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Entry from: Colima, Mexico
Entry Title: Colima
Entry:
First Time Reader? ......here is the background to this series of blogs tries/lobo/9/1233502800/tpod.html --------------------------------------- ---------------------------- Click on SLIDESHOW and then the rectangle in the bottom right corner to see photos in full screen format --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- ----------------------------- Mexico: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months --------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Colima No. 11 of 23 Destinations (this is not a ranking) State: Colima (state and city have the same name) Population: 127,000 --------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Colima - La Ciuadad de Las Palmeras Ok, so you don't like the beach - Barra de Navidad/Melaque - and you don't like the big city - Manzanilla. Your cup of tea is a green, classy, quiet mid-size city. Well today's destination - Colima - The Palm Tree City - may just be what you are looking for. The trip from the Pacific Coast to Colima was about two hours with a change of buses at the Manzanilla bus station. This raises the question, how could we possibly not stay in Manzanilla for a day to check out this large coastal city that is indeed home to a fair number of expats. I guess it was panic. Time was passing quickly and if you look at the map that outlines our intended route we still had a long way to go and many destinations to visit. The other theme was that none of our destinations were large cities. We arrived in Colima at about 22:00 in total darkness. It is not a good idea to arrive in a strange city after dark but our routine of getting into a cab and asking the cab driver to take us to a reasonably priced hotel had been well established and it worked out well in Colima as well. Although based on the amount of driving we did in getting to the hotel, I was concerned that we were far from downtown. The next morning proved to be beautiful sunny day. Come to think of it, that was the story every day and it distinguishes Mexico from let's say, Hawaii, at this time of year. Last year at this time we were in Hawaii and more than once we asked ourselves the question: where would we have to go to avoid rain? My answer to Barbara was always - Mexico. So far, this trip validated that answer to be correct. As it turned out our Hotel - La Merced (330 pesos - $33 Can.) was conveniently located at Av. B. Juarez #82 across from a large park - Jardin Nunez. The main street of Colima - Av. Francisco Madero was only a block to the north and the downtown was generally located between Jardin Nunez and the main square - the zocalo to the east. Since Barbara liked to sleep in, I snuck off early in search for my morning fix of coffee. Just before heading east on Av. Madero my attention was drawn to a large church further along Av. B. Juarez. I must admit that churches in Mexico, almost exclusively Catholic, are a focal point that I find irresistible so it wasn't long before I installed myself in a bench near the back of this large church. There was no lack of seating as there were few morning worshippers. I was struck by the absence of male adult worshippers. The congregation was made up of women and children engaged in their morning prayers. I couldn't help but wonder at what age the young boys stopped going to church. At one point however a worker carrying a sack made a brief morning appearance, crossed himself and then headed out the other door. I stuck around just long enough to make a contribution on the collection ...
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Photos from this trip:
1. - our 42 day discovery tour of Mexico
2. - no. 12 - Colima
3. - Lobo and Barbara
4. - Colima, new state and new town by the same name
5. - Colima - City of the Palm Trees (Palmeras)
6. - our late night arrival at the main square
7. - next morning, where am I located in the city?
8. - attracted by this beautiful church
9. - the worshipers
10. - worker exiting after a quick morning prayer
11. -still worshiping
12. - headed towards the main square
13. - this is a clean town
14. - walking towards cathedral
15. - location of main square, the zocalo
16. - almost ready to eat
17. - located on zocalo (main square)
18. - side of Hotel Ceballo
19. - view into zocalo
20. - portals along zocalo