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Greetings, gringos!
We had a pleasant surprise when checking out of our hostel in Mexico City; they couldn't find our registration details at check out, probably as we'd moved directly from the hotel section to our hostel room, and after a bit of a wait, the helpful young guy on reception told us that as we hadn't officially stayed there we didn't have to pay!
It was time to start our exploration of Mexico after our spell in the capital during which we'd made a rough plan of where to go and what we wanted to see. Although our general direction needed to be to the east, we decided to head in the opposite direction to begin with as we wanted to climb a volcano that hadn't existed until the 1940s. There were also a couple of interesting places on the way to visit so we headed off on a five hour bus ride west to Morelia in the state of Michoacan. We were lucky enough to arrive on a Saturday evening when the cathedral was lit up and fireworks were let off as part of the continuing Christmas/New Year celebrations. We also saw our first Woolworth's store since South Africa; it even had a pick'n'mix!
The next day we moved on to Patzcuara, just an hour's bus ride away. This was a smaller town near a large lake surrounded by small villages, each of which was known for a different trade; for example, one made wooden musical instruments, another was known for its pottery skills. There were two town squares both of which were packed with market stalls and people from the town as well as the outlying villages. The first night was January 5th, the night when gifts from the three wise men to the children were traditionally handed out. Everyone was in good spirits and there was music and dancing but no rowdiness.
We took a ferry to a small island in the lake and, the following day, also visited some of the small villages. We'd intended to cycle around part of the lake to reach these villages but the bikes provided by our hostel were so uncomfortable, narrow and hard saddles and no chance to adjust the seat height so knees ended up by our ears as we pedalled, so we gave up and went by colectivo (see later).
We had our first Clint Eastwood/spaghetti western moment in one of these villages where the wind whispering through the deserted streets, a metal sign squeaking on its hinges and a loaded donkey being slowly guided down an alley by a sombrero wearing local made us think that we were being watched from behind closed windows by suspicious locals. This village was famous for its wooden masks, used in ceremonies, dances and rituals. The tradition started in the 16th century and masks are often finished with human or animal hair and teeth; the more elaborate ones can take a month to make and are very expensive. There were no shops or showrooms to be found and we had to knock on house doors or rely on locals asking us if we wanted to see some.
The next day and another hour down the road was Uruapan, a pleasant enough town with a beautiful park, known for its avocado growing and it's annual festival to celebrate the importance of the avocado crop; this festival lasts for 3 weeks and includes the production of the worlds largest guacamole! Our reason for coming here was the nearby Paricutin volcano that we mentioned earlier. It now stands at 2800m but wasn't there at all until 1943 when a farmer was ploughing his field and the ground began to quake and spurt steam. He tried to fill the holes in but, wisely, gave up as more appeared and got bigger. The volcano grew 400m in the first year from the eruption that followed and eventually completely covered 16 square miles and two nearby villages, leaving just a church rising above the lava. No one was hurt as the lava flow was gradual and gave the villagers time to evacuate. Paricutin continued to grow until 1952 and is now dormant except for several vents of steam.
We set off from a nearby village, Angahuan, with a guide who wanted us to use his horses for the trip but we'd read that 6 hours in the saddle would have left parts of us worse for wear so resolved to walk. We were pleased that we did as we took a route across lava fields that horses could not negotiate. We were accompanied by the guide's dog, a mini Alsatian called Chapporo. It was hard work climbing the volcano itself, particularly the last few hundred metres where it was a case of two steps upward and one step back. The view of the crater made it worthwhile though and we enjoyed the steep descent through calf high black volcanic ash which felt like treacle and held us back as we took long strides down. We continued to the half buried church which was an incredible sight; the lava flow had stopped nearby but most of the church walls had been destroyed and the inside was full of solidified rock. The church tower was in quite good shape as was the altar and a small room with a shrine that was still visited and decorated by local people. We finished our walk 8 hours after we set off and then caught colectivos (mini vans that ply a set route but will stop anywhere to pick up or drop off) back to Uruapan. The journey took an hour and a half in total but cost just £2.60 for both of us.
The 'chillies with everything' theme has continued out in the countryside. One place even served a beer cocktail made with tomato salsa and chillies, the glass rim coated in salt. There are also chilli sachets in crisps and nut packets.
We've got used to staying in traveller's hostels again. The rooms so far have been basic but clean and, apart from one, have had their own bathrooms attached. The average cost is £16-20 a night and often includes a breakfast of sorts. All hostels have had wifi so no more communication difficulties at the moment.
We're still up on the central Mexican plateau and haven't dropped below 1700m since arriving here from Cuba; there's been no rain but temperatures are chilly at night; there's never any heating in the hostel rooms so Linda's bought a hat, gloves and leggings to keep warm. Restaurants are often open to the elements, again without any heating, so we've been choosing ones which are enclosed. The days are gorgeous though, like perfect Summer days, but the air is very dry and we've had sore throats and dry lips.
We hope that you've acclimatised to the return to work or your normal routines. We know that our turn will come more quickly than we would like (we're nearly halfway through our trip now) but in the meantime we're enjoying ourselves and making the most of our time in a fascinating country.
More after our next adventures.
Love from Tony and Linda xx
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Comments
Suzie Love your blog and pics. It looks like you're having a fantastic time so far, I'm very jealous...you enjoy and I'll live vicariously through your blog :-) suzie xx Jan 12, 2014
Celia What a fabulous holiday you are having. All well at No:3 and crocus are flowering. Jan 16, 2014
Soraya Love reading your blogs .. keep them coming ! The chilli theme sounds good to me as i love hot foods, not sure about the chilli beer cocktail, but i shall be keeping Mexico on my list of places to visit! Jan 20, 2014
Mary & Barry We are loving the blogs & photos, a lot of the views are similar to the interior here and we had the 3 Kings festival on 5th Jan. enjoy the rest of your trip. Love Mary & Barry Jan 21, 2014
- comments
Suzie Love your blog and pics. It looks like you're having a fantastic time so far, I'm very jealous...you enjoy and I'll live vicariously through your blog :-) suzie xx
Celia What a fabulous holiday you are having. All well at No:3 and crocus are flowering.
Soraya Love reading your blogs .. keep them coming ! The chilli theme sounds good to me as i love hot foods, not sure about the chilli beer cocktail, but i shall be keeping Mexico on my list of places to visit!
Mary & Barry We are loving the blogs & photos, a lot of the views are similar to the interior here and we had the 3 Kings festival on 5th Jan. enjoy the rest of your trip. Love Mary & Barry