Friday, January 12, 2007

A walking tour of the pueblo of La Manzanilla


Maya meets the La Manzanilla express
Originally uploaded by Brite light photos.
LA MANZANILLA, Jalisco, Mexico - We took a walking tour around downtown La Manzanilla and the area to the south across an arroyo Thursday, stopping briefly to say hello to a beautiful horse tied in front of a house near Martine's Restaurant.

The horse - and the motorcycle - are great examples of the two worlds here. We have traditional Mexican restaurants alongside Americanized eateries, dirt-floor, one-story houses next to McMansions and horses parked next to Hummers.

Several weeks ago a Washington Post reporter was in town and went back to D.C. to write one of those stories that Chambers of Commerce love and local residents hate. Here's the link to reprint:
  • La Manzanilla

  • And there is talk of paving the roads, at least in downtown.

    Madre Mia!

    Part of the tour was to get a second look at a new (to this area) use of steel frames to build homes. The advantage to using steel is that the main frame of the house can go up very fast compared to traditional concrete block construction.

    Even the outside walls of the surrounding courtyard use the steel as a frame with concrete eventually sprayed over the top.

    Steel walls
    Steel wall frames

    Steel stairs
    Steel stairs (looking down)

    From the roof of this under-construction casa, we had a commanding view of the city, with the newer houses popping up all over the place. Most of the homes build two stories and then cap them with a palapa top. The views are spectacular and whatever breezes blow, you can feel them up there.

    With the humidity hovering at probably 90 percent the past few days, those breezes are muy importante.

    Rooftop view of La Manzilla
    Rooftop view

    One nice house
    One new house

    And although the town has really emptied - most holiday tourists heading home - there are new arrivals daily.

    Walking out of the surf
    All cooled off

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