Alta vista mexico throat-cutters

All too soon our family visit and gourmet meals came to an end. Our Alaska Highway Mile One departure day featured heavy rain and a two centimetre snow warning for the Fort Nelson area. John where we picked up some groceries and were soon traveling north. By the time we reached Wonowon we were encountering snow! As we traveled toward Pink Mountain the snow intensified and the road conditions became treacherous.

Finally, we decided to call it quits and returned to Fort St. A stop at Wonowon confirmed our decision when checking with a truck driver he too was turning back and informed us that the road was temporarily closed near Pink Mountain as a freight truck had overturned. That evening we were a bit discouraged and concluded that if the weather didn't improve we would select a more southern route and return home early.

The next morning we woke to sunshine and clear skies! And this weather was to continue for the remainder of our holiday! Having learnt our lesson our next step was to consult the Fort St. John tourist bureau to obtain a current road report for Highway They reported that road crews were busy clearing the highway and we followed their advice to delay our departure until noon.

Our previous day's trials had taught us to respect northern weather conditions. Much to our delight road conditions proved to be excellent with bare pavement and with snow roadside. The drive to Fort Nelson was pleasant which comprised an early stop to enjoy our homemade bunwiches interspersed with photo stops of scenic sections.

The drive was truly a North American Serengeti game drive! Right on the outskirts of Fort Nelson we encountered our first animal sighting, three caribou grazing. Throughout the drive we continued to glimpse numerous black bear, more caribou, mountain sheep and several bison herds munching fresh willow shots and new grasses. With little traffic it was convenient and safe to park roadside obtaining wonderful animal photos. The sundrenched snow capped mountains and raging river runoff were an added bonus to our day's drive.

The delicious buns are now baked by a third generation Andrews. Next stop was Toad River Lodge which looked inviting with new cabins facing a picturesque lake.

After viewing the 6 caps attached to the restaurant's ceiling we hit the road again arriving at Liard Lodge late afternoon. After registering and depositing our luggage in the room, we grabbed our swim gear and walked the short distance to enjoy a hot soak in the Alpha Pool. In the evening we watched the bison herd wander past the lodge as they munched the tender new grass shoots.

It was a novel experience, in the late evening, to sit reading near the window without the aid of an electric light bulb. The next day we visited nearby Smith River Waterfalls and Whirlpool Canyon before returning to the lodge for lunch and an afternoon soak in the hot pools.

Liard Lodge was ideal as a place to relax and walk directly across the Alaska Highway to experience and enjoy the natural hot springs spa. The 42 to 52 Celsius degree water bubbles from one end of the springs and flows into pools providing an outdoor spa for people to soak and relax.

We strolled along a wooden walkway that meanders through a swampy area. We searched for the possibility of a moose sighting but alas we had to settle for a viewing of a variety of bird species. We agreed that our Liard Hot Springs experience was a trip highlight.

Planning to reach Whitehorse the next day meant an early morning departure. Very quickly we encountered bison herds and in fact traffic was stopped for a few minutes as an old bull and a few cows slowly wandered across the highway! Our earlier black bear spottings had been so numerous that today's sightings only warranted a "There's a bear," comment and a brief glance!

We were "beary" spoilt. A grizzly bear and cub did generate interest and an attempted photo through the windshield with the mother threatingly standing on her hind legs.

Fortunately she lost interest and raced into the roadside timber area. We walked to see the famous signposts before heading on to Whitehorse. Leaving the tourist center with a city map and numerous brochures supplied by the exuberant helpful staff, we decided to use Whitehorse as our base and spend four nights exploring the many tourists' attractions being offered, plus providing us with a more intimate understanding of the workings of a northern community.

Blessed with gorgeous sunny days we donned our summer clothing and spent our time hiking well-defined local trails, visiting the excellent museums and wandering through the interpretive center capping the busy day with an authentic Mexican dinner! The White Pass and Yukon Route of is a rare story in the world of railway constructions and was built as a result of the human stampede caused by the discovery of gold in the late 's.

Over the years the narrow gauge railway has been kept busy transporting war supplies, ores and today's payload of tourists. Many travellers arrive in Skagway's harbour by cruise ships and elect to take the popular train trip.

Carcross was first named Caribou Crossing for the caribou herds that swam across the narrows between Bennett Lake and the Nases Lakes. Like all tourists we photographed some of the Yukon's oldest buildings in Carcross dating back to We entered a few to browse the souvenirs and purchase a coffee. We remounted our bus and enjoyed scenery on the drive to Fraser, BC. Upon our approach I counted 21 parked coaches with more arriving.

The parking lot and railway platform looked like total chaos with countless hundreds of smiling tourists disembarking from the train cars searching for their bus to return to their cruise ship in Skagway. When the time came for us to board the train, I thought we would be running, pushing and scrambling to gain a preferred right side for the best view!

This proved not to be as the train's loading and unloading systems were cleverly organized. We were assigned a car and since there were few people on our bus we found ample available space in our designated car, a pleasant surprise compared to some of our earlier world travel experiences.

