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TigerTonio

Apr 3, 2009, 8:39 AM

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Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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Every once in awhile I'll peruse through an old book that belonged to my mother called Life in Mexico, by Frances Calderon de la Barca. The book is actually a collection of entries from her journals from over the period of 1839-1942. The author was the Scotts-born wife of Don Angel Calderon de la Barca, a Spanish diplomat.

Anyway, Calderon de la Barca mentions the "warm baths of Cuincho", or "natural hot springs of Cuincho", located "five leagues" from Morelia, going towards the direction of Patzcuaro. Perhaps the name is incorrect or has changed. Does anyone know if these baths/springs still exist and has anyone been there before?

jerezano

Apr 3, 2009, 10:26 AM

Post #2 of 8 (3577 views)

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Re: [TigerTonio] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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Hello Tiger Tonio,

quincho.
1. m. Arg., Par. y Ur. Cobertizo con techo de paja sostenido solo por columnas, que se usa como resguardo en comidas al aire libre.

With that I would suppose that Frances Calderon was speaking of open air thermal baths with palapa type roofing near Morelia.

I am told that there are thermal baths in the Parque de Azufre about an hour from Morelia. Perhaps that is what you are looking for.

A google search for Parque de Azufres turned up the following:>>>>>>>>>>>

Es uno de los más hermosos lugares del estado de Michoacán, formado por montañas densamente pobladas de pinos, oyameles, encinos, robles; con clima templado subhúmedo y semifrío subhúmedo con lluvias en verano.

En las instalaciones de los diversos balnearios hay manantiales (donde no se puede nadar, algunas de muy altas temperaturas), albercas, chapoteaderos, regaderas, vestidores, sanitarios (algunos en buenas, otros en regulares o en malas condiciones), cenadores con asador, cabañas con cocineta, sitios gastronómicos de comida típica regional, áreas para fogatas, estacionamiento, etc.

En esta zona hay una gran cantidad de manantiales de aguas termales, consideradas como terapéuticas o curativas, lo que ha dado origen al establecimiento de balnearios como: Laguna Larga, San Alejo, Doña Celia, Campamento Turístico Los Azufres, Tejamaniles, Eréndira.

A pesar de no ser una ANP, el patronato de hoteleros recibe asesoramiento para llevar a cabo actividades de conservación, restauración y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales. <<<<<<<<<<<<

Good luck. jerezano

(This post was edited by jerezano on Apr 3, 2009, 10:32 AM)

tonyburton / Moderator

Apr 3, 2009, 11:05 AM

Post #3 of 8 (3572 views)

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Re: [TigerTonio] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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I had completely forgotten that Fanny Calderon de la Barca travelled quite so far west and have enjoyed re-reading the relevant chapters. The state of Michoacan has literally hundreds of hot springs.
Cuincho appears to have been about one-third of the way from Morelia to Patzcuaro, and have been the site of a waterfall as well as hot springs. This leads me to guess (but it is only a guess) that it is/was somewhere in the vicinity of the present-day Cointzio reservoir, which might explain why it's no longer an obvious landmark on modern maps.
The location Jerezano describes (Los Azufres) is east of Morelia, and in the wrong direction.

jerezano

Apr 4, 2009, 8:25 AM

Post #4 of 8 (3525 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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Hello all,

The Balneario de Cointzio is only 12 kilometers from Morelia. Whether the waters are still thermal is not mentioned in the following:>>>>>>>>>

Cointzio
Morelia Dirección:Carretera Morelia-Cointzio Km. 12. Tels. 01-43 16 02 28

Servicios con los que cuenta :
Albercas, alimentos y bebidas, area infantil, areas verdes, cabañas, estacionamiento, musica, regaderas y sanitarios, vestidores

Have fun. jerezano

tonyburton / Moderator

Apr 4, 2009, 9:36 AM

Post #5 of 8 (3515 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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By Jove, I believe you've cracked it, jerezano! - the balneario de Cointzeo, which I've often driven past but never visited. In about the right place, and the name "cuincho" is still in use colloquially (judging by some of those convoluted news reports that you like so much! - see, eg, http://www.vozdemichoacan.com.mx/...ridad/seg000866.html)
Well done, jerezano - all power to the Internet!

TigerTonio

Apr 6, 2009, 9:29 AM

Post #6 of 8 (3469 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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Thanks guys! Great work! I love "Life In Mexico". As a kid, I thought it was one of the most boring books on my mom's shelf but now it's one of my favorites.

bournemouth

Apr 6, 2009, 10:11 AM

Post #7 of 8 (3461 views)

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Re: [TigerTonio] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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Tonio - there is an annotated version of the book, that came out in the mid 60's, with a great deal of background information on Fannie Calderon de la Barca, and explaining who all the people are that she simply referred to by their initials. The information came from some of her descendents and adds a lot to the book - which is one of my favorites on Mexico. You can read some things and say, here we are 150 plus years later and things haven't changed.

TigerTonio

Apr 6, 2009, 12:32 PM

Post #8 of 8 (3447 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] Baths of Cuincho - Still Exists?

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Thanks bournemouth! The annotated version sounds really interesting to me.

I have to admit that I found that Calderon de la Barca's use of initials to be a bit annoying at times, but I totally understand why she didn't spell out some of the names completely. It will be interesting to read more info on these names.