Mimi: Palmito has made a lasting impression on many of us. Your story reminds me that it is now just a few days past 50 years ago that I went to Bustamante and Gruta del Palmito for the first time with Bill Gray and others of the original Alamo Grotto. I remember it well. I was stunned!
In a way, Palmito (now Grutas de Bustamante) is a time capsule of Texas caver’s experience in Mexico. In half a century, the situation has changed drastically. In the early days, cavers rode the train to Bustamante because the dirt road was too difficult for the few passenger cars in the caver community. Bustamante was a very sleepy little village with no traffic lights and very few amenities. There were no formalities required to visit the cave. Many visitors who planned more than a day visit recruited local burro-wranglers to get their heavy and bulky equipment up the steep trail to the cave. In short, those early visits were something of an exotic experience. For many, it was their first exposure to Mexico other than border towns and almost always their first experience in a cave of such mind-blowing proportions. You had free-run of the cave. In time, visits became more routine and the cave became a traditional “break in the newbies” trip for several grottos. Later, Texas cavers spearheaded efforts to clean the cave of decades of trash and graffiti. Cavers were continuously promoting the recreational and economic aspects of the cave to the Mexican people but things moved very slowly. Through the years, the efforts of the Amigos de la Gruta program made a huge difference in the appearance of the cave. Slowly but surely, support came from the people of Bustamante, the State of Nuevo Leon, and the Federal government of Mexico. Now, half a century after some of those early trips, it is a classic case of “shooting yourself in the foot.” We promoted and popularized the cave so well we finally lost access to it. Grutas de Bustamante is not a wild cave anymore. You reach Bustamante on a nice paved road and perhaps have a cold drink at the Plaza. Then you buy a ticket and drive to the base of the mountain on another paved road. From there, you are transported up the mountain on a winding road to the new tunnel entrance. Now, you follow the guide for a tour of the entrance room. Leave your hard hat at home. We helped restore, preserve, and protect the cave that we loved but in the process we lost the opportunity for an amazing caving experience. The caving literature is full of stories and photos about this great cave but you can most conveniently learn more about Grutas de Bustamante on pages 435-440 in 50 Years of Texas Caving. ===Carl Kunath From: Mimi Jasek Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:14 PM To: Louise Power Cc: texas cavers Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Remembering I'm one of those girls who has all kinds of special dates on my calendar, but that day probably tops them all. That trip changed my life, it's direction, and gave me my best friend for life. Took me into a world I did not know existed, asked of and gave more to me than anything I could have imagined, brought me in touch with a lot of amazing people, and the trip has yet to end! How can one not celebrate that? Mimi > From: [email protected] > Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:32:46 -0500 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Texascavers] Remembering > > 40 years ago right about now sitting in the border crossing building on my first trip to Mexico, first cave trip, first camping trip. Destination - Gruta del Palmito. Met my own future cave man on that trip, and have never stopped wanting to go underground. Don't think anyone ever wrote up that trip, either. > > Time flies when you're having fun:) > > Mimi Jasek > > Sent from my iPhone > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] >
