El Cielo, in Tamaulipas, is a natural reserve recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, where you can go hiking to enjoy its beautiful landscapes, beautiful waterfalls, explore the depth of the Earth through its caves, and observe its diverse fauna. This journey begins on the roads of Tamaulipas, a state of which a lot is said, but which now deserves a second chance. We are heading to the most important lung in all of Northeast Mexico: The ¨El Cielo¨ Biosphere Reserve, located in the heart of Tamaulipas. The municipality of Gómez Farías is the gateway to this paradise nestled in the Sierra Madre Oriental. It receives the name of El Cielo because here you'll find a conjunction of winds from the south and the north as well as the humidity of the Gulf of Mexico, which makes the clouds quite low for most of the year. We're heading to Bocatoma, which is the spring of the Río Frío. It is the most beautiful area in El Cielo. El Cielo is so diverse that it has four ecosystems: we start with the lower part - the home of the jaguar; the tropical forest. We're going to cross the suspension bridge over the river. Yes, it's a bit scary, it moves a lot, and you can hear the creaking of the wood. We're above the cold waters of the Río Frío. We're currently in Bocatoma which is in the lower part of El Cielo biosphere reserve. Here begins the spring of the Río Frío, water that comes from the El Cielo biosphere reserve. This water flows into the Guayalejo River, and there it joins the Guayalejo-Tamesí basin. Those who know the Bocatoma River assure that it is one of the most beautiful in Mexico. On our way to Poza Azul. We arrived at one of the most beautiful places in Tamaulipas, which is the Poza Azul. In Poza Azul I begin to understand that El Cielo is a hidden Eden with extraordinary biodiversity and landscapes, home to more than 250 resident species of birds and 170 migratory ones. El Cielo is also part of the extensive migratory route of the monarch butterfly, which flies from Canada to Michoacán. We explored El Cielo accompanied by the best local guides from the ecotourism organization Cielo Gómez Farías. They are the guardians of the conservation of the natural heritage. I feel very proud because I've lived in the reserve for all my life and believe me, I love every corner of the reserve. We have covered perhaps 80 percent of the protected natural area and we still have a long way to go. Every day it surprises us with something new. This is the Poza Azul, it's the best place to swim in the El Cielo reserve. La Bocatoma is surrounded by medium forest, which is green during most of the year. In England, several of the rivers and lakes are polluted by mass tourism, and here, the water is totally crystal clear, turquoise and beautiful. It is a pleasure to swim in waters like these, it is a paradise. It is so transparent that we can see the little fish, and it is very refreshing. My bathing suit fell off! We take the opportunity to practice jumps from the branch of a tree that grows on the riverbank. In the Bocatoma, you can take a boat tour to appreciate the turtles and birds. There are many turtles everywhere. I am obsessed with turtles. And there are dozens of them on branches, it's a beautiful thing to appreciate. This is very exotic to me, because in England we don't have anything like that. This, of course, is a river surrounded by wetlands, there are many groups of animals that can only be found in a place like this, the most abundant that we are seeing so far, is a turtle called Trachemys venusta, of the cataspyla subspecies. There are a huge amount of these animals here, they are a mainstay of the diet of animals, like large waterfowl, like the Mexican tiger heron, they eat juvenile turtles to acquire protein, there are quite a few recorded cases of that, here. The vegetation is typical of a wetland, this type of vegetation is only found on the banks of the river. The El Cielo biosphere reserve is a real source of pride for Tamaulipas and shows us that this State is more than what they say. It is natural beauty, it is adventure. So, you know, if you want to come here, in complete safety, El Cielo, Gómez Farías, is an excellent option, so that we can enjoy the beauties of Northeast Mexico. This is Tamaulipas. Cielo Gómez Farías is in charge of organizing your visit with the local communities. Cielo Gómez Farías is an ecotourism organization that promotes community development. We involve all the people of the communities, from where you are going to eat, who is going to guide you, we have the best environmental interpretation guides. They are all locals, they all know their area better than anyone. We have services from transportation, lodging, food. We do tours, from photographic tours, kayaking, mountaineering. They visit us from all over the State, and other States: we have Michoacán, Mexico City, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León. Most Americans come to see birds, seeing 120 species a day. We have one of the best guides in Mexico focused on bird watching. El Cielo extends over more than 140 thousand hectares, it is part of four municipalities: Gómez Farías, Llera, Jaumave and Ocampo. Its inhabitants have benefited from its exuberant nature, for example: on the banks of the Bocatoma River, there is a shrimp farm, which you can try at the restaurant. We are going to eat these prawns that are cultivated in the waters of the Frio River. Look how beautiful, they are big. You take the fork and eat them. It tastes like lemon. Delicious and refreshing. Mmmm... Tamaulipas flavor. This is my first time trying one of these. I will finally put into practice my crustacean anatomy classes. Near Gómez Farías, at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental, there is an avant-garde and sustainable building that promotes environmental education: El Cielo Biosphere Ecological Park. This is the El Cielo Interpretive Center, and it is the prelude to enter the reserve. And here come all the visitors to know the importance of the biodiversity that exists in Tamaulipas. Here we have the six felines that live in Mexico, and we can also find species, such as the American black bear and many more species. We are in the aviary of the Ecological Interpretive Center (CIE) . The idea is to provide environmental education and fill people who come to visit the reserve with information about every aspect of the territory. Hello. Many of the animals in the park have been rescued, like this jaguarundi. What animal is this? This is a jaguarundi, it is one of the six species of felines that inhabit Mexico, one of the six that inhabit the El Cielo biosphere reserve. To begin with, it looks quite bizarre, it looks more like a weasel, an otter than a cat, especially because of the shape of the face, the body, the proportions are very strange. It really is one of the most interesting animals you could find. The fact that it is not so showy makes it quite protected in terms of hunting. There are not many data about its conservation and its figures, because it does not attract researchers either. That is quite rare in a feline, but here we have it, it is one of the most exceptional animals in Mexico. I like more animals that are not recognized as beautiful just because they do not fit the beauty standards of the people. This one has a beautiful heart and