Hanging Valley

The location of the tiny village of Apoala, in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, was described to me as a "hanging valley," and this approach shows why.
You can see in the lower center at the edge of the green field, it just drops off hundreds of feet to another valley far below. The line of trees on the right marks the crystal clear river that falls in a series of waterfalls and cascades, forming pools of turquoise water along its way. Our first hike was down the side of these falls, and two people were brave enough to swim into one of the icy mountain pools! (From the lush vegetation and beautiful color, they must have thought they were in Hawaii!)