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.