soul. And I think we need to protect the jaguarundis. We invite you to come to Tamaulipas, please, you can't miss living with the animal so close, like with the jaguar, we always have a jaguar, always the felines, the aviary. The snakes, which are our boom, because they are snakes captured from here, we have them there, we exhibit them, that's how we educate people. They always talk to us: hey, there's a snake here, they don't kill it anymore, that's an advantage, we're going for it. Most of the snakes are not poisonous, and more than anything this park is for environmental education. So we invite you to Tamaulipas, to Gómez Farías, to the El Cielo biosphere reserve. It's a bear. In the park you can feed an American black bear, called "Chiquita". Well "Chiquita", appeared with three brothers in 2011, in the municipality of Ocampo. They reported that they were alone, without a mother. PROFEPA deposited them in the Tamatán zoo in Ciudad Victoria. And here was a donation from the zoo to the park, for this incredible interaction, almost eating from your hand, a 10-year-old adult bear, who has never been aggressive, has never done anything, although they have their instinct. Amazing. Once in life. Has small eyes. This American black bear is called "Chiquita", her mother died in the cane fields, they rescued her when she was an ozesno, now you see, she is already very big, and we are giving her dog croquettes, which is a treat for her, because she eat honey bee This animal is the largest carnivore in Mexico, and having the opportunity to feed it is something unique. The Ecological Interpretive Center works as a filter to raise awareness about the fragile balance of the reserve's ecosystems, where small inhabitants live together. This creature here is an Amblypygian, that is, an arachnid of the order Amblypygi, it has no poison, it has no poison glands, it is totally harmless to humans, but it has an almost alien appearance, it is fascinating. We were introduced to the star of the park, he is Yahuic, he is a young black jaguar. Oh, it's going to bite me! You have to be careful, because in his game he can bite you. Watch out! Yahuic, it is a black jaguar, with the scientific name panthera onca, many people know them as panthers, but it is the genus, it is a black jaguar, a melanistic jaguar. who came from an exchange, accustomed to people since he was a baby, any tourist can come and get him, if you treat an animal well, the animal will grow up without being aggressive. His fur is quite hard but at the same time soft. It is very smooth. How is your training to be friendly? It is dedicating a lot of time and patience, you have to be with him all day. I smelled a little strong, because I had to put on my shoes and pants, the same one every day, so that every day he could smell me. and recognize me, otherwise it was starting from scratch. He's used to us giving him his bottle in air conditioning, on your feet, in your arms and everything. You turned on the air, he looked where it hit him and there he stayed, he thought that it was going to be like this all his life, I think, when he got to the forest, that this is the type of forest of the jaguar, he doesn't like the sun so much. You can't treat him badly or yell or do something to him, because they don't forget, and the next day he doesn't come. Perhaps this is one of the strangest friendships in the world, Yahuic, the black jaguar, has a dog best friend, named Oreo. Yahuic and Oreo, they are practically inseparable best friends, since they were like one or two months old, they are the same age, and the plan is that they live together for enough time that even when Yahuic is a monster of 100 kilos, keep wanting to live together and play quietly. And how does such a tender friendship arise? The dog, they tried to get to lower the impetus of aggressiveness and the hyperactive instinct of the jaguar, to create that brotherhood, that bond that did not grow alone and that the energy lowered, and yes, down. What do you like the most about him? I think he abuses his intelligence, if you want him to pay attention, just make the noise of the food. And he comes with so much passion to hug you. But if not, it keeps biting you. Yahuic's life purpose is to raise awareness about his species to children in a zoo. So you never have to face the harshness of wildlife. This man is used to being vaccinated, vitamin -enhanced and eats chicken from a clean store, he puts calcium in it. That is why in the life of the wild the jaguar dies at 10 or 12 years old, already without teeth, skinny. And this man in captivity will last more than 25 years, super healthy, healthier than all of us. It's a small difference, what do you say, it's good to live in freedom but good, it has nothing. But in the end, we must achieve that balance with the zoos, so that they continue to reproduce and that they do not all appear in danger of extinction, otherwise they would end, if there were no zoos or places of recovery , everything would be over. What can we do to take care of jaguars? Normally the jaguars that have appeared dead in history are because they have sheep or animals . What is the jaguar going to do? He is going to eat it. You have to make their houses, to put them in their stables, and with that you avoid being killed, that's why they kill them. And how likely is it that a jaguar, in the wild, will attack you? Normally the jaguar, the puma, any feline or any animal, what it avoids is the human. Goodbye. In all of El Cielo's history, they have never reported any jaguar attacks. Tamaulipas, the safest thing, is that it is number one in the registry of jaguars in Mexico, I am one hundred percent sure, although they will say Chiapas, which is Chiapas, but I don't think so, and even less so it is such a short distance. As for Gómez Farías, I don't think there is a municipality with more records of jaguars in all of Mexico, which is very difficult to see because it camouflages itself in the foliage, everyone here has seen them, it is because we are in their habitat, and people keep their dogs inside their house, they no longer have them outside, they are an easy meal, why go hunting if they have dogs on a leash. I have always been fascinated with animals and nature and this place provides detailed information about all the animals that you can find in the reserve . You can touch a jaguar, feed a bear. It is something that I never thought to do in my life and I was able to do it here, so I am very grateful. I am also very grateful, never in our lives had we touched a small jaguar and never fed a bear, really. This can be done in Tamaulipas. We said goodbye to CIE, with everything we had learned, and we were ready for the next day, to start with our ascent to El Cielo. We spent the afternoon-night in Sierra Bonita where we slept early, because the next day one of the most beautiful sunrises of our lives awaited us. We wake up at 4 AM, to take a 4x4 truck and go up to the high areas of El Cielo, this is the best way to go up to the Sierra Madre. Thus, we begin our ascent to the biosphere of El Cielo. Gómez Farías is at 300 meters above sea level, and we headed to San José, which is at more than 1,400 meters. With this sunrise on the way, it is spectacular, we have Cerro del Bernal in the background. And if you go deeper, we find