Traveling to Mexico Again in 2008
Visiting the colonial towns of Concordia and Copala in Sinaloa
For delightful pictures of Copala Click Here
I read in a book I had on Mexico that everyone should take a short one-day trip into the foothills to the Colonial towns of Copala and Concordia. So the next day we took Highway 40, it eventually reaches the city of Durango in the interior. It is not a road to take in a motorhome. In fact we were looking up the mountain where the road winds around it and watched a big semi-truck coming down the mountain that had stop and to back up at least a truck length so that another semi coming up the mountain could pass by him to continue his journey to Durango.
Copala is a tiny town nestled way back in the mountains surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. It was founded in 1565 as a mining town. They mined gold, silver and copper. As we turned off the main highway we found ourselves on a worn cobblestone street. Followed it past the cemetery, around a bend by a dry river and up into town. The one and two story houses started to come into view. They were painted in brilliant colors. Vivid turquoise, bright yellows, dazzling whites with purple, orange or pink trim. Many had wrought-iron balconies. The roofs were rounded tiles, once red now turned a deep maroon with age. They in turn were covered with incredible cascades of bright flowers - every shade from white to fluorescent pinks. We turned a corner and encountered a Bimbo truck delivering bread to a small store in the front of a house. Just managed to squeeze by. Turned another corner and there was the main plaza, at its back a magnificent church. At one corner of the church was the biggest bougainvillea I have ever seen. It had to be 20 feet across. Breath taking.
In its shade sat one of the townspeople carving little replicas of the town out of the bark of a tree. He does all the carving by hand, no electrical tools of any kind.
The church itself was dedicated in 1765. It has a stone carved front, made of cantera stone. It is exquisite and words cannot describe it. (Pictures included) Inside was just as wonderful. The altar is made of carved wood covered in gold. Everything of course was done by hand as all of this was done before trucks and power tools.
In front of the church is the plaza with its abundant tropical plantings, white gazebo and brown wrought iron benches. As I stood facing the plaza on my right was a beautiful mural of the town and its people. It was painted on a building that housed crafts from the surrounding areas. More multihued buildings, some with grass growing on their roofs made up the other two sides of the square.
We reluctantly piled back into the jeep and headed out. Only to stop at Daniel’s Restaurant for lunch. The owner had been born in Copala but migrated to the US. As he grew older he missed his home and returned. By then the mining had stopped and the town was disappearing so Daniel had an idea. Build a restaurant, get the people to sell their crafts and contact the tour companies in Mazatlan. And that is what he did. The fathers and sons from the town helped build the restaurant and now the mothers and sisters and the sons of the sons work in the restaurant. It was a great experience. Excellent food and friendly atmosphere.
Reluctantly we left Copala and headed back towards Mazatlan. But first we had to stop in Concordia to check out the hand carved wood furniture made there. And the Plaza. And the Church. And the vendors.
Again we followed more cobblestone streets to the main plaza. We could see the towers of the church from the road so just headed in that direction until we found it. This church was also built around 1765 and again out of hand carved and cut stone. Hard to imagine but its carvings were more intricate than the church in Copala. I almost used up two full batteries for my camera. In front of the side door were two small stone statues. They were human figures but they had no heads. From reading I discovered the heads had been lopped off by the French during an invasion. Across the street from the church, now housing an art gallery, is an original home of the Marquis de Panuco from the 1760s.
Stopped a couple of places and looked at the furniture. Beautiful craftsmanship. Fell in love with a couple of pieces but they didn’t ship.
It was a nice excursion into real Mexican towns. The people we met were great. They had interesting stories to tell and were very friendly and funny.
Copala is a tiny town nestled way back in the mountains surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. It was founded in 1565 as a mining town. They mined gold, silver and copper. As we turned off the main highway we found ourselves on a worn cobblestone street. Followed it past the cemetery, around a bend by a dry river and up into town. The one and two story houses started to come into view. They were painted in brilliant colors. Vivid turquoise, bright yellows, dazzling whites with purple, orange or pink trim. Many had wrought-iron balconies. The roofs were rounded tiles, once red now turned a deep maroon with age. They in turn were covered with incredible cascades of bright flowers - every shade from white to fluorescent pinks. We turned a corner and encountered a Bimbo truck delivering bread to a small store in the front of a house. Just managed to squeeze by. Turned another corner and there was the main plaza, at its back a magnificent church. At one corner of the church was the biggest bougainvillea I have ever seen. It had to be 20 feet across. Breath taking.
In its shade sat one of the townspeople carving little replicas of the town out of the bark of a tree. He does all the carving by hand, no electrical tools of any kind.
The church itself was dedicated in 1765. It has a stone carved front, made of cantera stone. It is exquisite and words cannot describe it. (Pictures included) Inside was just as wonderful. The altar is made of carved wood covered in gold. Everything of course was done by hand as all of this was done before trucks and power tools.
In front of the church is the plaza with its abundant tropical plantings, white gazebo and brown wrought iron benches. As I stood facing the plaza on my right was a beautiful mural of the town and its people. It was painted on a building that housed crafts from the surrounding areas. More multihued buildings, some with grass growing on their roofs made up the other two sides of the square.
We reluctantly piled back into the jeep and headed out. Only to stop at Daniel’s Restaurant for lunch. The owner had been born in Copala but migrated to the US. As he grew older he missed his home and returned. By then the mining had stopped and the town was disappearing so Daniel had an idea. Build a restaurant, get the people to sell their crafts and contact the tour companies in Mazatlan. And that is what he did. The fathers and sons from the town helped build the restaurant and now the mothers and sisters and the sons of the sons work in the restaurant. It was a great experience. Excellent food and friendly atmosphere.
Reluctantly we left Copala and headed back towards Mazatlan. But first we had to stop in Concordia to check out the hand carved wood furniture made there. And the Plaza. And the Church. And the vendors.
Again we followed more cobblestone streets to the main plaza. We could see the towers of the church from the road so just headed in that direction until we found it. This church was also built around 1765 and again out of hand carved and cut stone. Hard to imagine but its carvings were more intricate than the church in Copala. I almost used up two full batteries for my camera. In front of the side door were two small stone statues. They were human figures but they had no heads. From reading I discovered the heads had been lopped off by the French during an invasion. Across the street from the church, now housing an art gallery, is an original home of the Marquis de Panuco from the 1760s.
Stopped a couple of places and looked at the furniture. Beautiful craftsmanship. Fell in love with a couple of pieces but they didn’t ship.
It was a nice excursion into real Mexican towns. The people we met were great. They had interesting stories to tell and were very friendly and funny.
Like to see Concordia? Click Here