Santa Clara del Cobre is a little under an hour’s drive, 24km, from Pátzcuaro. The pleasant mountain road is well maintained and has sweeping views of the forested countryside. Leo and I took a cab, costing about $20.00 right from the cab stand in front of the Pátzcuaro Library at Plaza Gertudís Bocanegra.
 
The center of Santa Clara has its own pleasant plaza where there are a number of Puesto de Taco stands. Here is an enterprising soul at his “Puesto” set up at one corner of the Plaza with several customers comfortably accommodated on improvised stools under a colorful sun umbrella. Above the clay tiled roofs of the surrounding shops, you can see the forest trees cresting the hills around town. I particularly enjoy the tall pillared “Portales” or covered walk-ways where the merchandise from the shops spills out onto the side walk.
 
Santa Clara is a town famous for its copper production and true to its reputation the shops are jammed with beautiful copper vases, pitchers, plates, candle sticks, etc. The invention of forms with soft patinated finishes carefully applied to the copper is hard to fathom and as you wonder from one showroom gallery to the next. It is a delight to behold.




This is the bell tower of the local church with a cypress companion, each vying for attention and both deserve it! The staining on the antique plastered adobe creates a pleasant contrasting texture highlighting the large bronze bells hanging in the tower.




These neat piles of construction materials were arranged at the base of the bell tower because they are restoring the church. Note the extra long and sturdy wooden beams that are newly milled and hand hewn. Each beam is carved from one tree, felled from the surrounding forest and is about twenty feet long. Note the extra large hexagonal paving tiles of this plaza with small dark stones neatly imbedded between, accentuating the geometric design of the ensemble.




Here is a little green parrot in his blue cage against the pink painted adobe wall. All over Mexico you see pet birds in beautiful cages. This little fella was curious about my camera and like the Tzintzuntzan bull was saying to himself, “Ok Gringo, enough already with photos—how about a slice of orange or a bunch of sunflower seeds, if you don’t mind.”




Leo and I were irresistibly drawn to the workshop of Espiridión Trejo, a mask carver, because of his fantastic creations that were tumbling out of the window and door, lining themselves up neatly on the sidewalk. The ancient adobe building is in a humble state of repair that rather adds to the organic quality of Espiridión’s work.
 



When we arrived on the scene Espiridión was busy at work carving a magical mask of clear avocado wood. His concentration was focused entirely on carving allowing us to browse around his marvelously cluttered space that was full of the manifestations of his fruitful imagination.

After a while he and Leo got to chatting and Espiridión pointed out that he was working on a mask that incorporated four different creatures all merging into one being. When he turned the mask up side down the lizard like creatures at each end merged with two smiling faces sharing a pair of eyes in the center “body” of the carving. There are a great many merging beings, zoomorphic, half man half animal creatures in Mexican folk art. This is generally explained with the idea that the indigenous Mexican artists are expressing the universal nature of all beings. I think it's because they are generally pretty stoned and seeing things as they truly are, which is more or less the same thing as the universal nature idea.

On Espiridión’s work bench you can see three of his creations that we bought. Two “bug people” masks, I think one is a cricket and the other a cicada both with animated human faces magically appearing in the area of their bodies. The third piece we bought was an angel shelf which you can see at the far left of the line up at Espiridión’s knees. The little angel has wings sprouting from his head in the manner of “blessed innocents” or those souls who died before being baptized. These little darlings are flapping about in limbo until the time of reckoning, an event I hope to avoid all together by claiming my Celtic Druidic roots. Nonetheless I do love our “innocent” who balances a handy shelf on his head thereby making himself useful while he awaits the final assessment.




Here we can see a sunny corner of Espiridión’s crowded workshop where the tumbled images seem to be engaged in wordless conversation full of mischievous humor. Espiridión has all the teasing wisdom of Pinocchio’s father, Gepetto. In response to Leo asking for an adjusted price of our three selected items, read this as—haggling, Espiridión replied with self deprecating humor that he must charge the full price because his son who tends shop on occasion is liable to sell a mask or two and pocket the dough, therefore he must maximize his income when he can.




Prominent in the center of Santa Clara del Cobre, is this rather dour bust of Don Vasco de Quiroga. The skills Tata Vasco or Father Vasco, implanted among P'urhépechas of the Pátzcuaro region have been passed down to their descendants, who are today considered among the most skilled craftspersons in Mexico. Tata Vasco trained his pupils in a variety of disciplines. His method of specialization by community continues to this day: Paracho produces guitars, Tzintzuntzán basketry and woven straw goods, Santa Clara copper products and Nurío woven woolens.




Speaking of skills, these two workmen were high on top of a building repairing the wooden structure supporting the tiled roof. They simply disassembled the extra long curved tiles and stacked them to one side. Then they removed rotten beams and spliced in new ones. Then they reroofed the structure simply by laying the curved tiles up and down, fitting into each other and overlapping. There seemed to be quite a lot of restoration work going on in Santa Clara.




Back in Pátzcuaro after our pleasant outing to Santa Clara I was ready to explore the countryside on my own. I asked Don Alfredo at Mesón de San Antonio where I could go for a walk in the open country at the edge of Pátzcuaro. After initial hesitation and some consultation with his daughter, Edaín, they recommended the Estribo Grande. Estribo means stirrup and that is just what the destination on the mountain above town looks like, a step in the steep profile of that peak, where there is a rustic belvedere over-looking the lake. Don Alfredo and Edaín gave me a map and off I went.
 
