I’m getting a little behind. Myung and I are in Oaxaca now, after spending 8 days in Mexico City and maybe 8 or 9 in Michoacan. This post is to catch up as far as Michoacan, and hopefully I’ll get a post up about Mexico City in the next couple of days. Time flies when you’re having fun. I used to have a lot of time on my hands. Now, when I have had my fill of sightseeing for the day or whatever, I can play with Myung.
Okay, so, Michoacan. As you know, I was here before, so many pictures of Morelia are on my blog already. Myung took many photos of basically the same stuff. We went to just about all the same places as before. It’s been fun to share what I consider highlights from a couple of months ago. I have nothing to add about Morelia. We stayed at the same place I stayed before and, for me, it was about enjoying her company again. For her, I’m thinking she is all about the food. I didn’t think she would like it so much, but she loves eating here and takes many, many pictures. I don’t know what people might like to look at on this blog. Maybe it’s the food? Well, here are some food pictures. they aren’t all taken in Morelia, but they were all taken in Morelia, Patzcuaro, or Quiroga.
You know tacos. Squash flowers and Oaxaca cheese works well.
… and menudo (tripe). Myung really loves this. It’s expensive in Korea, here about 2 dollars with all the tortillas you can eat.
Carnitas, braised, chopped pig parts, have always been a favorite of mine, though in the US you have to go to a pretty authentic place to get snout, ears, cheeks and such. Near Patzcuaro in Quiroga is a plaza famously known for it’s carnitas stands.
Oh, there are many food pictures. I think I’ll leave it there for now.
Like I said, I don’t have much to add about Morelia, so let’s move on to around Lake Patzcuaro. Here’s a photo of a map of Michoacan. You can see the Patzcuaro area and Uruapan are southeast of Morelia. The monarch butterfly area is there, though the butterflies don’t arrive till November when the place is thick with them like around Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz, California when they go there.
Patzcuaro town is another World Heritage site and a very popular tourist destination particularly for Mexicans, particularly for people from Morelia on weekends. It’s very mellow, pretty, historical, and all that. The most well known place is this 18th century church and former convent.
Patzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan and Quiroga are all around Patzcuaro Lake. it’s a lovely walk up to the viewpoint from Patzcuaro.
Quiroga is best known for it’s big market and those carnitas. Tzintzuntzan is most famous for being the capital of the Tarascans who were a regional power from about 1000 to 1400. There are ruins there we didn’t go in. We did go in a former convent established by the much venerated Father Vasco de Quiroga. He was sent by Spain as a replacement for his particularly heinous predecessor, and by all accounts was just the opposite. Here are nice photos from in there, including the olive trees he planted himself in the 16th century. They are the oldest olive trees in the Americas.
Farther down the road from Patzcuaro is Uruapan. The best and only thing there is a fantastic urban park, right in the middle of the city. I can’t remember a park like this in the middle of a city anywhere else. It’s really special. An underground river bursts out and runs through a big ravine and on out to sea. Most places would have paved this over.
So, that’s what we did up there in Michoacan. From there we went to Mexico City. I’ll post about that soon. Meanwhile, be well, all of you.
Check out the mosquito bites on my neck. I have always been a mosquito magnet. Those ones in Morelia are brutal.
