Apoala
According to Mixtec legend the Gods decided to create the world in a small, impossibly beautiful village by the side of the river, a green, fertile sanctuary from which the nascent earth could grow.
However, as our taxi grinds towards the very same village and the flat, arid landscape stretches out uninvitingly, the thought occurs that perhaps the gods may have been a bit short sighted. The view until the far horizon is a monotonous grey, only punctuated by the odd scraggly tree and a few listlessly meandering donkeys. As we bump along the rock strewn road, the driver assures us we are close to our destination, a depressing thought given the state of the immediate terrain.
Then the taxi takes a sudden nose dive down into a valley and the scenery changes as if a border has been crossed. As the car traverses down the sheer, forest covered slope the valley opens up as a patchwork of green and brown fields in between which small wooden houses are scattered, their chimneys emitting smoke plumes. A lone farmer ploughs the field with his oxen in the shadow of the forbidden cliffs enclosing verdant hills and the soft, rich earth of the river plane. The sky is cloudy, lending the valley a curiously self enclosed feel, as if this is the beginning and end of a particular world.
The locals at Apoala have taken full advantage of the isolated beauty of their home, setting up an ambitious ecotourism project which offers accommodation and guides to anyone wanting to visit. After signing in at the Tourist Centre and paying a fee of about 40 pesos per person, visitors are conducted on a 3 hour tour of the valley.
Guides range from teenagers to the oldest residents. The baby faced Manuel will be showing us around. Almost all of the villagers are very short, even for Oaxacans, and have peculiarly innocent features, seemingly unclouded by the usual signs of aging. The populations numbers at about 200 and many of them are involved in either the ecotourism project or the villages local craft, straw weaving baskets and hats.
The tour starts with a walk through the village paths, fringed with a wide variety of fruit and paths. Wooden houses and the one village shop peer sleepily from behind this wall of foliage as the track opens up into a grassy clearing by the stream. Camping is available in this partially secluded spot for about ask Sam. Nearby stand the wooden cabins built to accommodate tourists. Most of them have four beds, a fireplace and a couple of chairs. Basic but comfortable, they are available to rent to visitors at about 400 pesos.
Past this small river plain, the river continues to gurgle gently up over a rock impasse and into what locals call the "Enchanted forest". The tress here are laden with pascle, a wispy white plant that looks exactly like thick tendrils of mist draping the boughs of this eerie, beautiful place.
Above the forest lie the immense scrub covered walls of the gorge. It is possible to abseil down them, but anyone hoping to do so will need to bring their own qualified instructors and equipment. There are agencies in Oaxaca City that can provide both of the above and know the valley well. The tour guide Manuel points us towards caves carved in the canyon side. Apparently a two headed eagle lived up there a few hundred years ago and insisted on carrying off the towns babies until eventually the curate decided enough was enough and climbed the cliff to confront the monster, who, after a few sharp admonishments, swiftly perished, its blood staining the cliff wall the dull red it remains today.
Most of the legends told by Manuel about Apoala seem to involve the kidnapping of local babies, leading one to wonder if there was a real epidemic of child kidnapping all those years ago. Manuel doesn't know, shrugging his shoulders before leading us down into the Cueva de la Culebra (cave of the rattlesnake).
It is here that the waters of the great underground lake which eventually emerges as the sulphuric springs in Tamazulapan peacefully lap. A vast horde of bats hang silently deep in the shadows whilst stalactites slowly drip from the roof. Another chamber ascends from the same opening, named the Bishop's Stone (la piedra del Obispo) after the great stalactite that hangs in the form of a bishops mitre.
The village's star attraction is the 60 metre waterfall just outside the village, in which the water races over the moss covered wall to crash into a series of plunge pools below. A descent of about 20 minutes is required to reach it down steps carved in the steep hill side. Equally absorbing are the cave paintings, amongst the oldest in the Mixtec, painted in one of the sacred caves above the canyon.
The tour should take you to all of these more immediately impressive attractions but Apaola is worth at least a two day visit to explore more fully the extents of the valley at your leisure. Walking the length of the canyon to eventually find the millions of tadpoles teeming in the deep rock pools at the other side, or the hike up the ridge behind the village are just a couple of the routes you can explore for yourself.
One striking aspect of the Apoala valley is the significantly colder temperatures that prevail at this altitude of 1970 metres above sea level. Coats and hats are recommended in the Winter months to keep the chill at bay.
Getting to Apoala is not such a daunting task as it initially appears. The first step is to get to Nochixtlan via coach from the ADO stations in Oaxaca or Huajuapan, each for about 30 pesos. The journey takes about an hour and a half from Huajuapan, and an hour from Oaxaca. If you want to check the times merely consult www.ticketbus.com.mx. Once in Nochixtlan simply approach one of the private taxis at the zocalo and ask them to take you to Apoala. The journey should take an hour and a half and cost about 180 pesos.
Although the community in the village has a satellite phone connection, our repeated attempts to call in advance were unsuccessful. However, with 8 cabins and two rooms available at the visitors centre you should be able to find accommodation without reserving, except possibly in the high season times of Semana Santa and July. To be sure, take your tent, since there is always space for campers.
by
John Holman