Casa De La Loma Hotel And Suit Morelia

... beautifully preserved "old town", with all the romance and spendour of numerous antique buildings and churches.
On my first night, I wandered a few blocks away from my hotel to the central plaza. What a contrast it was with the quiet central gardens in SMA! The annual music festival was just winding down, and there were no fewer that four bands playing, along with several dancing performances and other attractions for children. Christmas lights were blazing and blinking ...

... and the full moon seemed to transform the island werewolf-style into something of a nightmare. It soon became bitterly cold so we had to purchase giant knitted hoodies and drink hot punch spiked with liquor just to stay warm. It should have been a realy eerie experience as bats flitted around above us, while the faint sound of traditional music merged with the sinister squeaking of the children's swings to form a creepy cacophony. However this was soon drowned out by the hoards ...

After my first week of classes I decided to visit the neighbouring state of Michoacan. A couple of Mexican guys called Hugo and Raul were taking a coachload of students to party and see a bit more of the country. I was the sole Englishman but it was a real international group, mostly comprised of Germans, French, Mexicans and Americans.

We arrived in the state capital Morelia on the Friday night and took a brief tour around the city centre. It was fairly lively as the annual ...

... my Conversation Club on Tuesday I was paired with a couple of young men, and I encouraged them to come to salsa. They did, and Thursday they brought friends, so for the first time we had as many hombres as mujeres, which made it much more fun for the mujeres!

Got to hear some choirs in a concert on Monday night, including the famous (around here at least) Niņos Cantores de Morelia (singing children of Morelia). They were pretty good, but they sang one ...

... with masks of old men and women, grey hair, hats with long streaming ribbons and traditional sandals with wooden soles. They dance bent over with a cane to look old, but the intricate rhythms they make with their feet take lots of energy! A bottle of water in my bag leaked and my camera got wet so the pictures end abruptly with lunch - unfortunately none of los viejitos. I hadnīt budgeted for a new camera on this trip....(sigh)

... take the bus back. As we continued on,
however, it seemed as we were going more and more into the countryside and so I
was not likely to encounter a "main" area. I saw a cute little church
and an ice cream place and decided to get off, giving my 5 pesos on the way out
as I couldn’t get myself to not pay. I was in the Jesus del Monte (Jesus of the
Mountain) village, not surprising at it was the name of the bus. I went to look
at the church and then started walking ...

... to follow...............

Accommodation

Patzcuaro offers an excellent range of places to stay with the best deals to be found in the centre of town. Your other option is to stay three kilometre's out of town on the road that leads down to Lago de Patzcuaro, from where the boats depart for Isla Janitzio. Where ever you decide to stay make sure to ask for a bit of discount as all the places that I looked at would drop their rates ...

... floor was covered in water because of all the rain. After that we went to the grocery store. It was very hard to find what we wanted. Know I know how the people in Canada who don't speak or read English feel trying to find stuff. After that we went on the bus and again I payed the bus driver in Spanish. He was really creepy. At 6:00 we had a huge thunderstorm. Actually we still have it going. The thunder is going ...

... I think it was started in the 1600's and completed in the 1700's. It has several famous pieces of art including a statue of Jesus. I t was originally constructed with Jesus on the cross looking to the heavens. But as it was constructed of bamboo and a waxy resin, the heat in Morelia caused the head to bow. This statue, with Jesus's head bowed on the cross became an iconic figure that is repeated ...

... in a bank, which after a while of watching others I accomplished. Later on I will go to meet anyone else doing the Spanish course, I am just hoping that there are others doing it because I wont last much longer on my own. I will update this again soon when I have some proper news, just wanted you all to know I am here and ready to start my adventures!