Zipline, Thermal pools, Chapoteaderos, the trail and new thermal pools

 

Day 3 at Tolantongo, Hidalgo. Still exploring.

The first adventure of the day had to be the zipline.  That's tirolesa in Spanish. No more hesitating.  My natural fear of heights meant this would be an exceptional thrill ride but one I could easily chicken out on.  I just had to get to the starting line and get strapped in without thinking about it too much.

It was further from my hotel than I'd realized.  I asked for directions and a young guy told me it was too far to walk and to wait for a crowded shuttle van.  What did I know?  At least I wouldn't get lost. 

The shuttle felt short and unnecessary but I was there and ready to ride that sky cable.  I had to step on some scales to ensure I was unlikely to break the cable. Then there was a waiver to sign and a place to write the name and number of an emergency contact.  It was wonderful.  But short.  This one is almost 2 kms in four stages but time goes quickly when you are zipping high above a mountain valley.

That was so much fun.  Next, the ponzitas (thermal pools).  It was the same place I'd just come from so back into another van.  By then I was really beginning to doubt the transport was necessary.  This is the place, with the same style of hotels, pools, restaurants and services as down by the river.

This is an incredible place.  Manmade pools of different shapes and sizes catch the hot water gushing down the mountain.  Everything is coated with the mineral deposits of years.   

You can enter the main section through the tunnel on the right or cross the suspension bridge.  Win, win.  Either way is good.

I took the bridge on the way in.

All of the pools were occupied and some clearly didn't need another person so I kept walking around.  A friendly family I'd met on the shuttle waved at me from below to join them.  It took a while to figure out how to get there and the route looked rather treacherous for a guy with a fear of heights.  I got dizzy at a few spots.  Eventually I realized how much traction bare feet had on that coating of minerals.  They only look slippery.  Still, as the signs warned, no pushing or running.  Two policemen way at the top kept a close watch from the top and blew whistles at any foolish offenders.

It was so nice but I had more things to see and found it a bit crowded for my tastes.  This was still before the weekend and I had no idea then how much more crowded the park could get and I can't imagine hanging out  at these pools with four times as many people.  At least the river always has room for everyone.  It just goes on and on.  All the same, very cool and Dr. Seuss like.

Unlike the tunnel by the gruta on the previous day, which I can't recommend,  this tunnel should not be missed.  It's open on both ends and you are never in complete darkness.

Campers are everywhere.  Bring your own gear if this how you want to go.  You can rent everything you need from a tent to a barbecue grill but by the time you have everything, you have pretty much paid for a hotel room.

This area has almost exactly the same pool as my base area below.  A man stopped to tell me all about the trail leading back to my starting point.  I would see different viewpoints of the mountains, more waterfalls and rivers.  He really didn't want anyone to miss it.  Most people did as they were hustled on to the shuttles and, like any vacation spot, a high percentage are mostly there to get drunk and do as little as possible.  It was a Spanish conversation but I pieced together what he was telling me.  He seemed to know intuitively he was talking to someone looking for exactly what he was talking about.

And then it finally hit me what those signs meant that read 'senderissimo'.  I already knew 'sendero' meant trail.  It meant hiking! 

It's a road more than a trail and clearly marked the whole way.

Everything was exactly as the man by the pool had promised.

Stunning natural scenery.

Surprise, surprise, ponzitas that were virtually abandoned. This is what the shuttle riders were missing. A new hotel zone is being built with all of the hot water luxuries of the area above. 

There were all of these lovely pools and probably about 10 people to share them all.

I entered several of them just because I could.  As usual, the warmest ones were the ones were higher up the hill, closer to the source.

After sampling several pools, this little one was where I settled in.

A ragged copy of Money for Nothing by Donald Westlake.

The hotel wasn't finished then but tent rental services, a little restaurant and an emergency first aid station were already in place.

  

The hiking route continues past the new parking lot.

Here we are back at the river hotel zone. 

The hiking route begins near the rear of the big parking lot.  That lot is nearly empty here but the next day it was packed.  Seriously, skip the shuttle.  This 2 km hike is not too strenuous, it has lots to see and the time goes quickly.