Malinalco - the Place of the Zacate Flower

Malinalco is a small town not far from Mexico City, on the way to Toluca. Despite being for years the site of a glitzy golf club and the preferred destination of a good number of vacationers, it still managed to preserve the flavor and the traditional spirit of old Mexican villages.

Myself, I take a particular pleasure in visiting this town in order to climb the mountain with a monolithic pyramid at the top, from where the view is simply unbelievable. That said, this time around I was amazed by something other than the magnificent scenery. When our mountain guide explained that he was going to "call the eagles" by blowing into a sea shell (in the Aztec mythology the eagles represent Tonatiuh - a heavenly warrior and a sun god), I was sure it was all meant to be a purely symbolic gesture. But in five minutes six eagles - quite real with nothing symbolic about them - approached and started flying circles over our heads. Honestly, I was shocked.

In the village itself there aren't that many activities, certainly not for extreme sports enthusiasts or super-active hikers - above all, the name of the game here is relaxation. Among the possible "relaxing" pastimes are trout fishing, fruit and vegetable shopping in the market, as well as eating "barbacoa" (goat) and "cesina" (dry salted meat) tacos both of which shouldn't be overlooked.

One can also visit the church (an Augustinian temple dating from the arrival of the Spanish) or one of the small restaurants surrounding the newsstand, savor an ice-cream or perhaps a "pozole" (soup made from the base of chili, corn and pork) - the latter to be eaten right on the sidewalk after buying it from the old woman standing in front of her house.

Thanks to its climate, the village blooms most of the year and you can enjoy a sea of flowers of different colors. Malinalco is a place to relax, enjoy the calm, the nature and the traditional Mexican cuisine. But lest you get too comfortable in your rural nirvana, the roosters will wake you up at five o'clock sharp.

Posted by Irazema in Mexico on 25/Oct/2005