I am really excited to write today because last weekend I had my first travel adventure of the semester! We had a three day weekend, and I have no classes on Friday, so we took the opportunity to explore the state of Michoacan, which is about 8 hours to the northwest of Puebla. We went to Michoacan last semester for the Day of the Dead, but we wanted to return to see the monarch butterfly sanctuaries and to see more of the truly beautiful state.
The journey began on Thursday evening. I left Puebla for Mexico City at 8pm with Meara, Hayley and Merilie, three friends from Smith. We arrived in Mexico City in record time- about an hour and a half- meaning we had a lot of time to hang out in the bus terminal before our 12:30am overnight bus to Patzcuaro. While waiting, we learned a very interesting bit of information- you can take a bus from Mexico City to New York for only $180! It just so happens that after buying my one way plane ticket to come to Mexico this semester, that is exactly the amount of money I have left of my $500 program travel budget. Hmm...
The bus ride to Patzcuaro took about six hours so we arrived in the tiny Patzcuaro bus station before the sun even came up. Luckily, my friends are excellent travel companions so everyone was is good spirits even after a shaky nights sleep. We waited around about 20 minutes for some morning light, and then decided to walk to the center of town instead of taking public transportation. The morning light was really beautiful, and the walk was an excellent way to start to get our bearings, so it was well worth it. By 9am, we had covered most of the center of town, seen a beautiful view from the top of a hill, visited some Churches and taken a bunch of photos. Here are some pictures of what we saw that morning:
An old church that is now a hospital
A view of Patzcuaro and the surrounding mountains
In our wanderings, we found our hotel. Thankfully, even though it was really early, we were able to check in. It was a really cute hotel with lots of old tile, and a tiny balcony with a view. We rested for a bit in the hotel, and then were back out to continue our explorations. After some bad coffee, and a stop at an internet cafe for those who forgot to fill out their room draw forms, we were off the el lago de patzcuaro- the lake of patzcuaro. We again decided to forgo the bus and find our way walking. We knew the general direction of the lake, and could see it from a few points, so we found our way by asking directions of locals an using our general sense of direction. Even though the walk took a little longer than we thought, it was well worth it. First we passed through a bustling market selling every kind of vegetable I've ever seen, baskets, pirated DVDs, cheese, scarves, knives- you name it, they were selling it. Then we passed through a residential area. It was really nice to get to see the real patzcuaro, not just the touristy parts. After wandering the winding neighborhood roads a bit, we some how found ourselves on a main road again. When we got a little closer to to the lake, we passed by some incredible wood working shops. The first one was the most impressionable- it was a like giant warehouse with woodcarvings in various states stacked from floor to ceiling. Everything from masks to giant jesus statues carved out of tree trunks to tables and chairs. After the woodshops, it was a short walk to the dock.
Once we got to the lake, we took a boat to the main island, Janitzio. On the island we got some lunch, and hiked to the top where the is a statue of Morelos, one of the heroes of the mexican independence. We climbed up a giant spiral staircase inside the monument until we reached his wrist. It was a perilous climb, but the view from the top was gorgeous. Here are some photos from the island trip:
Merilie, me, Meara and Hayley on the boat
View of the island from the boat- that's the monument of Morelos at the top
Me with the view from the wrist of Morelos
Looking down on the staircase we climbed
After the island trip, we passed through through the market to buy food for dinner- two avocados cost us 60 cents! And after so much activity on so little sleep, it was nap time. After a siesta, we ate our dinner from the market and went out for some ice cream and watch a little TV before falling asleep once again.
The next morning we grabbed some coffee before taking a bus to Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. We only had a few hours, but it was just enough time to walk around the zocalo and get a delicious meal. Our Lonely Planet guide told us the restaurant was like "your moms home cooking if she was from mexico" and the review was right on. We all ordered different plates and shared and each one was excellent.
After our few short hours in Morelia, we took a bus to a small town called Zitacuaro where we met up with Rouwenna and Abby, two other smithies, who drove up with Gerardo (Rouwenna's boyfriend) and Julio (Gerarrdo's cousin) in Julio's van. We all drove to Angangueo, another very small town where I had made hotel reservations. The problem was, when we showed up, they had given our rooms to someone else! We proceeded to visit every hotel in the town, and every single one was booked solid. It was the perfect season to visit the butterfly sanctuaries, plus a three day weekend, so things were looking pretty grim. We came real close to having to sleep in the van! Luckily, there was one hotel where the people never showed up, so at 11pm, the owner finally told us we could take their room. We had spent the previous half our sitting in the lobby with Julio making obnoxious jokes, so I think she was just sick of listening to us and gave us the room!
The next morning we were up early to go visit the the monarch butterfly sanctuaries. From our hotel, the sky was blue and the air was cool. But as we drove up in the mountains, it got colder and cloudier. So much so that the butterflies didn't want to fly around. So we didn't get the full effect of orange fluttering around us, but we still saw all the butterflies resting in the trees, and a few flying around us. Plus we saw some spectacular mountain views!
View from our hotel
A butterfly!
Me with the mountain view
Those brown clumps in the trees are butterflies that were too cold to flyAfter our hike, we found the only restaurant with a TV in the town so that Abby could watch the superbowl. I myself played set while others watched. It started to pour while we were at the restaurant and the power even went out during half time for about ten minutes. After the superbowl we went back to the hotel to just chill out, and the power went out again, this time for a good half hour!
The next morning we started our drive back home. The highlight of the trip came not a half hour after we started out. As we passed through the mountains, it was snowed. Even the transit police were playing in it! We stopped to play until we couldn't handle the cold anymore.
Trying to stay dry under a sheet!
Islands, snow, avocados, roadtrip, butterflies, long walks, mountain hikes and great friends- overall an excellent trip!
