Lodging in Michoacán, Mexico
Quest Mexico
(Morelia, Pátzcuaro, Uruapan). I plan to stay at hotels only in
Morelia and Uruapan (unless you recommend me otherwise); however I am
in a tight budget. Based in some guides (Rough Guide, Frommer's) I
think I will stay at Colonial at Morelia and Del Parque at Uruapan.
Still, I remember I read a posting about hooks at the Colonial. Is
this true? Recommendations? (I need the Lonely Planet guide!)
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
lou lampe
touristy.
Three trips to Morelia once for 3 months. I walked around and looked
at a lot of hotels. First stop (as always) should be the office of
tourism in Morelia it's on one corner of the Palacio Clavijero, about
a block west of the jardin (plaza or zocalo). Pick up maps and other
handouts. Within a couple of blocks of the jardin and cathedral you
can find good economy housing. On Vasco de Quiroga #227 see the
Mintzicuri, some rooms with small fridge and hotplate, and across the
street see the Posada Don Vasco slightly cheaper. They had very cheap
restaurants. In any event be sure that the room that you look at is
the on that you are going to get. Some have telephone and Spanish TV
with a bad picture. There are many others. Some by the intercity by
the bus terminal are said to be cheaper but didn't look good to me.
There is a youth hostel somewhere. I haven't visited the Colonial.
Sorry.
By the way city buses are fun and cheap and run until about 9 PM.
There was no published bus schedule but go to the bus hub at San
Francisco downtown and chat with the bus drivers or the guys keeping
track of the drivers.
As you must know, all hotels sell out the three weeks around Christmas
early. Other than that, no problem. Oh. All the taxi drivers are
short change artists and some waiters, too. Consider it a game and
enjoy. Unemployment was 50% some said and people were hungry. Tip
the sidewalk beggars. The local working folk do.
Patzcuaro has two plazas both good both with lots of hotels not too
expensive. For really cheap, I just don't know.
You definitely need the Lost Planet travel survival kit. Morelia is a
great town. Not too many tourists.
--
--
Lou Lampe / Luis de Tucson, engineer retired.
Quest Mexico <quest...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:7v54iv$kmd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
CICAM
http://hometown.aol.com/cicam/
Rooms much nicer than Posada Don Vasco and weekly rates put you below PDV on
price. Also much, much quieter, and almost infinitely better food (we found
the breakfast at PDV inedible, sorry).
.
CICAM
an (amatuerish!) web site for them!
CICAM
My family spent nine weeks based in Morelia in June-August 1999. This was our
third summer in Mexico, with the summers of 1997 and 1998 in Oaxaca and Xalapa,
respectively. Planning an extended stay in Morelia using information from
Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Moon, Mexico/Central America Handbook, Let's Go,
and the Internet was more difficult than it was for Oaxaca or Xalapa. There is
simply less information available on Morelia (and the state of Michoacan in
general). Presented below is information you might have difficulty finding
elsewhere:
Getting to Morelia:
While Morelia has its own airport, you may find that flying directly to Morelia
will cost a considerable premium. From Los Angeles, we found it considerably
cheaper for two adults and two children to have a friend drive us down to
Tijuana and take the midnight flight from Tijuana to Guadalajara. At the time
we booked our flights, the ticket difference between LAX-Morelia and TIJ-GDL
was about $250 per person. From the Guadalajara airport we took an 80 peso cab
to the bus station and caught a 6am bus for a 4 ½ hour journey to Morelia (cost
is 126 to 200 pesos depending on the level of service, about 35% less for
kids). At the Morelia bus station (which happily is in the center of town),
cab rides to most centrally located hotels are 10 to 15 pesos.
Housing:
Following the advice of many of the guidebooks, we scurried over to Posada Don
Vasco. Because of its popularity and laid-back management style, the Don Vasco
does not accept reservations. We were pleased to get a reasonably large room,
a bit shabby from overuse, for 185 pesos per night. Interior rooms are much
quieter than those facing the street. The usual suspects for info on extended
stay lodgings (newspaper, Internet cafes, Spanish language schools) were not as
extensive for Morelia as they were in years past for Oaxaca and Xalapa.
Fortunately we had a secret weapon: Our younger son Malone is uncannily adept
at making friends in restaurants with persons who do have the inside scoop on
housing. Sure enough, on our second day Malone located our "Rick Blaine" at
Los Comensales restaurant.
We were referred to the home of Oscar Jimenez and Elia Maldonado, who presently
have four units attached to their home at 170 Amado Nervo (SE corner of
intersection with 20 de noviembre). The unit we got had one bedroom with 2
single and 1 double beds, a kitchenette/dining/living room and a spotless
bathroom. The refrigerator was down the outside hallway about 20 feet from our
front door. Other units are about the same size in square feet (by counting
tiles, I arrived at 24 ½ feet by 15 feet), but one unit has been divided into
two bedrooms and another into three bedrooms. Each unit has a TV with cable.
