September 19, 1985. I was all alone, sleep-testing a house I hoped to buy.
7:19 a.m. Strange squeaking sounds awoke me. The noise was coming from the doors. Every door in the house was swinging back and forth, and apparently, all their hinges needed oiling.
I sat up and looked out the window. Trees were swaying to and fro …
Finally, it clicked: earthquake! I jumped out of bed, but suddenly it was over. Mexico’s biggest earthquake was my introduction to what has been my home for 40 years, located on the edge of Bosque La Primavera.
Hot river and sulfurous fumaroles
The Primavera Forest, we eventually learned, marks the site of a massive volcanic explosion that occurred nearly 100,000 years ago. Today, sulfurous fumaroles, giant blocks of pumice, a steaming cascade, and the popular Río Caliente hot river bear witness to the forest’s volcanic origins. What a backyard!
Another curiosity we heard about upon moving to our new home was Las Piedras Bola, a mountaintop less than an hour’s drive away, covered with giant stone balls up to two meters in diameter.
“There are hundreds of them up there!” we were told ... along with hundreds of theories as to how they came into existence.
This Bola-covered mountain is close to Ahualulco de Mercado, so that’s where we went looking for a guide.
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