Morelia, MX
A few days between boats and nothing to do with our time? Grab your bus passes kids ‘cuz it’s time for a road trip! Tiffany heard tell of a mythical place far into the center of Mexico that held a monarch butterfly sanctuary. Now having been a first grader in Monterey, CA, I didn’t think there was much that could impress me by way of butterfly homes…I was wrong but I’ll get to that particular experience in a few posts.
Let’s start with the trip itself. Our plan was to ride busses from Puerto Vallarta (aka “PV”) to Guadalajara to Morelia (about 10 hours each way) and base ourselves out of that city as we attempted to find this mythical butterfly haven. Now coming from Northern California and with a good friend who lives in Texas, let us say I had a very firm perception of what I would experience riding Mexican busses. I was excited about filming a report that included surround sound chickens and me sharing a seat with a goat. As you will see, my assumptions could not have been farther from the reality.
Every US airline service CEO should ride a Mexican bus and when they do, they should bring a notepad. Kind professional staff, free meals, no hassles getting onboard, no questions on my bag being 0.2 kilograms over some arbitrary limit, free movies in transit…wow. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed. I mean, come on, the goat would have been cool. (Personally, I’m very glad there weren’t any goats. Chickens, now they would have been neat, or… well… at least interesting. ~ Tiffany)
I will sum up my experience of the majestic city of Morelia for you by tackling the 4 main parts of our time there: Getting Around, Adventures in Dining, Making Money, and Living Life/Culture. It may seem presumptuous to declare myself an expert in these areas after a 3 day visit, and I agree it would be. I didn’t come close to experiencing everything this city could offer. There was just so much there at my fingertips that I could walk out of my hostel and stumble over cool stuff, which is basically what happened.
Getting Around: Perhaps it’s because this city is the capitol of a landlocked region far from the United States – this town is an interesting blend of Mexican and European influence and it’s old. Because of that, the old town district has a very old European city layout, which in Greg’s book means narrow streets that won’t fit the average American car, along with big, beautiful, elaborate buildings crammed next to each other. So if you don’t own a car your two options for getting around are walking or micro buses. These little guys make up their lack of capacity present in the larger species by adopting swarming tactics.
It was not unusual to see packs of these guys roaming the roads looking for unsuspecting prey. Hopping a bus was a great way to get around but walking was also an amazing experience in and of itself. As you will see farther down this post, the real joy of Morelia is that there is something interesting around every corner and random encounters abound. The city itself is also very pedestrian friendly. They go so far as to provide you with a visual reference to let you know exactly how fast you should be crossing the street to maximize your chances for a safe arrival at your destination.
Adventures in dining: Look, as an American who can’t stand the mild sauce at Taco Bell Greg acknowledges that his particular palate may not be for everyone, but seriously folks, God did not intend for every piece of food on the planet to be spicy:
Speaking of Taco Bell, those fools have been lying to me for years…years I tell you! How might you ask? I used to tell people I like churros, much like a man trapped in a prison would say he likes the illumination that is cast from the ceiling lights of his otherwise dank and dismal cell. Take that man from the prison, place him in a sun kissed field full of tulips and baby bunny rabbits frolicking in the golden glory & radiance of God and the man’s perception on the overall enjoyability of the aforementioned florescent light fixture would likely decrease significantly. My friends, I have found that sun kissed field…metaphorically speaking. (Yeah, huh? Anyway, real Mexican churros rock! ~ Tiffany)
And should your taste buds demand a leave of absence, if only to once again experience the unrelenting rapture of that first bite from a fresh perspective…you can always switch hit with the other local desert we found:
