Surviving Mexico

Last Sunday I had the full day. No classes, no articles to write. A clear schedule. So we went driving around. We decided that we’d go to some Pueblos Mágicos since everybody and their brother were at the beach for Semana Santa.

We stopped in Cuitzeo first and I found this gorgeous hand-painted gourd. I had to have it! The artist had a few other things that were amazingly painted as well. I wanted a wicker basket since Cuitzeo is known for its reed basket weaving, but didn’t find one that I liked today.

Then we went the round-about-way past Huandacareo. Of course, all the balnearios were packed, but we went to the centro. There was an artist set up in front of the church selling some lovely oil painted boxes and paintings, but I had spent too much on the gourd and didn’t have enough money for anything else.

We found a quiet beach area shaded by mesquite that would be worth a second visit for a picnic lunch. It was deserted at the moment, but the man with a herd of goats said by afternoon it would be packed. Semana Santa and all.

We dropped off my gourd and two plants I bought at home then headed in the opposite direction, Yuriria. As expected, the centro was a ghost town though hopeful artenesia vendors had set up in front of the monastery. They had some lovely souvenirs for sale including wooden lanchas (boats). Yuriria has a crater lake that includes boat rides. We went to check that out as well.

By this time my phone had died so I didn’t get any pictures, but the lake was a quiet, cool drive. It seems like the boats weren’t running, probably because the lake was so low. We are still in the dry season here. We’ll have to check it out after the rains start. There were several quaint restaurants and a recently installed walkway as well.

At the other half-circle around the lake, there was another park. A bit dry and dusty for current use, but probably just lovely in June. Our backsides started to ache at this point, so we decided to head home. We’ll be back though!