FAQs

Yes. Some caves require more caving proficiency (i.e. vertical) than others, but there are a lot of caves in the area. You don’t even need to be caver to enjoy this area. But you do have to be flexible and careful, as this is a very primitive and remote area with health care, banks, gas stations, and other amenities a long ways off.

With food, gas, and tourist visa, we estimate between $200 and $300 total per person leaving from Austin, Texas. If you want souvenirs, or are buying food and adult beverages outside of the group purchases, bring more.

There are several ways to get to the Project area. Most people on our expeditions drive from Austin, Texas. It is about 8-9 hours, not counting time spent at the border crossing. In general, you will be on toll roads (Cuota) most of the way. They are much faster than the free roads (Libre), but will take about $40 USD in tolls total. But it is so worth the cost. From Austin, head south on I-35 to Laredo. Cross there and continue south on Mexico 85 just north of Monterrey, where you will turn west on the Periferico (Highway 100) towards Saltillo. If you miss the Periferico, you can still turn west on Highway 40, but you’ll likely be stuck behind a lot of tractor-trailers most of the way. Just before Saltillo, you will turn south on Highway 570 towards Matehuala. Follow that up into the mountains to the Los Lirios exit. You will take that unnamed road towards Los Liros, eventually getting on NL20 at a weird “Y”. The left goes to El Tunal, but you don’t want to go that way. The right says “Jame”, which is what you want. But just a little further is the turnoff for Jame; don’t take that. After passing through Los Lirios there is really only one paved (sort-of) road that winds back and forth up and down over several mountain passes until you get to a “T” at the tiny hamlet of San Isidro. There, you will see the sign to the right for Laguna de Sanchez. Follow that up a lot of narrow, winding road until you pop out in the central square of the village. Alternate transportation schemes could include flying in to Monterrey and taking buses to El Cercado and Laguna de Sanchez, or even busing from the U.S.

We will try to fit as many people into whatever rugged, off-road vehicles that we can get, but it depends on drivers and vehicle availability. Your best bet, of course, is to have your own caver vehicle that you take down. Keep in touch with the Project coordinators about ride availability to make sure you aren’t left behind.

When there are just a few of us we usually simply take a long walk away from camp when we have a “nature call”, burning any paper and burying our “business”. But with a larger group, we have some sort of a latrine to concentrate the wastes. We will also build a little shower area with a solar shower and a privacy screen. Water is precious up there, so we recommend bringing baby wipes for general cleaning, and only showering every few days or so, when you and your friends can’t stand too close to each other any more. Near La Camotera, there is an icy cold mountain stream with some suitable pools for cleaning up, but please wear something (the locals are very conservative) and don’t put ANY soap or shampoo in the water.

I’m not your mother, but I will give you some advice. You will be in high desert mountains at around 5000-7000 feet in elevation. Temperatures can get low, and rain occurs at different points of the year. Typically the weather is sunny and clement, but there have been stretches of rain, cloudy skies, and cool temperatures.

For Winter Trips:
A fleece coat with an additional outer shell is the bare minimum. Also bring a warm winter hat. Thermals are often nice for sleeping, especially if your sleeping bag isn’t rated for low temperatures. Note that even on the winter trips, the cave temperatures are generally warm, unless there is a breeze. Bring some kind of outer layer for that condition.

Remember that “Cotton kills!” Simply stated, you need to wear synthetics for moisture management in cold and cool temperature conditions. While cotton is fine in dry conditions, cotton does not wick moisture, gets heavy, and can quickly lead to hypothermia. Wool is often acceptable, but is not as good as synthetics. Also note that natural fibers take much longer to dry once wet as compared to comparably weighted synthetic fibers.

Bring long sleeved shirts! Flying insects called jejenes may be around during the day. Their bite is almost unnoticeable when you get it, but the result is a welt and an itch that can last several days. And beware of sunburn at these higher elevations.