the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic. So, it is incredible to see from here how the Tamaulipas plain develops. It is so inspiring to see this sunrise. It is one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen in my life, with its different colors; we have the purple, and then the orange, and then we have these interesting cloud formations that seem to paint a picture in the sky. Its beautiful. And then we have the natural sounds of the forest and the jungle. Couldn't ask for anything more. I have visited many places in Mexico, and so far Tamaulipas is one of my favorites. It is a virgin, rural place and is very well preserved. It's perfect to experience this without a lot of people. Dawn is the perfect time for bird watching. And what better than doing it with the legendary Esteban Berrones, who is considered one of the best guides for observation in Mexico, and has even participated in Netflix documentaries. I am now imitating the Tamaulipas pygmy owl, which is an endemic owl from here in Tamaulipas and from the reserve, and it is a very small owl, which is already 700 meters into the cloud forest. Now here in front we have a Cracidae waltz which is a Penelope purpurascens. Look at this one at the bottom. It is black. I saw it. It's impressive . This is an animal similar to a chachalaca, but much larger, also from the pheasant family, one of the oldest bird families on the planet, it's a huge animal. Esteban has an extraordinary ability to call birds through the sounds he makes with his own mouth. When I imitate them, they respond to me, because most birds are territorial. When they hear other individuals of the same species, they get closer to hit it, or to see if it is a female or a male that walks in their territory. We are calling the Tecolote Tamaulipeco and he is answering us. It's over here. It is a species that many people from all over the world come to this place, with this magnificent guide to have this species in their registry. Let's wait a while and see if he answers us, did you hear? it's closer now. Among the branches we saw this species of owl, unique in the world: the Tamaulipas owl, which is endemic, that is, it only exists in Tamaulipas. For the first time in my life I just saw it, just fly from one point to another but we are trying to get it closer. It's impressive, how through sounds, he can communicate with birds and make them come, it's something fascinating. I feel like I'm in a National Geographic documentary. I have since 2003, as a bird guide for El Cielo, I have guided many people from the US, from other countries, who come especially to take pictures of this species, which exists nowhere else, neither in Mexico, nor in the world. this species, only here. It feeds on small rodents, lizards, and small birds, as well as grasshoppers. And it nests in the hollows of the trees, in the holes made by woodpeckers, this species nests there, and they have two to three offspring per year. So, that's why it's very important, and now where we are, we're in a medium-sized forest, a tropical forest, and we've already found these types of birds. And we have six species that are endemic to here in Northeast Mexico and to the reserve, we have the Tamaulipas parrot, proudly Tamaulipas. Esteban Berrones was born and raised in El Cielo, he still remembers when the inhabitants were dedicated to the extraction of precious woods, even his own family ate the animals of the forest. Before, El Cielo was a logging region, they dedicated themselves to felling and cutting wood, both pine, oak and various types of trees. My dad taught us to hunt, as he used to say, his motto was: everything that runs and flies to the pot. On weekends I would go hunting, both wild boar, pheasant, badgers, but when I trained in 2003, I realized that it was causing damage and if we do not take care of and protect nature, tomorrow it will affect us as a human being and that we as human beings are the ones who must act and must fight to conserve the flora and fauna that we have in our Mexico, and in our places, such as the El Cielo biosphere reserve, which is not ours , that this is a heritage of humanity, Heaven is a lung, not of Tamaulipas or Mexico, it is a lung of the planet. Then, my life changed, and instead of going to hunt them, you charge money to guide people, photographers or bird watchers, and now you can buy any meat you want, even marinated. And being a guide, I have had many satisfactions. And how is he able to communicate with birds? It was a gift that God gave me, because the birds when one imitates them, they get closer. And I am going to invite you to the rhythmic owl, which is very common in the reserve, it does: Now I am going to invite you to one of my favorite birds from El Cielo, which is the Elegant Eagle, that species comes from the south of our planet and makes it like this: And the chick when it's hungry, makes it: For example, from tropical forests, which is the lark, and makes it: How did you learn? Well, I learned imitation, listening, the birds in the field, trying it, that's how I learned. I liked this thing about bird watching, you never finish learning, especially not in this job, which is being a guide. Heaven Gomez Farías! In the 4x4 truck, we continue to gain meters from the mountain. Each time the height is more noticeable in the changes of vegetation. We made a stopover in Alta Cima, the first community where you can get to know the life of the families that inhabit this region. How about biologist? Great. Our biologist caught a tick, it is called that because it eats a lot of ticks. We have breakfast at the local cafe "Casa de las Nubes" What are we going to eat today? Egg with chorizo, I sell roast pork, hash, pork rinds, nopal, eggs to taste. Here I'm going to put beans and cheese. I'm making a taco with my tortilla. It's a perfect breakfast. You cannot leave without trying the jams made with fruits that are collected daily from the surroundings. What do you have here? These are jams, we have all this variety of jams, all of these are organic, they are not with any preservative, they are 100% natural, they are fruits from here in the region. How do you do them? We prepare them, my husband and I, they are many hours in the fire and you have to keep stirring the pot. We just put the fruit and sugar, nothing else. They have nopal jam, I've never seen anything like it. It's jelly from a cactus. My cafeteria is called "Casa de las Nubes", come to Casa de las Nubes, in Alta Cima, with Doña Chela. The road crosses various ecosystems and it is quite interesting to observe differences in temperature, in the climate in general, but mainly in the vegetation. We start with lowland jungle, we are going up to the mountain cloud forest, one of the rarest ecosystems in Mexico, and it covers only 0.5 percent of its territory. And let's see what we find there. Exactly, and here we already have one more oak vegetation; and in the low jungle, only the trees reached up to 15 meters, but now we are already with taller trees. And we are going to visit the northernmost cloud forest in Mexico, it is one of the richest ecosystems. It's colder, it's cooler. And there is a lot of movement, it's like a blender. El Cielo is one of the most studied areas in the Northeast of the country, and yet there are hundreds of species of wildlife that have not yet been discovered, so