Colima is a city in the state with the same
name. The state of Colima is one of the smallest states in Mexico. The city
is located about one and a half hours inland from the more well known beach
town of Manzanillo. Colima is about one half hour away from the nearest
beach. Colima is situated higher in elevation then the coastal towns, and as
a result, is cooler then the beach towns.
Colima is the capital of the state of Colima. This city was founded in 1523,
and is the third city founded after the Spanish Conquest. Can you name the
first two towns founded in Mexico by the Spanish? They are Veracruz and
Mexico City. Colima is less influenced by tourists because it is off the
main tourist routes. I like this city because it still retains a
flavor of "old" Mexico. This city is also located in a good
location, because it is only a short distance to the ocean.
The main road connecting Manzanillo to Colima is in impeccable shape. There are very very few people
who drive this road, and of those that do, it seems like a quarter are
broken down on the side of the road. For those of us used to crowded city
roads in the United States, the main roads around Colima are a relief from
the congestion.
Colima does have its share of natural disasters. I can be thankful that none
occurred while I was there. First of all, the city of Colima is located in
the shadow of a very dangerous volcano, the Volcan de Fuego de Colima
(translated this means Colima's volcano of fire). Historically this
volcano erupts every seventy years or so. It has erupted 9 times in
the past 400 years. Based on past eruptions scientists have tagged
this steaming giant "a killer". It is Mexico's most active volcano.
They predict the next major eruption to happen by the year 2010. It
last erupted in 1941. This volcano stands 14,365 feet tall. Often
you can see smoke billowing out of its top
Sometimes it looks like wispy clouds, but don't be mistaken, it
truly is the gas of the mountain.
If that isn't enough to worry about, Colima gets hit by earthquakes quite
often, sometimes very large earthquakes. The last major earthquake was in
1941. That would have been a very bad year to live in Colima...an earthquake
and a volcanic eruption. The poor town must have been devastated. Even
though Colima was the third city founded after the Spanish Conquest, and the
first one in Western Mexico, it is because of the devastating earthquakes
that there are extremely few colonial buildings left in town.
Lastly, the coast of the state of Colima is sometimes subject to violent
storms.
I hope these disasters don't scare you off from visiting Colima. They occur
more often then most other places, but in reality, they really don't occur
that often. The above information isn't usually what sells a location to the
privy tourist, so I won't dwell on it any longer.
As an agricultural producer the Colima city area produces coconuts, (these
can be seen for miles and miles as you approach the ocean from the city of
Colima), lemons, bananas, and mangos.
In the ancient times Colima was quite remote from the rest of Mexico.
Historically the Colima area was famous for its pottery. This has been found
by archeologists in over 200 different sites. Most of the pottery has been
dated between 200BC to 800AD. Many of this pottery is a representation of
the human form, as well as many pieces of dogs. Dogs held an important value
in the lives of the ancient people who inhabited what is now present day
Colima state. It was believed that dogs served as a pathway from earth to
paradise. To these ancient peoples, dogs also had practical uses. They made
up a substantial part of their diet.
Today Colima city has a population of approximately 145,000. It has the feel
of being a small city. Many of the small roads are shaded by many different
varieties of tropical palms. There are many neat roads that slowly wind
there way through small white washed cottages, and small businesses. I
enjoyed sitting on one of the many benches (see photo above) that were located in the several
Mexican zocalos near the main part of town. This was a good place to watch
the local people or listen to the local music.
