On Monday, March 16th, we drove the town of Yurira to visit a 16th century cathedral. The early cathedrals looked like (and were) forts, complete with places for archers in the parapets, as it seems that many of the locals were not enchanted with the benefits of civilization. They, however, were even less enchanted of being burned at the stake for heresy. But the nicest thing about Yurira was not its architecture, but rather the crater lake on the edge of town.
In Mexico, tourist attractions are not marked with signs as much as an explosion of small, improvised restaurants. The restaurants at the lake at Yurira were palapas, which are open structures with roofs covered with palm fronds. They were very similar to a restaurant complex at a beach in Bali, which we liked very much, even though it was right next to the airport and you heard and saw jumbo jets take off and land in between bites of crab and shrimp. The specialties at Yurira are the local white fish and charrales, a very small fish that is fried whole and served with lime and salsa.
The lake itself has floating islands of water hyacinth, which serve as platforms for white herons (or some similar birds). They would wait until they spied a charral and then launch themselves into the air to catch the fish with their beaks. White pelicans also cruised by, occasionally dipping down to catch lunch. In the distance we could see men standing in their boats and throwing their butterfly nets to catch fish. Of course, not everything was picturesque. After a wonderful lunch, we came back to the car only to find that a pelican (or some other large bird) had crapped on the driver’s side of the front windshield, obscuring (or coloring) a large segment of my view. I also came down with a case of tourista, which put me out of action all of Tuesday. “Iron guts” Toni was not effected.
On Wednesday, we took off to Uruapan, which bills itself as the Capital Mundial del Aguacate (the world’s avocado capital). This is the first time that going to the historic center of a town was a disappointment. The rather large plaza was surrounded by a wide variety of shops and large crowds of mothers pulling small children around as they rushed from store to store. There were no real points of interest, culturally, historically or visually.
We then went off to Uruapan’s greatest treasure: the Parque Nacional Barranca del Cupatitzio. This is an urban park built around deep ravine and a rapidly flowing river. The river has been diverted to feed a multiplicity of fountains and other water features, all of which explore the textures of water. Some water features create a flat glassy flow, while others have water flowing down a rough bed, creating a texture that reminds me of carted wool before it is spun. Another has four troughs, one under the other, each being feed by the trough above through rows of small spigots.
The ravine is a tropical explosion of trees, flowers, banana palms, birds, and a crystalline, very noisy river flow that turns a brilliant turquoise after it passes through the rapids. As we were walking through the park, we imagined pre-conquest natives coming to this spot to get away from the heat of the city above and to feel the sheer energy of running water. There is one waterfall at the end of the park that is about 30 feet high, which is far from any record, but there is a sense of not only kinetic but almost electric energy in the air.
The only downside to the park was that the walkways were cobblestone. This may seem like an attraction to you, but I have been using a walker to get around because of my back problems. Cobbles are the enemy of walkers and all other devices with small wheels. The walker that I am using was graciously loaned to me by Cathy Varney, as she keeps it for her mother’s visits. It is perhaps the nicest walker that I have seen, as it has a seat and storage capacity. I have seen old ladies eyeing it greedily with theft in their hearts. It is, however, no match for the cobblestones, and one of the wheels is vibrating like an old shopping cart. I hope that I will be able to give it a tune up when we get back to the States. I would hate to find out that one of its legs was irrevocably broken and we would have to shoot it.
The greatest discovery on our trip to Uruapan was the small village of Zirahuen on Lake Zirahuen. The lake reminds Toni and me of the lake in the southern part of Austria where Toni’s family has their vacation home. Lago de Zirahuen may be a bit smaller than the Wörthersee, but feels very similar. Of course, there is a world of difference in terms of development. Even though Zirahuen is a Mexican tourist destination, the pueblo itself is extremely rustic. You can find horses still in use, hauling avocados, lumber, and stone, or just meandering down the street, dodging trucks. The roads are cobblestone. The center of tourism is a set of restaurants built on pylons over the edge of the lake. A small pier juts out, and while we were there, a boy of about ten years of age was fishing from the pier with no success. The town seemed to be a throwback in time, reminding us of Tepoztlán more than 30 years ago. Surprisingly, while there were a couple of homes for wealthy people (i.e. houses with 3 meter high stone walls), the town and the areas surrounding the lake were mostly undiscovered. While I couldn’t see living there year round (far too isolated), it would make a wonderful vacation home when one had to get out of the city, with cool breezes off the lake and very little traffic.
Yesterday, we went back to Zirahuen so Toni could photograph the pueblo’s doors and windows. Indeed, most of the door shots on Flickr are those from Zirahuen. We may even be going back there today for more door shots, although Toni spotted a cemetery along the way that she wants to shoot as well.
We have also come to a conclusion on one of the central questions of this visit: can we live in Morelia? As most of you know, we left Mexico in 1985, with a bad taste in our mouths given the traffic, smog, incivility and just plain pressure of Mexico City. Since then, we have changed quite a bit as have our needs and wants (computers, internet, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, digital photographic printing, satellite TV, etc.). In the interim, Mexico has changed substantially as well. In particular, NAFTA has made sweeping changes in almost every aspect of daily life. I would not presume to say that NAFTA has had a positive impact on the poor, given the great migration of Mexicans to the United States in search of a better life for themselves and more importantly, their children. I can say, however, that people seem to be better dressed and better fed. Indeed, Mexico is also suffering the plague of obesity
However, on a personal and perhaps a very shallow level, these changes would allow us to live in Morelia very comfortably for 50% to 60% of what it is costing us in New Mexico. We can get all of our vices. For example, we had to sneak in good peanut butter when we lived here in the 1980s, because the local peanut butter was made with sawdust. The same with jam, which had so much pectin that you could use it as a superball. Now you can buy the American brands here at local supermarkets. Anything imported, of course, is far more expensive than in the U.S., but it is readily available if you can’t live without it. On a more important level, internet connections are readily available, as is internet telephone service like Vonage or Skype.
Morelia is far more livable than Mexico City. People are polite, even when driving. There are no major traffic jams, compared to those of Mexico City. Morelia, of course, lacks the cultural excitement of Mexico City, but that is ok. As Toni points out, one does not really have to live in a cultural center anymore to participate in many things, thanks to the internet and changes in communication.
The upshot of all of this is yes we can live here. The larger question of whether we want to leave our house and friends is not something that one visit to Morelia can resolve. We do plan on coming back to Morelia soon and exploring it more depth. It will be particularly nice to visit after my back operation when I can get back to walking and enjoying myself normally.
