Petroglyphs found near La Luz Del Mundo, Los Ayala,Mexico
2013/05/06
By John and Doreen Berg
Ancient Rock Art Soon To Disappear!
Visitors and snowbirds wintering in the Jaltemba Bay area have
probably visited or certainly heard of Alta
Vista, a fabulous Tecoxquin(“Throat Cutters”) archeological site. What most visitors do not realize is that
there are numerous, but smaller ancient sites displaying petroglyphs located
right in our own backyard.
One such Tecoxquin site can be found just off Highway 200
and close by La Luz Del Mundo Church.
Not having visited the goat field since the 2012 season I decided to
re-visit the field and update my notes prior to publishing. Well, part of the plan fell apart when I discovered
that the goat pasture containing the ancient art had been left to the goats and
the ancient stone carvings were difficult to view being hidden in tall grasses
and vines. Fortunately, I was able to
locate most of the spirals and mysterious carvings. However, one decorative rock segment
containing a beautiful spiral shape had been chiseled free and carted off. A difficult feat because the missing stone
slab must have weighed well over a hundred kilos! The exact meaning of the rock carvings has
never been fully explained, but the spirals have been interpreted to relate
with the weather and the seasonal weather cycles. I’ve also noted that an article suggested a
coiled snake or comet as a possible explanation. A few seasons ago a Huichal Indian convinced
a friend and me that one rock shape represented an eagle in flight. At the time his explanation was
convincing. You’ll have to decide what
you want to see!
With each visit over
the last four or five seasons I’ve noticed that homes and pastures are slowly
encroaching and damaging the number of boulders inscribed with petroglyphs. Continued attrition is probably in the works
because the ancient historical site is neither government protected nor guarded
in any fashion. It’s time to visit
before the ancient rock art disappears.
If you have time, and don’t we all, take a stroll through the
lower goat pasture to the top of the sloping field and you’ll find spirals and
other shapes carved onto the large boulders.
The small site where you’ll find goats grazing is located in a grass
filled pasture within easy walking distance from your parked vehicle. As well as observing the ancient symbols
you’ll be rewarded with a view of Los Ayala with the sparkling azure waters in
the background.
How To Get There
Take Highway 200
driving toward Puerto Vallarta past the Los Ayala turn off and past the Oxxo Store
and church on your left.
Continue on
about a half kilometer from the traffic light and turn off to your left just
past a large steel traffic sign and park at a new palapa restaurant, La Ceiba.
Walk up the gravel road passing on your left
a home and goat pens until you reach a fence.
Follow the path along the fence line to an iron wire gate. Pass through the gate into the lower pasture
and walk diagonally uphill to the left hand corner of the field.
Once you reach the green belt of palms and scrub
growth look to your left for an opening in the fence into the next or adjacent
field. It’s in this pasture that you can
search out the large rocks with the shapes cut into their surfaces. While this is private property the owner has
never minded us visiting the site. Just
make sure you close the gate coming and going and a “gracias” or two will never
hurt.
Running shoes, long pants, hat and water are suggested plus
bring your camera! Enjoy the ancient stone
carvings before they completely disappear.
Returning to your vehicle stop at the new birria restaurant and enjoy a
cool beverage of your choice. Possibly a
snack or a cerveza!
We love to read your comments!
Written by John and Doreen Berg
About the Authors:
We are golden age backpackers in our seventies and have traveled
extensively throughout the world. We come to Los Ayala every winter for three
months enjoying the Mexican people and the warm waters of Jaltemba Bay and
surrounding area. We first started coming to this area in 2002 and although we
had been in Mexico many times before that we had never settled on one place
until then. We like to explore new territory and to consider settling down for
three months was beyond our imagination. At first we came for two weeks,
returning to Canada and coming back to Los Ayala within the month. We just
loved it! As the years went by we increased our time to three months. We
haven’t extended it beyond this as we do love to explore other places in the
world during fall and spring. Our goal is to provide viewers with travel
information that will assist with travel planning. We place trip information in
our articles to stimulate interest plus specific facts that readers can follow
to duplicate our travels. Other travel related articles may be viewed on our
blog:
If you have time, and don’t we all, take a stroll through the
lower goat pasture to the top of the sloping field and you’ll find spirals and
other shapes carved onto the large boulders.
The small site where you’ll find goats grazing is located in a grass
filled pasture within easy walking distance from your parked vehicle. As well as observing the ancient symbols
you’ll be rewarded with a view of Los Ayala with the sparkling azure waters in
the background.
