{"id":8992,"date":"2020-11-21T19:27:12","date_gmt":"2020-11-22T01:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitpatzcuaro.com\/?post_type=citadela-item&p=8992"},"modified":"2025-12-22T16:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T22:53:06","slug":"alberca-de-los-espinos","status":"publish","type":"citadela-item","link":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/item\/alberca-de-los-espinos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pool of Los Espinos (Sea Eye)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\udf0b\ud83d\udc8e<\/b> An emerald lake inside a volcano.<\/b><\/h3>\n

At the foot of the road, hidden behind a wall of vegetation, is one of the most beautiful geological secrets in the region: the Los Espinos Pool. It is no ordinary lake; It is the crater of an extinct volcano<\/b> filled with water, a phenomenon known geologically as \u201caxalapasco\u201d.<\/p>\n

An Oasis of Contrasts \ud83c\udf3f<\/b><\/h3>\n

As you descend towards the crater, you will feel an immediate change in the environment.<\/p>\n

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    The Color:<\/b> What is most striking is the tone of its waters. Depending on the light and season, the lake changes from a deep emerald green to a deep blue, creating a fascinating natural mirror.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Microclimate:<\/b> While the weather outside may be dry, the interior of the crater (which is a Protected Natural Area) maintains constant humidity, allowing for exuberant vegetation of willows and ash trees that surround the water.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Mysticism:<\/b> The locals call it \u201cSea Eye\" due to an ancient legend that says that the lake has no bottom and that its underground currents connect to the ocean. Although science says that it feeds on groundwater, the feeling of mystery when seeing its still surface is undeniable.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Access and Comfort \ud83d\udee3\ufe0f<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Getting there is very simple. It is strategically located on the highway that connects Zacapu with Villa Jim\u00e9nez<\/b>, which makes it a perfect and accessible stop for any vehicle. It has stone paths and rustic gazebos to rest.<\/p>\n

    \ud83c\udf1f Our Recommendation<\/b><\/h3>\n

    The perfect photo stop.<\/b><\/p>\n

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      The Descent:<\/b> There is a cobblestone path and steps to go down to the water's edge. The route is beautiful, but remember that everything you go down, you will have to climb back up (bring water).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Swimming?:<\/b> Although you will see people swimming, we suggest extreme caution<\/b>. The water is cold, deep and may have subtle currents and vegetation (lily) on the banks. It is ideal for \u201cswimming\u201d on the shore or simply having a visual picnic, but we do not recommend going in if you are not an expert swimmer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      The View:<\/b> If you don't want to go down to the water, there are viewpoints at the top of the crater rim that offer the best panoramic view to take the complete photo of the volcanic circle.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \ud83c\udf0b\ud83d\udc8e Un lago esmeralda dentro de un volc\u00e1n. A pie de carretera, escondido tras un muro de vegetaci\u00f3n, se encuentra uno de los secretos geol\u00f3gicos m\u00e1s bellos de la regi\u00f3n: la Alberca de Los Espinos. No es un lago com\u00fan; es el cr\u00e1ter de un volc\u00e1n extinto lleno de agua, un fen\u00f3meno conocido geol\u00f3gicamente como […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9750,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","citadela-item-category":[394],"citadela-item-location":[414],"class_list":["post-8992","citadela-item","type-citadela-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","citadela-item-category-alrededores","citadela-item-location-zacapu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item\/8992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/citadela-item"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item\/8992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"citadela-item-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item-category?post=8992"},{"taxonomy":"citadela-item-location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villapatzcuaro.com\/visitpatzcuaro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/citadela-item-location?post=8992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}