BajaNomad

Painted Cave near El Arco, in October Baja Bound Newsletter

David K - 11-12-2012 at 10:00 AM

If you missed my trip report from our great 15 days in Baja, last July... one of our stops was the beautiful cave art site just off the road between El Arco and San Francisquito. It was the subject of my article in the October edition of BajaBound.com's newletter.

http://www.bajabound.com/bajatravel/painted_cave_of_el_carme...

Please enjoy my previous 16 articles linked on this page: http://www.bajabound.com/bajatravel/

[Edited on 11-12-2012 by David K]

Leo - 11-12-2012 at 05:54 PM

Nice photos and good story David. I have been at a few but not this El Carmen site. Can you go there without a guide and special permit?

David K - 11-12-2012 at 06:30 PM

Thank you Leo...

It is out in the desert, miles from any rancho or town...

Just be good (as a Nomad should) and enjoy yourself. That's what's its all about... connecting with our past and enriching our lives in Baja!

David K - 11-12-2012 at 06:39 PM

On the day we visited the caves, we first had breakfast with Shari at Bahia Asuncion, then visited the 1752 mission of Santa Gertrudis, then the 1900-ish gold mine ghost town of Pozo Aleman, then the cave, then on to Punta San Francisquito and then north to Bahia San Rafael, where we camped on the beach. In Baja, you can see so much and have fun doing it, too!

See my July, 2012 trip report '15 Days in Baja' with more details and more photos than in the Baja Bound newsletter article!

From my trip report DAY 13

David K - 11-12-2012 at 07:27 PM

So you don't have to search too hard... here is the page on the cave from the trip report:

Day 13-c

We leave Pozo Aleman at 3:05pm and take the graded road for some miles until I spot a side road with lots of travel. It ends in just ¾ of a mile at a turn around, next to the side of a big hill. A close look up the hill and I see a cave. From the turn around, a well worn foot trail heads up the hillside. Obviously many folks have been here, perhaps tours. Along the trail, near the cave is a carved Elephant tree with the name ‘Arce’ and the year ‘1990’, perhaps when it was discovered? The site is a major painted cave, yet Harry Crosby did not include it in his books cataloging the hundreds of central Baja California painted caves. Crosby researched his cave paintings book in the 1970’s, so perhaps this one (near El Arco) had indeed not yet been discovered?

We take many photos at the cave and we note that it contains paintings of 4 men, 4 women, 4 deer, 4 fish and 2 dark figures with one wearing a ‘hat’. So, we call it ‘the cave of fours, plus 2’! Some of the images are faint and painted over others… so take your time and study the art here or in my photos… A most exciting site on our great 15 Day Baja vacation. On our way back down the trail we photograph some boojum trees, some pitahaya dulce, and more ball moss. We are back to the Tacoma and driving again at 5:00pm. It is summer, and the sun is still well up in the sky.

Our goal is Punta San Francisquito where a beautiful beach is located I camped at back in 1983...

Photos:


The El Arco/ Punta San Francisquito road is fast and easy to drive.




Ball moss.


The painted cave is up there.


The trail is easy to follow, and only gets steep near the cave.


The Pitahaya Dulce or Organ Pipe Cactus was the source of much joy to the Cochimi Indians when its fruit ripened in the fall.


The cave… getting closer!


Looking back down the trail.


We can see the giant paintings.























The only sign at the site…














I spot a boojum tree (cirio) about my height… They can grow to 60 feet or more.







The base of the tall boojums.


Here are some young pitahaya fruit. In a couple more months they will be ripe for eating.



We return to the road to Punta San Francisquito and continue east as the sun slowly drops in the west.

DavidK

captkw - 11-12-2012 at 08:41 PM

Hola, in your opinion are they "giants"?? or where the paintings expressing that to you ?? The reason I ask is I keep reading about folks saying that the paintings are of giant people >>> K&T:cool:

David K - 11-12-2012 at 09:40 PM

The legend says the paintings were made by a race of giants. The figures are much larger than life as well.

shari - 11-13-2012 at 07:55 AM

legend has it that people have found very large bones of what may be giants in this area of central baja...food for thought.

Osprey - 11-13-2012 at 09:13 AM

Most of those bones have now been identified as camelids and elephants. The painters were a little shorter than modern cholleros. There's evidence of scaffolds, ladders, hang ropes at some of the sites.

The first painters were working about 7,500 years ago and the last about 3,000 so these artful pilgrims were just tourists. I had time to do a ton of research when I wrote my fictional book about the paintings, the painters.

QUETZALCOATL - 11-13-2012 at 09:30 AM

Those are great pics-thank you. However is it just me or does one of the painted figures look like it also is wearing a straw sun hat? If so all I can say is we are not alone (ancient aliens) further proof of Dec.21st 2012.

Osprey - 11-13-2012 at 11:01 AM

We like to think of yesterday like about as far back as Harry Truman. Western plains Indians pictographs show stick figures with a line thru the head, skull. That meant "White eyes" (cowboy hats), also "enemy" or "kill".

