July 16 - 18th 2010

The Niaca mine lies in the northern state - Chihauhau - a working mine extracting lead, zinc and silver. But the claim to fame is The Cave of Crystals (Cueva de los Cristales). A chamber deep within the mountain where most of the mining takes place. To reach the cave a van takes you into the mountain, through an opening just wide enough to fit - inside a web of tunnels leading to different parts of the inner workings, shoot off in all directions - instantly making any newcomer disoriented and slightly concerned about finding the exit. Its about a 25 minute drive through darkness. Limestone rock, dust and sporadic water splash as we carefully menouver through the tube. I sit in the rear of the van - we are five people in total including the official driving. Loud noises from pumps fill the space and disappear as we drive deeper. How long can this continue? We finally make a sharp right turn and there - at the end of our path as is, what appears to be a metal vault door. The temperature within the van has risen sharply since passing the last pump - but it is nothing compared to the wall of heat and humidity which hits as the engine is turned off and the car doors are opened. The vault door is of a certain magnitude as if keeping something very precious or very dangerous locked away. What awaits inside is a mix of both. The vault door is opened and yet another wave of humidity and heat spill out, clinging to the skin and running off like a fine mist. Walking from the entrance of this new tunnel to the mouth of the crystal cave is no more then 50 meters. Three steps up and you stand surrounded in a surreal world of giant crystals only know by superman or the light and magic of Hollywood. But this isn't the cave of kryptonite or a movie set - but one of the most spectacular geological and mineralogical discoveries ever made. Giant selenite mega crystals, as they are described, shoot from floor to ceiling reaching lengths up to 11 meters. An underground fantasiland - as foreign as visiting any planet I can imagine. But it comes with a price. Within the chamber temperatures reach 50 degrees and humidity is near 90% - this hellish enviroment only makes the experience that much more intense. We are told that we have ten minutes before we have to be out. This is about the maximum allowed time before the body overheats and it becomes too dangerous. I quickly set up my camera, but the humidity and heat makes the lens fog similar to being inside a sauna. If I place the camera close to the floor, the temperature is just low enough to keep the lens clear. With the limited time I must work fast and on intuition as this may be the last time I ever have a chance to visit such a place. The heat soon gets to me. I tell Itzel that I'm about to faint and only have time for one last picture. We make it out of the chamber - exhausted and soaked to the skin. I sit completely drained as we make our way through the intestine of Mt. Niaca, finally spilling into daylight and back to planet earth. What I actually shot is a mystery to me - as is the majority of the experience. Like waking from a very strange dream. We requested to return the following day, but were rejected. But despite only having ten minutes inside it has made the whole journey worth while. Itzel and I spend the following day touring the area around Chihuahua - watching Karate Kid in spanish, before checking into a strange motel and returning to Mexico City the next day. This is hopefully not the last time I see this place. Pics to be uploaded.