New Italy

On my trip to Michoacan with S & K, we headed to Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. From there we traveled to the charming little city of Patzcuaro, which I talked about briefly before. All of these cities, including Guadalajara, are at an altitude of about 5000 to 7000 feet. In these places it feels like Lake Tahoe in the summer time: warm if not downright hot during the day, and then it cools down at night. Unlike Tahoe, however, it only cools down to about 50 to 60 degrees.
We then started driving south, downhill. We went past the beautiful Lake Zirahuen. Unfortunately, we only drove past the pretty lake and through the little town. I would like to return and visit there sometime. Apparently, John Steinbeck wanted to as well. He parked there long enough to write a book or two.
We continued to descend, all the way down to Lombardia, at an elevation of about 2000 feet. It again reminded me of driving from Tahoe down to the Sierra foothills. The temperature kept getting warmer and warmer as we descended.
In the late 1800's, an Italian engineer named Cusi, bought several thousand acres of land from the Dominicans. He was smart, resourceful, and probably wanted to be the ruler of all he could see. He ended up doing just that. The area is ideal for harvesting crops. It's hot all the time. Cusi diverted the rapidly flowing stream into several irrigation canals. He became the local king. The two towns of the area are called, not surprisingly, Nueva Italia and Lombardia. The people of the area are reported to be hot-headed. The Mexicans attribute this to the Italian influence.
We arrived at S's mother's house. S's brother and sister-in-law were there. We were immediately invied to eat rice, beans (excellent by the way, and not refried), and a meat stew with vegetables. It was yummy! We all sat under a large awning in S's mother's large garden. She has dozens of plants, all in individual pots or plastic buckets, and a number of fruit producing trees. We nibbled on pinzan, an interesting sort of fruit about the size of a large grape, the texture a mixture of fruit and nut with a mild flavor. It's understandable to realize that anyone coming from that area would automatically acquire a farmer's basic knowledge of crops, planting, and harvesting. S's mother has been to the states several times but always wants to return to her garden and the warm/hot climate of Lombardia. How understandable!