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May 23 – Today we left Morelia for Patzcuaro and, except for one wrong turn that cost us an hour of drive time, the drive was pleasant and picturesque. The countryside is hilly and moist. We found convenient street parking and walked into an abyss of minivan taxis. Patzcuaro is a quaint colonial town with loads of character and very friendly locals. We walked towards what I thought was the direction of Lake Patzcuaro, wove through the minivans, through a massive, tarp covered market, into… nothing that resembled a lake. Cab time. My natural sense of direction was only about ten miles off.
Lake Patzcuaro has a port with a line of cheap restaurants so we caught a good lunch of chicken enchiladas that looked nothing like what we expected, yet quite tasty. All the vendors also featured “Charales”, basically breaded and pan fried guppies. I was offered 5 or so freebies. I don’t need to try them again. Kind of like fried flour with eyes.
We walked to the dock and caught a “Lancha”‘ a covered long boat that took us (slowly) to the large, main island across the murky grey lake. The island is like a large cone sticking out of the lake and it was quite a hike, through endless vendors, at a 45 degree angle to the top. So as to not look winded, Sharon and I climbed the stairs and ladders inside the Morelos monument just so we could be at the highest vantage point of the entire island. We gasped for air and retreated to a bar as a storm blew in.
Back on the mainland we found the car and secured a hotel room for the night. The Mision Patzcuaro was inexpensive, well kept and quite comfortable. The exception is their restaurant. Also, it seems quite secure since 11 or 12 Federales are staying here, complete with automatic weapons and Kevlar.
May 24 – We decided to give Patzcuaro another day and booked another night at the hotel. We left the car at the hotel (next to a Federale pursuit vehicle) and hailed one of hundreds of minivan taxis. They’re not really taxis but “collectivos”, sometimes crowded but “if you can fit in you can git’ in.” We walked the beautiful large plazas in central Patzcuaro, talked with Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s doppelgänger and had an exceptional breakfast al fresco. We walked off breakfast touring the centuries old cathedrals and strolled the cobble stone streets, admiring some impressive arts and crafts.
There is more to Mexico than hammocks and sombreros. We decided days ago that if we found something we really, really liked, we wouldn’t talk ourselves out of it like we usually do. Well, come by the house when we get back to witness the newest addition to our Mexico menagerie.
New art piece in tow, we took a real taxi back to the hotel to beat a fast developing storm, (3rd day in a row). A mid-afternoon tequila, under the sombrilla as the thunder rolled through the hills was the perfect prelude to a nap. We’ll collectivo back to the plaza to see what a Saturday night in Patzcuaro is like.
