After tasting the traditional Mexican culture of Tequila, we ventured back in time to the Los Toriles ruins, which were occupied as early as 400 A.D. Los Toriles, also called the Ixtlán Archaeology Site, is located in the southwest corner of Nayarit, the neighboring state of Jalisco.
Although much of it was destroyed when the Spaniards arrived, part of one the structures still remaining is believed to have been a large palace with several surrounding alters.
In total there are 90 structures. We were lucky enough to have the site to ourselves to slowly wander the grounds and contemplate the lives the peoples who lived there before.
From here, we headed toward the coast, passing lush landscapes, including long-stretching lava flows and a variety a agricultural lands.
We followed the suggestions from a guidebook about camping areas in the West. It told of an adventurous journey driving through rivers and up mountains on rocky dirt roads in order to arrive at a beautiful and solitary jungle-surrounded beach near Platanitos, Nayarit. We drove through the town and looked for “the first dirt road on the left,” as the book indicated. However, those instructions were written in the 90’s, and with the sun quickly descending, we realized if we didn’t find it soon we would probably have to bag the idyllic solitary beach idea and just head back to town.
After driving for a while, we found an unmarked but open gate on the left followed by rocky dirt road. Within minutes of entering, the dense jungle enveloped us, creating a heavy blanket of pitch-black darkness. Having history on my mind from our day at the ruins, I imagined being an explorer from centuries ago in the depth of mysterious jungle at night looking for lost cities.
The road was riveted and littered with giant stones, which posed constant threats of damaging the car, but as narrow as the road was, there really wasn’t much option of turning around. We continued still, wondering what lurked in the wilderness around us. Suddenly, the canopy opened and we approached a clearing with a beautiful view of the sun setting on the blue ocean.
This must be it- so glad we continued on!
However, I returned to feeling a little unsure again because some traits that the book had described were missing, and there were others that they had failed to mention--like a large lagoon that bisected the beach. Maybe it doesn’t seem like an important fact, but since every lagoon we have seen in Mexico thus far has been filled with crocodiles, it’s a pretty important thing to know. However, the book did mention that we could expect to find scorpions; either way, we were on our toes for sure.
As we looked for a spot to camp, we also noticed the ruins of a demolished cement structure now overgrown with vines.
Can this place get any more mysterious and creepy? We set up the tents as far away from the lagoon as we could without being too close to the mysterious edge of the jungle nor the unusual structure that could also house who knows what kind of creatures.
With a tequila bottle and the makings for
palomas in hand, we then headed down the beach to bid farewell to the last bit of daylight.
The waves created mesmerizing shifting reflections of the moon that resembled dancing flames. Fire, the ocean, and the great outer-space blending in such a way conjured thoughts of history and the future to come.
Anne, my sister-in-law, noted how peering into a fire gives a sense of connection with the past; across hundreds of thousands of years we, as a race, have been peering into this captivating force of nature. I cannot imagine the sense of power the first humans must have felt in discovering the key to yielding this incredible element.
The ocean at one time was the great unknown, the dwelling places of the gods, the barrier between drastically different and unknown worlds. What was it like to not know what was beyond the ocean? What it was like to make contact for the first time? Similarly, the great void of outer space holds distant galaxies and worlds unbeknown to us. Where fire was the tool to discovering the nature of our world and the ocean was the means to discovering other worlds of cultures, Space now is now the mystery in which we yearn to discover the truly unknown.
Well, we were then quickly brought back to earth by a light shining near the car. Thoughts of being robbed or kicked off the beautiful beach ran through our minds. “We better check it out guys, right?” one of us said and we got up to face our fate. As we approached the car, a loud sound thundered to our left. We stopped dead, already a little fearful. Someone nervously and quickly blurted out, “that was just a coconut falling right?” -
oh yes, of course, a coconut that’s all, nothing to be worried about- and we slowly proceeded on. Seconds later we also realized that the light around the car was simply the moon creating illusions again. However, just when we were getting ready to go to bed, my husband, John, warned us to be careful and said, "I won't lie to you, there could be jaguars here."
Yeah, thanks, hon- sweet dreams to you too!
In the morning we could only laugh at ourselves for the continuous roller coaster of worry and enlightenment we put ourselves through the previous night: We woke up to a tranquil, non-threatening, beautiful beach- no scorpions, no crocodiles, no jaguars -simply bliss.
We hiked through the jungle on a great trail, filled with flowers, budding coconuts, and swinging vines.
Anne on the jungle trail
