Torreblanca Campestre Morelia

... moon rising over the mountain side and reflecting the orange glow of the sunset opposite it.<br><br>It had been a surreal and unforgetable weekend, despite the disappointing commercialisation of this ancient indigenous festival. It is certainly something worth experiencing once in your life, although I would recommend trying one of the smaller islands in Lake Patzcuaro, which are less likely to be so overrun by tourists and should offer a more authentic version of the Day of the Dead.<br>

... 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 ...

... pretty fluently. Exciting! I've started buying the local newspaper this week too, and can get much of it! <br><br>I seemed to hit a big bump in classes around Tuesday where I couldn´t say anything right, but seem to have gotten over it a bit. Conversation class has started to be really fun - Lupita (see picture several entries ago) really keeps us on our toes and keeps the ball rolling. Also went to Conversation Club a couple of times and both salsa classes this week ...

... specialize their in own handicraft. Also visited the market where we could see (and purchase) some of these handicrafts. Bought a beautiful terracotta pot for about $17...still working on how I´m going to get it home! (what´s Spanish for bubble wrap - plastica con burbujas?)<br><br>Pátzcuaro - went to a nice restaurant for lunch and then wandered around the market and square. Watched the dance of "los viejitos" - young people dressed in traditional ...

... me what sounded like jello she was really offering me "hielo" which is ice. I finally figured out today that jello is "gelatina." Ohhhh!)<br><br>This is a bit dull because there´s nothing really exciting happening! The organ recital that was supposed to be on last night was cancelled, but no one seems to know why. I did go to see two Chekhov one-act comedies yesterday instead. I found the scripts online and read them before I went, which was good because it was ...

I will apologize again for not being able to update this on a timely basis. The biggest problem in keeping up with this was really about having the time. We are back in Yakima now but I feel I should give the daily information on the final two days in Morelia: Friday Morning and it is the last workday. We once again met at Villa Montana to head out to the elementary school. We got out to the school a little after 10am and got right to ...

... TV. The three rooms that I looked at had excellent mattresses, not the thin mattresses that the Lonely Planet mentioned, but it could be noisy so ask for a room on the inside. <br><br>A couple of nice mid-range Hotels are Posada De La Salud and my favourite Hotel Posada San Alejandro. <br><br>Posada De La Salud, Benigno Serrato No.9, Tel: 01 (434) 3420058, Web: www.posadadelasalud.com.mx . This is housed in a fine colonial building with the ...

... we didn't really know where to go. First we saw a bunch of stray dogs. These cute little dogs kept falling us all over the place for food. Unfortultly we didn't have any food. We saw a buch of men in the back of trucks with fruit in it. Later that day Monica the nice lady we are staying ...

At the heart of the industrial city Leon lie two squares: the Plaza Principal - with its ranks of white-painted tree-trunks rising into green shaved storm-troopers helmets - and the adjacent Plaza de los Fundadores - a broad square ornamented by the Spanish colonial cathedral. An afternoon I spent by the latter, perched outside a cafe with my notepad, pencil and a slowly increasing armoury of Negro Modelo bottles. To the steady stream of mendicants who passed by, seeking ...

... town. It is an exercise class on stationary bicycles. So imagine this scene: A dark room filled with Mexicans in tight Spandex. Very loud Spanish electronica is playing. All of the Mexicans are looking up at a stage with a stationary bike that is illuminated with red spot lights. I am on the bike screaming things with my gringo accent like, "¡ANDALE!" and, "¡ARRIBA!" - - Sometimes during class I can´t help but laugh. But, the pay is ...