Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Ichaqueo Falls


Ichaqueo, a small town to the southeast of my hometown of Jesus del Monte, Michoacan, is unknown to many people living in nearby Morelia. The name comes from the local Purepechan dialect which means "Town that moved to another place". Apparently, the town moved its center about 3 kms during the Revolution.

It is only 13 miles outside of Morelia, but it is a magical woods, known for its waterfalls and dense vegetation. Anyone who has driven the Columbia River Gorge in western Oregon, or hiked the northern Appalachian trail in the east, will appreciate the similarities of its terrain. The main falls are 35-40 meters high, there are a series of cascades in the area, the total drop of the combined falls is over 200 meters. The woods are mainly large pine and oak.


To get to Ichaqueo, you have to make your way southeast out of Morelia through the "Biblical Mountain" towns, Holy Mary, Jesus on the Mount, and Saint Michael's of the mountain, better known in these parts as Santa Maria, Jesus del Monte, y San Miguel. It is 18 km to the center the town. When I pulled in to Ichaqueo, the first person I asked directions to, turned out to be a guide. His name is Armando Ferrer. I would recommend contracting a guide when you get to town as the trails leading to the falls are difficult to navigate. The robust hike to the top of the main cascade took a little over half an hour.



Armando mentioned that they are trying to conserve the area, and create jobs by promoting eco-tourism to the region. This has been met with great resistance however, by the ejidal landowners in the region, who mainly subsist off of logging and agriculture.



This is Armando, my guide, youngest of 8 children, the only one left in town taking care of his parents. It is hard to make out in this photo, but he is standing on a mound of dirt that marks a century old failed public works project. The idea was to build a canal to funnel water down to the city of Morelia.




"Morning Glories" are just some of the flora that grows wild in these woods. Poison Ivy, orchids, Yucca, numerous mushrooms, lichen, and moss are others.




Aside from logging, another "industry" here is pine pitch (resina) collection. Similar to the maple industry in my native New Hampshire, they scar the tree and let the pitch drip into a coffee can. Here I met Jose Luis, he was scoring the trees with a sharp hatchet like instrument to keep the tree's juices flowing. The pitch or resin is brought to Morelia where it is used for a number of applications....cleaning products (Pinol and Pinesol come to mind), and medicine are the 2 that Jose could think of. Later my guide, Armando, explained to me that one use of the pitch was for treating broken bones. The resin would be applied along with some herbal leaves to the arm or leg that was broken. Then it was bandaged. The pitch would harden forming a cast, but unlike normal plaster casts, the resin and herbs also had healing powers as well as keeping the joint immobile.









One of the many swimming holes along the way.








The aptly named "oreja de puerco" or Pig's ear mushroom. Armando says they are edible, any takers?!!!








"El Salto de Ichaqueo" for information on tours to the area, call (443) 143-0057.

8 comments:

Don Cuevas said...

Hola, Ray, thanks for showing us this beautiful place.
The wild mushrooms "Oreja/Trompa de Puerco", are sold in season in the Pátzcuaro mercado. About 3 weeks ago, we bought some and cooked them.
Here are some pics:
http://www.pbase.com/panos/mushroom_madness
and a blog entry:
http://www.pbase.com/panos/mushroom_madness
Saludos,
Mike Warshauer

Don Cuevas said...

Looks like I goofed on the last URL. It should have been
http://mexkitchen.blogspot.com/

Mike

The Author said...

WOW! What a beautiful place! As a New Englander and hiker myself, planning an immanent move to the general Morelia area, it's nice to know there will be familiar scenes, but in a perfect climate! Thank you for those pictures!
Pamela

Anonymous said...

Your pictures show a place that looks very much like our beloved Oregon. We look forward to hiking in the area. You mentioned poison oak. How do you say that in Spanish? I am very sensitive.

Raymundo said...

Anonimo, poison ivy is mentioned, not poison oak, and there really is not enough around of the ivy to worry about.

sparks_mex said...

Beautiful place - too bad we missed it on our trip a few weeks ago

Anonymous said...

Beautiful site, well done! I especially enjoyed your historical comparisons.

Very well written, too.

Thank you.

Luisa said...

Hi,

I was amazed to find mention of Jesus del Monte, Michoacan, on the internet (and in your blog, in particular). Tried to email this to you, but it bounced back.

I used to live in Jesus del Monte off and on between 2001 and 2004, at the very edge of the community, in a two room house with a tarpaper roof. I was attempting to do an anthropological study of women whose husbands are migrants. Anyway, the reason I'm contacting you is because I continue to keep in touch with some of the folks in that town, and one of the major changes impacting their lives is the "road to nowhere" (which, these days, probably goes somewhere) and the brand new housing communities for wealthy people that were being constructed nearby. I would love to return to see what the community is like now, but because of my job I can't. I'm curious to know if you could provide an update about the development of the "new" (probably old by now) road, the housing developments, and other construction that affects the residents of Jesus del Monte. The people I talk to, who have to use someone else's phone to communicate, find this construction to be a source of preoccupation. They don't like to talk about it because it scares them, and other than a few comments about how city people walk around and stare at their cows and houses, and how they don't trust them, they don't say much about it. To them, the city and all it brings with it is dangerous.

When I went to Jesus del Monte in 2001, the family with which I lived had no electricity (and, of course, no plumbing). There was a road from Morelia to Jesus del Monte, but the paving stopped outside of the town, where it turned to dirt, and then to cobblestones. In 2003, when I returned, the family had an electric line, and the road from Morelia was paved almost all the way to the town. To the west was a branch that went to a brand new university complex. To the east was a branch that went "to nowhere" --it simply dead-ended, and even the guys from town who helped with construction didn't know where it was intended to go. Between the branch to nowhere, the growing university complex and Jesus del Monte, was a gigantic traffic circle. It was absurd, as the only traffic on this road was the bus that ran between Jesus del Monte and Morelia. And, the butt of everyone's jokes, a GAS STATION appeared along the road between J del Monte and Morelia. It was just above Santa Maria. And right before it was a SUSHI RESTAURANT, a coffee house, a nail salon, and a fitness/workout gym for women. The local residents had no idea what those services were for (nor what sushi is), but assumed the wealthier people in the cities must use them. The gas station, though... few in J del M had vehicles, and they coudn't imagine any city residents getting their gas outside the city. It was as bizarre as the giant traffic circle in the middle of the farm fields.

When I returned in 2004, there were large housing developments, complete with brick walls and gates, going up around the giant traffic circle. The "road to nowhere" had been extended, and there were giant banners from Coldwell Banker advertising that "anyone" could afford one of the beautiful new houses on credit. Anyone, of course, except the folks who live in Jesus del Monte. The houses were set up like mini neighborhoods, with paved streets, outdoor lighting, yards... mini suburbias, all self-contained.

Two years ago, the first that I was able to find mention of Jesus del Monte on a map, I found an aerial view from google. It showed what looks to be a small airport or landing pad for small planes! It's not too far farm the center of Jesus del Monte. Any news about what's going on there?