Zamora and Lake Camecuaro

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After a couple of weeks of hard work I decided it was time to do the tourist thing again. I couldn't face another trip like the weekend we did Paricutin, not because it wasn't enjoyable but simply because it was a lot of travelling over two days and to come home Sunday evening to find a pile of lesson plans still to do was quite exhausting. So, I opted for a day trip. Colin and I set off for Zamora, a place I had only previously passed through and a place Colin was stranded in his first day in Mexico! I was looking forward to a bit of sightseeing again and I'd heard that Zamora is beautiful so I was looking forward to it.
Zamora was founded in 1574 , on the orders of Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza, by Spanish settlers from Zamora in Spain.
The city is sometimes known as Cuna de Hombres Ilustres due to the fact several notable people have come from the city, including the poet Manuel Martinez de Navarrete and Nobel Peace Prize winner Alfonso Garcia Robles.
It was a couple of hours by bus and then we took a taxi to the central plaza. Deciding we wanted lunch first we located what is without doubt the strangest cafe I have ever been in. It appeared as though the space was used as a cafe and a shop, but instead of splitting it in half and situating the cafe at the back and the shop at the front they had simply mixed the two. A row of tables ran down the middle of the shop and we were served sitting amongst shelves of everything from microwaves to china dolls! After eating we ventured out into the plaza, and I am already beginning to notice that every plaza in Mexico is identical; a large banstand in the centre, a statue or two in front and behind, benches lining the edges of the square and trees planted symetrically with their trunks painted white on the lower half and a church close by.
We first visited the church by the plaza, a very beautiful structure with an interior filled with grandiose altars to different saints and a main altar bedecked with yellow flowers. I sat in a pew for a while and had to fend off an elderly woman who talked at me in spanish and after repeated requests for her to slow down and repeat herself I left with 'lo siento, no entiendo'. Back outside in the plaza we decided to walk to the famous cathedral.
En route we paused to view another church and from the spires and towers I caught glimpses of as we walked there are many other churches still to explore in the city. The gothic revival cathedral was begun in 1898 and is often known as 'the unfinished cathedral' because it has still to be completed. The cornerstone of the cathedral was laid on February 2 1898, the feast of Candlemas, by the second bishop of Zamora, Don Jose Ma. Càzares y Martinez while the architectural plan is attributed to the Zamoran Jesus Hernandez Segura. In 1914 the work of construction was suspended due to the Mexican Revolution and later, the Cristero War. Throughout this time the cathedral was neglected, and the original plans were lost. Much of the original quarry stone disappeared and the cathedral walls were damaged as the site was used for executions by firing squad.
In 1988 His Excellency Josè E. Jiménez Robles, eighth bishop of Zamora, was able to plan for restarting construction and in 1989, it was decided to dedicate the building to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The work of reconstruction began in 1990, with a new facade instead of what was originally planned, and bearing a resemblance to the gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy. A spire was placed at the crossing instead of the originally planned dome, as it was deemed more in keeping with pure gothic architecture. The walls were cleaned of debris then cracks were repaired and the walls reinforced. The towers were redesigned to make them more spacious and the patio was paved in order to lend greater stability to the building.
Our first view of the cathedral was from the street approaching it, and takng advantage a break in the traffic darted into the middle of the road to get a picture. At the cathedral we wandered around the huge courtyard. The cathedral is an impressive sight although not particularly pretty from the outside, but as soon as I stepped into the cathedral I fell in love with it. The cathedral is almost complete now. With the newly built spires the towers now reach a height of 105 metres. Images of different saints have been placed in niches in the internal pillars and a large organ, by Alexander Schuke Orgelbau of Potsdam, Germany, was installed early in 2009. What made the cahtedral so breathtaking for me though was the beautiful stained glass. The stained glass is all modern, yet fits perfectly with the gothic architecture, softening and illuminating the interior while the floors are so well polished each window casts a perfect reflection onto the ground. The windows depict religious scenes and images of saints and biblical figures, except for the main altar where the glass is merely an abstract pattern of blue glass.
We spent a surprisingly long time in the cathedral and when even I grew tired of taking photographs of stained glass I was more than content to simply sit and stare at the light filtering through the restful blues of the altar windows.
After the cathedral we walked to another nearby church, less impressive inside than the church by the plaza, but still pretty. I love how all the churches in Mexico are so individual. I haven't seen two alike yet! There was a service in the church so we didn't stay long. We returned to the plaza and bought water in the little supermarket, then ended up walking aorund the streets in search of batteries. Back at the plaza once again we got a taxi to Lake Camecuaro.
The nearby lake is a very popular spot for family gatherings and picnics. The taxi wound along the roads, leaving us just off the main road at the entrance to the lake. We were left in a car park, one hotel to our right and a few tiny stalls bunched together close to the gate. We paid our entrance fee and wandered in. Lake Camecuaro is beautiful. My first impression was it was merely a pretty lake with brightly coloured boats fo hire, but as the afternoon wore on I fell in love with the place. We hestiantly looked around and read the sgns about boat hire. Overhearing an English speaking couple nearby we turned to talk. The woman was Mexican American and visiting family with her American husband. Whn hearing we were from so much further she looked rather astounded and asked what we were doing there, as it's 'so remote!' I suppose it isn't a particularly popular tourist destination. We told her about our school and then parted ways as her family joined them in hiring a boat and we opted to walk.
It was so relaxing to stroll along beside the water. Lake Camecuaro is amazingly blue and the old trees twist their gnarled roots into the water. We walked quite a distance and as we left the crowds behind it was incredibly quiet. We saw our american aquaintences further along, but they didn´t get very far paddling in their boat and we soon passed them. When eventually we decided everything looked the same and perhaps we should cross over and walk back on the other side of the stream, we turned around and backtracked towards the bridge. Finally drawing close to the crowds again Colin insisted he was going to try to swim. I perched on a sunwarmed wooden bench with the camera to watch the latest entertainment. Colin successfully climbed in and splashed around, although I get the impression the water was pretty cold! Eventually he swam back to shore and carefully clambered over roots, avoiding th family of ducklings who were splashing about nearby. A Mexican boy watch all of this with interested. As Colin got to the edge of the water the boy ran up the roots, exectuted a perfect dive into the water, swam a large circle around Colin and scrambled out ahead of him! Show off!
Drying off in the sun, or in my case merely continuing to bask, we decided to get a late second lunch/ early first dinner and walked towards the cafes. Seeing a sign bearing the word ´tortas´I hurried off in search of my new favourite food and we were soon sitting munching on huge tortas while a mariachi group played nearby and ducks and children alike frolicked at the water´s edge.
Eventually we started the homeward trip, ordered a taxi from the nearby hotel and arrived back at the now very familiar bus station, before travelling onwards and homewards to Sahuayo.

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Comments

[JintysJourneys]

What a beautiful lake
I've just been back through the blogs again. Was that water that colour really? It looks a very beautiful place to go to. Glad you had a break from all the work.