The Journey Continues

Little buddies that usually greet me when I walk to Erongaricuaro.

And the hiking contiues!  On 1/23 I took a combi to Eronga then went for a nice long walk to La Zarzamora, on the ridge way above the town. Walked up past the old railroad station then kept on going, up, up up (but not too steeply) on a sometimes rutted road, 'til I came out among lovely mountain meadows.

Lupine Along the Trail

and Madrona Flowers

Grassy Lane through the Meadows

Three Sentinels in the Meadow

Eventually came to the paved road and walked toward the village of La Zarzamora (The Blackberry),  looking back to views like this:

I stopped by a wooded gully where birds were flitting about among the bright red flowers...

..... and saw a lovely Slate-throated Redstart:

From the pueblo of La Zarzamora there was a great view down to Lake Patzcuaro:

It was a beautiful 4-hour walk - a little warm but with a nice breeze.  And the driver of the combi I took back down to Eronga shared fresh strawberries he had just bought from a guy selling from his truck 

I finally took another hike with Friends of Cerro Blanco, an expat group, on 1/24.  It was a pleasant, easy hike through farmland west of Patzcuaro, with nice mountain views (as usual).

Hikers

As I hike around, it's so nice to be greeted by so much color here, even in the dry season:

Agave Flowers

Lichens on a branch

My friend Doug Taron from Chicago arrived here on 1/28 - I had company! The next day we took a nice long loop walk through Mal Pais, which Doug was especially interested in exploring.

House finch & Black-Polled Yellowthroat (?) we saw along the way

Doug happily taking in the beauty of Mal Pais - with my favorite local volcano in the background.

Sunlight shining through a bromeliad in a tree.

Doug works at a nature museum in Chicago and is a butterfly specialist.  He was eager to see what beauties the area had to offer - and maybe add some species to his life list (which he did!).  At Georgia's's suggestion, Doug & I took a bus to Tacambaro, the "Balcony of the Hot Country", then a taxi down to Pedernales in the tierra caliente to butterfly along a little river...

Double Waterfall in the River

 .......and through fields of sugar cane.

Doug on a path through the sugar cane fields - camera in hand

Here's some of what we saw:

Julia Longwing

Queen Butterfly - closely related to the Monarchs

Fatima Peacock

And of course there were flowers, too:

Tropical Milkweed

Clitoria - named after what you're thinking.

The next day Doug and I took a nice 6-hour walk - and Doug photographed lots more butterflies.  We we hiked to the petroglyphs, up through a pasture to the railroad tracks, and along them way over to the train station ruins above Eronga, and finally down to that pueblo where we had a delicious very late lunch at Dona Mary's on the plaza.

I really enjoyed having Doug here for 4 days and sharing the beauty of the area with him.  He left on the 1st of February - but got stranded in Dallas and didn't get home until the next day because of a blizzard in Chicago.

On the 1st I went to a celebration of the Purepecha  (the local indigenous group) New Year in the neighboring pueblo of Uricho.  Got there in time to see a very colorful parade, which wound around the town to the churchyard where gifts were tossed to the crowds.  They threw bread rolls (I caught a whole-wheat one!), woven reed fans, hats - and big lemons!  You really had to stay alert if you didn't want to get whacked in the head by one.

Colorful Drag Damsels in the Parade

Band Members - pretty in pink

Gayly-bedecked but somber dancer

Musicians young and old

And there was dancing to the music:

Father (in deer mask) and son dancing

  And lots of folks eating and watching:

The very next day I went to the celebration in Tocuaro, the neighboring pueblo in the other direction,  which included a pastorela, a dramatization of the struggle between good and evil, with a chorus of children bearing colorful staffs and narrating the action...

....and demons in intricately-carved wooden masks (for which Tocuaro is famous):

Me and my favorite demon.

The demons' costumes are decorated with thousands of bright sequins

The demons were slain by the cute angel, at the prodding of the priest:

Lots of characters joined in on the action:

 

I went to the pastorela with Georgia and friends, who had been invited to stop at the workshop of Felipe Horta, one of the village's master mask carvers.  We got to tour his shop...

....and get a good look at his skillful - if sometimes frightening - work:

This one - yet to be painted - won second place in a show by area artisans

Felipe and his family were gracious hosts, and treated us to drinks and tasty corundas (the local triangular tamales steamed in corn leaves).

The other day I went on a spending spree and paid $18 for 12 bananas, 12 little limes - and getting my teeth cleaned!  The fruit cost about a dollar,  the cleaning about $17, a bargain even here in Latin America, where I've usually paid $30 to $35.  And that's why I get my dental work done here!

Tomorrow my friend Paul Cameron comes to visit!  Looking forward to spending time with him, hiking around here, and visiting the butterfly reserve where millions of Monarchs winter after migrating here from the U.S. and even Canada.  Hoping to get some good pics and a bit of video!

A  bit of local color to end this post