The weeks fly by....

Sunrise 1/14/15

Yes, the weeks have been flying by and the adventure continues, with more beautiful things to see every day.  I always enjoy getting to see new colorful birds here.  One I see often and have already posted about is one of my favorites, the Vermilion Flycatcher.  This is the best pic I've gotten so far, taken from much closer up than the others:

A Cassin's Kingbird singing its heart out.  I see lots of these as I walk the lanes toward Eronga.

And while I'm on the subject of birds, here are a few more lovelies I've seen lately:

Lots of little cattle egrets around here - but also the  much bigger and showier  Snowy Egrets.

American Kestral sitting atop the flower stalk of an agave

Varied Bunting - shows bright blue when it flies

And the skulking Blue Mockingbird.

A couple days after Christmas I hiked into Mal Pais with my Canadian friends Tom & Kim, whom I had met at Casa del Sol when I first arrived.

Me, Tom & Kim

We took a trail I was very familiar with to the little meadow where I thought it petered out - but Tom poked around and noticed another distinct trail on the other side of the meadow.  We followed that for a little ways and I discovered that it was the continuation of a trail I had taken into the wilderness area from the other side - I found the stick I had leaned up against a tree on another hike.  I was excited to learn that I could now take a loop hike through Mal Pais!

On our way back out, we saw this natural tower of volcanic rock on a parallel ridge,  which my neighbor Frances had led a group of us to on another hike.  We weren't sure of the trail to get there, so we bushwhacked our way to it and Tom & Kim climbed it (it's about 15 feet tall).  I stayed put on the ground and watched - the view was good enough from there!  And we found our way back to the trail without getting lost.

On the afternoon of New Years Eve I went to the 70th birthday party of my friend Charles Dews, at the home in Eronga that he shares with his "adopted" son Juan's family.  There were lots of people there, many new to me, and I enjoyed talking with a variety of them.  It was a bit strange, though, that all the gringos were gathered in the house and most of the Mexicans (including policemen with their machine guns - Juan is a local politician) were out on the back yard.  But the party was fun - and I was home by about 6:30.  No midnight revelries for me!

And I spent a lazy NewYear's Day. Went to bed early last night but still slept in. Spent time out on the terrace that afternoon alternating reading a novel and enjoying the view. This hill is actually the island of Janitzio, rising up out of Lake Patzcuaro (hidden by the trees) and topped by a 162-foot hollow stone statue of Jose Maria Morelos, a hero of the fight for Mexican independence. You can climb a spiral staircase inside the statue, up to its upraised fist, for a spectacular view. Haven't been there yet; it's on my list.

As you know, I take lots of walks.  Sometimes I know exactly where I'm going and sometimes I just head out and see where roads and paths will take me.  Took one of those on Jan. 2nd.  I  set out on a dirt road I hadn't explored yet and it led me through farmland to a quiet paved road that wound its way up to the railroad tracks.  Followed the tracks to a dirt road that brought me down to Eronga - where I was able to do some grocery shopping and take a combi home.  Along the way were some interesting sights, like:

This view of my favorite volcano, with wildflowers in the foreground.

These lovely red wildflowers along the railroad tracks.  They're very  common here - but this is the nicest specimen I've seen.

And this lovely view down to the lake.

And in the evening I got to sit looking out at the view as the lowering sun cast shadows that brought out the flowing lines of this mountain across the valley:

As I was sitting on the balcony reading on the morning of Jan. 3rd, an elderly Mexican man walked by on the road below, leading a donkey piled high with firewood past the driveway where Georgia's SUV is parked. A fascinating mix of the new and the old here in Arocutin!  Often cowboys also pass below, herding their cows to or from their pastures behind the town:

That evening I went to a great concert in Patzcuaro: a French couple on sax and clarinet and a Mexican guy on guitar, playing & singing beautiful Balkan & Mexican music, with a bit of Jazz thrown in for good measure. I was lucky to snag a ride back to Arocutin so I didn't have to leave early to catch the last combi - and was even able to stay for the very talented jamming by local musicians after the concert.

January 5th marked the end of my first month here in the Patzcuaro area of Mexico.  Out of curiosity I tallied up my expenses, and so far I've spent about $750! Of course I haven't really been spending money on travel, which I will be doing a bit of in the future, but still - pretty sweet for a frugal guy like me. And I've been eating out at least twice a week.  Some of the prices that allow me to live so cheaply here:

• Rent, including utilities and drinking water:  $300
• 20-mile round-trip ride in a van to Patzcuaro: $2 (that's about what I spend per day on just car insurance back home)
• 3 avocados:  $.70; roasted, shelled unsalted peanuts for making my own peanut butter: $1.24 per lb.; granola: $1.11 per lb.; pecans: $5.55 per lb.; organic coffee $5.92 per lb.
•  the gorgeous views:  priceless!

On the 6th I walked with Charles down through the land below Eronga that 40 years ago was covered by Lake Patzcuaro, whose waters have receded.  The area is now divided into farm plots separated by many barbed-wire fences:

I was struck by his harvested field with its golden stubble.

Went into Patzcuaro on the 7th to go to the ATM, do a bit of shopping and help out at the soup kitchen. I had checked on Monday and the woman in charge that day suggested I come about 1:00 on Wednesday to help. Got there a little before 1:00 and helped roll meatballs for the soup - and after 15 minutes they said everything was all set and they had enough other people to serve the meal at 2:00. Not much of a volunteer contribution by me! I'll probably try again  - or maybe I'll find another volunteer opportunity.

On my hike into Mal Pais the next day I decided to document some of the hazards that work to keep you on the trail and watching your step.  Among them were:

Spines on Agave Plants!

Prickly Cactus Plants!

Poison Oak!

Thorns!

But I still go off the trail, to check out things like these volcanic rocks I'm standing in front of:

And near here I also got to see a great horned owl sitting on a tree branch about 15 feet away.  Unfortunately he flew off before I could get a pic.

The air around here often gets quite smoky because the farmers burn off their harvested and dried out fields.  They do it to clear the fields and because it reputedly makes potash available to the new crops - but it really doesn't help the air quality!  The do it by day:

- and by night!

I'll stop here and continue soon with another post.  Until then, here's a good-bye shot:

Late afternoon light on the wetlands.