Lago Sol Hotel And Suites Tzintzuntzan

... I saw quite a few grand resorts and estates in various stages of construction amidst large areas of what looked like barren wasteland. I understand that in spite of the acute shortage of water in the area, three new golf courses are under construction. Crazy!
On the way back, I got my bus driver to drop me off at La Gruta, one of the various hot springs in the area. It was a beautiful oasis of gardens and warm pools - one of which is reached by swimming down a tunnel into a ...

... down the highway, blasting out Manu Chao and taking in the impressive scenery bathed in bright sunshine. The journey lasted little over three hours and we arrived in Morelia in time to explore the city before sundown. Unwittingly we had parked in the redlight district, and we would later return to find a prostitute on the corner and the man we had paid to watch the car engaged in a huge fight with some other locals.

Back in the city centre we saw a number of cathedrals and some ...

... Mexicans took us to a trendy club with an outside bar and a magnificent view of the city lights down in the valley below. I spent the vast majority of my weekend's money on one bottle of Bacardi, from which I got about two drinks as many others helped themselves. Still, we had a great time and it was definitely one of the coolest clubs I've ever been to. We headed back to the bus around 3am but it was only then that the real fun kicked off. Upon returning we consumed far too much of ...

... 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) Niños Cantores de Morelia (singing children of Morelia). They were pretty good, but they sang one ...

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 ...

... me what sounded like jello she was really offering me "hielo" which is ice. I finally figured out today that jello is "gelatina." Ohhhh!)

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 ...

... did understand a lot!

I spent a lot of time in the Museo del Estado, which had lots of info about the P'urhépecha - the indigenous people in Michoacán. Lots of beautiful pottery, and also pictures made from feathers, with LOTS of amazing detail. I headed back toward the cathedral after the museum closed and the heavens opened, nearly turning my umbrella inside out. Decided to wait out the storm in the cathedral, which was just starting the 7th or 8th mass of ...

... with fine looking white adobe homes and the local indigenous folk all wonder the streets wearing traditional dress.
I spent my first evening looking around the heavily overpriced arts, crafts and antique shops before getting held up in Plaza Vasco de Quiroga (the town's main plaza). There was plenty going on here with three different groups of street entertainers all performing to a different beat and all were enjoyable to watch.

Patzcuaro, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico amazingjourneys

... the layout of the markets they would of had, and there's a pyramid that was 46m tall there, however the Catholics took the blocks to build there church right next to it. From here, we took a short stop to a section of the city in the west. Here is an absolutely huge catholic church which is sinking, and you can definitely see this and feel it when walking around inside. This is the site where 'apparently' the Virgin Mary whispered to a ...

... unable to resist the advance of the conquistadores who arrived in the region in the 1520s. Their aim of their mission was twofold: to secure Tarascan recognition of the Spanish crown and to spread the Catholic faith. Initially things went well and relations between the parties were cordial. Then Nuño de Guzman arrived. The new commander was a bloody thirsty tyrant with a lust for gold and little time for diplomacy. After he tortured to death a local chief in an attempt to ...