In a typical day:

• Get up around 7:00 to 8:00 a.m.
• Breakfast is cooked, eaten, and dishes cleaned up.
• Assemble groups, plan, and prepare for caving for that day.
• Go caving, hopefully before 10:00 a.m.
• Dinner is usually started around 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.
• Eat, do dishes.
• Entertainment.

Entertainment might be sitting around the campfire enjoying vino or beer and conversation. Sometimes a movie is shown (yes, in the middle of nowhere). Sometimes a “slide show” of images taken during the trip is shown. There has even been an instance of an ’80s dance party. We take our caving seriously, but we enjoy kicking back too.

Unfortunately, there is poison ivy around much of the area. Be aware of how to identify it. If you know you are allergic, bring topical and oral antihistamines as necessary. Before going into a cave, look for poison ivy and remove it with gloves. Watch where you put your packs and gear.

If you are not allergic to poison ivy, please be aware that several people are! Please try to avoid it as your gear or person might come in contact with other gear or persons.

There are also the usual hazards of camping in the outdoors in Mexico. Scorpions (check your boot, zip your tent), lightning (don’t be near cave entrances, lone trees, or standing out in the open), and injuries. We can be on a lot of steep and unstable terrain; act appropriately.

Virgin, for sure. We keep finding new caves and karst features on every trip. There are hundreds of karst features in the area. If you start pulling rocks out of a hole, you might find a 30+ meter pit, or you might find that it ends after 3m. Some caves are simple fissure cracks; others are solutional; some are great pits. Few are multi-drops, and fewer still have water.

Be cautious when rappelling into caves. Some of the fissure crack caves had bad air. And just assume that every virgin cave has some loose and unstable rock. Take your time to garden the lip.

Cross at the big bridge (Puente Juarez Lincoln, or Puente #2), where southbound I-35 ends. It is directly over the immigration office with the big Mexican flag. You can get all of your paperwork canceled there if you wish (at Modulo CIITEV and the immigration office), or just get in line and cancel your vehicle permit just before you cross the border..

Tourist Visa: you can cancel your tourist visa if you wish, but in the dozens and dozens of times we have gone into Mexico, we have never canceled, nor turned in a tourist visa , expired or unexpired. A tourist visa is usually good for 180 days, and you have already paid for it, so let it be an enticement to go again. We have heard that at least one other person has had difficulty with not having an exit stamp in his passport on one trip, but that is highly unusual.

Vehicle Permit: generally there is no reason to cancel this until it expires. If it expires, you will have to cancel it before getting a new one. In some cases you might want to cancel right away. For example, Jim thinks he might be selling his vehicle soon, and doesn’t want to make an extra trip to cancel his vehicle permit. Be careful: you can never get another vehicle permit until your current permit is canceled. Sometimes you can also get it canceled at your local Mexican Consulate office without driving back to the border, but that is really hit or miss. To cancel at the border, there is a line for cars outside the immigration office that you just drive through without needing to go into the building, or do it in the line of traffic while waiting to cross back over the border.

Alcohol: The following is typed verbatim from a flier given to Tone at customs on Dec. 31, 2009.

• Texas Resident: 1 quart of distilled spirits, 3 gallons of wine, and 24 twelve oz. containers of beer.
• Non-Texas Resident: 1 gallon of distilled spirits or wine (or any combination of the two), and 24 twelve oz. containers of beer. Must have identification to prove out-of-state residency.
• State Law: All alcoholic beverages and cigarettes imported from Mexico shall be taxed by the State of Texas.

Now, we are not ones to ever advocate breaking the law, but those regulations only apply to unopened bottles of alcohol. And the TABC doesn’t really have a category for a quart of locally-made mescal in a reused rum bottle. Just sayin’.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, try to bring back live animals, and meet that is not dried, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, live plants, or any kind of illegal drugs. For the full list, go here.

And remember, when asked what you were doing, simply answer “camping and hiking with friends in the mountains near Monterrey”. Try to avoid providing unnecessary information, which just leads to more and more questions. And always be polite. Sometimes, if your vehicle is extremely dirty, we recommend stopping in a nearby stream to wash off the mud. Cavers have been hassled for potentially transporting seeds in the soil on their trucks.