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06/14/05 - 06/16/05 - Patzcuaro, MX (Photos - same as previous entry) Visiting the pueblitas around Lago de Patzcuaro - handicrafts without the middleman! |
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After a couple of days in town, we saw just about every street and shop, so decided to take a drive around the lake. The shore of Lago de Patzcuaro is lined with small towns that together made up the Purepecha civilization that managed a relatively peaceful lakefront life (after thwarting the Aztecs in ancient times), until those crazy Spaniards came and put an end to the fun. Each lakeside town specializes in a different handicraft, most revolving around carpentry, pottery and copper. On our first day of driving around the lake, we weren't especially successful in finding any artisans, or anything too terribly interesting for that matter. We quickly understood why people hire local guides and drivers, as a fascinating studio can look like an abandoned garage (example), and a knowledgeable local can take you to the more interesting places that you might have just passed up on your own.
Our second day was more interesting, after gathering some advice from innkeeper Victoria and some guests from Georgia who come to this area regularly. We also got some interesting information from a local Mexican anthropologist, Miguel, while he was waiting to take some other people out exploring. Very interesting and knowledgeable-seeming, next time we vow to hire him for a day to try to see some behind the scenes Michoacan life. Upon the recommendations we received over breakfast at the hotel, we searched out an artist's hacienda in a town called Capula. Although we never did end up finding his gallery of paintings (which ended up being in the old chapel on his grounds that is kept locked), we enjoyed seeing his property - adorned with wonderful sculptures. And although he wasn't home, the door to the main house was open and we got to have a look inside. We didn't know he wasn't home, until an old woman found us in the house and told us. Oops!
Outside of town was our main find. There were some Catrina studios that Victoria had guided us to, which looked like those abandoned garages we told you about earlier. Catrinas, for those unfamiliar, are ceramic dia de los muertos statues of finely dressed skeletons. Apparently, Capula is where they make them. They make them in an amazing variety with remarkable detail, which will make things difficult for us to decide which one(s) to get when we come back on our buying trip. We got to see a couple of the artisans in the back of their primitive studios rolling out the clay forms before we headed out of town.
Next up was Tzintzuntzan, perhaps more fun to say than to visit. Another furniture and craft center known for their vegetable fiber woven (more...)goods, the most interesting part of this pueblita were the two old churches set next to each other. Entering the first (and older) church, we found it empty except for woman who looked like she was performing surgery on someone at the altar, along with a glass casket sitting behind her. There were just feet sticking out from under a sheet covering the body that lay on the altar, and there were signs on the wall describing the restoration work that was going on to the saint there. The large church courtyard outside of the two churches contained numerous huge 400-year-old olive trees. These were apparently planted as a snub to the Spanish government, which made it illegal in Mexico to grow olives, forcing them to buy imported Spanish olives and oil. Getting hungry and tired, we headed back to Patzcuaro for the day.
We spent Thursday morning visiting Santa Clara del Cobre, famous for its copper artisans. We walked around the small but interesting copper museum (after paying our 18 cent admission), and went to a couple of stores. Although neither of us is really 'into' copper, there were some beautiful pieces that we might have to come back for once we have a home to put them in. In one of the stores they had an area where you could watch the artisans at work, who you can hear hammering on their copper from down the block. Nothing there touches a machine. We watched them stoke the fire to heat up the copper, then bang lumps of it into flat pieces to start forming into plates, pots, sinks, jewelry, lights, and just about anything else you can think of (even woven copper purses). After a lunch of tasty (but messy - you have to remove pieces of cartilage with your fingers!) lamb stew at Patzcuaro's mercado, we spent the rest of the day relaxing (and writing this) at the hotel before our drive to the coast tomorrow. Our innkeepers here have a beach house on the coast at about the halfway point between Patzcuaro and Puerto Vallarta where we're going to stay Friday and Saturday night before heading back to PV on Sunday. Word from PV is that they've started working on our condo again!! Can't wait to check on the progress! |
A Catrina shows a little leg |
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| Impressions of Patzcuaro | |
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06/12/05 Patzcuaro, MX Extending our vacation from Puerto Vallarta in the beautiful state of Michoacan |
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Just when we thought we'd be winding down our visit to Guadalajara, word from PV was that the workers weren't doing anything, which meant no reason to rush back. Instead of staying on in the big city, we decided to head for the colonial highlands. We decided to go to Patzcuaro, a smaller, mountain town on Patzcuaro Lake in the agriculturally robust state of Michoacan. It's a puebla of pleasant plazas, bustling mercados, and artisans making crafts using pre-hispanic techniques (there are still many indigenous people in the area - we've seen lots of women with long black braids wearing more traditional dress here). Okay, enough of the intro.
