To start off the 2018 A to Z Challenge, I’d like to tell you about a little town called Los Amoles. Its full name is Cerro de Los Amoles (Hill of Los Amoles–I haven’t been able to find out what Amoles means though) and it is part of the municipality of Moroleon, just like La Yacata. However, Los Amoles is 2361 meters above sea level and that makes a world of difference.
Los Amoles is at the center of that snow-topped mountain.
We’ve been to Los Amoles on several occasions. We’ve hiked up the mountain to pick capulines (chokeberries) which only grow in that area. We’ve been caught in hail storms and flash floods while driving over the mountain. My husband and son drove the motorcycle through a lagoon on a quest for wild horses said to roam free in the area. And my American sister-in-law fell and knocked out a tooth while picnicking in these parts. Good times!
Church
Plaza de toros
Sign
More recently, the powers that be decided to create an eco-park in Los Amoles. I thought it would be something interesting to see, so we went. The actual road to the park isn’t well marked. There’s only 1 sign pointing the way. You need to drive past the church, the local drinking spot, and the plaza de toros (bull ring) even to get to that sign. But we found it!
Gate to keep the animals out
Nothing to indicate this is the place
It seems the entrance is yet unfinished. The gate is a wired stick contraption. One of the workers said it was to keep the free roaming chickens, pigs, horses, cows and other animals from destroying the area.
As you can see, it was actually very nice! There are solar lights, individual cookout areas, wooden playsets for the kids and some saplings that one day will grow into trees providing the animals don’t eat them first.
According to this article, the eco-park will also have some zip lines, cabins you can rent to stay in, and some biking trails but that hasn’t materialized yet. Maybe there will be more signs up to direct visitors once those attractions are up and running?
So round about the time my son was finishing his secondary education (See Secondary Graduation) his guitar broke. Talk about disappointed. Of course, I pointed out that we did buy it second hand (See Music Lessons) and it lasted nearly 2 years as he slowly mastered its use and care.
Since my parents sent a little money for his graduation, we earmarked it for a new guitar and off we went in search of one. We went to every single pawn shop in Moroleon twice. We even looked at the new ones at Fabricas de Francia after swearing I’d never set foot in there again. I contacted all the musically inclined people I knew in town and even some who weren’t. Nothing satisfactory appeared.
Since I had such luck searching online for my piano (See Piano Shopping), I thought I’d give that route a go. Lo and behold, my search got a hit on Facebook and I contacted guitarras Amezcua to set up an appointment to see guitars. I googled directions to Paracho de Verduzco, Michoacan and my next day off, we set off on our latest adventure.
Google maps gave me three routes and I chose the one that seemed the most interesting rather than the route that took us through Morelia. What a drive! We were enthralled with the scenic views, forested areas and little towns we drove through. It took us a bit longer than we anticipated, but the trip there was disaster free.
We drove past this HUGE guitar monument as we entered the town. Guitars hung from store windows and wooden shacks to the left and to the right. I said to my son that if we couldn’t find a guitar in this town then we wouldn’t find a guitar anywhere. After all, 40% of the local economy is based on the manufacturing of guitars and other stringed instruments. There are 15 guitar talleres (factories) which produce about 5,000 guitars every week.
The town itself is very small, with a population of 357 residents, and was undergoing street renovations while we were there which limited our explorations. In addition to guitars, every little shop was crammed full of all sorts of handcrafted wooden items.
We delightfully purchased the items in the picture above at a fraction of what they cost in Moroleon.
We found the taller of Sr. Amezcua, but it was closed. As he said he might be in a meeting at his daughter’s school and to call or send a message when we arrived, we did. He said he’d be there in five minutes, so we waited.
His shop was small, but the guitars were beautiful. In the glass cases, there were autographed photographs of famous cantantes (singers) from the 50s and 60s with their Amezcua guitar. My son asked for a studio guitar and Sr. Amezcua put one in his hands immediately.
As soon as he strummed the strings, he was smitten. I encouraged him to try a few guitars to make sure that he wanted that one. So he tried out a flamenco guitar. He liked that one as well and it was less expensive, however, the rich tones of the studio guitar had stolen his heart.
