Side trip from Mazatlan to Beautiful El Quelite
Moving On 1
Spending another Winter in wonderful Mexico
Spending another Winter in wonderful Mexico
Follow along with our adventures in Jennie the RV and Willie the Jeep
Things we've done and places we've been on this trip - Mexico 2009
El Quelite
We took a day and drove to El Quelite it is about 25 miles from north east of Mazatlan. We went there last year a couple of times and really liked it. It is just a little town of about 2500 people. It was founded in 1531 and many of the original families still live there. It was and remains a mostly agricultural town. All of the houses are kept painted and repaired (the fronts of them anyway.) And the flowers - everywhere, every kind. Cobblestone streets, little markets and children and men riding their burros and horses through town. Going into town we stopped to ask an older gentleman what he was stirring in a big pot out next to the street. He was heating up his oil to fry/boil chicharrones -fried pork rind. We thanked him and drove on.
We parked on the main street and walked to the restaurant we remembered from last year, El Meson de Los Laureanos. A link with more information. El Meson de los Laureanos Restaurant Review The Father of Rural Tourism in Mazatlan Welcomes You to his Home
It is like walking into a museum and a jungle. And the food is excellent. We ordered breakfast. Before the meal you are brought coffee, juice, tortilla chips, salsa, a dish of fresh fruit and a dish of cheese from the factory in town. After breakfast you get a sweet dish. All for US$15. We came back for lunch the next day and had Mexican pizza, a flour tortilla covered with pork and cheese then wood fired. Very good. And machaca a beef that is grilled over an open flame (it smells so good when cooking) then shredded and cooked with tomato and onion. Bill ate his wrapped in a flour tortilla I ate mine with a fork. We both enjoyed it. All the foods served in the restaurant are produced in the area.
After eating we just walked around town, it isn’t so big you can’t do that. Admired the cactus and flowers growing everywhere. Listened to the roosters crowing and the birds singing from all the trees. We love to walk the cobblestone streets here. Some of the houses are from the early 1600s and look it. With their wavy tile roofs that held up by forked tree branches. Others have been modernized with tile porches with pretty furniture and huge ferns. And of course always the colors.
This time we found the cheese factory that we were told about last time. It is just an older no color adobe building with an old blackened red tile roof. The young men working there (there are four of them) invited us in to look around. Explaining first that they had just loaded the milk so they were in the process of cleaning up spills. The milk was sitting in big blue plastic barrels on the concrete floor.
They go through 1500 liters of milk a day to make the cheese. After the first process of heating the whole cow’s milk to near boiling they add an acidifying agent then stir until the curds form. The product is then put in these containers lined with a white paper cloth material of sorts and allowed to drain for three to five hours. Then it is kept in a cooler wrapped with cheese cloth. The cheese is called queso fresco. It is a soft cheese but more moist then cream cheese. It is very good. It is always served in the restaurant. With fruit for breakfast and as an appetizer for lunch.
We discovered a little shop that sold huaraches and white straw hats. The Driver bought a pair of “dress” huaraches in dark brown. They are “dress” ones because they are dark leather and they have enclosed toes. He says it’s like having nothing on his feet.
I mentioned last time we were here that they raise fighting cocks here - they are caged. But lots of offspring roam the streets. The sound of crowing follows you everywhere.
We also stopped and visited with the ladies who pick the stones out of the beans. We visited with them last year and and they remembered Bill. This is one of the few places in town for people to work. The only employers are the two big restaurants, the cheese factory (4 employees) and here. And the little owner operated businesses like the shoe store, bakery, meat market and other little stores in peoples front rooms.
One thing we did this time was look at houses for sale - just curious. One we looked at was the Padre’s house but he has passed. It was one of the first houses built in the town and has been modernized some. A nice tiled kitchen but a lot to be desired bathroom. It was US$16000 It sat on a big piece of property. There is no realtor in town, everything is found out by word of mouth.
We parked on the main street and walked to the restaurant we remembered from last year, El Meson de Los Laureanos. A link with more information. El Meson de los Laureanos Restaurant Review The Father of Rural Tourism in Mazatlan Welcomes You to his Home
It is like walking into a museum and a jungle. And the food is excellent. We ordered breakfast. Before the meal you are brought coffee, juice, tortilla chips, salsa, a dish of fresh fruit and a dish of cheese from the factory in town. After breakfast you get a sweet dish. All for US$15. We came back for lunch the next day and had Mexican pizza, a flour tortilla covered with pork and cheese then wood fired. Very good. And machaca a beef that is grilled over an open flame (it smells so good when cooking) then shredded and cooked with tomato and onion. Bill ate his wrapped in a flour tortilla I ate mine with a fork. We both enjoyed it. All the foods served in the restaurant are produced in the area.
After eating we just walked around town, it isn’t so big you can’t do that. Admired the cactus and flowers growing everywhere. Listened to the roosters crowing and the birds singing from all the trees. We love to walk the cobblestone streets here. Some of the houses are from the early 1600s and look it. With their wavy tile roofs that held up by forked tree branches. Others have been modernized with tile porches with pretty furniture and huge ferns. And of course always the colors.
