Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/246

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218
CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL.

pan, and at Pátzcuaro it is worth 30 reales. These figures will give the traveler an idea of the great expense of transportation by mule-back ; i. e. , the price for carrying coffee in sacks forty-seven miles is at the rate of three cents a pound! There is a cascade near the town worthy of a visit.

Besides sugar-cane and coffee, Peruvian bark (quina) and many medicinal plants, as well as an infinite variety of fruits, are grown in the environs of Uruapan. Twenty thousand barrels of native rum (aguardiente) are made annually in the district of Uruapan. The word “Uruapan” comes from Urani, which means in the Tarasc language "a chocolate-cup" (jicara), because the Indians in this region devote themselves to the manufacture and painting of these objects, in which industry they have thus far excelled.

The line of railroad from Pátzcuaro via Uruapan to Colima has been surveyed, but it will doubtless be many years before it is completed.

The tourist can visit Tancitaro, 40 miles from Uruapan, and, if he wishes, travel all the way to the Pacific coast. It will be advisable to purchase a horse if the traveler intends going beyond Uruapan. A good animal can be bought for about $40, and one able to accomplish the trip to Colima could be had for $25. The climate of Tancitaro is cool, the town being situated at the base of a peak of the same name, having an altitude of 11,037 feet. There are many gardens of pears, peaches, and apples in the vicinity. A horse-road leads from Tancitaro to Colima, a distance of about 100 miles. The latter place is celebrated for producing the finest coffee in the Republic. It is pronounced to be equal to the best Mocha. The berry is of small size. The State of Colima yields annually about 1,980,000 pounds of coffee, valued at $225,000. Some of it is exported to Germany. Cotton, rice, sugar-cane, and indigo are also cultivated in this State.

The city of Colima, situated on the river of the same