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Immediately west of Guadalajara lie 30,500 hectares (75,367 acres) of rolling hills covered with pine and oak trees — home to hot springs, deep canyons and over 300 species of woodsy creatures.

If the small Jalisco town of Talpa de Allende is not in the middle of nowhere, it is just on the edge of it, hidden among the lonely hills of the Sierra Occidental, about two-thirds of the way from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta.

“Let’s go camp on top of Ceboruco Volcano to see the Lyrid meteor shower,” suggested Chris Lloyd, my geologist friend. “The next morning, we can go take a look at a fumarole with beautiful sulfur crystals. It’s in the upper crater.”

A few years ago the story broke. “¡Lo encontraron!” ran the headlines: They found it! They found Guadalajara’s legendary lost bridge, el Puente de las Damas (the Ladies’ Bridge). There really was such a thing, and at last we know where it is!

I started out looking for a good hotel on the beach and ended up finding out how to make the world a better place. Not bad for a weekend aimed at escaping from work! 

In case anyone might have a doubt, crocodiles are commonplace in Mexico. Three species, in fact, with the most common being Crocodylus acutus, the American crocodile, which frequently lives in estuaries and can grow to over five meters in length.