there is still a lot of research to be done in this impressive area in the north of the country. We stopped in the middle of the dirt road because Marco had identified, from afar, a small reptile. This is a species of lizard called xenosaurus platyceps, it is one of the residents of the reserve, it is one of the most impressive animals with a prehistoric appearance that you will find here, and despite the fact that it has a fairly strong bite, it is totally harmless to humans and a pest controller for the ecosystem, as is the rest of the reptiles. We understand that the flat-headed lizard has a restricted distribution, only from the municipality of Ciudad Victoria to the municipality of Ocampo. So, that's why the importance of knowing how to appreciate this type of species so that people know that it is not poisonous, that they are not in any danger, and if they have an encounter, far from hurting it, then enjoy it. Out of nowhere, a sublime encounter. We heard the song of an Elegant Eagle a few meters from us. Our guide Mario Álvarez, was moved like a little child. That's where the passion for what you do shows. And there it was imposing, the Elegant Eagle, the largest raptor that inhabits the air of El Cielo. She feeds on other birds, such as macaws, and even medium-sized mammals. We have just seen an Elegant Eagle, one of the peculiarities of this species is that its northernmost distribution in the American continent is precisely in El Cielo, and it is probably where one of the healthiest populations in Mexico is. We have seven registered nests in this area. It is in danger of extinction. It is a totally charismatic bird, and for bird watchers it is an incredible dish, enjoy it. Everyone wants to see the Elegant Eagle, and although they have already seen it, it is always very pleasant to see it again, and even more so with this show that it has just given us at this moment. It was flying here, first we listened to it, we located it, you saw how far it got from us, barely 10 meters. It is difficult to have her so close, and then singing. You got excited? Of course, I was moved, I have been watching birds for about 10-11 years, I have seen it many times, I will never lose my capacity for amazement, except for the Elegant Eagle. I can die in peace... I'm... I have no words to describe how I feel, I mean, this is... I'm too happy, too happy. Have you seen her before? I had never seen her in my life, and I never imagined that the first time I saw her would be a few meters away, it's impressive, I'm very happy. As soon as we go up, the forest vegetation becomes denser. The humid and temperate climate. Welcome to the cloud forest or mesophyll. We are beginning to enter the cloud forest of the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. The main reason why a reserve was decreed is precisely because of this type of forest, which is one of the rarest and most important in Mexico. Some of the characteristics that this forest has, well, are its stems covered with moss, lichens, due to the excess humidity they have. In addition, of the species of trees that there are, such as: the Tamaulipan magnolia, the liquidambar, the poplar as well. So, it is also the one that captures the most humidity, it is the one that generates the water that El Cielo produces, one of the great treasures, it is precisely the generation of water. And this ecosystem is one of the rarest in the world, correct me. Because they only grow in the tropics. That's right, so we have the privilege of having it, here in the north of the country, hence the importance of taking care of it, of enjoying it, but in a responsible way. It is also one of the forests that grows on the slopes and it is ideal because it has more life, it has broad-leaved leaves and it has tall trees. So we can see different levels. The trees are going to be taller and taller, they are precisely the liquidambar, an indicative species that it is a cloud forest. There we see that stone, which is called the green stone, obviously we can see why we call it that, right? Amazing I had never seen moss clinging to the rock. It is very thick and moist. It is very wet. This forest in particular is very important due to the number of species with humid habits, mainly mosses and ferns, which predominate here. I never imagined that there would be all this in Tamaulipas. And this forest for Tamaulipas is from the most essential because they are the last remnants of cloud forest in the State. And it is the cloud forest that is located in the most northeastern part of the country. One of the most popular phrases in biology and the study of conservation in general is: You can't take care of what you don't love, and you can't love what you don't know. So, the first step to take care of any species, any ecosystem, is to be aware that it exists and to start loving it. We have an international treasure in our own lands, the least we can do for it is to know about it. We passed through the mysterious but beautiful Valley of the UFO, it is called that, because some biologists who frequently camped in this reserve were surprised for several nights with the appearance of a dozen lights in the sky, which moved from one side to the other. another, as if they were UFOs. This is a perfect place to rest to visit for a week to read, relax, be with nature, get away from everything, disconnect from the outside world And biologists are brave because they do not believe in these stories, they do not neglect their hard scientific work to decipher each species who lives in Heaven. This reserve is practically an oasis in the northeast, because in itself, Nuevo León has forests and Coahuila has its beautiful deserts, but the tropical jungle, cloud forest, are something quite special in this region. There is an incredible biological wealth: plants, fungi. Animals: specifically arachnids, tarantulas. Yes, this is how Heaven is in the present, imagine it in its remote past. These ecosystem gears are on calcite karst formations , which were formed millions of years ago. What was Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and a piece of Coahuila, were under the sea during the Cretaceous, about 60-75 million years ago. You can find things, from molluscs, bivalves, ammonites, maybe marine reptiles, there are around here. Trilobites have been found, they have been reported nearby, gigantic, immense things that blow anyone's head off. There are giant sloths, maybe mammoths, saber teeth, there are many things that can be hidden in El Cielo. Above the cloud forest are the pines. The highest part of the reserve is usually at altitudes greater than 1,400 meters. We are in one of the most emblematic ecosystems of the reserve, which is a pine forest, up to 20-30 meters high. One of the things I like the most about coming to these places is that you enter another world, far removed from the reality to which we are accustomed. It smells like damp earth. Also, it brings back memories of when I was little and used to read fairy tales about beautiful enchanted forests and this is exactly how I imagined them. This is Tamaulipas. Now we are going to see the emblem of El Cielo, which is the stone of the elephant, a stone that is more than 60 million years old, which is the age of the Sierra Madre Oriental. Here we are now in the famous stone of the elephant, it is a rock