Voyage aboard the Minnow

About 5 miles from where we live is a historic town called Mezcala.   The population of this town is mostly indigenous people, with a very interesting history.   When the Spanish conquistadors came in, the people of this village fled by boat to a nearby island called Mezcala, where they held off the Spanish for 4 years, in spite of severe hardship and shortage of food.   Finally, they negotiated a peace agreement and were allowed to return to their homes unmolested.  Many credit this group with being the inspiration for the Mexican war of independence, which eventually threw off the Spanish rule.  On the island, the Spanish constructed a fort, which was later used by the Mexicans as a prison.

Enough, history!  On Wednesday, we decided to explore the town of Mezcala.   We started at the church in the town square.

Inside, it was all decorated in pink and white.  A large, party approached, and it became clear that this was a 15 year old birthday party.  "Quinci años" parties for girls represent a milestone in maturity and are celebrated much like weddings.   Although this is a very poor town, we were amazed at the formal dress, that was all coordinated in color.   

 We were also surprised that the event was marked by a full mass in the church, and lots of ringing of bells.   A large band of musicians played and sang music that reminded me of scenes from the Godfather movie.   I know, that is the wrong country, but that is what came to mind!

When the mass was over, the party paraded down the street, accompanied by the musicians, to a private residence. ..The townspeople who were not involved in the event, enjoyed the music from the plaza.

 Since we watched for a long time, we were hungry and venders were now set up around the square.   We sat down and enjoyed some tacos and quesadillas for lunch, then walked through a museum which housed lots of pottery that had been found in the area that dated back to 500 B.C. 

We headed down the 4 blocks to the pier of the lake to see about catching a boat to the island.   We were met by a boy that appeared to be about 12 years old, who asked us if we wanted to go to the island.   He quoted a price and we said yes, assuming he would take us to where we could buy tickets.   Not so!   He took us to his boat, and brought it around to the warehouse pallet that served as a dock.  Yes, Reynaldo was the Capitán!   On the way to the boat he grabbed the hand of a toddler playing near by and loaded him onto the boat (to serve as first mate?)

Fortunately we did not have to row, and the trip was pleasant.  When we arrived, Reynaldo replaced his Capitàn hat with a tour guide hat, and accompanied us around the island.  Of course, the first mate, who I learned was a nephew, came along as well.   I have never seen a more well-behaved child!  There was no whining or complaining on the hour walk which included a lot of climbing, and he stayed right with us.

There were ruins of two churches, on the island.   One was in the process of being restored.   But the more interesting feature was the fort-turned-prison.   At one point 400 prisoners were housed here.   Outside the fort was a structure used for punishment of prisoners.   There were also ruins of the housing used for the soldiers.

As a part of the restoration, several enormous stone tablets honoring indigenous heroes were being erected.   For some reason, there was a desire to get them to the base of the hill.   The Mexican way of accomplishing this was quite entertaining to watch.

On our return trip, we made a stop at a tilapia nursery and also stopped to snag some floating liria (water lillies) from the lake to take home to the pond in our garden.  And the Minnow made a safe return!