Volcano and waterfall

Yesterday was a free day with our Mexico RV Caravan group. I had volunteered to take some of the group to the Paricutin Volcano, while Ruth took others into the town of Patzcuaro to see some of the things that we hadn't seen when we were there the other day.

So we split up and at 9:00am five of us left in Larry's truck, headed towards Uruapan. Ruth and I had been there before, four years ago.

We arrived at Uruapan, and went to  the big Telcel customer service center there. Larry had wanted to get a Mexico SIM card for his iPad, so I helped him with the procedure and he's now online.

From there, it was only another forty minutes or so to the town of Angahuan. Then you have to make your way through the narrow streets of the town to get to the Paricutin tourist center at GPS 19.546660, -102.229590. Note, this town is not RV friendly, unless you have a small class B. And yes, you can overnight at the tourist center if you make it there with your rig.

The church that was buried by the Paricutin Volcano.

The Paricutin Volcano first erupted in 1943. Over the course of nine years, the lava flow covered two villages, displacing about 3,000 people. Nobody died, because the lava flowed very slowly. All that is left of those villages is the structure of a church that had been under construction at the time.

I go into more detail in the post about our previous visit...

http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2012/01/paricutin-volcano.html

It's about a two and a half km hike one way from the tourist center to the buried church.

Crawling over the lava rock at the buried church.

People still come and pray at the alter.

We wandered around and took some photos and then went to the rustic food stalls that are set up nearby and had some lunch.

Lunch, being prepared.

Nice meal for 70 pesos ($5.60 CAD).

We drove back to Uruapan. By the time we arrived there it was just after 3:00pm and we figured that we had enough time for a short visit to the Barranca del Cupatitzio national park that is located right in the city. It is well known as the place where a river begins from an underground spring.

The source of the Cupatitzio River. The water is crystal clear.

Further downstream, other underground springs feed the river and it eventually becomes the impressive Tzararacua Waterfalls 10 kms (6 miles) south of Uraupan. We still had some time, so we decided to go there too!

There are 700 steps to get to the base of the falls, but it's worth it. Or, you can take a horse there and back for 100 pesos ($8.00 CAD).

Here's a short video I took of the falls...

Now, let's see what Ruth was up to all day yesterday...

She took six other ladies and went in to Patzcuaro. First, they went to the "11 patios" area where there are artisan shops and you can watch the artists at work. She says that weekends are probably better because some of the shops were closed.

Part of the 11 Patios area.

Stopped for lunch in the market.

Always lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

An old church that has been turned into a library.

Pretty dresses for sale.

Ruth says the ladies enjoyed their shopping day. Even Ruth bought a new pair of sandals.

Today, we are taking whoever wants to go over to the island in the middle of Patzcuaro Lake. It's a bit of a touristy thing, but there is a nice view from the big statue on the island. Then, I have some work to do this afternoon getting ready for a long driving day tomorrow.

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