It turned out that the Estribo has a old road leading to it paved with irregular stones and lined with tall cedar trees that could easily be  50 years old. The road is mostly pedestrian with a few men on burros as it follows the ridge at a fairly steep incline. It is shaded all the way up so it is pleasantly cool, especially with the breezes rising off Lake Patzcuaro.
 
This view begins to open up as I climb the road to the Estribo. Note the ancient stone wall. In my research I came across an early account from the 1500’s, reporting on the ecological and sustaining agronomy practiced by the pre Columbian people of Mexico. One of the reports recorded the use of extensive stone walls to prevent soil erosion, not to corral grazing domesticated cattle as in Europe because they didn’t have that kind of livestock.
 



The road to the Estribo has clear views of Lake Pátzcuaro and environs. This photo taken with my telephoto lens condenses the distances across the lake but it gives a great shot of the village of Huecorio with its pretty church tower and of Janitzio Island crowned by Father Morelos.




I also learned from my reading that the Purépecha people used Maguey cactus as erosion boundaries sometimes in combination with stone walls as in this case. When I came across this handsome example of a living fence bordering the cobblestone paved road climbing towards the Estribo, I saw immediately how effective these barriers could be.




Climbing up the mountain, the road becomes immersed in tall forests and you can peek out between the tree branches at picturesque views of the valley below with placid Lake Pátzcuaro reflecting the peak of Janitzio Island in the smooth water. There are seven or nine islands in the lake depending on who is reporting. I think some of the ambiguity comes from the fact that low marsh lands surround the lake are pierced by meandering channels that form lagoons in some places creating “islands.”




The water step fountain provides architectural formality in the midst of the tangled jungle where immense and ancient trees hold bromeliads and orchids in their lofty branches. Bright yellow butterflies waft about and drink at the fountains edge but they inevitably flit away before I can focus my camera. The water all over the park is pure and fresh, springing from the deep earth at the top of the ravine.




This is the peacock fountain. The stone niche is about 10 feet tall to the top of the arch.




From this view you can see how powerfully the torrent flows over the rocky river. The majority of the park is naturally preserved as it always has been and the system of bridges and paths all have a rustic natural style made from natural indigenous stones and wood blending with nature.




In some places the river comes to a more level stretch and calms its pounding ferocity for a brief while, allowing the call of birds hidden in the orchid draped branches to be heard.


 

But just around the bend from the quiet spot, the land drops precipitously and forms a deep pool graced by a foaming cascade.




At the top of the ravine a large turquoise pool called Rodilla del Diablo or (Devil's Knee) is the source of the Cupatitzio River. This is where a large, lone trout patrols his territory with only a phantom shadow to keep him company.




White bell flowers hang gracefully from the datura plant, contrasting pleasantly against the dark green shades of the jungle underbrush. Leo has a datura plant in our garden at the Fenway and I can report that by the end of summer the little darling grows out of all expected proportion and takes over that whole corner of our space.




St. Francis presides over the flower filled garden of the Hotel Mansión del Cupatitzio that borders the Parque Nacional. From some of the balconied windows of the Hotel you can hear the waterfalls of the Cupatitzio River. The formal dining room has windows looking out onto Rodilla del Diablo, the deep pool that is the source of the river. In the past Leo and I have stayed at this luxurious first class hotel with its delicious swimming pool that is located in the terrace just above and to the left of St. Francis. In the evening when the sun goes down the garden is enveloped in soft shadows, and an enticing scent of night booming jasmine mysteriously drifts on the cooling evening breezes. This year we were only in Uruápan for the day principally for the Parque but we did not want to miss Hotel Mansión del Cupatitzio so we opted for a late lunch on the pretty patio café.




Nestled into a corner of the garden of the Hotel, adjacent to the patio café, is this “Trojes”, a traditional log cabin used by the Purepecha Indians who live in up in the mountain forests. This weathered structure has been reassembled in the garden and used as a handy bar. Note the heavily carved pillars decorated with a diagonal swirling scrolls.




The Hotel Mansión del Cupatitzio has the most incredible flower displays imaginable. Here are a series of arches hung with begonia baskets that threaten to take over the town. While we sat at lunch in the protected regions of the inner patio surrounded by the hotel, a ruby-throated humming bird buzzed in for a sip of nectar from a scarlet hibiscus flower growing by the pool.




No sooner had the humming bird departed than we were joined at lunch by this remarkable fellow who took up a vantage point on the wrought iron railing of the café. His wing span in flight was about eight inches across and his multiple wings made dry paper sounds as he careened about. Once settled down he folded his translucent green wings, like thin slices of jade, beneath his tailored leaf jacket and stared haughtily at us wondering what on earth these humans were eating.




In the middle of the forest seen from an upper balcony of the Hotel I could see the lavender blue blossoms of the beautiful Jacaranda tree that blooms at this time of year.




This pretty yellow darling in her well crafted home sang to us at lunch with a trilling melody embellished by surprising flourishes exciting the other birds, positioned around the patio, to reply with their own musical arias.

Mexico is a country of surpassing beauty and diversity of terrains and populations that combine into a culture of irrepressible creativity. Their long and continuous history is more than four thousand years old and has enormous wealth of experience and knowledge. The world can benefit greatly by listening to the wisdom wrenched from centuries of defeat and glory experienced by the generous and friendly peoples of Mexico.