Oscar and Elia have a 12-year old daughter, Flor, and a 16-year-old boy, Oscar
Jr., who quickly became Malone and Carrick's instructors in rollerblading,
basketball, MTV and the Simpsons (there's a bit of a delay in U.S. popular
culture filtering to Mexico).
Oscar Sr., who formerly operated a VW parts shop, has an incredibly well
maintained VW van, and during the summer he and his family took my wife and
kids to various parts of Michoacan.
Elia is a fantastic cook, even by the standards of my own mom. This summer my
family feasted on (partial listing): chiles rellenos (mild for Malone's sake),
fish (mojarro and less often huachinango), pastel de carne (meat loaf), tortas
de papa (similar to hash browns but tastier), tacos, spaghetti with parmesan
cheese, fresh fruit (with mango and papaya often available), enchiladas (mild
unless you prefer them otherwise), frijoles (beans, various styles: de olla,
refritos, con jitomate y chipotle; but note that Morelia is not a place for
black beans), different fresh breads, picadillo, vegetarian picadillo,
tortillas (more like wraps) de acelgas (like a monster-sized spinach leaf),
beef tongue (obviously on this one Elia is going to ask beforehand), and sopa
de fideo. Thanks to Elia, this was the first summer in Mexico when by boys
actually gained weight (and despite a fuller program of soccer and swimming
than the prior two summers). Elia can adjust her menu not just for kids but
also for vegetarians and others with special requirements.
Oh, the price is right, presently $350/month for a unit, with lunches costing
25 pesos/person, and 30 pesos to wash a load of clothes. Elia Maldonado &
Oscar Jimenez, Amado Nervo 170, Morelia, Michoacan CP58000; Telephone
011-52-43-137652. E-mail: rast...@hotmail.com
Web site: www.hometown.aol.com/cicam/index.html
Activities for Kids:
Spanish Language: Initially we were hopeful that one of the Spanish language
schools would have an academically-oriented program for our children at a fair
price. That turned out not to be the case. So, we created our own school: My
wife wandered over to the university and latched onto a graduate student, Jike
(pronounced HEE-ke with the ke as in kerosene) Paramo, whose "day job" is to
organize the activities for the summer language program for U.C. Berkeley
students. He happily agreed to tutor our sons in Spanish for $6.75/hour (for
both kids). We believe Jike will be available through September 2000 (when he
is due to matriculate at U.C. Berkeley). Jike by the way speaks excellent
English. Jike Paramo can be reached via E-mail at JIKI...@hotmail.com.
Soccer: My 7- and 9-year-old boys play AYSO and club soccer in the U.S., and
we were very lucky to find a summer program of the "Chivas Morelia" soccer
club. The club runs a five-week summer soccer program,
Monday/Wednesday/Friday, from 10am to noon, with different coaches for the
younger (5-6-7), middle (8-9-10) and older (11+) boys. Initially even our
older son (with 3 years of AYSO and 1 year of club soccer under his belt) found
the practices a bit tough, but by the end of the summer both boys had adjusted
to the challenge of the more strenuous workouts and the language barrier. The
school is owned by a former Chivas Guadalajara soccer star, Juan Carlos Trejo,
and boasts several coaches, its own fields, a club store offering refreshments
and soccer gear, and an office with 2 full-time secretaries. Among the coaches
we found Aurelio Flores Mendez especially adept at working with the 5-6-7
year-old boys. Last year, our boys played for the Xalapa Delfines, which is
larger but otherwise very similar to our U.S. soccer club, Santa Monica United.
Not to take anything away from either Xalapa or Santa Monica, but Chivas
Morelia definitely has much more in resources and organization. By the way the
cost of the summer program is only 80 pesos for the five weeks, but you will
also have to pay 150 pesos for a doctor's examination which can be done there
in Morelia by a docter who routinely checks the Chivas Morelia team. The club
runs its regular 11-month program from September to July, culminating in a
large playoff cup with teams from throughout the nation. The fields are
located just north of the town center, a 15 peso cab ride from our lodgings.
Chivas Morelia A.C., Escuela Oficial de Futbol del Club Guadalajara,
Libramiento Norte 1239, Morelia 58210, Michoacan; telephone: 011-52-43-126680.
There is also another soccer club you might want to investigate: Pumas Morelia
(Tamayo Rangel Alonso), Jesus Sanson Flores S/N, Morelia 58290, Michoacan;
telephone: 011-52-43-147300.
