Side trip to Copala

Huge church at San Blas It was interesting to see the different materials used, I'm guessing the church has been rebuilt several times

Down the path

Into the gully, and up the other side

And you are back on the main street

Roberto showing off a room in his Posada.

Copola and Concordia

Trying to incorporate more inland travel, we took a city bus to the bigger bus terminal where we caught a bus to Concordia. It was reported that this was a great city with artisans and an area that was particularly known for its pottery. There are tours you can take and guides you can hire, but intrepid adventurers we are, we struck out on our own.

 

We arrived in Concordia and headed to the city center, the town square. There is a lovely church there, and a very nice very traditional Mexican town, but did not see any artisans or pottery shops. On the bus coming in we saw some roadside pottery shops, so we decided on the way back we would check those out. Not really seeing what we were looking for we arranged a colectivo (taxi truck) to take us to Concordia. These trucks are a mini pickup truck with bench seats and a canopy over the top. Hop in and hang on. Riding a colectivo truck in the city is a different experience than the rural colectivos as you don't usually get up much speed in town. Hurtling up and down windy country roads feels much like a roller coaster only without seat restraints!

 

  Every so often we pull over and pick up another fare, interesting and you meet some fascinating people. As we were preparing to leave, a man ran up, slid a box of groceries on the bus and ran back to the tienda. The truck takes off, and we assume the box is a delivery. As we pick up speed, Roberto, as we come to know him, comes out and is jogging towards the truck, not seeming too concerned. Sure enough within a block and a half, we stop for another rider and Roberto catches up and hops inside.

Roberto is fluent is English and we start chatting Marcus is working on his Spanish and Roberto is happy to give him correction and instruction. We find out Roberto's home town is Colomia and while he left for a while to be a tour guide in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, the downturn in the economy and a divorce sent him back to the family home in Copola. An enterprising young man, he has turned his home into a Posada (Inn) and a restaurant.

Copola is a charming small town set on a hillside and it made me think of old Italian cities with it's narrow cobblestone roads and walls of the houses up against the streets. A former mining town, and it has a nice town square and the omnipresent church.

The “back roads” consist of paths that follow gullys and dry washes, with glimpses of back yards and courtyards. We finished off our walking tour of the village with lunch at Roberto's, nice posada, but seemed like gringo prices at $100 pesos for a plate of chicken fajitas. But how often do you sit in the kitchen watching someone make your lunch and giving you cooking tips and information on Mexico the whole time?

On the trip back to Mazatlan, we stopped at the pottery places we had seen on the way up, but they were more like garden pottery. All in all an interesting time and we enjoyed seeing some of the countryside.