Nearby Places

Cuanajo
The Carpenter Town

Cuanajo Church - post celebration

The other day Nathan and I headed out to Cuanajo to see if we could find a large desk/table. What we found was a town overflowing with really nice furniture, a Carpenter's fiesta and an old church...no desk/table.

So, being the ballers that we are, we just had some guy make us a table to our specifications and he delivered it the next evening. Yay.

Once we had the order straightened out, we headed up the hill to the plaza and found the above church and this beautiful woman -->



There was an AMAZING band playing in the street. Sometimes, these community bands can be quite terrible, in an endearing sort of way. 


But this one was a gem :) 


Cuanajo is nothing terribly special in the way of pueblos, but it was a great little trip in that we crawled down the highway in a tiny combi instead of flying by on a big bus. It allowed us to see more of the countryside and appreciate the beauty all the more. 

Last but not least, it afforded us the once in a lifetime opportunity of seeing part of a small plane tipped over on the side of the road. Somehow, these sorts of things just feel common place here in Mexico :)

Looks like a truck took the turn too sharp and knocked the plane over. This is a photo of it back upright. 

La Isla de Janitzio

Janitzio is one of the most touristy places in the Patzcuaro region. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that the path from the boats up to the grande finale tower at the top of the extremely steep hill is lined on both sides with shops and restaurants. It's quite a sight just for the sheer number of them! Unfortunately, all the tiendas sell most of the same souvenirs. They are often hand made, but so abundant that their novelty quickly wears off. Some of them are quite nice though..and it was definitely pretty comical seeing all the middle class Mexican tourists sport some atrocious looking
sombrero hats they make there.

Poor photo of the island on the left..but there it is

      Backing up..the boat ride there was both beautiful and quite sad. The view of the islands and surrounding mainland is majestic and calming. Towards the end of the ~25 min ride some men in their little boats demonstrate the fishing techniques they have used there for centuries. It's beautiful, but a bit disconcerting since they are merely acting and then paddle up to the boat for a tip...

     As you can see, the lake has unfortunately been infested with some exotic aquatic plant. A kid selling chicles on the island told me that sometimes the boats cannot leave because the plants have gotten so thick. In fact, when we returned to the docks the boat could not get close enough to the dock to let us de-board. It took a couple tries, but we finally it made to land with a bit of a hop. 

CEMETERY

About 1/4 of the way up the mountain of an island is the cemetery or "pantillon". It was carved into the side of the mountain and offered a stunning view of the lake (see last photo) and the nearby towns of Cucuchucho and Ihuatzio. Remnants of the Noche de los Muertes were still visible 2 months later. 

        The tower at the top of the island                         View from inside the tower looking up. 

     mountain. You can see people at the top.                Murals inside were amazing but decaying. 

The photo below shows Jesus, with dollar bills
safety-pinned to his clothing.

     

             

The only church on the island was this small one. It was still outfitted with it's Christmas decorations (which includes branches of pine with bananas tied to them as ornaments) and even had a nativity scene. It was difficult to get a picture, but the walls were angled quite a bit. 

This saint is remarkable for two reasons. Fist, she is the only we've ever seen dressed in the traditional Puhrepecha clothing that women still wear today. Second, you can't tell here but her dress is being held out by two cherubs. Naughty little things...

This was the nativity scene. Why there are two babies I haven't a clue. 

Life size Mary and Joseph were standing watch over them, complete in their Purhepechan clothing!

View of from the Island towards Patzcuaro

                                                                                                           

Erongarícuaro

"Eronga" to the locals

Eronga is a very quaint little town that roughly means "Place of Waiting" in the local indigenous Purhépecha language. It has become known for its association with famous artists and is still a place that artists flock to. The beauty of Eronga makes it easy to imagine why. Today, several ex-pats from around the world call Eronga their home and contribute to the community in various ways. For example, 

on the first Sunday of every month there is an Alternative Fair where artists, jewelry makers, bakers, exceptional cooks and many more people of specialized trades can display and sell their products. There is music, dancing and mingling for several hours in the middle of the day, though it was primarily ex-pats and middle class Mexicanos. Similarly, every Tuesday there is a street fair where apparently there are more vendors and more of your typical mercado fare - a little more directed towards the majority of the population. We haven't made it to this one yet, but I am excited to see what it's all about!

The town is rather small and only a 1/2 hour away from Patzcuaro. It's small size wouldn't deter you though. The plaza is beautiful and filled with good food! First, there's a very popular Italian café called Testarelli's. This place has comfortable outside seating, delicious coffee and (drumroll please) GELATO! They have a small but diverse selection of flavors including Philadelphia cream cheese, passion fruit and cappuchino. Also, there is an amazing Pizzeria called Ivo's La Sorpresita Bakery, run by a Swiss ex-pat and his partner. Their pizza is 100% homemade and quite delicious! Ivo also holds a "Buen Provecho mercado" in Patzcuaro every Friday morning with fresh baked whole grain bread, pizzas, brownies and other yummy things!

Finally, I have seen that just outside of Eronga is an ecological wonder called "El Malpais". It is an ecosystem situated on top of the lava from twin volcanoes that erupted in 1460. They say there 

are ferns and orchids growing on Live Oaks out there! I can't wait to see it for myself 

and will surely let you know what we find!

                                                                                    

Santa Clara del Cobre

Santa Clara is a smaller town southwest of Patz that is famous for its copper works or "obras del cobre". Many centuries ago, the nuns were given control of the copper business as a means of survival. Now, the town is famous. The bus ride was only 18 pesos (less than $1.80) and took roughly a half hour. The plaza had two bandstands and was surrounded by shops and cafes (like all the plazas here in Mexico). Standing in the plaza and turning all around you see wall to wall copper goods: sinks, pots, jewelry, vases, bathtubs, chandeliers, souvenirs, magnets, candle holders, mirrors, art, and the list just goes on and on. Everything is incredibly beautiful and hand made.

Display in the back of a VERY large copper store. I though the kitchen was more fascinating than the copper..

We happened to stumble across a store that offered demonstrations on how they make these things. We watched the copper smiths at work melting the copper down (from copper wire), molding it with mallets, cooling it and shining it. The shining was the most interesting part. It is made to shine by pounding every cm of the surface with a hammer! Talk about tedious...but our demonstration ended with shots of Apricot liquor with our instructors. gross.