DAY TRIPS THIS MONTH

The coastal plain beyond Manialtepec is lush, with rich grazing lands, vast coconut fields and lime orchards and some fascinating communities to visit.

San José Manialtepec lies just beyond the Manialtepec Lagoon. Here you can rent horses for a leisurely ride through beautiful country along the Manialtepec River to Atotonilco Hot Springs, an ancient ceremonial center for the Chatino Indians.

Roca Blanca is a lovely bay named for the guano-covered island that dominates the view. A pleasant beach to relax and enjoy fresh seafood at the palapa restaurants -- great oysters when they are in season! Get there from Cacalote, home of the famed Strangler or Lover's Trees, a variety of parasitic ficus that wraps itself around palms creating fanciful and grotesque shapes and patterns.

Beyond the wetlands complex of Chacahua National Park is Santa Rosa de Lima, a major center for the cultivation of limes, the all-purpose seasoning and astringent that is a local staple. Look for the friendly, country-style restaurant named Doña, it's in itself worth a trip for lunch.

Villa Tututepec, some 15 Km off the highway, is the ancient town founded by Mixtecs whose dynasty dominated the region until the colonial era and who were never totally subjugated by the Aztecs. The town has a museum to house the relics of this ancient zone. The great stone carvings that were on the grounds of the town church - - once the site of the Mixtec Temple of the Sky - - plus samples of tools, weapons and ceramics that span the centuries can be seen here.

Santiago Jamiltepec is also an ancient Mixtec settlement whose history is very closely linked to that of Tututepec. It was originally called Casando'o, for the warrior chief who helped spread Tututepec dominio over 200 km of the coastal region, from Ometepec in to Huatulco. According to the legends, Casando'o settled down, married and had a son he named Jamil.

One day an eagle snatched Jamil from his cradle and devoured the child in the highest branches of a huge tree, leaving its head, a few bones and the tree drenched with blood. It is said that the distraught Casando'o buried the remains at the base of the tree, now the site of Jamiltepec's church and the reason the town's present name.

It's a colorful and bustling market town, where the Indian ladies from the surrounding areas come to sell their produce. It boasts a fine Dominican church and a pair of colonial sundials and some ancient carved stone artifacts in its zocolo. Good crafts' shopping: woven textiles, leather and machetes, and you can shop for colorful baskets and other products in the local jail in the municipal building on the main square.

Santa Catarina Mechoacan specializes in the manufacture of wood and woven-string chairs, tables and other furniture, common in many of our local homes and restaurants. It's an attractive, well-tended town. Don't be surprised to see women of a certain age unabashedly topless in and around their homes and the furniture workshops. Among the Mixtec of the coast, once a women is beyond child-bearing years, this is her right. She may cover herself with a shawl, should she choose. In many of these towns local priests have made it a point to end this practice, but in Mechoacan, the abuelitas still let it all hang out.

You can often see these grandmothers in the market at Jamiltepec, a hollowed gourd perched on their heads.

Huazpala, or San Andres Huazpaltepec, lies more or less midway between Jamiltepec and Pinotepa Nacional, a predominately indigenous town. Mauves and purples dominate in the traditional huipiles and wrap-around skirts of the women in this region, natural dyes made from a variety of sea snail and much valued by the Zapotecos, as well as the local Mixtec people, the Amuzgos and other cultures. Huaxpala celebrates its annual fair Aug. 5 and 6.

Huazolo or Santa María Huazolotitlan is just 4 Km from Huazpala, located in a lovely verdant valley. Huazolo is picturesque and notable for the production of elaborate woven huipiles and carved and painted wooden masks and figurines, many of which are still used in the traditional dances of the region. The town is also known for its delicious sweet egg bread, much prized throughout the region.