Mazamitla - Return to Roca Azul

We truly saw little of Mazamitla. More planning required? What to expect? We use Lonely Planet (L.P.), which tries, in one volume, to cover the riches of Mexico. Small print. Good information, but we now realize that we need to plan better.

For example, getting some Wiki info before we leave, see what Internet pages are available, etc. The idea is that going to a place because there is a market that day is simply a bit thin!

Of course, we went to the Tourist Office (T.O.); We got a small map, no leaflets on the city save one for buying a house and one for Adventure Tours.

We leave after our Pollo Pillo lunch and go for the El Salto, a nice water fall in Los Casos. We follow the T.O. map, the L.P. instructions, do a few retornos, get confused, lost, and end up visiting a rather new RV Camp on the road from Mazamitla to Valle de Juarez, Hacienda Contreras, where Sal, a retiree from Illinois, gave us a grand tour. His Mexican grand-parents owned the place, and he decided to turn it as an RV Park a year or two ago. Nice showers, laundry, immature trees, but with great potential.

On Sal's recommendation, we are returning via Jiquilpan, Sahuayo, Cojumatlán de Régules, where Louise enjoys a bit more market shopping (two very nice T-Shirts for 100 pesos), and we have tasty and creamy ice cream conos. Finally, we reach  San Luis Soyatlán, where we join a procession in the honour of ... San Luis!

San Luis is rebuilding its Malecón, and we saw all the construction as we detour to let the procession go through the main street. The procession starts with an army (we think) band, followed by young Aztec dancers, the float of the priest (in the passenger seat, calling for prayers), with a friar holding the real relics of San Luis; closing, before the crowd of follower, is a jazz orchestra playing what sounded like New Orleans tunes. It went from the entrance of the village to the church. The whole village was on the street!

Quite enjoyable as we tried to 'blend'... To complete the experience,  Louise tastes a cocktail of freshly cut fruits in a plastic bag... simply out of this world.

Tired, with many great memories, we reach Roca Azul in time for supper and rest.

That Monday could had been made an easy three days or more. We saw some great country, with pine forests and luscious flowers, very nice villages and small towns, we skipped larger cities, but we probably missed plazas, streets and churches worth visiting.

This trip, and the one to the beach earlier, are very instructive as to what one can do in a day, and will help to design a relaxing trip when Louise's twin, Suzanne,  joins us in early March. We enjoyed our home on wheels in Roca Azul!