formation, made from limestone, it is a symbol of here, of the El Cielo biosphere reserve, it is a source of pride. Unfortunately, they had to take steps to protect it from being harmed by some irresponsible visitor. I think it's sad that people feel the need to come and vandalize the Elephant stone. People have climbed on it to vandalize it, and it is obviously a beautiful work of nature so they built this fence to protect the stone from someone who wants to damage it again. You can imagine the eternity it has been here. Yes, it is very spiritual. I feel an energy around the stone. Whenever we pass here, we get to admire it, nature is incredible, the whims it can have. One of the coolest things about this rock is witnessing it here in the middle of a valley, where there is nothing like it around it. It is a fairly flat terrain and full of pine trees, exclusively, but the rock stands out in the middle. It looks like it's an artistic touch, not an intentional one. We arrive to rest at the San José ejido, which will be our operations center for the next few days. The next day we woke up in paradise. The place we're staying in is pretty good, surprisingly comfortable, actually. And apart from waking up and seeing this scenery, it is incomparable to anything else. The ejido San José is at 1,300 meters of altitude, in a small valley surrounded by the mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental, which gives it a temperate climate that is enjoyed. I slept very well in the cabin . I have my own room in the attic. The views from my window are beautiful . I feel like I'm in Switzerland or the Alps. It's a grasshopper, and it looks like a leaf. If you get closer you can see how it even simulates the marks of the leaf. Where did you find it? I found it in the bathroom, I was surprised. Did you yell? Yes. We stayed in the "Doña Marina" cabins run by a great woman. Now we are beating the dough, to make some tortillas, so that they can eat their natural quesadillas. I can't make small tortillas for you, so don't ask me for small tortillas, because I have to make them that way. How has tourism changed the life of the community? We have progressed, in things that we saw, that we said...no man, when am I going to do it. Instead with tourism, there were resources. We learn a lot, as I say, many people come and give us their ideas, and from there, if we are intelligent, from there we are going to base ourselves, to continue being much better. For example, not having rubbish thrown in the yard, not having disposables. None of that, because it is tourism that pushes us, gives us the confidence to move forward, okay yes, yes I can, at the end of the weekend I have work, and this is like a school, which will serve our children, our grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and whatever God lets us know. Here I don't even have a fan, here it is with my mouth. I like when people arrive, serve them, it fills me with pride when they tell me that they like my tortillas , many people come and say: are you the one with the flour tortillas? Yes, I am, and I proudly say so. These tortillas are very good because they are traditional, I can feel that I am in that rural Mexico. There is nothing like eating tortillas made in front of your eyes, with a wood fire and the smoke from the fire permeates the flavor of the tortilla and it is absolutely beautiful. That's what I tell him, that's what changes the tortilla 's flavor to the firewood. Doña Marina does not want the tradition of making tortillas by hand to be lost, so she encourages our British friend to learn. I am making tortillas. I like the way you hit the tortilla. Thank you. Orale, throw him out. Look at her, here she is...beautiful. They are already ordering a kilo, you can imagine. To make the first one, it's pretty. Thank you. I think you're going to come to compete with me. To start a great day in the San José ejido, look at this, gigantic, the quesadilla that I am going to eat, three giant quesadillas. I invite you to come try my "Comedor Doña Marina" tortillas. After breakfast we went to Joya de Manantiales, a small, remote and picturesque town with beautiful views, where there are some impressive waterfalls. I eat flautas, and they are made of flour! The residents of Joya de Manantiales live attached to nature. I walked to one of the homes, and I saw that outside, they had planted a milpa; and inside the house, the lady was peeling some pears, recently harvested. We take the dirt road to see the waterfalls that flow into small rivers that show off their exuberant beauty, especially in the rainy season. We are crossing this river, with very slippery stones. I love waterfalls. I can watch waterfalls for hours. The force of the water seems very beautiful to me. Now is the best season to visit Joya de Manantiales for its abundant water. As you can see, it is an unmissable spectacle, its waterfalls, its pools. As a visitor I tell you, I don't miss it every season, because you can visit so many caves, there are some very interesting trails, it has two beautiful viewpoints, there are cabins, food for sale. And the very warm people, you fall in love with the place, to come and stay for about three days, to explore everything that Joya de Manantiales offers you. It is important that when you come to El Cielo, you do not leave any trace of garbage, as it can cause fires and destroy our lungs. We are ready. We go to the cold waters of the Sierra Madre Oriental, at more than 1,400 meters. 1, 2, 3... Now the water is freezing, I feel the burning of the water. It is very cold. But where else can you live such an experience? It's just as cold as Scotland. The water is very refreshing and surprisingly cold. I'm cold but I feel so alive. It is absolutely beautiful here. I am already calm, acclimatized and happy, because this water is so clean that it can be drunk. It's delicious. On our way back to the ejido San José, our base in El Cielo, we talked with don Moisés, one of the pioneers in dedicating himself to receiving visitors. Why do you like living here? Oh, for the peace of mind, because I'm in heaven, in paradise, in a place where I don't need anything. I have light, I have water, I have air, I have everything, there are the stars, I am illuminated by everything that is Heaven. So, I have a natural coexistence . And how is it that Don Moisés comes up with the idea of undertaking and building the first cabins of the San José ejido? I went to the US, I worked for five years, and when I came from there, I decided to clean up the place and change the way of life for all of us. I feel so proud to have been the pioneer of all this, because we were the beginners in tourism, in transportation, in lodging, in selling food. Tourism began to come and began to look for us, first to camp here. Today we are an organized group, women participate, children participate, young people participate. It is an ejido that opened the doors to all the inhabitants of here and to people who come from outside, who want to work. The issue of tourism has been very good, and tourism is very sustainable for the place, for us. We believe that we obtain many things with tourism, but we must know how to invest it so that the forest does not decline. Thanks to visitors, tourists, or thanks to them who come, the forest is in this state of conservation. I invite