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.
One nice thing about all of them is that they welcome newcomers, even old gringos like me, so I’ll tell you a little about Grupo Colli’s excursion to La Huasteca last weekend and if you find it interesting, you might check out the websites of these clubs for upcoming activities.
My friend Mario Guerrero (of CEO) told me about Colli’s trip (number 3,342 in its long history) to La Huasteca, one of Mexico’s most beautiful regions, which includes parts of seven states, but was formerly the stomping ground of the Huastec Indians – before they were sold into slavery by the infamous Nuño de Guzman, of course. “You don’t want to miss the glorious waterfalls of Micos,” insisted Mario, “and the stupendous Cascada de Tamul, 105 meters high.” How could I say no?
Micos means spider monkeys, which were once abundant in the region but these days it really means breathtakingly beautiful cascades and pools of turquoise-blue water, as clear as crystal and “room temperature,” just perfect for swimming.
On arrival, we split into two groups: those who would don life jackets and leap or slide down seven falls over a one-kilometer stretch of Río el Salto, and those who preferred a leisurely swim in the “flatter” part of the river downstream – replete with exquisite mini-falls.
What was it like for the cascading group? My friend Luis Rojas recalls: “I stood atop the tallest fall, nine meters high and looked down at the tiny pool far below me. One of my two ever-conflicting personalities said, ‘híjole, this is lunacy!’ and tried to pull back. But my dark side shouted, ‘Go for it!’ and pushed me right over the edge with no further ado. What an adrenalin rush!”
Group number two’s heartbeats were also accelerated a bit because they had to descend some 600 stairs to reach the river, after which it was pure relaxation, lolling in any one of hundreds of frothing natural Jacuzzis while balancing a frosty can of Modelo on your belly – ah, what a life!
Later, back at the Taninul Hotel, we could hike, explore a cave, fly through the air on zip lines or steam ourselves in a Temazcal and finally soak in a pool of sulfur-rich hot-spring water. Enough said?
The next day, we were on the bus at 6 a.m. and drove to the Tampaon River where we climbed into long wooden boats called pangas, which we then rowed upstream until we came to rapids, at which point we hiked along the shore while our guides pulled the boats past the flying foam. This picturesque river, whose waters, once again are room temperature, is bordered on both sides by high cliffs and spectacular, white, limestone spires, among which, said our guide, one can sometimes spot spider monkeys, onzas (perhaps cougars), badgers and even jaguars!
Paddling again, we slowly approached majestic Tamul Falls, 105 meters (344 feet) high and of such beauty that we all concurred it was well worth all the rowing and sweating. On the way back, we stopped at a flooded cave to swim or float in its (to our surprise) ice-cold water.
The day was topped off by a meal featuring one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever eaten anywhere in the world. It’s a specialty of San Luis Potosí called Zacahuil. The ingredients are chicken, cracked-corn meal and yummy spices, all wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a clay oven for eight to ten hours. For some strange reason, Zacahuil is translated as “tamal” or even “corn pudding” but in my opinion it is unlike any tamal I’ve ever seen and in no way could be thought of as a pudding. No, I suggest it ought to be reverently referred to as Zacahuil and only as Zacahuil (pronunciation: sock-a-WHEEL). Amazingly, even the chicken bones melt in your mouth while still remaining crispy!
Whether you’re interested in elaborate excursions like this one or just a simple walk in the woods along some long-forgotten path, you might want to check out one of Guadalajara’s well-established outdoor-activity clubs, such as COLLI: www.grupoexcursionistacolli.org (Tel: 33-3562-4749) or CEO: www.clubceo.mex.tl (meeting on first Fridays, 9:30 p.m. at Zaragoza and Garibaldi).