If you’re overly concerned about meeting a ghost or being vaporized by an exploding volcano, perhaps you should stop reading right here, because what follows might possibly entice you to visit Laguna La María, despite the warnings of your better instincts.

EL VOLCAN DE FUEGO BY DAY

This little lake is hidden in a crater (no longer active, we hope) located only 9.7 kms SW of Colima’s famous Volcán de Fuego, which, of course, is dramatically active… and so fascinating that no one who stays at the lakeside can resist walking up the cobblestone road in the dark to watch the show.

Only the inside of a cave is darker than the road north of La María and you may suddenly find yourself face to face with a stray cow – like certain others I can name who have ventured out into the dark – if you don’t happen to be carrying a light. But the inky blackness is the perfect backdrop for a pyrotechnic display that few people on earth have seen with their own eyes.

ROARING VOLCANO

EL VOLCAN DE FUEGO BY NIGHT

At first, you may doubt that there is a volcano ahead at all, because you may see nothing whatsoever for several minutes. Suddenly, however, a tongue of fire shoots straight up in the air and a cascade of sparks tumble down, revealing the classic shape of the great volcano. Then a blob of red appears at the top and suddenly races downward, producing an ominous roar that triggers an uneasy feeling at the pit of your stomach which very quickly develops into a primal urge to turn tail and run for your life. No fireworks display will ever affect you like the awesome sight and sounds of a volcano venting its fury!

As for the danger involved, the managers of La María say that numerous deep canyons between them and the volcano reduce to zero the possibility of lava reaching their lagoon. The real danger, however, is that of a Mt.-St-Helen’s type explosion which would, according to a U.S. volcanologist, shoot a cloud of hot, incandescent gases straight towards the city of Colima, burning up everything along the way, including visitors to La Maria. “Sí sí,” say the locals, “but they have been telling us that for years while the volcano just keeps rumbling and spitting in the same old way.”

POLTERGEISTS

When you get tired of volcano watching (if ever), you can always go ghost hunting. “Sometimes you can hear them moving about in the dark or even calling your name,” people told us. We were inclined to believe these stories because several years ago, a group of us were standing near the shore of the lagoon, trying to decide on a good spot to pitch our tents. Suddenly, rocks about three inches (eight cm) in diameter began falling out of the tree we were standing under. This went on for some five minutes while we shouted at the “children in the tree,” asking them to stop the nonsense. However, it turned out that there were no children or animals in that tree and in those days the volcano was dormant, so we couldn’t find anyone to blame but the poltergeists who, in the end, were remarkably successful in convincing us to camp far from their tree! However, I must add that nothing else unusual occurred during our stay and all of us had pleasant dreams that night.

PEACEFUL LAKE, BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE GHOSTS.

EL DIABLO AND LA MARIA

According to the Laguna’s official website (www.poblado.com/lagunalamaria), the “María” who gave her name to this place once lived a short distance from the lagoon. One day, she and her husband were invited to a dance at a nearby ranchería. Apparently the husband decided they were not going to attend the event and then announced that he was going over to the ranchería to “excuse their absence.” After the husband had left, the unfairness of what he had done tormented María to such an extent that she called upon the Devil himself, asking to be taken to the fiesta.

Suddenly, the Devil appeared in front of her, picked her up and whisked her high in the air. María screamed for help and begged to be let down on the ground. The Devil obliged by putting her in a ditch near the lagoon and placing a flat stone with four holes in it (for candles) upon her stomach. When the husband heard about all this, he told the priest at nearby Hacienda San Antonio, who organized a procession aimed at freeing the unfortunate woman from the clutches of the Devil.  Praying and chanting, the crowd approached the spot where poor María lay, calling upon the Devil to liberate her. Immediately, the Devil complied with their wish, raising Maria high into the air until she was over the center of the lake…at which point he let her fall.

Maria’s body was never found and the lagoon became her everlasting sepulchre.

Laguna La Maria is 1.5 kms in diameter and a maximum of 30 meters deep. Because it is spring-fed, the water never gets stagnant. You can rent a boat and go out to the center of the lagoon to look for Maria’s bones and when you get tired of that, you can fish for tilapia, bagre or crayfish…or watch the birds crash-diving into the water for the same fish. The high, tree-covered crater wall which surrounds most of the lake is truly impressive and there are trails leading up to the top of the crater rim where you’ll find short manmade tunnels giving access to a “hidden lake” on the other side of the crater wall.

ONE OF THE TUNNELS IN THE CRATER WALL

Just a few kms north of La Maria, lies the picturesque village of Yerbabuena, reachable by a cobblestone road in mint condition. A big sign warns you that you are at the last human outpost within the shadow of the volcano. The government tried to relocate the whole village, offering the people little cracker boxes to replace their traditional homes made of blocks hewn from volcanic rock. Most of the people of Yerbabuena are still arguing with the government about this, but have moved away, leaving the village looking like a ghost town, except for a few diehards who emphatically told us that “our village has not been evacuated.” But in many of the lovely, flower-bedecked streets where we walked, there was no living being to be seen, only a very lonely-looking, skinny mongrel that followed us wherever we went.

GOURMET DELIGHTS

On our way back to Guadalajara, we stopped at Hacienda San Antonio – just down the road from La MarIa – to do a little shopping. Under normal circumstances, you would not expect to find gourmet food at an Hacienda lost in the woods, but this one is owned by a Frenchman who produces delicatessen delights under strict conditions of hygiene. If you have a taste for camembert, gouda or some other exquisite “European” cheese, don’t bother searching the supermarkets of Guadalajara, just head for the wilds of Colima! You’ll also find hams, jams, salamis and yogurts as well as locally grown and toasted coffee. All this plus a lovely lagoon, a thundering volcano and playful ghosts: Incroyable!

"EUROPEAN" CHEESE MADE IN COLIMA

How to Get There

Take highway 54 from the Periferico and follow the signs for Colima and Colima toll road (cuota) for 153 kms until you see the Tonila exit sign, which comes five kms past the second toll booth. Set your odometer to zero here, drive towards Tonila and turn left to go to QueserIa. When  the odometer reads 5.2 kms (just before a Pemex station) turn right into Quesería. Turn left at the end of this street and then right at 5.5 kms. After two blocks, make a left followed by the next right and you should now be on the road to El Naranjal. Instead, you may be totally lost, so just ask for Naranjal, which you should reach at 16.4 kms. At about 18 kms keep a sharp watch for a well-paved road on your right. It is marked with signs for Carrizalillo and San Antonio but these signs are well-hidden by bushes. Turn right. At 23.7 kms you reach the junction for La María and Comala. Turn right. At 36.2 kms you should reach La Becerrera, also known as La Becerra, where you’ll see clear signs for La María, located a few minutes away at N 19° 27’ 26.7”, W 103° 43’ 19.0”. When you get a yen for that gourmet food (or an exorcism) drive to Hacienda San Antonio, whose unmarked entrance is about 200 m down the road from La Becerrera, on the left-hand side. Total driving time from the Periférico of Guadalajara to Laguna La Maria: about two and a half hours.

John Pint

SUSY AND JOHN TRYING TO FIND THE VOLCANO IN THE DARK.

LAGUNA LA MARIA...AAHH!

John Pint