Patzcuaro ended up being a fairly easy, pretty 3 1/2 hour drive from Guadalajara. We did end up taking an hour lunch stop in the very lovely, European-like city of Morelia on the way, where we had an excellent meal in a lovely courtyard restaurant. Caroline ordered poorly, but we both enjoyed Scott's delicious tarasco soup, pork roast and rice. After looking at at least 7 hotels, we finally checked into the luxuriously quaint, cozy and comfortable "artists' retreat" La Casa Encantada (pricey for us at $85/nt, but every 4th night is free!), filled with the beautiful local handicrafts that owners Victoria and Cynthia collect. It was very hot walking around looking at hotels, and were surprised (disappointed?) to see that none of the rooms had ceiling fans or air conditioning. In fact, La Casa Encantada provided us with flannel sheets, down comforters, heated mattress pads, and a gas heater in our room. After sundown, we understood. At around 7,000 feet, I think we've discovered the perfect summer climate. It's hot and sunny during the day, cooling off considerably at night. Not cool enough for the gas heater or electric mattress pad, but enough to make the sheets and comforter feel luxurious if you leave the windows open. This weather/bedding, combined with the sound of the fountain that our balcony overlooks, creates the perfect conditions for sleeping in. So that's exactly what we did our first morning in Patzcuaro.
But before settling into our cozy bed, we stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant, La Compania, located on the Plaza Grande near our hotel. The food was excellent, as was the setting; we dined on the sidewalk across from the plaza. The big surprise, however, was that the WINE was quite good too! It's been our experience that decent wine is not easy to come by down here. There are some Mexican wines, but the majority seems to be Chilean. From what we've sampled so far, it seems they must send the good Chilean wines right over Mexico to the U.S. But our wine discovery will probably lead us back to the same restaurant again before we leave.
Most of our first full day (Monday) in Patzcuaro we spent wandering around the town familiarizing ourselves with our surroundings. This seems to be our routine every time we arrive in a new town - probably pretty normal, but much more noticeable after traveling to so many different cities over the course of the past 7 months. The first thing you notice upon entering Patzcuaro is the fact that the buildings all look identical - painted dark red on the bottom half of the facade and white on the top, with dark red painted or varnished wood doors set in the facade at intervals. And since each block is essentially just one building running contiguous around the block, you get the sensation that you're walking through a red and white striped Mexican maze. Only it hardly looks Mexican. Between the mountain weather, pine forests, and log cabins surrounding town, you might think you've ended up in some town in the Alps.
Although the buildings look the same from the outside, we discovered from our very thorough hotel search that you never know what you're going to find once you open the doors. Beautiful courtyards, garages, craft shops, schools, huge grocery stores, soccer fields... all disguised behind wooden doors set into the red and white mud brick buildings. Oh, and pastry shops. The people here LOVE their pastries and candy. Countless old Patzcuaran (sp?) women in traditional dress carry baskets around town selling sweet breads and candy. They'll give you a sample if you show interest, so we've gotten to try a couple of things that otherwise we probably wouldn't have. There's also a huge market in town that we fought our way through. They've got everything you need there, whether it's fresh produce, clothing, shoes, pirated cds & dvds (3 movies for $4.50 - which is why there's a big anti-piracy campaign going on now) appliances, and even haircuts ($1.60 for a haircut! Scott wants to get one just to see what happens).
At the end of the mercado lies the food carts, selling mostly tacos, tortas, and local specialties like carnitas, beef and lamb stews, and gorditas. Scott has decided he loves gorditas. They take a really fat fried tortilla (made from scratch on the spot) that resembles an English muffin, make a slice in the side and stuff it with marinated shredded pork, beef or chicken. A gordita and taco made up Scott's dinner, while Caroline went for just a single taco, as she was saving room for the tasty looking chocolate cake we kept passing by at a nearby cafe. Before heading back to the hotel, we made the much needed stop off for chocolate cake at the old-fashioned-style coffee and cake shop on the main plaza, where Caroline enjoyed a delicious "rebanada de pastel chocolate" - chocolate being another specialty of the area. We'll have to come back for Patzcuaro style hot chocolate before too long! |
Block after block of identical red & white stucco buildings
You're never more than a few steps away from a pastry in Patzcuaro
Scott, looking slightly insane, enjoys a bag of guanamana flavored ice drink (yes, the carts serve most of their drinks in plastic bags with straws - quite handy for the Mexican tourist or local on the go) |
