El Refugio en Patzcuaro

... they don't seem to really expect travellers to know their languages. Here, it seems more that if you don't speak Spanish, that's YOUR problem - too bad for you!
So, on Monday, I visitied the Baden-Powell Institute to arrange for some tuition. The next day I moved from my hotel into an apartment around the corner from the school, and began my lessons. I feel lucky because at this particular time, there are no other students who are at my (abysmal) level, so for the same price ...

... Several of the tombs were elaborately decorated with flowers, candles, pictures, and streamers. Some people even had created special designs for the tombs, for example, one tomb had a baby carriage made from marigolds on it.

Later on in the day, as the sun began to set, we headed to the Lake to catch a boat to Janitzio to see the Day of the Dead celebrations on the island. We were there a bit too early, but I was told around ...

... of the dead), candy skulls and a wide array of grotesque masks.

In the late afternoon we took a boat to the island of Janitzio in Lake Patzcuaro. We had heard that Janitzio was the best place to celebrate the Night of the Dead and to see locals laying gifts at the graves of loved ones in the cemeteries. Perhaps this was once true, but the island has since become just another place for tourists to tick off their list. As we climbed the steep steps up the hillside we passed ...

... it was still an enjoyable ride, for I made a few friends and the Mexican guys continued to party throughout the journey. Seemingly never tired, downbeat or too hungover to drink, the Mexicans blasted out Reggaeton and brought round rum for us to down straight from the bottle. We arrived home late that night, tired after a fun but exhausting three days on the road. Michoacan is meant to be the best place to celebrate the Day of the Dead so I should be returning there in early November.

... set around a plant filled garden and patio.

Hotel Posada San Alejandro, Serrato No.5, Tel: 01 (434) 3426133, Web: www.posadasanejandro.com . This Hotel had the friendliest and most welcoming staff that you could ever wish for. The spotless tiled rooms have cable TV and are set back from the street, so you are insured a quiet night’s sleep. They offered an excellent single rate of 250 Peso, which was a lot lower than the advertised rate.

That morning it took us awhile to figure out what time it really was, it finally being decided that DF was an hour earlier than our phones seemed to think. It turns out that Mexico does participate in daylight savings, however they fall back a week before the gringos up north- including our cell phone towers.

We did get to sleep in and still be up early (sleeping in does not exist in my household due to a certain morning happy catahoula- so getting up at ...

... of carne asada (beef), pollo (chicken), chorizo (sausage) and tripa (guess), I opted for 2 each of the first 2, with fresh guacamole sauce and a Coca - excellent! Then we asked where the zocalo was - 3 blocks down - and came to a very elegant, upscale square surrounded by shops and hotels. Got a nice room right on the zocalo and rode our bikes into the courtyard - cool! The town is a popular weekend destination for Mexicans. It's a very pretty town.

... sale, and on the far side of a railway line a busy road junction awaited. The rest of the world caught up with me on the approach to Pátzcuaro. It was a pleasure to set up my tent again after such a long hiatus. 'You're on a bicycle' interrupted an American lady, 'You must be brave'. I didn't deny it. Along either side of the campground stretched a couple of dozen gleaming white RVs - big fancy camper vans - stretched. Men fanned smoke from barbeques while women put out ...

... and is in a magnificent jungle setting in the foothills so has lovely views over the coastal plain. Of course you have to contend with tourists at the foot of a pyramid yelling to their friends at the top but it is a huge site so mostly it was peaceful. But three hours saw us done and in need of the swimming pool. We had two nights at Palenque which is in Chiapas State and then set off for San Cristobal in the heart of Chiapas. This state has been the scene of ...

... to the industrialized life pattern in undevolped places. I suppose I am especially sensitive to these things now after having finished my required reading as prescribed by randall, the long emergency by kunstler, small is beautiful by schumacher, the book of bamboo by farrelly (this one given to me by my neighbor, Arturo. The importance of primal materials and their sustainability are central. The industrialized world has developed an ugly dependence on fossil fuels as its ...