you to come to the El Cielo biosphere reserve to spend a night, a few days, looking at the stars, looking at the forest. Here in the State of Tamaulipas, very calm, very beautiful. Well, it seems to be a tradition around here, to use these things as sleds to slide down the hill. So let's see how it goes with that. It's like a slide. This place where we are staying, called San José, I think it is probably the most beautiful place I have seen in my life, it looks like a landscape from a movie, really. It's already sunset and we're going to sleep in paradise. Only about 60-70 people live here, and most of them are dedicated to rural tourism. It's 5:45 AM, Good morning! And we are going to see the sunrise on the Cerro de la Campana, it is here in the ejido San José and it is beautiful. It is a limestone formation, from where we will be able to see the peaks of the Sierra Madre Oriental. We are tired, but nature calls us. It is approximately 150 meters from the foot and the climb is a bit heavy, but it will take us approximately 15 minutes to climb because this path is already narrower, since we have to walk right through the middle to avoid getting a viper . Here we have an area where the bear comes down a lot. Heaven never sleeps, at dawn is when the animals of diurnal and nocturnal habits coexist. This we just found is a slender brown scorpion, of the species centuroides gracilis. Right now it is feeding on what appears to be a cricket. As its name indicates, its color is quite dark, but when we put an ultraviolet light on it, it shines completely. There are several theories as to why scorpions do this: one of them is to find each other more easily at night; another is that they use their entire bodies as a receptor or sensor for ultraviolet light, to better move between light and dark. You have to be a little careful because it rained at night and it's a bit slippery. It's a bit damp. These are wooden steps, so they store humidity and a bit of clay, if we step on them too confident we can slip, so we have to be careful not to fall. The climb was very good, it made us sweat a little, but it is very simple, and we did it in about 15 minutes, super fast. Here we can have the sound of the birds and also on the horizon we can see the lights of Ciudad Mante. You get to see all of this, it's a combination of everything. It is dawn, it is being in the middle of the reserve we can hear the sound of the reserve. For example: roosters, turkeys and native birds. It is the combination of all this that makes it special. I really like this place because of the tranquility that we have, all the richness in flora and fauna and all the oxygen so clean that we can breathe, it generates pleasure to live here and to take care of this region. I have lived here since my childhood, my childhood, so he has already been able to play here, rope the sheep, the dogs, play, what life is like on a ranch, so my idea is to be here and take care of him, teach him a little to the people of what we have. We are at the tip, on the limestone. All of this was in the ocean millions of years ago, we can see the coral markings. And look at the height we have here. Incredible It is a porous stone, it is a very beautiful stone, and it is characteristic of the entire Sierra Madre Oriental that comes from Coahuila to Veracruz. Throughout this terrain is the American black bear. This is the meeting point between the jaguar and the black bear, because the Tropic of Cancer passes through here. Would you trade this place for the city? It does not compare. For example, here in the afternoons I saddle my horse and I go to ride to a very nice place. Or just walk, you fill your lungs with clean air and well, you can't compare that with any other place. Fernando, our guide, spoke with so much love towards his people, that he was convincing us to stay and live in San José. How do you imagine the reserve in the future? I imagine it somehow preserved the same, but with more development. Look, what a curious moss, round, it's circular, I've never seen it, it's very pretty. Let's listen to this nature, the birds, the vegetation, there are coniferous trees too, what we have here is a diversity. We are already going down, and we have to do it very carefully, because it is steep. See this here we climbed in the dark, it was very easy, 15 minutes of climbing, but steep terrain, and you have to bring a lamp. This plant is called camedor palm, it is cut, for example to this size, it is cut, it is put together, 45 of these wands are worth 15 pesos. They sent them to the US, they used them for flower arrangements, now tourism and all that, we are already leaving it alone. Thanks to the sun's rays, we could appreciate the humid environment in which we found ourselves, ideal to house countless species. What's that? This is a blue millipede, from the cloud forest, of the Rhachodesmidae family, it is relatively common, here in Tamaulipas, in high humid areas, it is totally harmless, it has no poison glands, it can do absolutely nothing to you. Although the vibrant blue color is an example of aposematism, that is, an animal that develops a very strong color as a warning to predators that if you eat me, it will go very badly, because I have toxins. I think it's very pretty the way His colors and white spots move. I love how quiet and peaceful it is. This animal feeds on fallen vegetation, mainly decomposing plant matter. So clean up the forest. Basically. How did you know he lived there? They usually walk in dark and humid and protected areas, such as under trunks, under stones and in this case, under a wooden board. San Jose is home to the American black bear. Fernando tells us about the meeting he had. Well, I was taking care of some sheep that I had, and I climbed on a rock. Then, when the bear passed below, it began to sniff, it began to perceive the aromas that were there, and it felt me, I was on top of the stone, and when it stood on two legs, it was very large , it would have been approximately 1.90 tall , which is a very big bear. Fear, well, now it did invade me and nothing that I was thinking was to scare or scare him, came out, on the contrary, I stayed completely still. Being paralyzed is the worst, it is advisable to make as much noise as possible to scare away the bear. Let us remember that we are the guests in its habitat. This fungus in the center has a kind of sack in which it keeps its spores, equivalent to seeds in a plant. And the purpose is that somebody gets to do this to spread them out, see. All that's coming out is the spores of the fungus , and blowing the spores is actually something that helps the fungus spread over more territory, much more easily. After coming down from Cerro de la Campana, Mrs. Marina was waiting for us with one of her traditional stews. After the long walk, we're going to eat this hash, it's delicious, it's from Doña Marina's kitchen and it's very tasty. Very rich, very rich. The food would help us cope with an afternoon full of adrenaline, in the first biosphere reserve decreed by a state government in Mexico, that of Tamaulipas, } and which is now protected by all Mexicans. Now yes, ready to walk along the most popular trail in El Cielo, this would lead us to the Cueva del Oso, to the extensive zip lines of more than 200 meters long, and to the enormous Cueva del Agua. We are