitive) and the fact that there was indoor plumbing probably made it prime property, back
in the day.
There were no scrapings, paintings or any other evidence of signs of the past besides the scraped stones but this area is located near civilization
and the cave itself is exposed to the elements. Nevertheless, when you are in the caves down there, in the heart and historyof a past civilization,
it is hard not to get the heebie jeebies when yer inem!!!
And I love it!! 
Shop 2
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 01:21 PM
Shop 3
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 01:22 PM
Shop 4
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 01:24 PM
Thanks JR!
TacoFeliz - 8-21-2005 at 01:35 PM
Very cool travel log and pics. Please post more when you can.
JR my Man!
Baja Bernie - 8-21-2005 at 01:39 PM
This is the kind of post only you can treat us to and you do it so well.
You were doing stuff like this once before and then you stopped---please do not stop this time around because you have so much to share.
Sharksbaja - 8-21-2005 at 02:50 PM
LOVE the new avatar Bernie
Jr, can u buy this stuff? Is this a livelyhood for some?
[Edited on 8-21-2005 by Sharksbaja]
Yep
jrbaja - 8-21-2005 at 03:23 PM
There's a store in Santa Rita that carries some crafts from the hills. There's also one in La Paz from what I hear but I don't know the name.
We just sorta stumbled across this herreria in the middle of what we thought was nowhere and placed the orders. Had the tools the next afternoon.
wow
jide - 8-23-2005 at 02:37 PM
Now that's some great Baja exploring!!! What area were photos 2 and 3 taken? Sierra de la giganta, sierra de la laguna?
Cincodemayo - 8-23-2005 at 02:52 PM
Great shots jr...
Cincodemayo
Baja Bernie - 8-23-2005 at 06:03 PM
I've been looking at your signature for a long time and I always wonder why not--just get happy????
Neal Johns - 8-23-2005 at 08:14 PM
Interesting stuff, JR.