Swimming: While Spanish and soccer were fulfilling, this being a summer
vacation we had to find a swimming program. Within two blocks of our
extended-stay residence on 170 Amado Nervo is the Villa Longin, at Villalongin
883 (T-intersection with Villalongin). The Villa Longin is a public pool with
sauna and baths, open 6am to 8pm, 15 pesos for the pool and 25 pesos for the
sauna. The swimming instructor, Raul Ponce, who was once ranked 6th in the
nation in Mexico's Olympic development program, taught Carrick and Malone for
40 pesos per hour. Carrick already was sprouting scales and gills, but the
improvement in Malone's swimming this summer was absolutely wonderful.
Music Appreciation Program: Granted, boys usually don't go for this kind of
thing, but the format of the music program at the Conservatorio de las Rosas
[located at Santiago Tapia and Guillermo Prieto], in affiliation with an annual
festival of music, was short and bearable: five sessions, 2 hours/day, for 200
pesos/child. There are also other summer classes for piano, guitar, violin,
and flute. A highlight of the music appreciation program had nothing to do
with music: President Zedillo came by on the last day of Malone's class.
Pottery Class: The Casa de Cultura on Morelos Norte and Emiliano Zapata has a
number of summer art classes meeting for four weeks, 5 days/week, 2 hours/day
for 150 pesos/child. There were classes for water color painting and folk
dancing, but our kids like to get their hands into the clay, so pottery it was.
Paricutin Volcano: One of our trip highlights was the hike to Paricutin, a
volcano that erupted in 1943 and blew itself out in about nine years but not
before its lava covered a hamlet by the same name and a town of 6,000 with a
church that was founded in 1612, San Juan Parangaricutiro. We stayed the night
before in Uruapan at the Mansion del Cupatitzio (telephone -32100; great place,
nice dining room with live music, $70 for a poolside room, but watch your bill
for egregious overcharging, including for phone calls!). We packed two liters
of water and the usual essentials in a small Mountainsmith Mountainlight 2000
pack and had lightweight trail boots. At 6:00am our prearranged taxi Roberto
drove us in 40 minutes to the Purepecha Indian town of Angahuan (270 pesos
roundtrip). [Note: The Mexican and Central America Handbook suggests taking a
bus from Uruapan, but I don't think it is feasible to do so and get an early
start on the hike. There are very nice modern cabins right at the trailhead
and except for the Easter vacation period are often nearly vacant. Roberto
took us right up to the hut where the Purepecha guides assemble with horses for
the tour of Paricutin. Carrick and I wanted to hike, not ride, and one of the
guides, Luis Lazaro Cortes, a 28-year-old Purepecha with four children and a
bent for distance running, agreed to take us for 150 pesos. I knew it was
going to take us about seven hours, so I didn't even think about haggling. By
6:50am, with daybreak still 40 minutes away, we scampered down the initial
incline into a sandy stretch for about one hour before reaching the lava bed.
Another two hours of scrambling from lava rock to rock [wishing we had used
sturdier off-trail boots] found us at the base of the volcano, which supposedly
is 460 meters above the level of the surrounding land but looks to be much
less, about 800 feet (total elevation is officially 2660 meters above sea
level). After a longish rest, we started up a 30 degree incline about halfway
up to a flatish portion of black sand, rested a minute while looking at a steam
vent, and then finished the rest of the climb, occasionally resorting to hand
holds mostly to keep from sliding back in the loose rocks, reaching the top in
about 27 minutes, with me wheezing and Carrick and Luis about 100 yards ahead
of me at this point. We circled the volcano's mouth and paused for several
views, an early lunch, and digital photo and video ops. The only other
visitors on Paricutin that day were four separate groups of 2 Germans, 2 Danes,
2 Brits and 5 Japanese, all arriving on horseback to the volcano's base. Luis,
Carrick and I then fast-forwarded down a black sand descent which felt like
skiing in slow motion. At times the sand along this descent was quite warm
from the steam beneath the surface. By 11:00am, we had cleaned off the black
sand from our boots and socks and were on our way back towards Angahuan, this
time along the sandy trail used by horses. We passed a group of Mexican
campers about 800 meters from the base and made a promise to ourselves we would
do the same when Malone would be old enough to join us. We did a side trip to
the church that remains of San Juan Parangaricutiro and were back at Anguahuan
at 2:06pm, just six minutes off the time our guide Luis had promised the
taxicab driver Roberto we'd arrive back at the trailhead. For our goodbye's,
we were able to say to Luis, "Ba-ya juangaritse!" [if we understood him
correctly, this meant something akin to "so long and good luck until we see
each other again"]. Luis is somewhat quiet, but Carrick and I would recommend
him. Just don't expect a Robin Williams monologue. Luis is usually found at
the hut where the guides congregate, but you could also look him up at his
house, which is across the street from the only medical clinic in town. Malone
did not accompany Carrick and me on this trip as this hike is too strenuous for
a 7-year-old, in my opinion. Carrick and I had hiked down/up the North Rim of
the Grand Canyon and the Kalalau Trail on Kauai, and by comparison Paricutin
was easier.
