While wandering around Patzcuaro one evening, we decided to go into the courtyard of a hotel that our friend had stayed in several years ago. The courtyards of the hotels in Patzcuaro are spectacular. Once we were inside, we heard music and decided to see what it was happening We discovered 11 men playing guitars […]
Every year, millions of monarch butterflies undertake a great journey of up to 4,000 miles in their annual migration from Canada and the United States to their wintering grounds in Mexico. Once in Mexico the monarch congregate in the Oyamel fir trees of Michoacán. The Monarch butterfly biosphere reserve covers over 200 square miles. Within […]
The State of Michoacán is renowned in Mexico for the hammered copper of Santa Clara del Cobre, a town founded in 1530 after the construction of an enormous smelter for the nuns of the Order of Santa Clara. Around the end of the 17th century, a huge foundry fire burned down most of the town […]
We decided to go to Uruapan, just a short bus ride from Patzcuaro. Uruapan is a semi-tropical, mountainous agricultural region founded in 1540. It is the second largest city in the State of Michoacán. Uruapan means “place of eternal formation and fertility”. They are known worldwide for their high quality avocados that are grown here, […]
Today we spent wandering around Patzcuaro. There is so much to see here that we are realizing we will not have enough time to see and do it all. Patzcuaro has worked to keep its traditional colonial-indigenous look. Houses in Pátzcuaro are made of adobe and/or wood and generally have tiled roofs. Pátzcuaro is the […]
So many pleasant surprises have been happening to us that we eagerly set off on today’s journey. We were not to be disappointed. The first town was Tocuaro, a small village of 656 inhabitants but home to a few famous mask makers. We met two of them. Mask making has been a tradition in Mexico […]
We met our driver Homar Cruz, who was to become, after getting to know him, a special person to us. If you are ever in Patzcuaro, you can reach him at homarcruz1@yahoo.com or phone him at 044 434 1089752 or late night 434 3427858. We started heading towards Capula when Homar wanted to know […]
The State of Michoacán is known for its beautiful scenery historic buildings, traditions and culture. The area we are visiting is known as the La Ruta de Don Vasco (the Don Vasco route). Don Vasco de Quiroga was educated as a lawyer and was sent by Spain to govern the colony. He was so well […]
We decided for this side trip that we and another couple were going to forgo the packaged tours and go on our own. What we discovered may well change the way we see Mexico in the future. Our journey began with travel arrangements on Mexico’s bus system. The bus system in Mexico is like […]
Every Wednesday in Villa Obregon (Melaque) between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m., you can hear the sounds of pegs being hammered into the ground and the clanking of aluminum poles being put together to hold the tarps. These tarps will provide shade as the day wears on. It is market day. The market stretches for several […]