No cowboys or their hats back in 5000 BC so you might be right. They might have been some kinds of sun hats.

QUETZALCOATL - 11-13-2012 at 11:15 AM

So what I believe Osprey is trying to say is the hats probably had a logo on them like "NASA" or what ever organization the space creatures worked for. Hence validating the dark rift ancient aliens theory just as many of you suspected. Hmmm most interesting views Osprey. Still tho we should give David credit for finding this lost culture and the pain staking work he has done to deliver us this astounding proof beyond a doubt.

[Edited on 11-13-2012 by QUETZALCOATL]

Osprey - 11-13-2012 at 11:28 AM

You are so right. Before Harry Crosby's books we really didn't know siccum, had no way to go find em, see em, appreciate em. Same with the El Arco cave. People will thank David once they realize what a wonderful adventure he has opened for them. (hats or no hats)

QUETZALCOATL - 11-13-2012 at 11:30 AM

After a flood of u2us about this last post of mine I can see that the main concern is- if there is ancient aliens then it stands to fallow they will come to take our jobs and live off the government hand outs. So in response I do believe instead of a wall we should be building a ceiling.

Osprey - 11-13-2012 at 12:01 PM

Talking about ancient aliens is not crazy. Crazy is flying with Mike and David if you had already seen the photo of David holding up the wing of Mike's plane while Mike and the Mexican mechanic tried to jerry rig a leaking landing gear part (not the first or last time). I'm not a pilot but I think landing and taking off with a bad landing gear, again and again is probably a no no in Mexico, the U.S. and elsewhere --- as in, if they catch you, you lose your license and pay a big fine for putting people in the air and on the ground at great peril rather than complying with aero laws and common sense.

Boy, I guess there goes my chance of riding with you and Mike (or David) in the suspect plane. Man, I miss out on so many adventures.

QUETZALCOATL - 11-13-2012 at 12:11 PM

That is great planning ahead Osprey- What your saying is with the imminent coming alien invasion we will need all the licensed pilots we can get to repel the advancing swarm-so cool to think of home planet security- keep up the great work -ty. Please note "Home planet security" or "HPS" is a registered trademark of Quetzalcoatl

David K - 11-13-2012 at 02:15 PM

Okay boys, now I am lost? The cave was not discovered by me nor did I ever ride in a plane with a bad landing gear...?

Osprey - 11-13-2012 at 02:52 PM

David, I didn't say you discovered the El Arco paintings, only that you do us all great favor by sharing your trip(s) there, the pix because the site is little known --- that it is not a part of the great numbers to the north.

David K - 11-13-2012 at 03:10 PM

Not you Osprey, Quetz... thanks!

OHH,,MYY

captkw - 11-13-2012 at 08:43 PM

David K - 11-19-2012 at 09:06 AM

Since the Baja 1000 race was less than a mile from this cave site, I wonder did any of the support teams or spectators go have a look...? Perhaps 10 years worth of traffic in just one day on that road, yet Baja remains so pristine and beautiful just hours after such an event.

Archie - 11-19-2012 at 09:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Since the Baja 1000 race was less than a mile from this cave site, I wonder did any of the support teams or spectators go have a look...? Perhaps 10 years worth of traffic in just one day on that road, yet Baja remains so pristine and beautiful just hours after such an event


The correct name is Baja California, or Baja California Sur if you´re south of the paralelo 28.

For those of us who live and work out of Ensenada and La Paz, where we got nothing but trash, noise, destroyed roads and no benefit from the race or the organizers I greatly differ from you DK.

David K - 11-19-2012 at 09:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Archie
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Since the Baja 1000 race was less than a mile from this cave site, I wonder did any of the support teams or spectators go have a look...? Perhaps 10 years worth of traffic in just one day on that road, yet Baja remains so pristine and beautiful just hours after such an event


The correct name is Baja California, or Baja California Sur if you´re south of the paralelo 28.

For those of us who live and work out of Ensenada and La Paz, where we got nothing but trash, noise, destroyed roads and no benefit from the race or the organizers I greatly differ from you DK.


No benefit from the race? Seriously? Maybe because it isn't called the Baja California 1000? Seriously, even in the state of Baja California, locals consistently call their state "La Baja"... and it is very common to hear Canadians call it "The Baja"... Baja this or Baja that in business names is proof of how popular Baja is without California attached to it!

I asked this question of the shortened name to Baja California native son Antonio Muñoz, owner of the 'Baja Cactus' motel and Pemex station. Being a Mexican born in Baja California, I bow to his input when he told me that there is no insult in using the shortened name 'Baja' and that calling the peninsula 'La Baja' was just fine.

So, while I use 'Baja California' in a full term often, to nit pic at the times I or other Baja Nomads (not Baja California Nomads) use the abbreviated name 'Baja' is perhaps not justified, as we love the place and want it to be a destination of us and others always.