starting the Bear trail, distance: 2.5 kilometers long. Check this out, we have to go through limestone. Look, it's incredible where we're going . It's one of the most beautiful trails, right? Yes, it is one of the most beautiful, with the best landscapes like this one and because of the rock formations. We saw a majestic live oak. Due to its thickness, and the time it takes to grow, this variety of trees is approximately 200, 250 years old. It is a very strong tree, here we will be able to see where lightning has struck it, and any other tree would have dried it up, but absolutely nothing happened to this one. The first stop on the trail is the Cueva del Oso, which has an interesting history that gives it its name. This is called the Cave of the Bear, it was given that name, since the remains of sheep that had been victims of an American black bear were found here. It is known that it was an American black bear due to the tracks found in the place, this was once the burrow of a large carnivore. We are inside the Cave of the Bear, and it is a very cool interior, there are drafts. It's so peaceful being in the woods. Then we approach the Piedra del Mono. This is the Stone of the Monkey, so we know it due to the shape it has. About a meter from the ground, it has the crack that has been the mouth; then the nose, the part that is straight; upwards, where the twigs are, there is the eye. Where are some ferns and that part has been like the eyebrow. It's like a gorilla. All the karstic rock formations that we observe transport us to a remote past of 65 million years ago, when Tamaulipas was covered by the ocean. Thanks to the zip line we can have another perspective of El Cielo. Happy because we are going to do this zip line. This zipline is 12 years old, this is all extremely safe, you don't have to worry as long as we follow all the zipline safety guidelines. It's a bit shocking, but believe me it's a lot of fun. The zip line circuit in the middle of the forest is challenging, and even more so for those who have never been on a zip line. I do not like this. Katya, we have the new system, I don't know if what you want to implement is the wireless system. For the next. We are also trying to implement the new packages, there is one called come back single, in case one day you are interested. Katya I'm going to check your equipment, do you think? Very well. Tell me how you feel them, if you feel it very tight. Everything's fine? Everything's fine. Perfect, our left hand is our balance point, if we let go of this point, the same air currents that we find will be in charge of moving us. People who have already jumped many times, who already have a certain control of their balance, can now reach and release, they can even turn upside down, do the spiderman. Your last words. Be happy! Cheer up. I am very nervous. Don't worry, I am too. Is it 100% safe? 95% What the hell are you saying! 95%, okay. Ready? No. Your last words? I hope I don't die. Are you afraid? What do you think? Yes! Don't be afraid Amy, you're in Mexico, nothing is going to happen to you. Help me get my feet up. Yes. Can I let you go now? Yes. It was difficult to convince myself to do it, but when you're in the air it's not difficult you just have to sit back and enjoy. Long live Tamaulipas! The common San Jose. 250 meters of zip line. What preparations, how many years of experience? Ten years. This is a circuit, we are already on the second zip line between the Sierra Madre Oriental. Look at the valley...incredible. The first time you do it you're scared and you don't know what's going to happen and the second time you just sit back and relax because you know you're safe. The forest would help us control adrenaline levels. There is too much humidity, we are sweaty, the good thing is that it is a very simple and well-defined path. We are walking in the cloud forest, and the Sierra Madre Oriental serves as a barrier, the humidity that comes from the Atlantic, from the Gulf of Mexico, collides here and becomes precipitation, Rain. Usually what also happens is that when there is a mountain range such as the Sierra Madre Oriental, one part is usually very humid; and the other is usually almost desert, arid or semi-arid, as is the case in Tamaulipas. The Jaumave area is on the other side of the mountain range, it is not attached to the Gulf of Mexico. So, they don't get as much rain. It is mostly semi-arid or sticking to the arid. In some parts you can find almost exclusively cacti. It is a pleasure to go with a specialist, an expert, because he transmits emotion to us. Every stone he sees, with a chance to find life, he picks up and finds things. Things that most people ignore, or even decide to kill when found. The animals most hated by society in general are my favorites, such as bats, spiders, arachnids, in general, snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, everything. And the diversity of ecosystems in Tamaulipas allows him to find all these critters. Yes, it is impressive, really, being in a tropical area, where bears and jaguars live, is something very difficult to find, all over the world. The forest we enter is magical. This is Tamaulipas! Wow, look at these incredible formations, these stones are gigantic, they are swinging, we have to go under them. How can they stand up? See. It is a humid area, where there is a lot of moss. You have to be careful, because it is slippery. And if it wasn't for you, I never would have gone to this place. After 40 minutes of walking, there was the famous Cueva del Agua, a chamber over 70 meters high. We are going to enter the cave , it looks spectacular, it is very deep. We are in a unique place, La Cueva del Agua. Guide, this is the entrance door to this cave. What is here? Called Cueva del Agua, because it has a constant drip here, which allows a dam to be kept full. How deep is this cave? At this level it has approximately, from here to this point to there, where the water is, approximately 60 meters, and with everything we can go down, it has approximately 250 meters, which we can cover in the cave. And agility to be able to lower all the other levels. This is really amazing. We don't have caves like that in England anywhere. Before our eyes was the vault that houses thousands of stalactites and stalagmites formed by the force of water. The water is found in pure rock, all minerals, all scale, everything it brings, which is what it leaves on top, that is why the stalactite is made , then the water falls completely clean and drinkable. Now she's going to taste it. It is very good, very fresh and cold. In the water, small individuals gave signs of life. We just found some cave-dwelling isopods in the water. They are basically like woodlice that appear under the rocks in the city, but a curious fact is that they are crustaceans, and they are adapted, like the cricket, for life in caves, by losing their pigmentation, they are totally white, and they feed on of organic matter in the water. It is very good to find it like this, I have never seen one in my life, I am very excited about it. The Tamaulipas cave fauna is not yet so well studied, we need many researchers. Probably, the ancestors of this little animal have lived here in Gómez Farías for a long time, it is very likely that this is a new species. It is one of the most magical places I have visited in