Captain´s Log: Return to the Haunted Dam

As if the bell at midnight wasn't believable enough . . . I had the esteemed honor to revisit the haunted dam, this time not to bath (although it might prove easier than the barrel method), but to investigate certain rumors of prehistoria. Many people claim that the cerros that straddle the West end of the dam are actually pyramids long covered by earth, rocks and juicy cactus, others will tell you that the hills were actually islands back when the valley was submerged under sixty feet of water, yet others simply steer clear as the occasional skeleton, corpse and cadaver are sometimes “discovered” - prehistoric and not. Yes, it is a mysterious parcel of land, where La Llorona is known to appear and leave drunken men strewn by the wayside, trembling, scratched and in the buff... who knows what really goes on in those hills, but one thing I am sure of is that there certainly are prehistoric rock carvings. The Mexican sun beat like Bobby Brown as we crossed the milpas leading to Mogote, as the area is sometimes called. A few minutes from ground level and we encounter the first carving: a ovular flat-topped rock with two circles and two sets of perpendicular lines etched into the surface in a series of inch-diameter dimples. To be completely honest, we had our doubts...On to the larger of the two hills, and after two very close encounters with a most prickly cactus we arrive at the flat prairie-like bald spot of the hill. We make haste searching around every boulder and pebble, scouring for the supposed second carving. Two litros of water later and we're still scouring the hillside for the persnickety pictograph. I jump a gully and nearly bite it on the remnants of a half-covered rock wall. I turn to give it a piece of my mind and VOILA! It appeared! A most perfect caracol carved into a small boulder. The sunshine casting shadows in the gouged spiral it looked me in the eye. Like Indiana Jones with the holy grail I take off my hat, take a knee and caress the rock, being sure not to miss any striation...I'm sorry... damn editor was supposed to keep things family oriented (I get carried away sometimes.) Needless to say, I had a most wonderful time and stumbled (literally) across a true tesoro. Thank you haunted dam and vicinity!