A Few More Hikes

Scene along the Los Filtros hike above Morelia on January 18th

On the 19th I led a group of friends - 3 of whom had never been there before - through Mal Pais. Then we ate at the German restaurant, and I splurged on a roast rabbit dinner with a glass of Malbec for $13.00. Delicious. 

Selfie by Scott of the happy hikers:  Henriette, Edith, me, Scott and Jane.

On the 22nd I took a combi out to Jaracuro to check out the birds in the wetlands by the bridge.

Sparrows (?) in a treetop

A little egret

A bigger egret

White pelicans in flight

White pelican in the water

After a bit of bird-watching I walked back to Patzcuaro, mostly on country lanes.

Fields and mountain

Colorful wetlands with mountain backdrop

Squash harvest in a courtyard

I had heard several times that there had been some excavating of ancient ruins in the area behind the town of Uricho but work had stopped - and I always wondered where this had been. Then as I was leading the exploratory group toward Mal Pais on the 23rd, a man came up the hill riding on a burro with his young son - and asked if we were heading to the pyramid. We said no but we wondered where it was. He said it was on his land and led us there. Above a field planted in alfalfa was a small hill covered in scrub, trees and cactus that was obviously stonework. He said it was a ritual platform from before the Purepecha settled here, and the archeologists had found grave sites and artifacts in the field below. He also said there were petroglyphs farther up the road and gave vague directions on where they were - so I need to do some further exploring.

The farmer and his son on a burro

The platform pretty much looked like a little hill, but you could see some of the stonework

Around the back the stonework was more visible, with an indentation into the square that the farmer referred to as the entrance.

On the 24th I climbed El Estribo again and went up the 417 stairs, with fewer stops to catch my breath this time, and took a different path around the crater rim.

Painting on the ceiling of the pavilion at the mirador. I have no idea what the story behind this is.

Agave in full bloom

View to the southwest

Fifteen of us traveled to Angahuan on Friday, the 25th, and on Saturday thirteen of us hiked to and climbed the Paricutin volcano, which was born in a farmer's field on February 20, 1943.

Old photo of the volcano erupting. The lava eventually destroyed several villages, leaving only the shell of the almost-completed church in Parangaricutiro still standing.

The volcano today, seen from the viewpoint where we spent the night in comfy little cabins after a delicious traditional meal.

We set out before the sun rose. The first part of the 21-kilometer (13-mile) hike was through forest. At one point we were rewarded with this view of the tower of the destroyed church illuminated by the rising sun

 

Photo by Pat of the group taking a break before our guide, Jorge, led us through the lava field.

At times the way was steep and rough

Getting closer to the volcano.

We climbed to the top of the side cone, where steam from fumaroles rose and surrounded us.

We enjoyed the simultaneous sensations of warm steam and cool breezes

Then we climbed steeply to the rim of the crater

Pat up on the rim.

The climb wasn't enough exercise for a couple of the guys, so Fermin walked quickly all the way around the rim of the crater and Dolf (seen here) ran it!

We descended steeply in a chute of ash, moving quickly as the ash sunk beneath our feet with each step.

Looking back as we left the volcano we could see how steep our descent had been. With all the ash in the road, it was a dusty walk back to Angahuan.

We stopped briefly at the church. This is a window in the choir loft - the entrance is below, in the lava

Emma and Lucy below the one completed tower of the church.

From here it was a short walk back to the cabanas, where we quickly packed up to head into town for a meal prepared by Juana Bravo, who has traveled the world as a cultural ambassador, preparing the world heritage food of Mexico. 

We then had quite an adventure getting back to Patzcuaro. Protestors had taken over the toll booth on the highway. After about an hour and a half stuck in the slow-moving line of traffic, we finally were told by a policeman that the booths would not be opening. So we turned around and made our way, on a very rough road, to the non-toll road - and that was blocked as well. So with the help of cell-phone access to maps of the area we found an obscure little road that was even rougher and eventually made our way around the problem area and got home about 9:45 - after a 6-hour journey that usually takes 2!

On January 28th I walked up on Cerro Blanco and down to El Estribo Chico, then continued down to the dock where boats leave for the island of Janitzio.

Panorama from the look-out on Cerro Blance .

Unusual flowering shrub on Cero Blanco.

Tour boat heading out to Janitzio.

I took friends James and Krista through Mal Pais on the 31st.  

Bromelad on the outskirts of Mal Pais, with an upright green scape and inflorescence and a slim purple flower.

On the way back to Patzcuaro we noticed that the older, smaller church in San Bartolo was open. I had been wanting to see the inside, so we stopped. It turns out the door was open because they were replacing the roof, so the church would be preserved. Here's the inside - very simple, with a painted wooden ceiling:

On February 1st, our hiking friends from Morelia came to Patzcuaro and climbed the steps from the mirador on El Estribo up to the crater rim.  After walking around the rim and circling back to the cars, we drove to Arocutin and hiked the Mal Pais loop.

View from the Mirador on El Estribo

On the 2nd, the Patzcuaro group hiked on a hill near Tsurumutaro.

Panaorama from the hilltop

The colorin bushes have started to bloom.  It's one of my favorites.

Narrow-leaf milkweed on the hillside.

I have just 3 weeks left here in Patzcuaro before I head back to Vermont - but I'll probably get in a few more hikes....

 Parting shot, from my bedroom window:

Canyon Wren on Tile Roof.