A one-man revolution in Barranca de Otates
“A funny thing happened to us on our way to the cave.”
This is one of my favorite expressions, as not only funny things have happened, but also beautiful and inspiring things, mainly because of the extraordinary people we inevitably come upon in those lonely, out-of-the-way places where a cave may or may not exist, but where we often find adventure and friendship … and in the case of Barranca de Otates, signs of a most interesting “idea revolution” operating in rural Mexico.
I must confess that only a year ago, the very thought of reading a book on a computer screen turned my stomach. If you feel the same way, read on, because I eventually made some discoveries you might like.
Every outing we have ever gone on with botanist Miguel Cházaro has been an adventure. One day our friend took us to visit a cloud forest of maple trees and giant ferns, not far from Talpa, Jalisco. The next morning we had planned to return to Guadalajara, but Cházaro said, “There’s a botanical garden near here you really must see. It was started by an American and it’s unique.”
Official plans to rehabilitate the Primavera Forest after the devastating fire in April of this year are far from adequate, says researcher Miguel Angel Magaña of the University of Guadalajara’s Center for Biological and Agricultural Studies (CUCBA).
El Amparo is located 65 kilometers due west of Guadalajara and for many years its silver mines were the richest in Jalisco. Engineer Salvador Landeros grew up at the mines and eventually became General Manager of all the operations.) 
The small towns around Lake Cajititlán are famed for their skilled artisans and you may have seen leaflets and brochures depicting, among other things, the beautiful basalt sculptures, colorful ceramics and rodeo-quality lariats produced in this area, which is only a 40-kilometer drive from Lake Chapala.
Guadalajara has several very well organized clubs specializing in outdoor activities like hiking, camping and mountain-climbing. These clubs offer excursions every single weekend of the year and their members get to see natural marvels that most tourist guidebooks never mention (except my book, Outdoors in Western Mexico, of course!). Some of these groups have been around for a long time, so today’s members benefit from discoveries of little-known sites made by other members decades ago. This year, three of the biggest clubs are celebrating their anniversaries. CEO (Cuerpo de Exploradores de Occidente) is 75 years old, Grupo Montañista Colli is 50 and Club Excursionista Huicholes Jalisco is celebrating its 41st anniversary.