Hotel Fiesta Plaza Patzcuaro

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

Hello, all! Sorry for the long silence - been extremely busy!

I celebrated July 4 by taking a tour with other students in my school to 4 really pretty towns - Tiripitéo, Tupátaro, Tzintzuntzán and Pátzcuaro. The names are all from the P'urhépecha Empire, hence the difficulty in pronuciation. Here´s a quick resume of each:

Tiripitéo - We visited the first university in the Americas, founded by Augustinians in 1537. The monastery/college ...

... with the exception of two that is. There are many pricier Hotels which you will find with a quick Google search.
While in the centre of town I was fortunate to stumble across the immaculately kept Hotel Posada San Pablo, Antes Industria No. 15, Tel: 01 (434) 342-0667. This small family run guest house with only nine rooms was kept in pristine condition and is not featured in any of the guide books, YET. All the en-suite rooms ...

... of Plaza Morelos.

Whilst here I stayed at the Casa Chikita B&B, Emilio Carranza No. 32, Tel: 01 (452) 5244174, Web: www.casachikita.com . This small B&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 ...

... hostess welcomed us with tequila and sightseeing suggestions, and off we went into town. Two minutes walking up a steep hill lands us at the edge of the little zocalo which is connected to the large zocalo at one of it's corners.
We ate at one of the restaurants with outdoor tables (Hotel Mansíon Iturbe), while it was only about 10PM, things had already shut down, but what we chose fit everyone fine. I had the veggie sopa tarasca- and while the sweet ...

... and super cheap! The next day is filled with more sightseeing, eating at Pepe's booth (big hug to my cousin Pepe, you are everywhere!) and doing some more shopping for Jason. We also had to go to the Portugal street, MEUS TUGAS: cá estamos, em todo o lado do mundo, sinto bastante a vossa falta, beijinhos!! All in all Patzcuaro is really not so big, but nice to visit even during rainy season. In the morning we are ...

... for the next three nights, and just as during my trip through Canada and the U.S., I was shown great generosity by the snowbirds. They were constantly wondering how dangerous it must be to cycle in Mexico and then offering me food or beer and sometimes both. Having a bicycle was somehow tantamount to being an orphan but I didn't mind - I needed a break from tacos. The morning after my arrival in Pátzcuaro I set off on foot to explore the former 'Indian capital'. The ...

... but maybe I am a bit jealous as well! They were over half from Quebec and some of them are permamnently in their RVs so it is their home. As I said before, we thought we had seen our best at San Cristobal but Patzcuaro I personally feel is better, Sheila is not so sure. It seems to be more like what it must have been a few hundred years ago and it has a continuous theme of creams and ruddy-browns through all the buildings and every shop sign is written the same ...

... 24 hours a day since we slept in that thing, and without a shower. We were quickly seduced by the slow village life, tranquility with the dogs, some nice modern amenities like broadband Internet, relaxed backyard, of course, a few joints and a little imported ale from the north and we shortly fell like fools for having been in the US for so long. It seemed like they had figured it out. They pay 40 dollars a month in rent for a little adobe hut. Of course there is no ...