Leaving Fraser behind for our As the train twisted along its narrow gauge track we were treated to a yawning chasm of gaping gorges and beautiful waterfalls crashing from glaciers.

A much photographed steel bridge constructed in was the tallest cantilever bridge in the world. Its usage was discontinued in A black cross at Mile Their deaths in were the result of a blasting accident.

All too soon we were passing the maintenance sheds and rolled into the Skagway station. Our exhilarating train trip was over. Armed with a city map and inside information supplied by our motor coach driver, we set off to capture Skagway's touristy atmosphere with the main street featuring a wide variety of shops, three or four selling diamonds, and numerous restaurants.

As there were four cruise ships in port, approximately tourists provided a brisk business for the shops, restaurants and tour agencies. With our limited two hour time in Skagway we browsed a few shops and decided to sample a locally brewed beer. Finding no space downstairs, we wandered to an upstairs room and played a game of shuffleboard before heading back to explore the Skagway harbour and a walk back to the train station to locate our bus for our return trip to Whitehorse to complete a brief but enjoyable introduction to Skagway, Alaska.

Again, we enjoyed the drive with panoramic views, a stop at Fraser to pick up passengers and to clear customs. We've now returned to Canada! Doreen had oven roasted veggies with mashed potatoes and bannock and I had elk stroganoff with sourdough and a Caesar salad. We enjoyed the restaurant's ambiance and food while re-living the day's many highlights.

The White Pass train day excursion proved to be another trip highlight. The following morning saw us being on our homeward journey. Arriving in Watson Lake we again visited the signpost display and attended an evening Northern Lights Show. Our plan was to return via the Cassiar Highway 37 stopping overnight at Stewart and possibly Smithers. Petroglyphs of Altavista, Nayarit. If all this seems too exotic, turn to Chapter 23 and take a walk at Altavista, near the Pacific Coast.

The trail leads you through great boulders covered with petroglyphs engraved there over years ago by the Tecoxquines Throat-cutters whose favorite sport was decapitating prisoners captured during tribal skirmishes. Your reward at the end of your walk? With this third volume, the grand total of destinations we have described comes to See Chapter 15 of Outdoors in Western Mexico 3.

There is also a campground with spring-fed swimming pools. We are currently staying in the Nayarit area and would love to have the opportunity to visit some of the places you have mapped out and support your work. Looking forward to hearing from you. Hello hikers, Sorry to say, we haven't any digital versions of our books yet, but many of the site descriptions have been published on Mexico News Daily.

Post a Comment. It was inhabited by the Chanes, or Water Spirits, as well as the spirits of those people who had drowned or whose death was connected to water. The first historical references to the Altavista archeological site date from They describe complex writing, a multitude of crosses, and above all a devoted Christ whom the local people hold in great veneration.

Local farmers leave offerings of candles and gourd bowls of salt to this figure in order to obtain fertility for their coffee and tobacco crops or in hopes of obtaining work. Beginning in the 17th century the belief arose among the Spanish that the apostle Matthew traveled to the new world in prehispanic times to evangelize the indians.

This was thought to account for the rock carvings of Altavista, especially the crosses. By the 20th century this belief had developed to the point where Matthew was credited with creating the cross of grass, which is now a religious sanctuary in Tepic and is thought to possess miraculous powers. According to local legend a stream of blood beginning at the cross of grass flowed down the mountains to Altavista, connecting the two sacred sites.

The fact that the cross was a sacred symbol among the Tecoxquines, somewhat surprising to the Spanish, and led to the legend of the apostle Matthew. But for the Tecoxquines, like most other ancient mesoamericans, the cross was in reality a mental map of the cosmos.

It symbolized the five sacred directions: the four cardinal points and the center. Each direction was associated with certain gods, colors, and sacred realms, as well as one of the four trees which formed the Tamoanchan.

The idea of the four-cornered universe is still present among Mexican indians today, and is symbolized by crosses, diamonds and other similar shapes. It is possible that the rocks of Altavista were associated with the mythical trees of Tamoanchan which connected the underworld, the earth and the heavens.

The prayers of the people traveled up through the sap of the tree trunks to the realm of the gods. In turn, the gifts of the gods, rain, fertility, and good health returned to the earth through the same trees. For the Tecoxquines , the rocks of Altavista would have served the same purpose, a medium of communication between the people and their gods.

The spirals, wavy lines and other symbols carved in the rocks of Altavista most likely constitute a ritual language of prayers to the Tecoxquin gods. As an agricultural people, the Tocoxquines would have been concerned with obtaining rain, fertility of the earth, and the continuance of the seasonal rhythms they depended upon.

Although the exact meaning of the symbols will never be known, the spirals have been interpreted as the sun, rainstorm, wind, coiled snakes, or as a symbol of the natural rainy and dry cycle.

The Huichol indians who occasionally visit Altavista originally lived in the mountains of Nayar although in recent years a small group has moved to the Las Varas area. This site requires a high clearance vehicle or the ability to hike a number of kilometers.