2 February 2010
All across Mexico the rain, hail, thunder and lightning has made its mark and here at Pátzcuaro it’s proved no different. Now coming from Seattle I should be used to rain, but when it comes down so hard and for so long, and since we’re travelers and wanting to see as much of this wonderful area as we can, we’d like to see it STOP!!!
Even while we were traveling through Europe we had days where the weather just wanted to “dictate” our agenda. At times we succumbed and stayed bundled up in the VW van, AND we’ve found that we have chosen to do the same here in our Minnie Winnie. Well you can only do that for sooo long and you’ve got to bust out. That’s what we did yesterday. The tug of getting out of our 160 sq.ft enclosure and with the rain becoming more of a sprinkle, we layered our clothes, dug out the umbrella, and headed into Pátzcuaro. We knew we didn’t want to walk the 20-30 minutes into town so we opted to hail a “combi”. For $5 pesos each we were driven almost door to door and it only took 10 minutes. Just to remind you what a combi is, it’s a Toyota or similar VW van that has been made into a short delivery bus system that carries up to 12 sitting and as many as 15 with those standing. For our trip we joined 5 others so it was very comfortable. During the drive there were two ladies that were holding a conversation about their family and Louise was having (and feeling guilty) a good time trying her Spanish listening ability. Well by the time we got out of our coach and arrived at the “chica” plaza it was either another coffee break or minutes early for lunch…lunch won out. The only reason that I am writing about this is for what I had chosen from the menu. Sorry I can’t remember what it was called, but…scrambled eggs, peppers, whole but very tiny fish (the length about 1 ¼”) all scrambled together in a Verde sauce.
We saw these fish at every restaurant on our trip to Isle Janitzio, and it seems that they are only second to Pescado Blanco in this area. I found this dish to be really good, a little spicy, but I’d so it again without a second thought. Louise stuck with Huevos Rancheros. With our 12V electrical system giving us a “challenge” we decided to find a small table lamp. On our first couple of outings we struck out, but today we hit pay-dirt…a small white lamp and a 22w fluorescent to give us exactly what we wanted. For the last week we’ve heard about a festival at one of the little villages around Lake Patzcuaro. Tocuaro, which is near Erongaricuaro on the western shore of the lake, is known for its mask carvers. These artisans do their work and sales out of their homes. Another artisan product that is produced at Tocuaro is embroidered textiles. Now, the festival that we’d heard about was the special celebration on February 2nd, “Candlemas Day”. It’s celebrated throughout Mexico with parades, dances, and a festival. It’s important in the Mexican calendar with the birth of Jesus and the midpoint of winter and spring. Besides candle-light processions to the church for service, they follow that with big parties with family, friends, and loved ones. During the gathering and before entering the church, the courtyard in front is invaded with men wearing carved wooden masks
(locally carved) of skulls, devils, very imaginative birds, serpents, lizards, and things like frogs. They are all carved out of Copilillo (a wood only found in Michoacan) and Avocado wood. They encircle a group of young boys and girls that are holding these huge poles decorated with white linen and flowers and try as best as they can to disturb them and the crowd that’s encircling all.
Unfortunately the heavy rain appeared again, but to those that came to celebrate it didn’t hurt a thing. I’ll step back to earlier in the day… After brunch, purchasing our lamp, and scouting out more of Patzcuaro, we headed back to the coach. Louise and I had decided to try and find that “possible” festival a Tocuaro. The couple next door was asked to join us so the 4 of us went out to find a combi that would take us. For $8 pesos each we were underway. We were let out beside the roadway and told that the cobblestone/dirt road across the street would take us to the village of Tocuaro. We had met this young lady on the combi and seeing as how she was going our way, we followed along. When we approached her home she told us that “if you need anything, this is where I live, just come and get me, but the village and the church is just up the road”…that’s the hospitality we’ve found all over Mexico. Like she said, the church was just up the road,
and they were in the process of getting ready for the festival.
Soooo, now what? No sooner had that thought come up when we heard a band playing. Where there’s music, there’s a gathering and we should be a part of it. Well we no sooner found the music and the crowd, but we found ourselves being invited into “The Mayor’s” personal property for one heck of a festival. They had a large brass ensemble playing great Mexican music,
tables filled with people from the village drinking beer and tequila, and being fed a wonderful meal of beef, rice, and beans. With no way of saying “I can’t, or I’m sorry for interrupting”, we were escorted to a place under a lean-to, encouraged to sit while a huge portion of food was set before us,
and a case of beer was on its way…”WHAT A FESTIVAL !!!” If we weren’t family or part of the village, we were welcomed friends. In this area, the people are not only artisans, mayors, or whatever, they are people with farm animals, and that is where the lean-to comes in…it was a cover for the stock. Yes it smelled a little, looked a little rough, but it was cover from the rain and it was a “FESTIVAL”. Now I’m not sure if you can tell from this photo of the little girl, but this it the “two-hole’r”.
We only saw women using it and can only guess were the men went or is it that men can just hold it longer… Well on another subject, who is that lady with the pink hat dancing with that Mexican gentleman?
Oh ya, on another subject which I’m happy to be around for, was a 70th birthday toast with churro’s…
