FINDING LOST CIVILIZATIONS This

vious year, all I knew was that the Sanctuary was actually locatedbelow the town and adjacent to a stream that flowedfrom the mountains. Also, that the path to the site was anunmarked dirt farm road that traversed through several farmfields with cattle gates that had to be opened manually. Thismade our quest all the more interesting.Several days later while in the town of Las Varas my father,Rafael, and I asked a local cab driver if he knew wherethe Sanctuary was located in Alta Vista. He told us he didand we set off in search of the Sanctuary. As we took the turnoff to Alta Vista from Highway 200 it became apparent thecab driver did not know where he was going. We got lostin a farm field and he admitted he had not actually visitedthe site, but had “heard” about it. With some persistence,determination, sheer luck, and several miles of dirt road wefinally found the site of the Sanctuary.The Sanctuary is located in a tropical forest settingalong a seasonal creek called Las Piletas, which flows alongthe west side of the El Cop Volcano. At the entrance thereis a path that follows the upslope of the creek and ends atthe most sacred point of the site. At this location there is aseries of rock shelves and small pools that were carved intothe basalt rocks eons ago. Beside these pools sheer verticalwalls rise to the mountainside from the creek bed. At thisspot the creek bed has an amphitheater appearance and isoften referred to as La Pila del Rey, The King’s Fountain. Theroute from the entrance to the pool area is about a kilometerand all along the path there are numerous petroglyphs. TheSpiral petroglyph was consistently carved or etched into numerousboulders along the entire length of the path. I don’tknow why, but I never tired of finding a Spiral.I found two other types of petroglyphs, which had probablygiven rise to the legend of the Apostle Matthew. One setof petroglyphs depicted various forms of a cross and anotherone resembled a human stick figure with open arms. Thisfigure is often referred to as the Maiz (Corn) Man, whichwas also revered by the people of the region who appearedafter the Tecoxquine had died out. Since the Tecoxquine nolonger existed, each succeeding culture of the region reinterpretedthe symbols to fit their own perception, notion, orbelief about their meaning, which gave rise to speculation,legend, and myth.While at the Sanctuary pool area I decided to explore92