Paricutin Volcano

We made the hour and a half drive into the mountains northeast of Patzcuaro to see a weaving contest in Angahuan. The poster advertising this event was in town right next to the one advertising last Sunday's excursion to Capula which we thoroughly enjoyed. Expecting a similar experience, we traversed the backroads above Uruapan eventually finding the turnoff to town. We were greeted by horsemen wanting to sell us a ride to the volcano, which is this area's main claim to fame. We politely declined, telling them we were here for the contest. One man on horseback followed as we headed down the narrow, cobblestone streets. He kept telling us he would show us where to park. When we headed through town rather than into it we started to think our Spanish wasn't as good as we thought. When we pulled into a staging area for trips to the volcano we knew something was lost in translation, but he explained that the contest was last week and we could view the volcano from the parking lot. If we then wanted to ride horses out for an up close look (the only way he insisted), he was available. We gave him some change as thanks and walked to the overlook. This is what we could see (with a little telephoto enhancement). It turns out this site is one of the World's Seven Natural Wonders. The church steeple of San Juan Parangaricutiro is all that is left of the village consumed as the Puricutin volcano grew and erupted throughout 1943, covering the surrounding area with lava. Despite our guides claims that one can only access the church by horse, I clearly see a pickup truck behind the steeple in this photo. Regardless, we weren't up for off road travel of any kind and so headed back after a nice Sunday drive in the country.