Trip to little town of Malpica

On Friday we took a day trip to Malpica and Copala. About 100 miles round trip. There were a bunch of us that went. Three cars with four people each. CONVOY! Had to laugh I told every one the toll was 51 pesos - which it was a couple of weeks ago when we went. On Friday it was 54 pesos. Malpica is about half way between start and finish. 

Malpica is a small town of about 600 people. We go there to visit the bakery and the tile maker and to visit friends there. 

Here is the dash cam video of driving into and out of Malpica. To view in full screen click here. 

The cobblestones make a really bumpy ride. 

Going through the arch. I waited too late to get a good picture. 

A new big building is going up. No idea what it will be. Looks too big to just be a home. 

Always colorful homes and buildings. They have painted their gate white with gold trim. 

I like the pink trim on this home. 

Parked so we could all explore the town. Another new building going up right across the street from the bakery. 

This time I didn't go into the bakery so no pictures from me. But if you haven't seen it before click here to read Nancy's blog. She took a lot of good pictures. 

And yet another new home. The town is seeing quite a bit of growth. 

Oop "mother in law"finish. Just the front plastered and painted. 

A lavender home. 

Old home with grass and weed roof. All the walls were still standing, so maybe it could be livable with a little TLC.

Walking around the main street. The mural on the community building. 

They have torn the gazebo down. Hope they plan on rebuilding it some day. 

We went back to see Jorge the tile maker, but he was in Mazatlan on business. His son was there to show how the tiles were made, but he was a little shy about what he was doing. Some of the tiles for sale. 

A really pretty flowering plant. 

On the way out of town, a horse by the road. 

If this is the first time you've heard about Malpica use the search bar on the side to find the many blogs I've written about it before. 

Road trip to Malpica

Forgot to post yesterday, took a long nap in the afternoon. Reading a good book. 

Took a short road trip to Malpica yesterday morning. Took the toll road part of the way. How would you like this job? Painting the rumble strips on a highway with lots of traffic. They are just painting the white parts. 

I forgot to take a picture of the arch going into Malpica. Shame on me. So here we are just past the arch heading into town. 

Some of the colorful home in Malpica. 

Bill calls this a "mother in law" paint job. Only paint what she will see when she comes to visit. 

More homes. 

More and more homes are getting air conditioning through the years. 

This paint job looks brand new.

The bakery. Looks like house next door is getting a second floor. The bread was almost ready to come out of the oven. 

So we went across the street to visit Jorge the tile maker. Some of his tiles. In the last couple of years Jorge has had some serious health problems so he doesn't make these big tiles any more. 

Mostly makes these smaller round ones. They sure come in handy to put hot pots on for dinner., 

Putting the colors on the form to make a round tile. 

Putting the white marble slurry on top of the color dots.

Didn't get a picture of him using a pencil eraser to swirl the colors to make the design. Now it is in the form to be pressed. 

The finished tile. It has to dry out before it can be bought. In previous years I've written a lot about Jorge and posted several videos of him making the times. Just search Malpica if you want to see more. 

Back over to the bakery. Because of Covid no one can go into the bakery any more. The  baked goods are brought to the door and you choose what you want. Again search Malpica in the search bar on the side of the bog and you will learn a lot more about this bakery. Interesting pictures from when we could go inside. 

The baker and his wife. Click here for a link to one of the older blogs. (We go in the bakery and there are more pictures of the tile making. Makes me feel kind of sad to see the difference between then and now.)

There used to be an old abandoned house here. Guess they finally tore it down and now building a new home. 

The plaza in front of the church is being remodeled and the old Gazebo is gone and looks like a new one is being built. The church is also being remodeled inside. New ceiling fans. A work in progress. The outside looks like it is being readied for a new paint job too.

Mural of history of area on the outside of the community building. 

The beautiful pink trees are blooming again this year. 

Another cloudy day yesterday. Took a long nap and then went across street to have dinner. Very, very muggy out. 

The bakery in Malpica - a must visit

The other day we took a short day trip to Malpica and Concordia. This is just about Malpica and the bakery that is there. 

Malpica has about 250 homes with a population of around 650.
Their arch needs a little TLC. 

Down the cobblestone street. Lots of lush plants around. 

And the ever present colorful homes. 

Just noticed the reindeer on the roof. 

This one has a really pretty trim. 

The fronts of these two homes have been repainted.

And this is the reason we are here. The Panaderia Malpica. The wonderful bakery. This year the front of the building has been remodeled. It used to be green and didn't have any windows. These two windows were installed in the spring. As we get out of the car we can already smell the delicious breads and pastries. 

You walk through the door and you are in the Baker's living room. It too has been recently repainted. The actual bakery is right beyond the room's other door. When the bakery is open the chairs are moved to one side of the room. 

And this is the bakery. The baker's husband. In the lower right front is the huge mixer. Racks of baked goods on the back wall. The wood fired oven is to the left.

Fresh bread on a pan - just out of the oven. 

Croissants that are almost ready to go into the oven. 

A pastry that has creamed pineapple in it. Very good. 

Looking into the oven. There are seven big baker's pans in the oven waiting to finish baking. About three o'clock in the morning the wood is put around the edges of the oven and the fire is started. By about six the fire has burned down the oven is hot and the baking begins. The only day she doesn't bake is Saturday. 

Her husband removes the baked good from the oven. He has a long pole with a flat shovel on the end. He uses it to move the pans around and to take them out and put them in. About three years ago he had both of his knees replaced. Before that he was always with canes. Now he moves like a young man. 

The girl takes the pans from the shovel and puts them into the racks. 

Leaving the bakery. Since we've been going there the family has added a beautiful dining room, kitchen and laundry room to the back of the home. 

Looking up the street towards the main highway 

Looking the other way towards the plaza. 

The side of the community building.

There is a small but interesting museum in here. The front of the building. Hard to see the mural now with the palms in front of it. A year or so ago we watched the man painting it. 

The gazebo and small church. 

Just parts of the building.

The back ground is great.
Both murals depict the history of the area. 

As usual we bought bags of fresh pastries. Some to eat some to bring home and share. We will be going back there in a week or so and will visit with the tile maker and get more pastries. The tile maker is now making smaller round tiles instead of the larger floor tiles he used to make. One of the new tiles. All hand made. 

 I'm going to get one like this when we come back!

More about visit to Concordia next. Plan on returning to Malpica next week will focus on tile maker. [friends will be in town so we'll be running around a lot.]
We went to see the car again today - looking good!
Got the car back yesterday   Before

 After. New graphics, new windshield and new parts under front end.  No more grinding noise when going over bumps or cobblestones. 

Off to another adventure.