On Saturday, June 15, we will be going to the La Cueva Hermit’s Cave in the company of former White Sands Missile Range Range Manager, David Anderson, looking at plants, and with historian and author David Thomas to understand more about the hermit. The hike from the parking lot to the cave is .4 miles, easy to moderate walking. Those who wish more of a walk can continue up the trail to the Dripping Springs Visitor Center. See below for carpool, parking and bio information.
If you want to carpool from Alamogordo, we will be meeting at 7:30 a.m. at the Travis Hooser Ballfields at 2139-2159 S Walker Ave, on the south end of Alamogordo.
We will meet at the Dripping Springs Recreation Area of La Cueva Picnic Area parking lot at 9 a.m. It’s on the La Cueva Loop. There is a pay station as you turn into the loop, day use is $5. I will grab some envelopes to have handy as we start driving.
Before we start walking we will be listening to a presentation by the Hermit of Hermit’s Cave (bio below). Performing as the Hermit will be David Thomas, historian, who wrote a book about the hermit: (Mesilla Valley History #2) Giovanni Maria de Agostini, Wonder of the Century: The Astonishing World Traveler Who Was A Hermit.
Bio of David Thomas:
David G. Thomas, BA, MS. Author of 14 books on New Mexico history, filmmaker, producer, playwright, screenwriter, actor. Co-founder Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival. Co-founder Friends of Pat Garrett.
Associate Producer, 2019 documentary film “The Wonder of the Century,” based on the author’s book on Giovanni Maria de Agostini, an Eighteenth Century world traveler.
Winner, 2020 Will Rogers Medallion Award, Finalist, Western Biography and 2022 Will Rogers Medallion Award, Finalist, Western Maverick.
Bio of the hermit provided by historian author David Thomas:
The Hermit of La Cueva
The “Hermit,” whose real name was Giovanni Maria de Agostini, was born in Sizzano, Italy, July 11, 1801, the son of poor farm workers. He left home at 21 and spent the next 17 years traveling extensively in Europe. During this time he developed two seemingly contradictory aspirations: a fervent desire to devote his life to “perfect solitude” and an astonishing urge to travel incessantly.
In March, 1839, Agostini joined a Maronite Christian monastery in Rome and then immediately left for South America.
In South America he visited Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile — multiple times. During this spectacular solo Odyssey, he survived a trip down the Amazon River by canoe, contracted Malaria, crossed the Andes by foot several times, walked vast distances, and endured living alone in scalding deserts and sub-zero mountains. In spite of oppressive and infuriating obstacles, including death threats, unjust arrest, deportation, jail, and forced confinement in a mental asylum, Agostini persisted undeterred in the solemn goal he set for himself when he left Europe.
After 21 years in South America, he traveled to Mexico, Cuba, and the United States. After arriving in New York, he walked to Canada and then “went West,” eventually reaching, in the midst of the American Civil War, the Territory of New Mexico.
Hermit’s Peak near Las Vegas, NM is named after him.
He was murdered April 25, 1869, near the cave at Dripping Springs. He is buried in the Mesilla cemetery.
Today in Argentina, as many as 15,000 people participate in a yearly festival initiated by Agostini at Cerro Monje, “Monk’s Hill.” In Brazil, at Cerro Campestre, “Campestre Hill,” and Santo Cerro do Botucaraí, “Holy Hill of Botucaraí,” over 10,000 people celebrate annual events founded by Agostini. In Lapa, Brazil, a national park protects the pilgrimage route to Gruta do Monge, “Monk’s Grotto.” At Araçoiaba Hill, near Sorocaba, Brazil, the Trilha da Pedra Santa, “Trail of the Holy Rock,” is climbed annually by thousands of people desiring to pay respect to the memory of the Monge do Ipanema, the “Monk of Ipanema.”
These are just a few examples of Agostini’s cultural legacy.
On Saturday, June 15, we will be going to the La Cueva Hermit’s Cave in the company of former White Sands Missile Range Range Manager, David Anderson, looking at plants, and with historian and author David Thomas to understand more about the hermit. The hike from the parking lot to the cave is .4 miles, […]
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