G'Day!

Rumarosa's Round Rocks and Rock Art Leaders: Maria Mitrani and Don Albright Join in on an all-day adventure to Baja California's La Rumarosa to learn about the area's geology and rock art. Located in northern Sierra Juarez, encounter the geology of the intriguing lava-capped mountains and visit the local lime kiln. Price includes a meal, drinks, snacks, Tecate Brewery tour, and bus transportation. Saturday, May 15, 2004; 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Miranda and I have been on several excursions into Mexico as part of the San Diego Natural History Museum’s program of Adult Classes/Field Trips. Many of these are actually run through Andiamo (“The Peninsula of Baja California is the home and passion of our guides and naturalists.”) and guided by Maria Mitrani and members of her family. Depending upon the trip additional guides with specific knowledge may accompany the group. On this trip was Don Albright, a former geologist with 45 years experience in Baja geology/geography, much of which was imparted to us on this trip; but more on that later. As is usual for these excursions, we began in the car park of the Natural History Museum waiting on the bus to arrive from Mexico. Once on aboard we can sit back and relax with coffee and Mexican sweet bread (no not sweet breads or thymus, but a form of pastry) as the bus heads to the border. We cross at San Ysidro, just outside Tijuana. Instead of heading south into Baja we travel east along the border on Mexico 2 to Tecate. Tecate is the oldest of the border towns, and like many virtually straddles what is the busiest border in the world. Our first stop is at the local market in the center of town where Miranda and I buy a hand woven hammock to hang in our newly landscaped garden. Then it is off to the Tecate Brewery to try some beer. Tecate beer was first brewed here in the 1940’s. In 1955 Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Montezuma acquired the Tecate brewery. Known as Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A. de C.V. or FEMSA, the company is the largest beverage company of Mexico and Latin America, and the Tecate Brewery is just one of its six breweries. After a tour of the facilities we are invited to lunch and to drink as much Tecate, Tecate Light, Carta Blanca, Superior, Sol, Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Ambar, Indio, Bohemia, and Noche Buena as we like. This is an offer too good to pass up and Ted heads straight for the bar, on the pretext that he will find us a table while Miranda and I get the food. We get to try Sol, Dos Equis Lager, and Dos Equis Ambar before we have to again board the bus. The beers were certainly quite drinkable, but the most impressive aspect is the high tech approach to consumerism. To see what I mean check out the sites above, especially for FEMSA and Sol. The only Sol site I could find is German, but both sites are among the best I’ve seen for alcohol products. The Introductory Video we were shown before the brewery tour was also exceptionally well done. Filled with Mexican food and beer we head further East on Mexico 2 through the small town of La Rumorosa, and on to the the Petroglyphs and cave paintings of El Vallecito Archeological Zone. The site is in a valley at around 4000-feet elevation dotted with pinyon pines and eroded granite boulders and outcrops. Many of the sites have been vandalized over the years and are now surrounded by wire fences and locked gates. To see them we are accompanied on our walking tour by a local caretaker who opens the gates……..and then uses his walking stick to search out rattlesnakes which may be resting in the rocks. Don is certainly energized by this archeological site and provides lengthy explanations on the possible significance of some of the paintings, including the fact that one of the caves has a painted man who’s eyes are lit by the rising sun during the winter solstice. He also talks at length about yoni (WARNING:This site may offend.), Sanskrit for the female vulva! Don explains how the yoni in the rocks at El Vallecito may signify that the Indians (ancestors of today's Kumeyaay) believed the area to be a place of (their) birth. Whatever the real meaning Don certainly seems quite excited by it all. There is nothing like enthusiasm for your subject! After we have seen five of the ten or so sites, and avoided contact with rattlesnakes, its back on the bus and Eastward again down the Rumorosa Grade (AKA Cantu Grade) to the desert floor. There is not a yoni to be seen, but this is still one of the most stunning visual experiences of the day. Don explains the geology as we travel down the grade, but it is hard to listen to him and take in the amazing rock structures at the same time. Essentially the rocks have weathered in place so that they are now broken into what look like piles and piles of pebbles, but on a very large scale. One of the few photographs I could find on the web (see above) does not do the scenery justice. The other fascinating aspect of the grade is the vehicle wrecks. It is easy to see how the absence of guard rails and the severity of the curves has led to these accidents. However its still alarming to look over the side of the road and see the numerous wrecks littering the step slopes. Once we are at the bottom its back up the grade to Tecate and a stop for ice-cream and then across the border at San Ysidro. I’m never particularly comfortable crossing the border back into the USA, even though I have my Australian Passport and my Resident Alien Card (Green Card). This is because I’d prefer to present just my California Driver’s License, like everyone else. Except I know that if I’m asked a question my Aussie accent will stand out…….and I’ll be asked even more questions. So its Passport and Green Card, but the guard just want to know what we bought. “Uhm, a, what’s it called?” stumbled Miranda. I blurt out “ A hammock”, and am immediately thankful that I didn’t present the Driver’s license. “I paid $25. What did you pay?” Miranda replies “$20?”and looks at me. “$22”, I’m even happier that my Driver’s License is still in my wallet. “Damn, you got a better deal than me!” And so home we go. It was a very different and diverse day of activities. I’m still not sure if it was the food, the free beer, talk of yoni, or the careening down the grade that made one member of the group motion sick! But the rest of us had a great time!