Fiesta Inn Uruapan

... of drunken tourists trampling over people's graves to take photos of the few old women who had come to honour their dead. Relatives would leave offerings of the deceased's favourite foods and place orange Cempazúchitl flowers by the graves, which are supposed to draw out the spirits of the dead with their enticing scent. However it was disappointing to see so many intrusive tourists flocking around them, and it seems unlikey the dead could have heard their families calling over such a ...

... sp?), where there are remains of a settlement that predates the P'urhépecha by about 1000 years. It is thought to be the farthest west outpost of the Teotihuacános - a fortification for protecting their lands - and was built about 450 BC. The pyramid there resembles those of Teotihuacán, except much smaller. There were also remains of a tomb, and a field for ball games. The field was about 6 feet lower than ground level and walled all around ...

... but unlike the Aztecs who sacrificed their own people as well as prisoners, they sacrificed only prisoners they had captured in battles against other empires. The pyramids are not complete because after the Spanish arrived they used much of the stone to build their churches and monasteries. They also ransacked the pyramids hoping they would find treasure inside, but there wasn´t anything inside - except more rocks! However, part on one has ...

... lunch at the top of the mountain, looking out over the lake and it was such a good experience. I had shrimp that was amazing!! On Monday we also went to see some ruins of some indian pyramids, which were very old...haha. I got some cool pictures climbing on them (which we technically werent supposed to do, but in Mexico anything goes). On Tuesday before coming back we stopped at a National Park in Uruapan, which was absolutely gorgeous ...

... it gets very cold at night time. Judging the sheets we needed at night time, I had the feeling of being in Portugal during winter time. Everything feels humid and you just don't want to step out of bed. In addition to all of that, we had a really hard time in finding a regular restaurant. I'm still not ready for tacos and tortas so street food won't make it. There is hardly a choice and most do serve tacos/tortas. When we found a ...

... to trap the fish - this however was also put on for the benefit of the tourists and a nominated fisherman paddled up to the arriving boat waving his hat for tips! Off today to one of my favourite sounding places, Tzin Tzan Tzun, to see the ruins(with circular pyramids!) and the town, also on the lake, but with no access to it.

... to follow............... <br><br>Accommodation <br><br>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 ...

... of Plaza Morelos. <br><br>Whilst here I stayed at the Casa Chikita B&amp;B, Emilio Carranza No. 32, Tel: 01 (452) 5244174, Web: www.casachikita.com . This small B&amp;B is housed in a fine nineteenth century colonial house with only five rooms set around a small garden, and is located two blocks from Plaza Morelos, towards the Parque. It's owned by the hospitable Aline and Oscar ...

... way. Rounding the bare cone of a hill scarred black by opencast mining, the storm clouds parted to reveal the promise of blue sky. The route wound upwards through pine forest towards the spur of a gently undulating ridge. Warm sunshine and a gentle breeze greeted my arrival at the pass. Pausing awhile to catch my breath in the thin air, I considered the prospect of the lush volcanic hills that lay ahead. Then, switching up through the gears, I leant over the handlebars ...

... and beers. All of the surfers getting out of the water were surprisingly old? It was almost like we stumbled upon some secret spot -the waves were perfect and the rides were long and there were only 5 guys in the water. Crazy. Rain woke us up REALLY early the next morning. Everything was soaked and sandy which may have had something to do with the frequent bickering accompanied by long periods of silence during the next 390km to Uruapan.