26 hours after leaving Brisbane we arrived in Mexico City [1], but … … not too tired to walk a block to El Califa, a famous taco joint for a couple of Modelos (Mexico’s best beer) and 6 pastores each…
Patzcuaro
Patzcuaro [2] at 2150 meters, 5 hours by bus from Mexico City, is little changed from the colonial times – every building red and white adobe, all red terracotta tiled roofs, many plazas and churches and no graffiti. It has…
Around Patzcuaro
Quiroga is famous for slow cooked pork so we had to go for the carnitas. It’s 30 minutes by bus around Lake Patzcuaro [2] and named after Vaco de Quiroga (first Bishop of Michoacán). Tzintzuntzan (Place of Humming Birds) was…
Night of the Dead – Patzcuaro
Leaving at 10 pm and returning at 6 am on the Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead), we went to the cemeteries on the Lake Patzcuaro [2] Islands of Janitzio (popular but overcrowded with Mexican tourists, party town) and…
Morelia
Morelia [4] is a gorgeous city, with more than 200 historic buildings all in pink volcanic stone. We stayed for 9 days so Jeff could improve his Spanish with daily one-on-one lessons at the Baden-Powell Institute. The market near our…
Queretaro + The Wine & Cheese Route
Queretaro [5] is another lovely highland (1800 m) colonial town with many winding stone paved and pedestrianized streets. We took plenty of pictures last time in 2011. They are here. The light was perfect for church tower shots. Tequisquiapan [6]…
Franciscan Missions of Sierra Gorda
During the mid 18th century the Franciscan Junipero Serra who went on to establish the Missions in California, built 5 Missions in the Sierra Gorda [8]. The facades are covered in molded reliefs of plants, animals and saints in “Mestizo…
Jalpan & Sierra Gorda
It’s a classic mountain journey across the Sierra Gorda from Queretaro [5] to Jalpan [8]. The road descends from 2000 m to 1300 m passing through a desert landscape of strange plants, then winding up to a 2600 m cloud…
Oaxaca Beaches
We flew from the cold dry Mexican highlands to the steamy coastal Puerto Escondido [9]. Waiting in a hot tin shed to see if our luggage came on the same flight (it did) – memories of tropical Madang (PNG). The…
San Cristobal de las Casas & Around
It’s a 13 hour overnight bus trip from Puerto Escondido [9] to San Cristobal [10]. With more room and better seats it’s much easier than the13 hour flight across the Pacific. San Cristobal is the most magical of all the…
Sierra Norte near Oaxaca
After a bottle of wine (secretly smuggled on board), a Pam sandwich and a bad movie we fell asleep on our 11 hour night bus from San Cristobal [10] to Oaxaca [11]. Apparently there were 4 police/army inspections but I…
Oaxacan Food
Oaxaca and around from 2011 for pictures of churches etc. The Central Valleys of Oaxaca [11] were settled by the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs , other indigenous groups (and Spanish decedents) who still retain traditional languages, customs, dress and food. The surrounding villages…
Oaxaca
The historic center of Oaxaca [11], established 1529 and World Heritage, is a fine example of 16th century colonial city town planning with iconic architecture displaying a tradition of more than four centuries. You can see our pictures of Oaxaca…
Puebla
The Spanish created Puebla [12] in 1531 to secure the route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz and today it’s Mexico’s 4th largest city. We thoughly explored the city with its 5000 colonial buildings and 70 churches in…
Monarch Butterflies
Every winter in November, millions of Monarch Butterflies come from Canada and the USA to a small remote mountainous area of Mexico and leave again in March. This is an amazing 3000 kilometer migration taking 3 generations to complete. Ellen…