On our way to Pátzcuaro we stopped to see the ruins in Tingambato. This ceremonial site dates back to AD 450 to 900. The compact complex includes a ball court (that is rare in this part of Mexico), an 8m high stepped pyramid and an underground tomb where a skeleton and 32 skulls were found. Enjoyed the morning climbing around the ruins and then explored the little town by the same name.  From here we attempted to visit Santa Clara del Cobre which is about 18 km south of Pátzcuaro and was a copper-mining center from 1553 onward.  This town specializes in copperware. Unfortunately, the road leading us to the town was under construction and the alternate road was to narrow for us to get through. Lucky for us the motorists were very patient while we manoeuvred Buddha backwards around corners for about ¼ of a mile. 

By late afternoon we checked into Villa Pátzcuaro which is just a short distance from the center of town. That afternoon we took a bus to town and explored a large market by the main square. To our surprise this market is open daily. There’s a large lake situated 3 km from central Pátzcuaro and the next day we took a boat ride to visit Isla Janitzio. The island has lots of knick knack stands and fish restaurants but the real interest is climbing to the top of the 40m high statue of independence hero Jose Maria Morelos y Pav?n.  Inside the statue there are murals depicting Morelos’ life and you can climb all the way up to his fist which is the highest point, for a panoramic view. Many restaurants and stands were selling deep fried fish (I would compare them to minnows that we use as bait). Ryan of course had to try one and too his dismay, it tasted very fishy. Good thing he had a bottle of beer to wash it down. The next day we spent time exploring the town of Pátzcuaro, visiting the handicraft and folk art shops and of course visiting the many churches. Wish we could have stayed a little longer to visit many of the little villages around the lake but we needed to move on.

After boogying Pátzcuaro, we stopped at the archaeological site of Tzintzuntzan, an impressive group of five re-constructed round-based temples. Known as yácatas, they sit on a large terrace of carefully fitted stone blocks and are all that remain of the Tarascan Empire. After exploring the ruins we spent an hour or so in the town of Tzintzuntzan and visited the Convent and Temple of San Francisco. The olive trees in the churchyard are said to have been brought from Spain and could be the oldest olive tress in all the world. The church Templo de Neustra Se?ora de la Salud contains the much revered image of Christ. For most of the year it lies in a glass coffin. On Good Friday, following an elaborate costumed passion play, the image is removed from its coffin and nailed to the large cross. After being taken down from the cross, the image is paraded through town until dark when it is returned to the church. People come from all over to take part in this tradition and to view this unique jointed image of Christ.

We’re now on our way to the Monarch Butterfly at El Rosario Sanctuary. We stayed one night in Zitacuaro in a hotel parking lot / soccer field because it was getting dark fast. We left early the next morning to the sanctuary.  The Buddha had to work hard (not to mention the amount of gas it took) to get us from a 2,000 ft. elevation to a 10,000 ft. platform in less then 12km. We are now in pine forest country and enjoying the beautiful countryside. The nights are very cool but the weather warms up to 75 degrees during the day. We were told to get there early to see the butterflies while they are still attached to the trees and as the day warms up they begin to flutter around descending to the humid forest floor for the hottest part of the day. It was a long steep hike of 3 to 4 km but well worth the trip. There were butterflies everywhere. Some were flying, some on the ground drinking water, and some on trees and bushes. The bushes were more orange than green. I think the pictures best describe what I’m trying to tell you. It is amazing how something so delicate can make the long trip north in the spring and then by mid-August another generation is ready to start the long trip south to central Mexico. It takes from 3 to 5 generations of butterflies (living 1 to 8 months each) to complete the entire round trip journey from Canada to Mexico and back. We stayed overnight here in the parking lot where the local kids just stare at you and say “money”. Jo-Ann tried giving them a cookie but really, I don’t think that was their plan. The next day we decided to go to the Los Alzati pyramid which was kinda on the way back from where we stayed two nights before in the soccer field. We were climbing a narrow dirt road and as we were coming upon a tope Ryan put on the brakes to slow us down and the brake petal went to the floor. Luckily we were going uphill. He was able to turn off the main road and park a few blocks away. The master brake cylinder was the problem. I guess the brakes had to work too hard coming down the mountain from the butterflies. We were trying to figure out how Ryan was going to get into a big town to look for the part when he saw a mechanic and auto part shop right across the street from where we stopped. The mechanic had a master cylinder but unfortunately it was the wrong size. He needed to go into town to get some parts and he offered to take Ryan along.  How lucky is that!

After the repair, we headed deeper into the forest and travelled on a very winding road to find a spot called Cabanas_y_Balneario Erendira. What a beautiful spot! We were the only campers and there were no tourists renting the cabanas, so we had the whole place to ourselves. They provided firewood and we were able to enjoy a fire and BBQ chicken wings over it. That was a nice change from L.P. Also that night, they emptied and cleaned the mineral pools. The next day I was able to enjoy a 40 degree Celsius mineral bath all by myself. The area is full of trout farms but Ryan was determined to find a lake to catch his own. In the morning we got out our backpacks along with the GPS and started looking for a trail to a small lake nearby to catch trout. After walking quite a way we came across two trout farms stuck in the middle of B.F.E. and after talking to locals we were told that there were no trout in the lake. There was no point in going any further so needless to say, we headed back to the RV and had something else for dinner.

Ryan was still determined to catch trout so we headed towards Agostitlan.  The countryside around here has many creeks and lakes. We found a spot to park along a lake and that evening we were able to fish.  Only caught small stuff and put them back. Okay, okay, I guess if we’re going to eat trout, it’s time to find a trout farm. Walked down the road to a small tienda and asked where we could buy some trout. A couple of teenagers took us down to their tanks and we were able to pick out our trout. Ryan did a nice job preparing them for dinner. 10 pesos a piece is not a bad deal either.

