Travel

Catemaco, Veracruz

Lake Catemaco

By Dorothy Bell – Photos Bill Bell

A Cool Bewitching Destination

Sitting in the Square – Portrait of a Town

Lake Catemaco, Mexico (population 45,000)

It is hard to determine what is myth, magic or pure hype in Catemaco. It doesn’t matter, I tell myself as we sit in the main square. It is Mexico. Catemaco. Anything can take place here.

This is the home of alternative medicine, shamans, and strange occurrences. Home of Monkey Island and the set for Sean Connery’s “Medicine man”. It is also the birthplace of life for the ancient Olmecs; their Garden of Eden. In the beginning…..

Lake Catemaco is located in southern Mexico’s state of Veracruz where the Sierra Santa Marta and the Tuxtla highlands meet. It is a large body of water – 7 miles (4 KMS) long and 4 miles (2.5 KMS) wide – formed by several extinct volcanoes. It is an ancient crater lake that boasts deep rain forest vegetation, excellent birding and a number of unique arrays of tourist attractions. Monkeys. Witches. Wizards. Ancient civilizations.

In the square we rest in the shadow of the majestic El Carmen Church, and watch as Mexican town life unfolds in front of our eyes. This is typical Mexico where the church sits on the plaza as if at the head of the table, with the municipal palace proudly at her side; Church and State.  Children play with balloons and eat cotton candy. There are two clowns, a man and a woman, with large feet and painted smiles that blow balloons for passersby. They laugh and play with babies and mothers. Vendors sell candy, refrescos (drinks) and snacks. It is a carnival atmosphere and this scene in the center of town repeats itself daily.

It is the end of the day and we are exhausted from touring the area. There is music playing down the street along the Northern flank of the square. It comes closer and we see the marching of a school band that we have heard practicing for days. Songs and dances approach us as we sit on one of the many benches in the square – incognito as a family of gringos can be – laying low and eating palettas. This is a real parade made up for the amusement of those dancing and singing or wiggling their parts and chanting school songs and victory. The band stops on the side of the square and performs for a moment or two before it proceeds to another part of this town.

Within an hour another public march heads towards the square. This time a funeral procession passes. Flowers and more flowers, carried in the arms of almost every mourner and those paying respects for a friend or neighbor. Big bouquets and tall arrangements of carnations, lilies and roses. The procession is somber and for a few brief moments the carnival atmosphere in the square is on hold. A frozen few moments, where mothers hold their children away from the marching procession, lovers stop kissing and teasing and old men look away or down at the ground. Frozen moments respecting life and the inevitability of death. Respect.

The somber procession makes its way into the bosom of the church; the center and heart of town life and slowly the action in the square resumes; Kids laughing, lovers squirming and squeezing, families with nothing better to do than come and watch everyone else. “Don’t they have TV?” asks my daughter.

We walk back to the RV site slowly, taking the long route to our home. Catemaco is known for its brujas and brujos –witches and wizards that can cast a spell on your enemies, cure you of your ills or get your straying husband back. The town boasts the largest witches’ convention on the first Friday in March – the Annual Bruja Convention -“Noche de Brujas” There are healers, fortunetellers and Magic potions.

Locals say the area’s reputation for strange and mystic relationships is over 2000 years and stems from the Olmecs who inhabited the area – the most ancient of Mexico’s civilizations, predating even the Mayans and Aztecs. They claim in Catemaco, that the beginning was here at the lake. The ancient Olmec’s Paradise Lost and the beginning of all creation.

We walk past fortune tellers and stores with shingles and signs advertising various occult services. Cast a spell on your enemy. Cure your ills. Buy your magic supplies. Magic. We dare each other to go in. Maybe we should get our palms read or order a spell or potion or two. We laugh that uncomfortable laugh; that utter when you half believe or maybe half fear. “No you go in…..NO YOU…”

Bill tells me I should go in “and write about it.” There is a pregnant pause. “I’m too tired” I say, and change the subject. He laughs.

Stalls are selling T-shirts proclaim Catemaco Tierra de los Brujos/ or “Land of the Witches.” Devout Catholicism mixes easily with ancient beliefs here in Mexico. Roadside vendors sell religious articles side by side with magic trinkets. Buy a shell rosary, picture of Our Lady or buy good luck, curse an enemy or make yourself irresistible to the opposite sex with a “special” amulet. Only 30 pesos.

We walk by the Hotel de los Brujos (Hotel of the Witches) and the Restaurant de Siete Brujos (Restaurant of the Seven Witches). It is getting dark as we pass the empty lanchas that are occupied during the day at this busy lakeside attraction, taking tourists to Monkey Island. “Go to the Island my friends. Monkey Island. Come here. Best deal here lady.”

It is silent now as we walk back to the RV in the evening with the moonlight shining in wavering streams across the lake. Birds chatter and gossip about us as we pass through the now empty street.

Side Trips and other enchanting things to do

Bird watching: 560 species of birds in the area including parrots, toucans, trogons, woodcreepers, tropical raptors and flycatchers. Hundreds of herons nest on the tiny Isla de la Garzas (Island of the Herons) in April and May.

