Getting Lost En Route to Huasca Ocampo

 

From Monte de Real to Huasca Ocampo is only 20 minutes, in theory. None of the convis stopped at the downtown station and a policeman told me to just walk out to the highway intersection.

I waved at the first convi to come by but that didn't work out. I thought he'd told me I had to walk to the intersection. This was an intersection, wasn't it?  But what did I know? Off I went, looking for the next alleged 'cruce'.

No cruce in sight yet.

OK.  No intersection in sight. Time to turn back. 

Another convi came by. The driver said the same thing about the cruce, only this time it clicked. He could only take me as far as the intersection to Huasca and I had to make it into town from there. I was on my way.

This is where I got off on the highway.  Hmmm.  No public transportation in sight. Time to start walking.

Still walking half an hour later and wondering if I could make it by nightfall and had enough money on me to pay for a hotel.

Treacherous plummet off the roadside with no room for both traffic and pedestrians.

Then, as if by a miracle, the real Huasca Ocampo convi rolled around the bend and they had just enough room for one more. I was saved.

Beautiful downtown Huasca.

A taxi from there to Prismas Basalticos.

This was the place!  Was it worth all that trouble getting there?  Definite yes. The pictures tell the tale.

Tirolesa is Spanish for zipline. I have always been afraid of those things and couldn't imagine riding one.  But I have always wanted to so badly. In theory they're safe but sometimes old cables snap and for someone like me with a terror of heights, there was the real danger of arriving on the other side if the dead from a panic induced heart attack.

I thought about it and thought about it. A stoem was building quickly. What if it made the harness swing wildly side to side or even do loops? I knew I was thinking too much. I told myself to cut it out, marched up to buy my ticket and away I went over that deep gorge. For just an instant after liftoff, I wanted to change my mind but too late for that.

The wind was fierce.  I was in danger of losing my hat.

A huge storm broke out. People ran for cover. A transport van to the town center was just leaving. The dricer was fun, beating a tune on the horn. He asked for permission to circulate the parking lot abd rescue people huddled under awnings.

Back in town, there was a long line of people waiting for convis as all the srreet merchants had packed up in a hurry to go home. 3 convis later, I was heading back to Real del Monte, staring through the steamed up windows, afraid of missing my stop, which I did. But only by a little. The sriver obligingly stopped when I called out.

Warm pastes from a roadside restaurant and the end to a great day..

Cascadas Magicas Huatulco 2019 Copalatilla

After years of living here in Huatulco, we sometimes take this place for granted.  Even though there is plenty of fun and adventure to be found, we often let the weekends and holidays float away, reading or binge watching some tv series.

      Isaac helped get the Easter Week vacation off to an active start this year by arranging a trip to the Magic Waterfalls with a tour service.   It's a place I haven't been to since arriving here to live but it is well worth the trip and long overdue.   

  

Huatulco is such a small place.  There's Luis Antonio, from UMAR,  working with a tour group on his vacation.  Seriously, not a bad job at all.  

Every tour takes a side trip to sell you something.  This is where we stopped.  Other tours have arrangements with other stores selling mezcal and chocolate.   I waited outside on a bench and read my novel.    

It wasn't too long before we were off to our main destination.  

Our destination was Copalatilla, a series of waterfalls and lagoons.  The water was bracing, exactly what everyone wanted after a long hot drive up the mountain.  The other option is Llano Grande, a much bigger waterfall, but there really is only enough time to enjoy one or the other.    

This was our first stop.  We stayed here long enough for other tour groups to clear the way.  It's very well organized.  The trails don't have enough space for every tour at once so one group moves ahead only after the previous one has moved on.

This is where it gets interesting but I had to leave the camera behind at that bamboo railing in the background because there was no way to keep anything dry  Next time, I'll bring a waterproof camera and try and do justice to the caves with gushing water we climbed through with ropes

Here's the place all the tour groups end up for an all-you-can-eat meal (included with the tour)  before heading home.  After our swimming, we were seriously hungry.

Isaac, the man who made it happen.

Time to go home.