26 pg. 25 were once part of a large Hacienda where the cash crops were trees logged from the abundant forest along with sown crops such as corn, wheat and rice that they were able to grow successfully by making use of the abundant water here at the foot of the sierra. Of the Hacienda, gone since the revolution, only traces of the main house’s foundation remain, buried in overgrowth. The ex-hacienda land is now divided between different members of the local “communidad indigena”. After the fields we entered a wooded area where the climb up to the waterfall really begins. Initially the slopes are forested with Robles (oaks), but climbing along the trail we moved quickly into an area of Pine with the occasional Encino (live oak). Our local guide Aldo pointed out that the Robles are dying due to root rot, but as the Robles
fall the forest recovers and the Pines are steadily taking over, moving further down the slope each year. Hiking steadily upward following the winding trail through the woods, climbing deeper into the forest, the only noises we heard were the wind whispering through the pines and the multitude of bird calls from the woods as we approached. Fording several small creeks that tumble down the slopes Aldo pointed out that between each stream of water the colour of the soil differs, changing from yellow, to terracotta, to brown to black – as though each stream defines a different territory on the same mountain. After about an hour and a half of hiking steadily upward we reached a larger, faster running small river that coursed through a narrow canyon about 15 meters below us, Aldo explained that we were pg. 28