Lanchas to Monkey Island: On the bank of Lake Catemaco you can hire lanchas or boats to one or more to the nearby islands. Monkey Island is named after the non-native red-cheeked Changos, monkeys brought here by the University of Veracruz from Thailand used for study. Many tourists take bananas or coconuts but are discouraged by University feeding crew.

Salto de Eyipantla: Take a whole day to discover the thunderous waterfalls of Salto de Eyipantla. Just 8 kilometers (just over 5 miles) from Lake Catemaco, the area makes an interesting afternoon. Tourist shops selling typical trinkets are sold both in the parking lot and at the base of the falls. Children and tour guides offer services as you descend the 246 steps down to the base, from gum, candy to tours and lunches. Definitely NOT wheelchair accessible.

The falls are quite spectacular with an approximate 50 meter (150 foot) thunderous cascade down to the small pool of water at the bottom. Water sprays your body as you gingerly walk towards the water along the stone path. A gale force of mist soaks your face.

A few restaurants sell lunch with regular Mexican fare.

SANTIAGO TUXTLA & Tres Zapotes: A Day for Archeology buffs!
It is a pleasant trip just 20 minutes north of Lake Catemaco on Highway 180. Founded by Cortés in 1520, the small town of Santiago Tuxtla is nestled in a small valley with a little river running through the center of town. It is a pleasant place with an interesting plaza, church and museum. In the center of the square is a gigantic Olmec head sculpture – an amazing relic placed in the open with only a roof overhead for environmental protection.

The museum flanks one of the sides of the square and is a must see for those interested in ancient civilizations. Here you can see another colossal Olmec head

The town of Tres Zapotes is just ½ an hour down the road. While famous for Stelea C – proving the discovery of “O” as a mathematical concept by any civilization – the ruins and attached museum are disappointing to all but archeology purists. The heads and other significant archeological findings have been transported to Jalapa and Mexico City. On display, for the most part, are plastic replicas of the heads and alters on an adjoining cornfield.
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Note about The Olmec (“Mouth of the Jaguar” or the “Rubber People”)
Believed the oldest Indian group in the Mesoamericas, the Olmecs inhabited this area in the Preclassic era (1200 BC to 100BC). They worked in the basalt quarries in the area and created their weighty masterpieces for artistic religious and mathematical purposes. These items, 10 foot (3 ½ meter) heads, thrones, altars and stellae, some well over 20 tons, were them “magically” transported to their religious center La Vente near Villahermosa Tabasco. 17 heads have been discovered in the region.

El Rosario – Baja California

The Rosary

El Rosario is a small town near the Pacific Coast on the Baja Peninsula. It is a historical town and was one of the first missions settled by friars in the Californias. Today El Rosario is a supply town for travelers going south through the desert and onward to the resort communities further south.

Fast Facts

Location 360 km’s (220 miles) south of Tijuanna

Population 1700

Climate: Southern California-like. Dry hot summers and warm winters. January has a high of 23C (73F)and a low of 7C (45F) – June has high of 27C (81F) and low of 13 C (55F)

History

The Baja was largely settle by the Fransican Fathers and in 1772 they were expelled and the Dominicans assumed responsibility for settling the peninsula. Nuestra Senora del Rosario was established in 1774 as their first missions in the Californias. It was moved in 1802 to ensure a closer water supply. It was the first of eight missions to be built to the North.

The friars Christianized the local Indians called the “Cochimi” who called their community “Vinadaco”. You can visit the mission today; drive west at the Mama Espinosa’s turn and then left at the first road. The adobe ruins are in minimal condition. A sign outside the mission reads “1434 Christian Indians registered between 1774 and 1817. These were supported from products of desert, sea, cattle, sheep, goats, and plantings of cereals imported by the Spaniards”.

The mission produced abundant crops and converts but like elsewhere disease ravished the Indian population. Without souls to convert and labor for the fields, in 1832 the mission closed.

Today

El Rosario has two main attractions for the traveler: the Pemex Gas Station and Mama Espinosa’s Restaurant.

The 24 hour Pemex is a natural pit stop for drivers heading south as it is the last “for sure” fuel stop for the next 150 miles or so. The Cativan pumps may be open but it is a dicely gamble. BEST TO FILL UP HERE.

The gas station also offers a great place to gossip and get on the ground information about the road conditions in the desert. It is a long way so make sure you have everything you need. There is a small auto parts store just around the corner in case something needs replacing.

Mama Espinosa is located right at the sharp turn south of the Pemex. A Baja “must try” for first-timers and an “always stop there” for the experienced. Mama got her reputation for lobster burritos from drivers and crews of the Baja 1000 in the 1960’s – long before the transpeninsula highway was completed in 1973.

Industry

El Rosario’s primary industry is agriculture with onions being the main crop followed by chillies, potatoes, beans and alfalfa. Fishing is also important with many camps on the Pacific coast to the east.

The town has also become a strategic supply town for travelers before they drive through the desert; a few min-markets, liquor stores, a butcher shops.

Tourist Attractions

Mama Espinosa’s Restaurant

Mission Ruins GPS 30° 2′ 29.00″, -115° 44′ 20.80″

Getting There

Drive South on Highway 1 360 km’s (220 miles) soth of Tijuanna.

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