Mexico. It is a really deep cave with very interesting rock formations. It's like from another planet it feels like something from Harry Potter. And we are going down this rope to learn a little more about this cave. It's dangerous? I felt very scared going down. When these two rock formations meet, a column is formed, for example here it is growing. These are already completely glued together through millions of years, so that this can be achieved. At that point, the same, they barely stick together. With the fall of the water, it leaves the minerals at the top and others at the bottom. So, it grows, it grows, it grows, until they can get together. When a person talks about caves in Tamaulipas, they usually refer to the Cueva del Agua, it is the most emblematic, it is definitely one of the most beautiful. Now the way the caves are formed within the Sierra Madre Oriental, there are certain accumulations of limestone, and the limestone is very prone to being dissolved by water. The way in which they are formed is that the water, over a long period of time, gradually dilutes the surface that is covered by limestone, until it forms internal water currents, this is a process that takes many millions of years. While the first humans were leaving the African continent around 200,000 years ago, this cave had been around for much longer. It was once the lair of animals, such as saber-toothed tigers, who came here to drag their prey after hunting megafauna, giant sloths. It's pretty amazing to think about, the fact that you can explore it is a blast. Tamaulipas is a state that has hundreds of caves, it has the purification system, the longest in Mexico. When it comes to caves, Tamaulipas is extremely privileged worldwide, we have the Purification System that runs through the State. which is the largest cave system in Mexico, and the sixth largest in the world. The fact that a gigantic underground ecosystem crosses the entire State means that the diversity that we can see on the surface is amplified like an echo in the galleries of the caves. The Tamaulipas cave fauna is one of the most exceptional in the world. And the cave fauna is blind. This here is a cave cricket, unlike the crickets that we are used to finding this one has lost most of its pigmentation, this as an adaptation for life in caves, producing pigmentation requires a lot of nutrients, so this one has adapted not to use them, since you don't need to, you can't see anything in the caves. If you notice, their eyes are practically non-existent, you can hardly see them, and this is once again an adaptation for cave life. You don't need to see or be seen. One of the things I thought about, observing the beauty of the cave galleries, all the colors, all the shapes. It had never been seen by anyone, the light does not reach here, it was only until we humans brought flashlights, for the first time in history, these colors could be seen. We had gone down three levels to reach the bottom of the cave, climbing them to get out of it, it was complex. The truth is that this cave made me more nervous than the zip lines. It is a cave about 250 meters deep, and you have to climb as if you were pulling. It is very slippery, you have to be very careful, and trust yourself. What a life experience, I will never forget the cave. It was really magical. The Sierra Madre Oriental and its caverns are part of a karstic system, which allows rainwater to filter. It works like a great sponge that supplies water to the State. The mountainous area of El Cielo contributes large volumes of water to the Guayalejo-Tamesí basin. All this water that comes here is what keeps the south of Tamaulipas. This water goes directly to the Tamesí river, and to another river called Panúco. This is a sponge, here all the water that rains gathers, and filters, and through underground rivers it goes out to the Bocatoma. In addition to being a lung for the northeast of the country, El Cielo is an important water collector. I have a tradition that every time I go into a cave, when I leave I immediately throw myself into a river. The water is quite cold. Walking among the roots, you will find the Bellas Fuentes waterfalls. This water is so clean that our guide tells us that we can drink it. Here we have the Bellas Fuentes waterfalls, and this is an extension of the spring that we saw up there. We see how in the rainy season, these formations of small waterfalls are made. Very beautiful. The landscapes seem to come out of a story, it is difficult to imagine that the people who lived here were dedicated to cutting down trees. Our guide's family was one of the first to arrive in El Cielo, to work in the sawmills where they turned tree trunks into boards. In 1930, they began to build sawmills , with people coming from Michoacán, the State of Mexico, and Guadalajara to settle here, to exploit what was wood. My great-grandfather had four sawmills, he came here to work wood. He had five children, they all came here to work, driving the trucks, lowering wood, cutting the logs. After reservations were made, many left, and he was one of the few people who stayed here to continue working and preserving this place. Now we take care of everything that is vegetation. And before, it was pure extraction, nothing was taken care of, and now, well, it is already being used, because people can come and enjoy a natural landscape, and they are taking care of themselves. The few inhabitants that remained in El Cielo, are now dedicated to the attention of visitors. This has allowed the conservation of trees such as the beautiful Tamaulipas magnolia, a species that only exists in Tamaulipas. Magnolias have existed since before bees appeared on the planet, and they developed to be pollinated by beetles, which is why their flowers are unique and curious. At the end of the walk, they lent us some horses in San José so we could ride. In England I rode horses for five or six years when I was a child from 10 to 15 years old I participated in many competitions And, yes, I love horses. Do you like the experience? I love it. When was the last time you rode horses? At 11 years old and I'm already 26. How beautiful. The moon and the stars witnessed our quiet night in San José. The next day we said goodbye to the ejido, and to close this tour of the Tamaulipas mountains in the best way. We went to eat mango pie, something that cannot be missed on your visit to El Cielo. The mango grows in the tropical areas of the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Look what we're going to eat, this is La Morita's mango pie. Wow, it's so dense and thick. It's so natural, we can see the fibers of the mango. Mangoes are not very tasty in the UK, and they are very expensive. It is like a gift that trees give you. It's delicious, it really melts in your mouth, one of my favorite foods from Tamaulipas. Whenever I come, like pay de la Morita, proudly Tamaulipas. It's the best mango pie I've ever tasted. It's thick and creamy, but not too creamy, it 's very fresh. And it has the perfect level of sweetness. Thank you for joining us to get to know this lung of northeastern Mexico. In its more than 140,000 hectares there are four types of ecosystems: the tropical forest, the semi-desert, the fog or cloud forest and the pine forest. For this reason it was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
