Valles is four hours by bus south of San Luis Potosi, and rounded off the end of my trip in perfect weather. There is a beautiful little park where a river forms several small waterfalls called Micos Falls. Though small, climbing around on them still felt like being under a power washer. It is a popular destination for locals to visit and swim in the Caribbean-style blue waters. The river is naturally salinated - though it didn't really taste salty. It definitely left that chalky/waxy feeling on your skin when you dry.
The city was beautiful and busy and a bit touristy. On my own now except for a few people from Peru and Mexico City, I went rappelling down the Tamul waterfall at a height of 150 meters. Now, this rappel was a bit more "secure" than I'm used to. My previous rappelling experiences were more military style - toss you a 13' rope and tell you to make your own harness, only one 'beaner, and a helmet. If the knots were tied wrong or too loosely - nice knowing you. Being a big fan of "au naturale," this rappel lost the edginess due to so many safety features, right down to the life jacket. It looks a little silly, but once you get down towards the bottom, it takes all of .5 seconds to be drenched in water overspray. And when you finish, the rocks are quite slippery. I stopped half way down to whip out my cameras and get some shots (some of the photos from both locations are blurry because I had to waterproof the camera).
The waterfalls are located on the Santa Maria River in relatively virgin forests (some call it jungle). There are still free-roaming wild jaguars, boars, panthers and toucans in the forest. I climbed the white limestone rocks down the river for a bit, then came to a cliff where you could jump into the water if you want. I am paranoid of large or scary bodies of water - always have been and probably always will be - and thus I am not a very good swimmer. So of course, I like to scare myself and ran to do it. Only two others did and seemed rather experienced at it. I believe it was only about 50 feet high, but to me, it looked like a mile. My leg was shaking uncontrollably as I stood above the swelling water being told to avoid the rocks here, here and here. I was near panic when I just made myself do it. Of course they make you wear a life jacket, which only makes me more of a wimp (I'll definitely need to bring some "Oops I Crapped My Pants" when I jump out of a plane).
Afterwards, there was a relaxing ride on a canoe with water leaking in so everyone had to sit in the back while one person set to work bailing it out. We went to Cueve del Agua (Cave of Water) which was dark with deep water and stalactites and stalagmites looming ominously overhead.
Then I went to Tan Chong Chin (see photos in link) for some great home-cooked Mexican food. On the way to the vans to get our dinner, I decided the others needed to learn something from another culture too, I couldn't resist. As we approached the van, I shouted "Shotgun!" Everyone froze and snapped around in alarm. I wanted to get some photos on the way back and couldn't from the dusty side windows which only open three inches outward.
That night was New Years Eve, so onto the roof to get a shot of the last sunset of 2008, and back up again at midnight to do my dance and give toast to the moon for far away friends and family.
