Oscar2
Dec 14, 2009, 5:38 PM
Post #1 of 14
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Ah Patzcuaro, a lovely little town, so robust, so full of life, a busy place with much to do about nothing but find a place for the day or night to relax and have a good day. When we first arrived, we checked into the Parragoia Hotel, on a corner of the Zocolo, which boasted so much activity as soon as we exited the hotels quite and pleasant center pieced fountain courtyard.
Just outside to the right of its doors was this humongous Mercado. For such a small town, and I’m not exaggerating, it runs long and wide in various directions. There was excitement in the air when I got up earlier than my wife did and out I went exploring the Mercado. Midway down this very long Mercado path with vendors on both sides, I ran into this gray haired older man and his wife chopping away feverishly on cebollas, ajo, and limones for the delicious caldo con maize y pedazos de puerco con cilantro y oregano. The scent of this sopa made me sit down and order. There was another woman doing her business of picking the meat off the bones and sucking the rest until the bone had nothing more to give.
We went to a hardware store right around the corner to a Electrónico plus other things sold in this place and we were amazed how busy and efficient and completely stocked this store has apparently grown too through the years. After our purchase, on the way out, the wife said lets see if someone knows who can tell us who will give us a tour that speaks English. As we were in line paying our bill, a blue eyed semi-smiling guy mid to elderly, with a frumpy, well worn-out straw hat in a tattered, well worn-out washed away white long john top, and wearing scruffy jeans, heard us and volunteered to help by introducing us to someone who could complete the tour task at hand.
We followed him around town and everywhere we went saludos came from all over the place. We thought, why is this guy so well known around town but didn’t have a clue. After tentatively setting something up for a tour with a woman, we sat down, we had a limonada, and he had a beer. Something came up on his cell and he had to leave but about an hour later while walking the plaza, a horn blew and it was him again. He said he was glad to have met us and now that he had a little more free time, he’d like to invite us to lunch.
We jumped in his brand new pickup and off we went ultimately up in the hills and on a well used dirt road. I wondered where in the heck is this place we’re going to have lunch. Well, it was a real nice surprise. Up on the top of this hill was a restaurant set pretty as a picture overlooking Patzcuaro, the lake, all its islands and more. We sat outside underneath breaking billowy clouds and where the sun felt absolutely delicious.
While toasting with Margaritas, before lunch, conversation took us back some 36 years when this gent first landed here in Patzcuaro where he found his home. At the ranch he settled in just outside the city, way back then, he had no water, no electricity nor cooking gas. After a few years, they dug a well and that was it for many years. He became a farmer, eventually bought land, lots of land and is now one of Patzcuaro’s largest and major exporters. I’d mention what he grows but this may be saying to much because we really liked this guy, Patzcuaro is a very small town so he shall remain anonymous, for reasons of which we respect his ways and well, in our book he’s just plain old “Buena Gente.”
36 years of sticking to it, living a life unlike what he was brought up in the states, makes him unique and very special. We will definitely keep in touch through emailing and more in the future, not to be forgotten…
Photo of Rancho La Mesa Restaurante Bar & Villas on the hill overlooking Patzcuaro
(This post was edited by Oscar2 on Dec 14, 2009, 5:48 PM)
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