The Guadalajara Reporter
Guadalajara's Largest English Newspaper
Archaeologist Rodrigo Esparza has been studying obsidian for 20 years. In a recent online conference sponsored by the University of Guadalajara, he summed up his observations about this volcanic glass which played a vital role in the history of Mexico.
In 1685, Franciscan missionary, explorer, cartographer and astronomer Padre Eusebio Kino led the first non-indigenous expedition across the width of Baja California, through the high walls and treacherous canyons of La Sierra de la Giganta.
Many years ago I bought a house in Pinar de la Venta at the edge of the Primavera Forest, outside Guadalajara. Among the many birds visiting my backyard were carpinteros (woodpeckers).
Jalisco has the fourth-largest deposits of obsidian in the world. The ancient rulers of the Teuchitlan Nation, which dominated western Mexico for about 800 years, found that the very purest obsidian could be found in two large deposits: La Joya and El Pedernal.
While hiking along the Angostura Interpretive Trail—located seven kilometers north of Lake Chapala—I came upon a flat rock about the size and height of a low table.
For an up-close-and-personal turtle experience, you can’t beat the aptly named Playa de las Tortugas, located 21 kilometers due south of San Blas, in the state of Nayarit.
On our first visit to San Blas, we went on a panga ride down the Estuario San Cristobal, where we spotted all manner of birds and other wildlife.