This time we found the cheese factory that we were told about last time. It is just an older no color adobe building with an old blackened red tile roof. The young men working there (there are four of them) invited us in to look around. Explaining first that they had just loaded the milk so they were in the process of cleaning up spills. The milk was sitting in big blue plastic barrels on the concrete floor.
They go through 1500 liters of milk a day to make the cheese. After the first process of heating the whole cow’s milk to near boiling they add an acidifying agent then stir until the curds form. The product is then put in these containers lined with a white paper cloth material of sorts and allowed to drain for three to five hours. Then it is kept in a cooler wrapped with cheese cloth. The cheese is called queso fresco. It is a soft cheese but more moist then cream cheese. It is very good. It is always served in the restaurant. With fruit for breakfast and as an appetizer for lunch.
We discovered a little shop that sold huaraches and white straw hats. The Driver bought a pair of “dress” huaraches in dark brown. They are “dress” ones because they are dark leather and they have enclosed toes. He says it’s like having nothing on his feet.
I mentioned last time we were here that they raise fighting cocks here - they are caged. But lots of offspring roam the streets. The sound of crowing follows you everywhere.
We also stopped and visited with the ladies who pick the stones out of the beans. We visited with them last year and and they remembered Bill. This is one of the few places in town for people to work. The only employers are the two big restaurants, the cheese factory (4 employees) and here. And the little owner operated businesses like the shoe store, bakery, meat market and other little stores in peoples front rooms.
One thing we did this time was look at houses for sale - just curious. One we looked at was the Padre’s house but he has passed. It was one of the first houses built in the town and has been modernized some. A nice tiled kitchen but a lot to be desired bathroom. It was US$16000 It sat on a big piece of property. There is no realtor in town, everything is found out by word of mouth.
Slide Show from El Quelite
Be patient it takes a while to load
Be patient it takes a while to load
Cities of Sinaloa visited this trip: El Fuerte Las Glorias Mazatlan Cosalá El Quelite La Noria Copala
Before leaving Mazatlan we took another trip to to El Quelite.
We went to the restaurant to eat and give them back the shirt they had lent me. They recognized us right away - and remembered the iguana! This time they made sure we were sitting under an umbrella out of the way. But they also said it was too cold for the iguanas to be out, they like it hot. Breakfast passed without incident. But a few falling leaves had me looking up. Leaving the restaurant we saw some corn husk dolls that are made right there in town. Of course, had to have one. Had a hard time making up my mind (and now I wish I’d got a different one - one that showed more husk.)
Then we drove up to where the fighting cocks are raised and trained. Zillions of them. There are a couple of big fields full of them, talk about a racket. Each cock has his own shelter and one of leg is tethered so he can’t reach his neighbor. They are so magnificent A couple distinct kinds that I could see. One with a yellow ruff and the other kind with a rust colored ruff. They would crow and puff their neck feathers straight out. In the back were some cages with one rooster and several hens in each one. Several had eggs in them.
There was a small tour just leaving there and I heard the guide say she was taking them to an old bakery. So we followed. The baker uses an adobe oven for all his baking. But instead of heating it up with wood he uses what amounts to a propane blow torch. But it does the job, I can’t imagine how hot that room gets in the summer. Sure smelled good in there. Bought a couple of fruit empanadas and hit the road. Just as we were leaving town we came upon an older man riding his donkey down the street. He was almost bigger than the donkey. His faithful dog followed along tail held high.
We went to the restaurant to eat and give them back the shirt they had lent me. They recognized us right away - and remembered the iguana! This time they made sure we were sitting under an umbrella out of the way. But they also said it was too cold for the iguanas to be out, they like it hot. Breakfast passed without incident. But a few falling leaves had me looking up. Leaving the restaurant we saw some corn husk dolls that are made right there in town. Of course, had to have one. Had a hard time making up my mind (and now I wish I’d got a different one - one that showed more husk.)
Then we drove up to where the fighting cocks are raised and trained. Zillions of them. There are a couple of big fields full of them, talk about a racket. Each cock has his own shelter and one of leg is tethered so he can’t reach his neighbor. They are so magnificent A couple distinct kinds that I could see. One with a yellow ruff and the other kind with a rust colored ruff. They would crow and puff their neck feathers straight out. In the back were some cages with one rooster and several hens in each one. Several had eggs in them.
There was a small tour just leaving there and I heard the guide say she was taking them to an old bakery. So we followed. The baker uses an adobe oven for all his baking. But instead of heating it up with wood he uses what amounts to a propane blow torch. But it does the job, I can’t imagine how hot that room gets in the summer. Sure smelled good in there. Bought a couple of fruit empanadas and hit the road. Just as we were leaving town we came upon an older man riding his donkey down the street. He was almost bigger than the donkey. His faithful dog followed along tail held high.
Turn up your sound!
|
|
|
|
