Patzcuaro & Morelia

(In advance I apologize for the lousy formatting - its not me its the blog!)

This past weekend the only 2 other cool Americans here and myself made a long journey out to the state of Michoacán and headed to two towns Patzcuaro and Morelia. The area of Michoacán is full of rolling hills, lakes, lush countryside and oddly enough pine trees!

Patzcuaro was considered to be the doorway to heaven by early inhabitants and then was discovered by conquistadors in the mid-1500s. It still is known for its indigenous arts.


First we headed to Lake Patzcuaro (which has a number of islands you can head out to, although we didn't have the time). Its also known for its fish, which is a little rare here since we are in the heartland and high-up. In particular, are yummy fried fish, bones, head tail and all (they are only a few centimeters long) cover them in lime, chili and a little salt and you got a tasty taste sensation!

(SF isn't the only one with cable cars!)
Downtown Patzcuaro is full of large plazas, red white buildings, and renown for its ice cream YUM! Zapote is a fruit here that is BLACK in the inside and Green on the outside, kind of like a plum, but a little less sweet it makes for great ice cream! In addition the town is famous for the Virgin of Salud (health) if you pray to her your health problems should (theoretically) disappear.





(Public Library in Morelia & Basilica famous for its towers)
Morelia is another incredible colonial city, and was the birthplace of Jose Maria Morelos who with Miguel Hildago started the War of Independence from Spain in 1810 (it may have been the first capital...sounds a little like Philly's history). Despite GTO, Patzcuaro and Morelia all be founded around the same time the architecture is incredibly different.. Large stone, imposing buildings and a huge basilica are tempered by the Mercado de Dulces (an entire one block market full of candies, sweet nuts, chocolate, sugary treats, candied fruit, cookies, sweet tostadas, caramels, marzipan and coconut like confections….YUM you can just tell how excited we are to be here…(ok will upload later - taking forever!)