My husband negotiated a bit and we walked out of the shop with the guitar and a soft guitar case for $3,200 pesos. Later, my son had an appraisal done on the guitar and it would have easily cost $15,000 pesos or more in a store. Needless to say, he’s quite happy with his new guitar.
Those scenic views we so enjoyed on the trip there turned into nerve-wracking hairpin curves in the dark. We ran into a military checkpoint. The young officer asked where we were coming from and where we were going, then waved us on. Or at least my husband and I thought he waved us on. My son said that the officer actually told us to pull over to the side for a full inspection. Oops!
Then, we missed our turnoff and ended up driving through Morelia, but once we are in Morelia, we can find our way home pretty well. So, overall a good adventure!
Interested in learning more about the lovely little town of Paracho, I did some internet research and found that for 2 years now, the town has been trying to break the Guinness world record for most guitarists at one gathering. This year the gathering had nearly 3,000 participants.
It was no surprise that Paracho is the home of the Feria Nacional de la Guitarra (National Guitar Festival) which occurs in the beginning of August every year. This just might be something we make sure to attend next year!
This year, the elementary school I work at, had its class trip to the Guadalajara Zoo. Never one to miss an adventure, I signed us up. Overall, it was a nice experience and one I would reccomend for tourists visiting Mexico.
Chimpanzee and young
Young giraffes.
Nursing Orangataun mother.
Despite the agonizingly long bus trip to and from Guadalajara, the class trip to the zoo went pretty well. The animals seemed well cared for. There were even babies in evidence, showing adequate food and living conditions.
Mr. Ray
Nemo is found!
Bruce, Anchor and Chum, the vegetarian sharks
The aquarium was small but nice. The penguin exhibit seemed a bit lacking in penguin stimulation opportunities. A snow slide or two would have been nice. Maybe a dancing penguin. Nope. Nothing like that happened here.
No happy feet here.
There were two shows available, birds and reptiles. Both were short and entertaining even though there was some snake kissing going on.
The sky zoo was out of commission, but my son said that was just as well. They seemed a bit rusty and unreliable to him.
The “train” ride wasn’t really worth it. It went entirely too fast and the same route can be covered on foot. These animals were in smaller enclosures, not in an open area like the safari.
The Safari Masai Mara was much better than BioParque. Our guide almost seemed authentic with his brightly colored robes on and dashes of Swahili in his scripted presentation. The animals had both shade and adequate water. They didn’t seem listless and hungry.
The giraffes were mighty friendly. Also more ecologically sound was the fact that our guide gave us handfuls of food to feed the giraffes rather than a cup, reducing our ecological footprint (again, unlike BioParque).
Not interested in the audience.
Nope, not interested in interaction.
Pet me? You’ve got to be kidding! I’ll stand just out of reach to annoy you.
The Rancho Veterinario was pretty lame. There were a handful of small animals behind glass, Shetland ponies, mini-donkeys, a Clydesdale, a cow and a hairy pig. La Yacata has more variety. Although there was a short discussion about what it means to take care of animals, the animals were not interested in interacting with the students and the students seemed abnormally horrified at all the pooping going on. This part can be skipped completely.
The food was typical fast food, greasy and overpriced. You are allowed to bring your own food into the park, so that is what I would recommend. Souvenirs are 3 times what you can get at a regular store, but better quality than most. We bought a little Masai drum to add to the Jaguar whistle and Carved Skull from Teotihuacan.
One bit of the trip that made my heart soar was the fact that so many of the kids referenced something we had discussed in English class when seeing the animals. In fourth grade, we just finished discussing extinct and endangered species. When we passed the mountain goat section, a fourth grader shouted out that the Pyrenean Ibex was extinct. In fifth grade, we are discussing forms of communication. We watched the video about Koko and gorilla sign language. That topic came up as we passed the gorilla enclosure. In third grade, we just finished discussing animal abilities with can and can’t. Of course, the students already knew that the giraffe can clean its ears with its tongue and that penguins can’t fly. Even my lackluster student in sixth pointed out that a certain bridge would be perfect for bungee jumping (extreme sports being our current theme). Validation as a teacher!
However, as I mentioned, that LOOOOONG trip there and back prevents it from being a repeated activity, at least for us.
Surviving Mexico 