Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Location: Teacapan, Mexico

I drove down here today after spending last night in Mazatlan. I decided to come to Teacapan because I heard about a 75ft tall pyramid built 4000 years ago and covered completely in sea shells. I searched the Internet for images and found none, but slowly narrowed the location down to this small fishing village on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean. As I asked around about this place in Mazatlan the locals all had different stories about where it is, and no one I talked to had ever seen it. Weird… but it IS here, I just talked to a woman that runs the restaurant I’m parked beside and she told me it’s here and it’s real. Now that I’m here I realize the reason no one has been to it is because it’s a boat ride and a hike away in the jungle somewhere. Tomorrow morning I’m going to try and go find it if I can… but it may not happen since I have to find a guide, make sure Moses is in a good place, and that the van is secure.

But let’s go back to the night before last.

I left Las Glorias and drove south four hours to dirt road on the side of the highway that leads through the small town of Chilacayota to Playas Labradas. Labradas (translated:worked) is so named because the beach is covered in petroglyphs chiseled away into the stone by Indians thousands of years ago.

I arrived at the small one room museum built out of woven branches and palapa style palm leaf roof about an hour and a half before sunset. There I encountered an old man laying in a hammock. As I pulled up and got out of the van he got up to greet me.

I’m having fun not speaking Spanish… it can be stressful but I rather laugh and try to enjoy it. I asked this man in my broken Spanish if I could park here, and sleep there overnight in the pull off down a few meters down the road. He replied “si senor” with a warm smile. I asked him his name, which I’ve now forgotten, and if it was safe. He nodded emphatically and I knew I could trust him. Plus I was literally in the middle of nowhere and he was the only one who knew I was there… no other traffic… nothing. Just crashing waves and maybe some spirits.
I went down to the beach to investigate and then back to the van to eat something. After filling up on peanut butter, cookies and bread, I strapped on my film gear and went to shoot the petroglyphs by the evening light.

So many of them all over the beach.. I captured some beautiful images before heading back with Moses for a silent night of sleep.

The next morning I was up again and out on the beach filming at sunrise. I think I captured some real gems. The early light sliding across the rock defining the ancient images proved my timing right.

After filming all morning I headed back to the van, ate some granola, and changed into surf shorts to go have an ocean bath. I swam, I scrubbed with my biodegradable soap, and shaved as the waves crashed just offshore.

Being the genius that I am… I took my digital camera to capture some shots of me ocean bathing.. it all went well until I got daring and tried to get a shot of me sitting in the rocks with white wash all around me… CRASH.. as I was taking a picture a big wave grabbed me, camera in hand, and sent me head over heals!

Yes… my camera went for a swim…

I got back to the van, clean shaven and ready for the day, took the camera apart, blew it out with compressed air, and after saying thank you and goodbye to the old man, drove to Mazatlan with it hanging out the window to dry in the wind.

I’m still working on it… all hope is not lost yet… I think the camera may be toast, but I’m trying to get the images off the data card… In the meantime you can see some images here -> http://www.larosadelasbarras.com/id19.html

peace,d