As if a solo journey to La Cueva Del Diablo wasn't already scary
enough, I chose to do it on Friday the 13th.
First, I stopped at the Texas state park visitor center
and asked for directions. The
nice looking park ranger with the sexy
Hispanic accent (loved the way he rolled his r's when he said Sierra)
had never been to the Devil's Cave but he
called up another park ranger who gave him
directions over the phone. Then he drew a
little map for me on a sticky note.
The next morning, I drove
across the border from Presidio, TX into
Ojinaga, a low key border town pop. 10,000.
The hand drawn map got me nowhere but lost,
so I stopped and went inside a grocery store
and asked for directions. A man with a
cloudy eye and a gentle face held the door
open for me. My Spanish is pathetic and nobody spoke English, but the
friendly employees didn't bat an eye when
the kooky gringa asked "Donde? La Cueva Del
Diablo?"
Armed with another hand drawn map,
I drove up to the base of the mountain. I
followed a short but steep path to three
crosses on top of the mountain, passing two
religious shrines along the way. The view
was 360 and fantastic. Then I took
another path along the side of the mountain.
This brought me to the Devil's Cave.
I don't know how deep the
cave was, I forgot to bring a flashlight,
but it was deep enough to creep me out. The
outside of the cave was covered with
graffiti and the inside walls were scorched
black from smoke. I'd read somewhere that
the faithful sometimes walk up to the cave
with bloody feet.
Four hundred years ago,
according to legend, the Devil lived inside
the mountain "El Cerrito del la Santa Cruz."
From time to time, the Devil terrorized
people by bouncing a gigantic metal ball
like a basketball playing Godzilla, smashing
everything in his path. To save the
community, a young priest forced the
Devil back into his cave and then sealed the
cave with a cross. They say the Devil is
still inside the mountain and that the steel
ball he used to crush people and homes can
be seen in the town Ojinaga on Zaragosa
Street.
To get there: Driving into Ojinaga is a little intimidating but it is
also safe and easy. Cross the border from
Presidio. You'll be on Blvar. Ligre Comercio.
Go left onto Ave Morelos. Drive 2 miles to
the RR station. At the RR station, go right
onto a dirt road. Follow the dirt road for
about a mile, you will cross the railroad
tracks and come to a cemetery. At the
cemetery take the road leading east to the
base of the mountain. In about a mile you'll
come to a parking area, about midway up the
southern side of the mountain. One path
takes you to the crosses on top. It is short
but strenuous. A path on the west
side of the mountain, it looks like a good
stretch of singletrack for mountain bikers,
brings you to a short climb leading to the
cave.
