Mansion San Francisco Morelia

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

... a good way to relieve the hangover but once we got out it was absolutely freezing due to the high altitude. Probably the first and only time I've actually felt cold since being in this country.<br><br>That evening we returned to have a fiesta in the big house we were staying in. A brief powercut meant that it was a candlelit party for sometime, but the power soon returned and the festivities continued. As it was the only common language between all the different nationalities, I think ...

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

... now a museum (pictures attached!) and the classrooms and refectory are still used for conferences. Reminded me of Haileybury! The cells where the monks lived had windows which catch the afternoon sun. The windows each had a built-in bench on the left side so they could use the natural light when they were working. Too bad for the left-handed monks! Also visited the church and town square.<br><br>Tupátaro - small adobe church with Romanesque arches ...

... in that direction. I soon<br>realize that this was no small market -- but a gigantic maze market<br>selling everything that can be sold from gold fish to tea leaves, from<br>phone chargers to wrenches and saws and machetes, from tacos to used<br>and new shoes, from mirrors to mango smoothies to full bottles of<br>perfume (see pic). I spent probably an hour and a half walking around<br>the market ...

... clean with nice linen and cable TV and the staff was friendly. Their advertised rates were 250 and 300 Peso for 1 or 2 persons but they immediately knocked 50 Peso off. <br><br>Hotel Valmen, Padre Lloreda No. 34, Tel: 01 (434) 3421161. This centrally located hotel is another good budget option with current rates of 200 + 250 for 1 or 2 persons. It is much larger Hotel than the one's mentioned above and has cheerful staff and spacious rooms with ...

... luckily we got it all over with in one night (except Monique who preceded us). That left Monique to help the rest of us as we were sick; she brought us water and napkins and was just generally concerned for everyone. Monika took great care of us and cleaned up after us (what a friend indeed!) the only limiting factor was that we flushed the toilet so many times we ran out of water. So, just try to imagine 5 people with the runs and you can't flush the toilet ...

... zipping through the air. Luis called out "Heaven is on earth, friends." My legs didn't feel so tired any more and I caught my wind to hurry up the last couple of steps. Everywhere you looked there were monarchs flying. I couldn't speak. Puddles formed by due in the grass attracted countless numbers to form an orange blanket on the ground. I took video and pictures, and was thinking that I'd seen it all when Luis said, "This is wonderful, yes? But ...

... beyond me how anyone else ever got a word in around him. He included in his rant a half-hour long lecture on how the Jehovah Witness bible (which was actually created in 1950) was no different to any other bible, that it just dealt differently with the "ransom sacrifice" that was Jesus Christ. In fairness to the man. he was obviously intelligent and very informed about most subjects but he had an irritating habit of pronouncing his "ar"s like "er"s as in ...

... local town. I ended up literally stumbling home (yes, alone) and getting really fn lost. I was awakened by a parade for Mexico Day. In my stupor I got lost in the crowd and had to go back to the hotel and have the dude who works there take me to my truck. I became really sick that day. I slept in the back the whole way to Mexico City. With breif stints of heavy vomiting. I thought I was going to die. We got into the hell hole of Mexico City late that nite.