There is so much to see in the Patzcuaro area

Tuesday, January 20, 2009


We take a very early taxi to the boat dock for a trip to the island if Janitzio. The morning air is crisp. We definitely need a jacket.
The boat leaves at 9 am. There are no other tourists in sight. It’s rather quiet around here.
The boat ride is about 30 minutes and as we get closer to the island we see the enormous statue on top of the mountain. The plan is to walk all the way to the top. I see Mama rolling her eyes, thinking “how am I going to do that”.

The weedcutters are busy on the lake ensuring nothing settles. It would be nice if they could have a few of these boats on lake Chapala, because there the water is not suitable for recreation at all. Not that I would want to swim in this lake. The question did come up where the sewage from this island ends up. We won't think about that any further.

As we get closer to the island, there are several small boats with fisherman with their large nets putting on a show just for us. Later they approach our boat for a tip.

The first thing we see once we debark is the colourful furniture of the restaurant up the steps from the pier. Bright yellow chairs and colourful table cloths and decorations we would consider tacky back home. But it’s all so fitting here.

The vendors are just setting up and not everyone is open yet. A young beautiful native woman with her pleaded skirt and lace collar on her blouse is setting out the vegetables in a most organized way. It’s a treat to the eye.
As we climb up, we hear a strange language coming from the small houses built all along the the tiny stairways. These are all indigenous people, who speak their own language. Many are also able to speak Spanish. They have to, because there are nothing but souvenir shops and tiny restaurants. Everyone wants to sell something. It’s somewhat disappointing to see however, that most of the items for sale appear to be made in China.

A group of women is walking ahead of us and once we turn yet another corner we see the church they are headed for.
The higher we get, the more beautiful the view. There is not a vehicle in sight. Everything is done on foot on the rough cobblestone paths. We see women preparing food and most man are either hanging around the view point or calling us to enter their store.

We finally reach the Mirador and are now really close to the statue of General Jose Maria Morales, who as the description reads was a real freedom fighter. His statue, built in 1937 reaches almost 50 meters.
The walk back is a lot easier, but we still need to watch where we go. No two steps are the same. Mama is doing pretty good and enjoys herself. We’re so proud of her.

We take the boat back and everything at the dock is different. Their are vendors everywhere. Selling tiny dried fish, crafts, food and fruit. We buy a bag of deliciou looking blackberries. The lady assures us they have been washed with the water from over there. She points to a building on the other side. We’ll see.
We take a collective taxi back to the square where we left the car and stop for some refreshments. Joe and Ramiro opt for chocolate cake flan and Mom and I share an order of Quesedias, which are accompanied by a nice salad and some refried beans. The lady at the restaurant speaks very well English and is super friendly. We inquire about the price of the rooms. “420 Pesos” she says Hmm, we’ll need to keep this in mind for next time.

We drive 25 km south to Santa Clara del Cobre, famous for its copper works.
Things have changed in Mexico, among the locally crafted copper pots we see many copper souvenirs that look less than handmade. Made in China perhaps?
The square is another sight. The benches and the gazebo appear to be made of copper. A closer look tells us their are just like any other bench and are painted with copper paint. Well, the intention was good and it does look nice.

As we leave town we are stopped by the Police. Now what did we do? Apparently nothing. They just stand there waiting for something. Was there an accident perhaps?
We can’t really see, because we are just at the bottom of the hill. Then we hear a loud crash and a giatn tree comes tumbling down over the road. A clean up crew quickly remove all the dead wood off the road and we can continue.
We have time for one more stop. We drive north west direction Lago Patzcuaro and follow the signs to the ruins. The tiny cobblestone road takes up the mountain. There is a traffic jam. The hold up are a bunch of cowboys and their bulls. They refuse to move over and let us through, so we just hobble behind them until we are at the Pyramid site of Ihuatzio. (Meaning in Purépecha tongue, Place of Coyotes).

Before we continue, after we have seen the pyramid and read all the explanitory signs, we open the cool box for some refreshments which are nice and cold thanks to the possibility to plug the box into our 12 volt cigarette lighter, or 110 volt at the hotel. An old man carrying a pile of wood poses for a picture at my request and we treat him to a nice cold glass of apple juice.

It’s 5 pm. We discuss the plans and agree that it is important that we find a hotel in Morelia before dark. It’s slow going through those villages, but what a cultural experience to see all the activities, the many shops and the disorganized mess everywhere.
It may be messy, but every place we have been has been very clean and the woman always seem to be scrubbing, sweeping or washing.

We reach Morelia just after 6 pm. We have a pretty good city map and a name for a hotel. It’s a busy city but with a little bit of help from two female police officers we find our hotel much quicker than last night.

The price is a bit higher than in Patzcuaro but still under 500 Pesos a night. Who can beat that price. It’s amazing what you can do without if you want to stick to a budget.

We walk to the plaza where the beautiful cathedral is. What a sight with all those lights. Everyone seems to be outside, either in a coffee shop, restaurant or on the square. There is police everywhere, helping pedestrians cross the street or staffing the tourist information booth. They drive this cute electric car. There are all super friendly. Who said Police in Mexico is corrupt? We haven’t had any problem yet.

The outdoor patios look so inviting we decided to sit down for a glass of wine.
We’re too cheap to buy an entire bottle and order the house wine, which at 60 Pesos a glass is the most awful wine I have ever tasted. Well, at least we're learning something every day.
Back at our room Mama wants to use some hot water, but claims there is only cold water coming out of the tap. We tell here that she needs to deposit 50 Pesos in the slot, just as the sign on the wall above the tap indicates. Ramiro gives her the coins and she returns to the bathroom, mumbling something along the line of: “What a rip off, hot water is suppose to be included in the price of the room”.
Meanwhile we try very hard not to laugh. The coins don’t fit in the wall. “It is a joke Mom” Ramiro tells her. They are trying to remind you not to waste any water.
She laughs with us. Ah, she’s a great sport.