BajaNomad

Mulegé Cave Painting Toura

Wilbur4s - 12-5-2013 at 01:45 PM

Can anyone recommend a tour company that can bring me to San Borjitas cave, Cueva Pintada and Cueva de las Flechas?

Bob and Susan - 12-5-2013 at 02:20 PM

Salvador Castro Drew
615-16-149-85
Taxi #5
mulegetours@hotmail.com

Pompano - 12-5-2013 at 02:31 PM

I second Bob's referral. I've known Salvador for many years...more like a couple decades...and he knows the ropes better than most. Plus he's a fun guide and another ex-Serinadad employee.

[Edited on 12-5-2013 by Pompano]

David K - 12-5-2013 at 02:36 PM

San Borjitas is the site close to Mulege, along with La Trinidad...

Cueva Flechas and Pintada are north of San Ignacio along the Arroyo San Pablo, down from San Francisco de la Sierra.

bajadogs - 12-5-2013 at 02:38 PM

Ditto - Salvador.

mulegemichael - 12-5-2013 at 04:41 PM

salvador is THE MAN!...a wealth of knowledge!

cave paintings

dirtbikr - 12-5-2013 at 05:20 PM

This past march I went out to some paintings in muleje with a local guy on our dirtbikes, they looked pretty original except when I put my hand over a hand print and they were the same size as my hands. I am a six footer with good size hands, I thought it weird that smallish people hands would be as large as mine, anyways just an observation, are sometimes these reproduced for the tourists bucks? As I remember we went southwest from the town on pavement then dirt about ten miles, got off, crossed a shallow stream, then about a hundred yards to some walls with a overhang.

[Edited on 12-6-2013 by dirtbikr]

BajaOkie - 12-5-2013 at 05:32 PM

dirtbikr,

Not sure where you went or who took you there - at least it was a good ride I hope.

But Salvador will get you to the site and you will greatly enjoy his company. Have a great time and post the pictures!

KC

Near MULEGÉ

David K - 12-5-2013 at 06:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dirtbikr
This past march I went out to some paintings in muleje with a local guy on our dirtbikes, they looked pretty original except when I put my hand over a hand print and they were the same size as my hands. I am a six footer with good size hands, I thought it weird that smallish people hands would be as large as mine, anyways just an observation, are sometimes these reproduced for the tourists bucks? As I remember we went southwest from the town on pavement then dirt about ten miles, got off, crossed a shallow stream, then about a hundred yards to some walls with a overhang.

[Edited on 12-6-2013 by dirtbikr]


Can you tell us which cave site? Do you have photos? Thank you.

Wilbur4s - 12-5-2013 at 07:09 PM

Thanks guys.

bajadogs - 12-5-2013 at 07:34 PM

There is a photo of Salvador and brief description of our drive and hike up to the cave paintings toward the beginning of a trip report I posted 7 years ago -

http://www.bajadogs.com/lapaztrip.html

LaPazGringo - 12-6-2013 at 09:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dirtbikr
This past march I went out to some paintings in muleje with a local guy on our dirtbikes, they looked pretty original except when I put my hand over a hand print and they were the same size as my hands. I am a six footer with good size hands, I thought it weird that smallish people hands would be as large as mine, anyways just an observation, are sometimes these reproduced for the tourists bucks? As I remember we went southwest from the town on pavement then dirt about ten miles, got off, crossed a shallow stream, then about a hundred yards to some walls with a overhang.

[Edited on 12-6-2013 by dirtbikr]


From reading the Harry Crosby book, there is no indication that the artists were small people.

Marc - 12-7-2013 at 09:23 AM

That's Salvador on the left.

BajaBlanca - 12-7-2013 at 10:40 AM

bajadogs, very interesting read and amazing that you have spent so many Thanksgivings south, eating seafood instead of turkey!

We have only visited the Cueva del Raton, which you can drive to and backto in a day from La Bocana, so it doesn't really count. One of these days we want to do the burro trip into the real caves.

boe4fun - 12-7-2013 at 11:09 AM

Blanca, We made the three day burro trip out of SF de la Sierra a few years back with clinic volunteers Brad, Skip, and Dr. Bob. The trip was great, but the ride down and back was at times very spooky - riding on a mule on a foot wide trail with a 500 foot drop off right next to you. We went to 4 caves with paintings and 1 petroglyph. Of course when we returned to the pueblo Dr. Bob had arranged an impromptu clinic and we ended up fitting a few braces we had been taking down to La Paz for our clinic down there.

Osprey - 12-7-2013 at 12:56 PM

La Paz Gringo, hard to say how big the painters were. When Crosby went to the caves, the paintings were thought to be 600 years old. Now that we know the oldest are about 7,300 years old and many are 3,000 years old and some are 1,000 years old, it begs the question: "Not who were the painters but WHO WERE THE MANY, MANY PAINTERS?" My guess is they were all sizes of Homo Sapiens who lived and traveled about at that time. I'd say they were very clever dudes to know how to make lowering ropes and scaffolds to paint as and where they did without giving life and limb to honor the thing/deity for whom the images were done, for a very important extended period of pilgrimage, for a special kind of homage.

[Edited on 12-7-2013 by Osprey]

great trip report/photos

Whale-ista - 12-7-2013 at 01:14 PM

thanks for sharing Thanksgiving from 2006. enjoyed the Good Samaritan/returning the camera story and tips for rock painting guide.

Quote:
Originally posted by bajadogs
There is a photo of Salvador and brief description of our drive and hike up to the cave paintings toward the beginning of a trip report I posted 7 years ago -

http://www.bajadogs.com/lapaztrip.html

BAJACAT - 12-8-2013 at 04:24 PM

In think that pix wax taken in La Trinidad.