sharing my pátzcuaro

My annual summer trip to Pátzcuaro came early this year.

Usually, I head to the highlands of Mexico in August or September. Partly to escape the coastal summer heat. But, primarily to enjoy the cultural pleasures I am denied in my little village by the sea. San Miguel de Allende sponsors a world-class chamber music festival each summer.

But culture was not the reason I was in Pátzcuaro last week. Darrel and Christy have a nodding familiarity with the coastal area around my house. Darrel has visited five times; Christy twice. It was time to show them one of my favorite spots in the Mexican highlands -- Pátzcuaro.

Before I retired, I read every book I could find on living in Mexico. Every author pointed out that the hardest choice was choosing a place that would match the reader's needs. There was not just one choice for all; there was a right choice for each person.

Early on in my research, Pátzcuaro kept bubbling to the top of the list of possible retirement spots. Based on the books (and my own rather eccentric preferences), I drew up a list of factors that were important to me (not quite the end of all things).

I suspect the final factors in the list are exactly what non-textualist judges do -- decide a case based on their own prejudices and then devise a rule to support their pre-conceived notion. The list looks like a Chamber of Commerce description of Pátzcuaro.

For a number of reasons, I never got around to seriously auditioning Pátzcuaro as my final location for Mexpatriate. But it still has a certain hold on me. That is evident from the number of essays I have written about the place. Just type in "Pátzcuaro" or "Patzcuaro" in the search bar above to see what I mean.

Darrel and Christy were interested in seeing what I once might have called home. We had also started playing with the idea of adding a mountain home to our family real estate holdings in Mexico. And, at 7000 feet, Pátzcuaro certainly met that requirement.

So, off we went last Monday for an eight-hour drive to ensconce ourselves for a week in La Casita -- the downtown accommodation of my blog buddy Felipe of Unseen Moon fame. His hospitality always makes my stays in Pátzcuaro comfortable.

The big test was introducing Pátzcuaro to Darrel and Christy to give them an opportunity to independently determine if this is where they would like to live part of the year. During our first day, I had the solution. I would introduce them to the area through the women of Pátzcuaro.

And that is what I will do for you. Tomorrow.