Stone archways, a tree-lined plaza, and the solemn statue of Vasco de Quiroga anchor this vivid four-view Chrome postcard of Pátzcuaro, the perfectly preserved colonial highland city on the shores of its famous lake in Michoacán — sent in January 1988 by Mary to Frieda in Rochester, New York, with the breathless news that this trip was deliberately "off the beaten tourist route," lodging in remodeled colonial buildings and driving long roads through countryside so beautiful it stilled the pen. The four photographs capture: the willow-shadowed aqueduct or canal-side promenade (upper left); the massive carved-stone facade of the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Salud (upper right); the serene Renaissance cloister of the Colegio de San Nicolás, Mexico's oldest continuously operating college (lower left); and the grand Plaza Vasco de Quiroga with its towering monument to the beloved bishop-humanist who shaped the region's indigenous crafts tradition (lower right). Two Mexican "Exporta" series stamps — a $20 Hierro Forjado (wrought iron) and a $400 Componentes Electrónicos (electronic components) — frank this Via Aérea card, postmarked in Michoacán, January 6, 1988.