Iglesia San Jose de Copala

From a couple of days ago when we were in Copala.
One of the interesting things in Copala is the old church. It was built between 1740 - 48. For some reason I thought it was built in the late 1500's. Luckily there has been some upkeep done on it throughout the years so we can still enjoy it. 
As you come up the main road and turn right towards the plaza it draws your attention immediately. 

A statue on the upper right hand corner. There is a tree growing out of the rocks right below it. 

Going in through the old big heavy front doors. Have to step up carefully.  

Up above the door way is a figure of half a man looking down at the entrance. There are several legends about why he is there. 

One is "The face of the devil was built into the wall above the entrance so that children would throw rocks at the devil as a show of defiance or hatred of the devil. This was done so often that today the face isn’t recognizable". Another legend - the one I like - is " When a bride walks through the door is she isn't a virgin he will spit on her." Better hope it wasn't a humid day when they got married. And another is - he was built there to keep the devil out. Take your pick.

Inside the small room just to the left of the entrance was open for the first time. The baptismal font was in it. Also this very pretty onyx window. 

Under the window stood a beheaded statue. Somewhat like the ones in Concordia. Guess the French army was here too. 

A look at the altar. I've read that the gold is gold leaf but don't know. I think more likely gold paint. But it is a very unusual design, never seen anything like it before.

A closer look at the intricate background. 

Also interesting ceiling.  There were a couple of strings of colored lights still up. 

Some images along the walls. 

The pulpit.

Back outside walking around the church. One of the side walls. They are very thick. 

Looking down at part of the town from the walkway around the church.There are so many trees and plants it is hard to see all the homes.

View from the other side.

The back of the church. Can see where there have been some repairs.

The side of the church, from the back it is the right side. The whole doors are open on both sides. In front just the small section of the doors is open. Lots of frilly work around the doors.

Looking towards the front to the bell tower.

Notice the chunk missing on the top of the bell tower? Some plants growing out of it too. Hardy plants. All the detailed work around it. All of it done over 280 years ago. 

See the chunk laying on the ground. That must have made a heck of a racket when it came down. Makes you walk at the far edge of the path. 

Heading down the worn stone steps into the small but pretty plaza. 

More to come about the town of Copala in later blogs. 
Bill woke up feeling better today guess a good home cooked meal and the Pepto is working. So now he is out driving the workers crazy. We also have the mechanic here working on the Jeep. And spent the afternoon at the dentist - Good to be home watching TV