Historic Morelia ~ Derek's Travels

Leaving the picturesque, colonial town of Guanajuato, I was off to the similarly picturesque, colonial, yet in a completely different way, town of Morelia. By now, these four hour bus rides are nothing to me, and I have fallen into a rather nice routine of staying about two days in each town, getting an early morning bus, and arriving about noon in my next destination, giving me time to do a good bit of exploring before the sun leaves the sky. In fact, my bus ride was even better this time, as the little lunch pack included a better set of cookies than usual (cinnamon instead of chalky orange) and a ham and cheese sandwich with a jalapeño, a nice little Mexican touch that is actually a wonderful addition to the American standard. In addition, the last hour of the bus ride added some very interesting scenery as we passed over a few long, very straight roads that cut right through the middle of some very large, apparently shallow lakes. Just a bit of raised road was all that could be seen other than flat water on each side, some topped with some lake grasses and a boat or two of the local fisherman. These lakes seemed to go on for miles at a time, backed by the neighboring mountain range that seems to be everywhere you go in Central Mexico. My next stop, Morelia, is actually one of the oldest colonial towns in Mexico, tracing its history back to sometime around the 1540s and sporting perhaps the oldest university in the Americas. I found a great, almost unoccupied hotel just a few blocks from the center of town. It was another tiny room that would do, but the hotel actually looked decent, with an open Spanish two-story courtyard with a set of rooms spread around the center. I quickly took a nice warm shower and then set off to explore the town, heading for the massive cathedral and town square marking the center of the old town...well, actually I guess this is more of a city; it has over 500,000 people, 'including a lively young student population' - thanks Lonely Planet. This town is also a Unesco World Heritage site thanks to its Spanish architecture, stone buildings, intact aqueduct and abundance of plazas. The streets look ancient, with huge stone slabs making up the one and two story buildings that line that avenues leading to the center of town. Local ordinances also prevent obtrusive, obnoxious signs, so it's a bit hard to find anything, but that adds to the appeal of the town. All along the façades of nearly all the buildings facing the central plaza, archways provide a nice aesthetic, and they were apparently all the rage in the time of the Spanish conquisition, judging by the design of this city.

The main central plaza is a typically Mexican one, a square area surrounding a fountain and gazebo, lined with well-kept trees and a bit of grass, filled with benches of people, young romantics not afraid of public displays of affection and parents watching their children run wild. Next to the plaza is a nice pedestrian mall with some vendors, and on the other side of the massive cathedral is another plaza, this one filled with the tents and tables of protesters. Apparently, they are protesting the local governor who seems to have an arrogant, indifferent attitude towards the working class citizens, miners and poor, at least according to the signs, in addition to corruption and the many problems that Latin American politics often entail. A group of somewhere around 50 people congregated in the tents, with tables and a makeshift kitchen, their sign claiming their presence in the area for the past 242 days, though after my two day stay, I can only attest to a tiny fraction of that. During the day filled with clouds and a lovely temperate climate, I walked all around the scenic plazas, said to look much as they did 400 years ago. The never-ending arches of a stone aqueduct parallels one of the main roads (cleverly titled Avenida Acueducto) for about a mile or two. I don't think it is used anymore, but the structure from the 1840s or 50s still looks pretty nice. Later, nearly dying of hunger, I found a nice little local cafe, and I tried one of the specialties of the area - mole. No, not the burrowing animal. It's pronounced Mo-lay. It's a dark brown sauce that is a sort of mix of chocolate and chili, along with a few other things, that is often put on top of chicken. The cheap meal turned out pretty well, though I actually thought the sauce would be a tiny bit better. It was good, just not great. Needing to catch up on a few things, I found a wonderful internet cafe with huge leather chairs, a relaxed atmosphere and nice headphones allowing me to listen to my much missed music, thanks to my defunct iPod. I know it's just another creature comfort, but it was a nice break to sit back and relax for a bit on the computer. It also reiterated the fact that music is so important to me, as this was the first time that I was able to hear any music of my choosing since my iPod decided to take a break. Soon, the night was upon me, and it was time to head back to the hotel.

Following a good night's rest, the next day held much of the same, walking around the historic town, marvelling at the stone buildings and steeples. I once again found my way back to the aqueduct and a roundabout with a nice fountain in the middle, and I also found an extremely tranquil pedestrian street lined with ash trees planted in the early 1800s, providing nice shade for the benches along the way. For a while, I sat in the shade, watching the world and students pass me by. Eventually getting the feeling that I should once again attempt a bit of physical activity, I hopped back up and explored the nearby park/forest, planted as another relaxing spot for the residents many years ago. I passed by the grey buildings holding the oldest schools in the continent, looking into the inviting courtyards, amazed that the place probably looked much like it did for its first students. Young people flowed in and out of the two and three story courtyards, going about their daily business, not overly impressed by the lovely buildings and archways that made up their schools. Following the aqueduct back towards the center of town, I planted myself on a nice bench in front of the central fountain, watching the citizens enjoy this wonderful afternoon. In contrast with many American cities that I've found, the people here are eager to take the time to relax and simply whittle away their time in the main plazas, talking to friends, reading books, passionately embracing, or just hanging out, which was my preferred mode of passing the time. As the late afternoon lingered, a cool breeze started up, pushing around a few of the dead leaves, creating the perfectly crafted fall day. Vendors sold balloons and toys, children chased bubbles all around the plaza, trying to catch up to them before the wind took them away, briefly failing, but then immediately reanimating as they turned to see another set of bubbles coming towards them, thanks to the vendors trying to create interest in their products. Nearby an adorable five or six year old girl and her mother played, running back and forth, playing hide and go seek, chasing the ubiquitous bubbles and eventually lovingly embracing the father who had apparently just finished his day at work. All the while, a loud background voice filled the air, though I couldn't quite tell what it was. Eventually the voice got louder, and I saw a local guy, a little overweight, probably in his late 30s, singing his heart out. He was working for tips, but he was also just enjoying what he was doing. With a booming, decent voice, he spouted out song after song, accompanying himself with some claps, a few clever dance moves, some guitar chords that he also sung and plenty of air guitar during those times. This guy was amazing, capturing everyone's attention as he stopped by each area for a few songs, telling jokes in between as he caught his breath. The melody and guitar mimicking was pretty good, but the dances and imaginary guitar won me over. Of course, I gave him a good tip, as he put a smile on the face of everyone around. All in all, this was a wonderful evening, and it seemed that everyone in town was having as great a day as I was.

Despite the wonderful atmosphere of this friendly, colonial town, I didn't really have time to linger more than a few days, so once again, I made plans to hit the road. I took my time getting up in the morning and having a nice warm shower, as my next stop was unusually close. It would only be an hour bus ride or so (and probably just three or four dollars), and I'd be in Pátzcuaro, a small mountain town that was said to be tranquil and beautiful.