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| View on the way to the Men's Breakfast in Tzurumutaro on my first morning. |
Right away I got back into the swing of life here in Mexico. My first morning I attended the weekly Men's Breakfst, and the next day I joined the organizers of the Saturday Hiking Group to scope out an area for a future hike - and got to see my friends Henriette and Basil, whom I last saw in Ljubliana, Slovenia.
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| View on the exploratory hike |
The next day, the 7th, I hiked through Mal Pais, one of my favorite areas here. It's 12 square miles of wilderness resulting from the eruption of twin
volcanoes in 1460 . I took a combi (shared van) out there in the morning,
hiked through the area and then got to visit with friends Francis and
Rodolfo, who were neighbors of mine when I lived in Arócutin on the edge of Mal Pais
in previous winters.
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| View from a trail in Mal Pais of the twin volcanoes that erupted in 1460. |
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| Orchids blooming in Mal Pais. I arrive just in time to catch the last of the orchid season. |
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| Jewel-like spider on its web along the trail. |
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| View of wetlands and Lake Patzcuaro shortly after I left the forest of Mal Pais. |
My friends Henriette and Basil introduced me to some great new hiking buddies from Morelai,
the state capitol that's about an hour's drive from Patzcuaro. On Friday the 8th, we took a great hike in the mountains above that city.
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| Morelia hiking buddies, with Henriette and Basil on the right. |
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| View from our lunch spot on the hike. |
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| Mexican silverspot butterfly along the trail |
On Saturday the 9th I joined the local hiking group for a pleasant hike through mostly open country.
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| Happy hikers |
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| View to the east, with corn stacks |
On Sunday the 10th six of us hiked through Mal Pais, with a climb up to the volcanic rock
tower. Afterwards Basil, Henriette and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at
Doña Mary's in Erongaricuaro (for about $5 each with drink and tip).
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| Below the rock tower, with Francis (in front), Bruno and Henriette & Basil., |
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| Wild Dahlia in Mal Pais. The Dahlia is the national flower of Mexico. |
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| Discussion at a trail junction. |
El Estribo is a small extinct volcano on the outskirts of Patzcuaro. On Monday the 11th it was nice to be able to walk from my casita to the mirador on the mountain in
about 1 1/4 hours.
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In the past year they widened and re-cobbled the road up to the mirador (viewpoint).
The road provides some spectacular views. |
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| View from the road of the island of Janitzio in Lake Patzcuaro |
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From the mirador it took me another 15 minutes to climb the 423 stairs to the crater rim
Crops are now grown in the crater - and mountains loom in the background. |
As I walked back to town, I came across men re-cobbling a street in Patzcuaro. The big rocks in the pile on the
right are being broken into cobblestones by men using hammers and
chisels:
On Tuesday the 12th, My friend Bruce and I hiked from the village of Ajuno on dirt roads, railroad tracks and trails passing
between the twin volcanoes of Mal Pais, past the petroglyphs and on to
Erongaricuaro - where of course we enjoyed lunch at Doña Mary's.
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| Dirt lane with mountain views |
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| Among the petroglyphs we stopped at, spirals are common |
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| Winged figure petroglyph. |
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| As we entered Erongaricuaro, we witnessed the passing of the bicycle pilgrimage around Lake Patzcuaro on the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe. |
Basil, Henriette and I hiked again with the folks from Morelia on Friday the 15th.
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| We walked through forests and meadows |
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| As
we neared the end of the hike. we heard the unmistakable music of an ice cream truck- and sure enough, we were able to get refreshing, tasty little
ice cream cones - for 32 cents. |
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| After the hike we were joined by other hikers who couldn't make today's hike - and spouses - for beers and snacks at Linda and Jim's beautiful colonial home in Morelia. |
The next morning, the 16th, I again joined the Patzcuaro hiking group - this time for a stroll through open country east of Patzcuaro - with beautiful views, as usual:
Then that evening I wondered into the Plaza Grande, which was uncharacteristically
dark, just in time to experience the lighting of the buildings around
the plaza, the tree made of woven mats decorated with local crafts, and
the giant nativity scene representing the various areas of Michoacan
state. Bright fireworks exploded overhead and a talented little choir
sang songs of the season. Most songs were in Spanish, but the
concert-concluding piece was Adeste Fideles in Latin - so I was able to
sing along.
I then walked
around the corner to the La Jacaranda cultural center for a fantastic performance of blues
and funk, in Spanish, Portuguese and English, by the band Los Mind Lagunas. I
love listening to a group that is so obviously enjoying performing - and
performing so well.
There certainly are great advantages to living in town!
And here are photos of the Plaza Grande that I took the next day:
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| Christmas tree covered in woven mats decorated with Michoacan crafts. |
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| Through tall grass and back into the woods. |
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| Red flowers by the road |
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| Path up to someone's yard. |
And that brings this entry up to date. But I'll add some pics of wildflowers I've seen on my hikes in the last 2 weeks:
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| Agave |
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| Bromeliad |
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| Madrona |
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| Tropical Milkweed |
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| Orange Paintbrush |
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| Thistle |
And finally - a butterfly in the garden:
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| Mexican Dartwhite |
