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Published: August 18th 2010
It's been getting towards the end of term and as well as working out what sightseeing I still need to squeeze in I've been considering if there are any places I want to revisit before I leave Mexico. Lake Camecuaro was at the top of my list and it seemed like the perfect way to spend a relaxing Saturday after a busy week at school. The World Cup seems to have ensured the students are all hyper, and also has resulted in a few lessons being cancelled which in some cases is a relief and in others has me panicking how I'll get the students to the end of the courses with less class time. Thursday was one such day as Mexico had game. I sauntered into school after a cancelled lesson to find the others standing there in Mexico shirts with flags painted over their faces. I jokingly asked if they were planning to teach like that until the end of the day when Kim decided to inform me it was one of my students who'd brought the face paint in. I walked into my classroom and caught a brief glimpse of my Beelines (the youngest class) before one of
them flung themselves at the light switch and a lot of excited whispers exploded out of the darkness. When the lights came on agiain the class was positioned to grab my arms while the prospective make-up artist weilded her flag stamp. Two minutes later I went to collect some equipment for the class bearing the new school decoration on my face too.
I came back in time to see my class disappearing into Theo's class. When I went to find them they were crowding round the teenagers asking to paint their faces too. I finally chased the lot of them back into the classroom and more or less got some work done. The other classes were equally unenthused about the prospect of work and one class insisted on a conversation lesson (interspersed with hangman of course). I was actually surprised it was the one adult in the class who sat down and annouced we had to play that lesson 'because it's Thursday'. This is a wonderful excuse which is used by all students for any day as a reason for not to use the books. In this instance as the class is ploughing on through the book ahead of schedule
I was happy to indulge them and it was good to see how much spoken English they actually used.
Friday was busy both in and out of school. In the afternoon Kim and I put our classes together as we each had half our students missing for one thing or the other. We pulled out the dwindling paint supply and proceed to make further works of art to decorate the walls of the classroom; then after school all of us teachers headed off to a friend's birthday party which ended with all the guys strumming guitars and singing into the night.
So this morning I awoke a little later than intended and ran for the bus to Zamora and then straight on to Lake Camercuaro. The lake was as beautiful as I remembered and I endevoured to walk all the way around. I strolled under the trees along the lakeside, stopping to take photographs or watch brilliant blue damselflies dart across the water. At the far end I was confronted with a slight problem. There wasn't a proper bridge, merely a metal plank over the water. The plank was perfectly wide enough to walk across but still quite narrow and
that combined with the lack of handrails made me a little hesitant to cross. I didn't quite fancy sitting on the bus home with a wet skirt, nor risking damage to my camera so I slowly inched my way over, no doubt looking rather silly from the perspective of the kids in swimming costumes racing in and out of the water. I walked a full loop of the lake and then settled on a table outside and bought lunch in the form of a giant greasy torta. Yummy!
Eventually I headed back to Sahuayo. The bus took a different route to the one I'm familiar with and as we drove through Guaracha, I saw what could only be the Hacienda de Guaracha. It was an impressive building on a hill. I'd love to visit it, especially as it is an important part of the local history, but unsure of bus routes, whether or not there is much to be seen by the public and running short on weekends as it is I think it may be something I don't get around to. Back home in Sahuayo I settled down with lesson plans, report sheets and the tiny of issue of
finding a new job now this one is almost over!
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TinNiE
" Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness "
calm
... beautiful place.