Biology field trip #2

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Hey all, hope all is well where ever you are....
Our next little adventure was up into the northern desert on another field trip with Pau's uni. This one had a slight difference in the fact there was no biology integrated into this trip, other than perhaps experimenting with the body's tolerance for marathon alcohol intake! We only went for a weekend so there is not much to talk about but the landscape allowed for some very photogenic scenery.
Two full bus loads made the journey and we made the wrong choice.....leaving at midnight one may assume most people would sleep eventually. I feel like im getting old before my days and am luckily blessed with the ability to sleep in any situation, but the drinking began immediately and continued for the next 12 hours! The majority of long distances buses in mexico are quite comfy and new......tvs/toilets etc, except a tv is no use with no dvds and the toilet pointless if permanently locked! The bus ride was basically a tour of all the oxxos (like the ozzie bp but sells grog) between qro and Cuatro Cienegas due to the continual toilet traffic, therefore we arrived 2 hours after the other bus. As the sun was rising i thought to myself at least i now have something to look at other than the initially amusing drunken antics, but this thought rapidly diffused as the sun heated up the bus making the lack of a functioning air cond very apparent.

I just read over what i have written so far and i think i am getting old!!! anyway it wasn't very enjoyable and we were very happy when finally our oven on wheels arrived to the sleepy town of Cuatro Cienegas.
With 4 hours to waste and nothing to do in town (it was lunch/siesta time so everything was closed) the whole group took some refuge from the intense heat under a couple trees in what seemed like an empty paddock, got some beers and drank and slept. After awhile a group of us decided to go to a museum and see the sites of the town, which was lucky for us. Once we arrived back to where the group had been we found they had been arrested and where spending the night in jail! Apparently it was government land, someone complained etc etc..... anyway, minus the few spending the night in a luxurious cell we headed of the spring fed pools found in the area.

Cuatro Cienegas is home to at least 77 species of plant and animal found nowhere else on the planet and the ecosystem is literally one of a kind. We camped at one of the pools in which swimming is possible, and in the intense heat there was nothing to do other than have a siesta under a tree and swim. Swimming in the crystal clear waters amongst the fish was quite surreal, although it quickly became real once the desert sun sucked all the moister out of my once white skin. Although necessary in the heat, swimming came at a sacrifice, due to the fragile nature of the pools no sunscreen is allowed to be applied prior to swimming due to the chemicals.....my back still isn't happy.

Once the air temperature dropped to a level where breathing didn't feel like you were inhaling fire a group of us filled our water bottle and went for a walk up one of the mountains to watch the sunset. From its base the mountain didn't look overly exciting, but the plants along the way where incredible diverse and interesting and the view from the top amazing.

After a long walk made longer by the heat, beer was on our mind. One problem.....our supply was at boiling point and there was no shop for 20 kms. Family's in this country are insanly large, especially by ozzie standards and in typical mexican fashion someone announced there cousin happens to live down the road!!! So beer orders were placed and the party was now made all the better with the addition of ice cold beer.
I decided to have a little siesta and really had to think hard about what country i was in when i woke. What sounded like an african tribal party on crack was going off a few meters from the tent. 20 litre water bottles were now drums, people were dancing and the party was in full swing.
I still haven't learnt my lesson and perhaps never will but the next day was hell.........back on the bus for 12 hours......i dont even want to relive it in writing, nor do i want to be reminded of it in the future if i ever read this again. And so that is it for now........
More trips and photos coming soon.......See ya

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Photos

Pregnant lady
Mountains surrounding Cuatro Cienegas

Our oasis
The crystal clear spring helped to relieve the desert heat