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 apartment in the historic center provided all the fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat and bread we needed. Everything is available in small quantities. Want dish washing detergent? There is a lady who will fill an old soft drink bottle for $1. Not much gets wasted.
On Sunday we ventured to the nearby Pueblo Magico Cuitzeo to see the 16th century Augustine Monastery. It turned out the pueblo was having a “Pamploneta” – a small running of the bulls. It was exciting but scary too even from behind the strong fence.
You can see a lot more of our photos from September 2011 here.
Morelia's Cathedral
Sanctuary of Guadalupe (1707) - painting of monks Christianizing the indigenous
Morelia - Convent of Dominican Sisters (1729)
Pam buying meat at the San Juan Market, Morelia
Piñatas - paper mache filled with small toys & broken open for celebrations
Sunday in Morelia's main plaza - Dance of the Old Men
In reality, the Old Men are youngsters
Local specialty - Pork shank slow cooked in adobo & pulque - rich and smokey
Cuitzeo's main attraction - Santa María Magdalena Dominican Monastery (1550)
16th century fresco of the Last Judgment in the Monastery
... running of the bulls