So now it’s on to Valle de Juarez to Hacienda Contreras RV Park where the Buddha and Ryan will stay for the next 6 months until Jo-Ann returns. When we arrived on March 11th we were able to finally meet with the hosts Barbara and Sal who we have been talking to via email about the long term stay in this new RV Park while it was closed. Ryan was going to kinda look after things while they went back to the states for a bit but without internet hooked up that would just not work. So while trying to come up with options and sending out emails to other parks in the Guadalajara area, Barbara and Sal came up with a plan on their own. Ryan will be renting a room in downtown Valle de Juarez upstairs of Sal’s mothers house. Barbara has been very helpful with everything including introducing us to people and family members around town and explaining to them Ryan speaks no Spanish and needs to learn. The people here understand and have been very helpful and are very friendly, sometimes almost too friendly.

So, this looks like the end of this seasons travels and after almost 2000 miles of potholed filled roads  (by the way, we only took one toll road) we were able to see many interesting sites in Mexico without destroying the Buddha or ourselves. While Jo-Ann goes back to Canada, Ryan will work in this 5,000 population town to build up a new kitty for our departure in October for the East coast of Mexico and more interior travels and be in Belize by next summer.

Until October 2009, this is Ryan and Jo-Ann saying adios amigos.

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On the way from Ixtapa we did have a few issues. First, a small rock decided to jump up off the road and give our windshield a kiss. Of course it had to be right in the drivers view. So now we need to find a fixit for  the ½ inch crack. We had an oops with the toilet seat.  Somehow, um, broke the hinge on the lid. Don’t ask, and NO we have not gained that much weight. Also while trying to charge a laptop from the inverter through the only inside cigarette lighter, we fried it. We finally found a replacement but too lazy to fix it because there’s  too much to see and do.  And to top it all off, we both got stuffy noses. Maybe it’s because we went from sea level to 6000 feet.

So we settled in to a hotel/RV park in Uruapan. I am not sure why they say RV Park because it was a far cry from one. We had shore power but that’s about it. It was nice though and would be a good weekend stay for those who need a place to crash. Pie de la Sierra was the name of the place.
As soon as we arrived the fun began. We entered town with hopes to just drive right up to this park for the night, but what really happened was we needed to hire a taxi to follow after getting lost for about an hour. We drove around what seemed to be the ghetto that had no exit. We managed to get out of a few almost high centered situations where the roads were too steep for the Buddha to make the grade. We also found out that we think we were the only “white folk” in a city of 250,000.
Ok, back to Uruapan. There is not much too really do or see in the city. The main attraction is the National Park. The second is well, the Narrowest House in the World. After those two things the rest of the attractions are out of town which we just did not feel we needed to see. The park was amazing. Clean, Clean, Clean! Not much too really say about it because it’s a “must see” thing. The trout farm was located within the park but no fishing allowed! Bummer! You could however purchase a kilo of rainbow trout for 40 pesos. We didn’t do that because there are many places in town to purchase it and restaurants to eat it at.
That was Uruapan, our next stop is Patzcuaro where we are now, but have not seen or done anything yet. That will be our next post which should be quite nice because this place is at 7000 feet and awesome. Tell we finish here, adios.

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Okay folks, Valentine’s Day was a nice treat. Jo-Ann and Gary “Ryan’s Dad” showed up in Tenacatita. Finally!!! 3 months to the day stranded on an “Island”. Gary stayed a few days before going back to home to Copala. We went south.
I won’t bore you with the details of the beach in Tenacatita but I have uploaded some photos and as soon as we get to a 120 Volt plug, we will see about getting some videos edited and uploaded.
So, we headed south again on Highway 200 and made our first stop on the beach in Manzanillo. Of course we had to stay a day so that we could run into town to the Bar Social where as long as you drink, the free food keeps coming. Nothing more happens in this industrial port city so, on the road again.

Las Penas was a treat for the Buddha. “He” finally got a bath. That’s all this stop was about really.  We BBQ Ostrich Arrachera and rested for the night then woke up early to give the Buddha a bath.
We had to go through a military inspection during which we lost a coffee cup when he army man opened a cupboard and BAM, spices or something jumped out at him and landed on the cup on the sink. Bummer!
Well, it’s Zihautanejo time. Our last destination on this south bound expeditions. We made it! Checked into Playa Linda for 2 days to do a good Buddha enema and where finally I was able to fix all of our holding tank monitors. It’s amazing what the previous owner’s did and didn’t do. This is the second time I found a wire not attached to it’s mate and also the lack of cleaning the black water tank prevented the gauge from working properly.
Feb. 21st – it’s Play Tourist Time!!! We checked into Ixtapa Palace for a week. On the 28th, we checked out but didn’t leave. We are currently sitting in their parking lot for free.
Once in Ixtapa/Zihautanejo we met up with Jeanne a long time friend of Ryan’s and we helped her out one day for a fund raiser for Guitar Fest. Then we found Kim and Linda from the s/v Endeavour and invited them over to the hotel to enjoy the pool and water slide. Fastest water slide any of us have been on! Two injuries, but neither serious.
We had dinner at a hilltop restaurant with a killer view overlooking Zihautanejo Bay with Kim & Linda and Larry and Marcella from s/v Viking Sun.
We spent our 2nd last day sitting on the beach of Las Gatas while waiting for Michael and Marilyn from s/v LadyHawke to come in.
It’s hard to say what really happened here in Ixtapa/Zihau. The beer, the music, dance and even a couple nights at Senior Frogs seemed to have taken a few brain cells from us.
All we can really say is this place is still the best little big coastal city in Mexico.
So now it’s one more night with a BBQ at Jeanne’s house with Ladyhawke then it’s inland we go. Adios

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