Delectable "Granadas"

In Pátzcuaro, these are called granadas, the same name used for pomegranates. Break a fruit in half, and eat the inside with a spoon. Savor the crunchy seeds and the mildly sweet, slightly citrusy flavor.

They look like maracuyá / maracujá, but they do not not have the distinctive, pungent flavor that for me characterizes the maracujá.

?Quién sabe?

Yum. Beef Lips for Lunch

Pátzcuaro does not offer fine dining, but there are a number of restaurants where one can eat a tasty and enjoyable meal. From time to time we need a fix at the Pemex (gas station) restaurant--although it really sits behind the gas pumps and its official name is the Camino Real. No restaurant in the area turns the quantity of food that does the Camino Real. It caters to Mexican families and people who want to eat their comida (the mid-afternoon main meal) out during the work day, as well as serving copious breakfasts and brunches, and lighter food in the early evening. One can rely on food that is varied, tasty and always fresh.

There are several choices of comida of the day, which is a menu consisting of a soup, choice of a second dish such as rice or pasta, choice of one of several main courses, and a small, flavorful dessert. The cost per person is $55 pesos, about US$5.00. The comida is ready early, by about 1:30 pm, and the lunch rush hour starts at 3:00 pm. On Sundays it is very difficult to get into the Camino Real.

Today the Camino Real offered Beef Lips.

"Solo labios de res?" I queried.

"No, señora, the dish includes cheeks as well as lips."

So Glen and I both lunched on Tarascan soup, Beef Lips braised in a tangy sauce, rice, salsa, rolls, tortillas, and a sweet-tart mini serving of tamarind pudding.

The Beef Lips were luscious. The Camino Real scored again.

How Culture Affects Communication

Go to http://culturespan.blogspot.com

New Year's Day in Patzcuaro

Happy New Year 2008!

The kitchen at La Jacaranda augurs a year that will bring a bounty of good things.

Pátzcuaro Bound

We rise for a morning walk on La Ropa Beach, then have a pleasant beach-front breakfast at Doña Prudencia's. At 10:00 AM we start our trek home--with a full tank of gas. We note that it is 125 miles from Zihua to the first and only gas station until one reaches the Uruapan area.

We arrive home at La Jacaranda and it is a sunny afternoon, very mild for December in Pátzcuaro, so we eat our 3:00 PM comida on our back veranda, which is where I always prefer to eat. If we need gloves, Glen says it is too cold.

Hanging in Zihua

It has been a tough day. We brunched scandalously late on huevos a la mexicana at the Zihua Pancake House, lazed and read under a shady palapa with a breeze in the afternoon, and I ate a good shrimp pasta for dinner.

On the Road to Zihua

We leave at 9:00 a.m. from La Jacaranda in Patzcuaro and pick up the libre, the old road to Uruapan. The winter sun is low and we drive through chill, misty air and the varying shades of green of the deciduous and pine forest that is typical of the Michoacán highlands. We intersect with the cuota, the toll road that will take us to Zihuatanejo. Our first stop is at a toll booth, where we begin to buy our way in increments to the coast: Pesos $26 for the first installment, then $29, then $28, then $52 and finally $52 again. As we expect, the weather is warm 45 minutes west and some 2,000 feet lower than Pátzcuaro.



We have a few rules for travel by car in Mexico. First, take cash for gas, because it is the only way one can purchase it. Second, allow plenty of daylight hours to reach one's destination--we don't travel at night for a number of safety reasons. Also, be aware that most of the good highways are toll roads and they are not inexpensive. Finally, always start out with a full tank of gas and fill up whenever possible.


The stretch of highway from Uruapan to the coast winds through some desolate areas of the tierra caliente. We drive up to El Tamarindo in 4 hours (minus 5 minutes), with stops only to pay tolls and one for the baño.



We savor our much-awaited, tasty huachinango at La Perla Restaurant on Playa La Ropa . My book signing for "Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide" is in the evening at Coconut's restaurant in the center of Zihuatanejo and I meet some very interesting people. Then we dine well at Coconut's with Catherine Krantz of Another Day in Paradise and delightful Debbie, manager of Coconuts, and her husband Jeff. A special appetizer not on the menu is delicious: tempura fresh oysters.



We make it to bed after midnight, late for us--we are morning people. It has been a good day.

P.S. - "Tony" Ixtapa is not as tony as it was. The destination now caters more to budget all-inclusive package travelers.

Down the Mountain to Zihuatanejo

Tomorrow we will head down the mountain to Zihuatanejo on the west coast of Mexico, about a 3-4 hour drive on the good autopista completed only a few years ago. Temperatures will start warming by the time we reach Uruapan, some 45 minutes west of Pátzcuaro. We will stay at El Tamarindo, a small B&B in the Playa la Ropa area.

On Friday evening, December 28th, I will briefly introduce my book Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide at a book-signing event at Coconuts Restaurant. The event was organized by Catherine Krantz, Editor and Publisher of the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo magazine Another Day in Paradise. The book explains the hurdles caused in cross cultural communication that are caused by cultural difference, and it focuses on United States-Mexico communication to illustrate points.

Glen and I look forward to savoring some good huachinango (red snapper) grilled over a wood fire, probably under an umbrella outdoors. Zihuatanejo is sought out by visitors seeking nature friendly and fitness tourism. It is a real town, in contrast to the tony, constructed resort area of adjacent Ixtapa, which is nice, luxurious--but a different kind of venue.

Photo tour of Zihuatenejo - http://www.zihuatanejo-ixtapa.com/phototour1.html

Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide - http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/novint.html

Another Day in Paradise Magazine - http://www.adip.info/

Coconuts Restaurant, Zihuatanejo - http://www.restaurantcoconuts.com/

Poinsettias in Pátzcuaro

We just arrived in Pátzcuaro. In our garden at La Jacaranda, we are enjoying the noche buena blooms (poinsettias) that befit this holiday season. Poinsettias grow to a height of two to three meters in this region. It is not as cold as usual at this altitude of 7200 ft. This morning it was 51F outside and 55F inside the house, not bad for December 26th, especially considering the frigid weather gripping the mid-west of the United States. Poinsettias, papaya and huevos a la mexicana (scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions and chiles) started our day out just right.

The Carissa Plant at La Jacaranda

The exotic "Carissa" plant that Glen purchased at the vivero was planted and is flourishing at La Jacaranda.

The Leaf Wraith

He comes every morning at his self-appointed hour and begins grooming the green and moist garden. If I awaken, I can vaguely sense some quiet and shadowy movement. Then, gradually, the predawn sky faintly illumines this faithful figure and forecasts the light which will come.

Night of the Dead in the Patzcuaro Region

In the colonial pueblo of Patzcuaro itself, the vigil at graveside to remember the dead takes place during the day on the 2nd of November, as is customary in most of urban Mexico. However, in the Purhepecha communities around Lake Patzcuaro, families and friends gather around the graves at night, la Noche de Muertos, often staying until dawn. Plaintive a capella pirecuas float on the chill night air as singers move from grave to grave. Food and drink are shared. Each Purhepecha community around Lake Patzcuaro maintains its own traditions and decorates the graves in a distinctive style which often includes handcrafted items representative of the community. People come from all over Mexico, as well as from many other countries, to witness the distinctive celebrations of the area surrounding Lake Patzcuaro.

Marigold petals beckon returning souls to the altars and graves filled with bounty along a path of bright color points. Here these souls will commune with the loved ones they left behind. Deceased children, called angelitos, are remembered on November 1st, and homage is paid to demised adults through the night ending November 2nd.