With 24 hours to get Bobby to his flight out of Villahermosa we started the drive in that direction. North of Palenque the land flattens out and we learned that driving is easy and fast there. Able to make such good time we had the pleasure of needing to make the 2 or 3 hour drive within the next 9 hours of daylight. Not long after crossing into Tabasco on hwy 186 and near the town of Macuspana we saw a sign that said “Parque Estatal de Agua Blanca” and we decided to at least try to have lunch there. A short, vendor free, drive later we entered the state park which we found to be quiet and empty.

Excited about the seeing waterfalls we headed for the roar and were not disappointed when we reached the rain swollen falls. We could see no end to the falls downstream or upstream so we started hiking upstream along the well made path and stairways to see more. The forest quickly became very thick and large trees were a common site. The main river crashed over fall after fall as we climbed upstream and also small streams rushed out of the forest and little falls were scattered there.

After a few minutes of exploring up stream the trail hit a steep stairway that leads a little away from the main river. Curiosity led us up the stairway and into the entrance of a large cave. This was an unexpected treat and we realized that we must have flashlights to continue our explorations. Somewhat out of breath but excited about exploring the caves I returned with a small lunch and some big lights and into the caves we went. We descended the well made path and soon found ourselves in another world. After the roar of the waterfalls the cave seemed filled with silence that was only broken by our footsteps and the occasional squeaking of bats. Formations made by the flowing limestone were frozen in place along most of the surfaces we could see and freestanding towers and other large cascading sculptures surrounded us.

Bobby is visible at the far end of this cavern.

Deeper inside the cave we crossed a small stream that was busy moving the limestone around. After passing through a few chambers we saw light ahead and felt a breeze. This first light turned out to be electric but the breeze grew stronger. We passed through multiple lighted chambers and then popped out of another entrance on the far side of the cave where we had lunch and a short jungle hike on which we saw another, smaller cave entrance.

We re-entered the caves and eventually found a third large cave entrance the floor of which was covered with snail shells.

After our amazing time in the caves we returned to exploring the waterfalls and discovered that the river flows straight out of the mountainside!

Our unexpected stop at Agua Blanca made the day for us and was on of the highlights of the trip. We explored more of the river didn’t have time to see all of the falls since the river may continue it’s cascading path for miles beyond the farthest point that we explored.

Ready to rest up after our hiking and caving we made the short drive to Villahermosa and secured a hotel room in the busy centro. While not known as a tourist town I found Villahermosa to be a practical and likeable place. The downtown area has been cleaned up from the flooding and life is proceeding at a fast pace throughout the city.

Jonathan Poole

Cleveland Mississippi, Gringolandia

Posted on March 13th, 2008 by Poolio
Filed under: Jonathan Poole