Shopping:
Morelia: Everyone will tell you about the Centro de Artesanias at the
ex-Convento de San Francisco. It is very much worth going, but when you do
make sure you check the often-closed room behind the nook where the woven goods
are sold. In that room, oftentimes there are temporary displays of works for
sale by particular artists that have won some recognition. Also, while there,
you may want to wander around to the left of the store's actual entrance and
beyond the public display corrider to the offices and second-floor rooms where
there may (or may not be) additional items for sale. While it is hit-and-miss,
it may be worthwhile. I got a large wooden bowl made of an exotic wood by an
artist from Maruata, and I missed getting another large wood carving in
granadillo by another artist from Cachan de Echeverria. For modern wood
objects, the place to go is Shoemaker (or variously Arrendadora Shoemaker), at
Ramon Lopez Velarde 134, at the plaza of Santa Maria de Guido, in a southern
suburb of Morelia (telephone 011-52-43-235506; fax 235070). George R.
Shoemaker is an American who grew up in Morelia and took over the family wood
products business from his father Don. The shop now employs only five
artisans, with products ranging from large tables, armoires, chests, and chairs
to smaller items for the home and office. A large and heavy blanket chest in
solid bocote was a reasonable 7000 pesos. Among the other woods used are
granadillo, mahogany, maple and walnut. I got four pieces, a picture frame in
bocote, a cheese board in diagonal stripes of different woods, a large serving
tray in mahogany and maple, and a kleenex-box in bocote, for a total of 840
pesos. A 25 peso cab ride from the center of Morelia will get you to
Shoemaker, and on your way back you can hop a bus at the Santa Maria de Guido
plaza that will take you to the Iglesia de San Francisco. If you like
better-quality lacquer, there is a store/residence, Artes Michoacana Cerda, run
by two older Cerda sisters on Zaragoza just north of Melchor Ocampo in the
center of Morelia. The front door is often closed, but if you ring the bell
you have about a 75% probability that one of the two sisters will open and show
you in. The sisters also embroider blouses and shirts in traditional designs
and have some wood carvings for sale. The main event, however, is their
collection of lacquered dishes. Bring oodles and boodles of money. One dish,
some of which have 23k gold, can set you back US$300 to US$600. I had already
blown my budget at Shoemaker, so all I got were a tiny laquered box in
ivory-and-ochre for 75 pesos and two tiny coaster-sized lacquered dishes for 50
pesos apiece. Finally, L'otra Rana at Aquiles Serdan 848, two blocks from
where we stayed at Amado Nervo 170, has a few items we did not see elsewhere,
including a largish bas-relief carving in pine.
Capula: Hand painted pottery can be found here. Also, there are two artisans
of note: Alvaro de la Cruz makes the catrina figures in ceramic, and Juan
Torres does oil paintings.
Ocumicho: Near Zaragoza, this small town is the home of Purepecha artists
Carmela Martinez (painted clay nativity scenes and other subjects) and Zenaida
Rafael (santos and other figures). My wife picked up a few large nativity
scenes for 200 pesos. They are quite fragile!
Patzcuaro: In the building where the restaurant Primero Piso is located, on
the Plaza Vasco de Quiroga, there are good quality artisan shops featuring
straw frames, hand painted wood frames, and ceramic cups. You will also want
to visit the Casa de los Once Patios in Patzcuaro.
Restaurants:
Obviously my family had nearly all breakfasts in our unit and most lunches at
Elia Maldonado and Oscar Jimenez' home on Amado Nervo 170. But there were
several opportunities to sample restaurants, and below we indicate our
favorites:
Breakfast Places: We had several breakfasts at the restaurants on the sidewalk
in front of the Hotel Casino; while the food is just o.k., it's a good place to
aclimatize to Morelia. The Shalom Café on Vicentes Santa Maria somewhere south
of Antonio Alzate is quite peaceful; the proprietor is very helpful. Sunday
brunches at Casa del Portal, upstairs on Guillermo Prieto just north of Madero
Oriente, are a good splurge. Another breakfast favorite was Trico on Morelos
Sur and Valladolid (upstairs from the bakery).
Los Camineros, near Garcia de Leon, is a taco house where eight people can eat
comfortably for 170 pesos. Elia and Oscar took us in the VW van, so we don't
have a good fix on the address!
La Posta del Gallo, also near Garcia de Leon, is a more upscale taco house.
Quinto Sol, Aquiles Serdan 729, is a veggie restaurant, quite close to our
place at Amado Nervo 170, and very popular with the locals, as the commida
corrida is only 22 pesos.
Hosteria del Callejon on Madero near Callejon del Romance and also close to our
abode at Amado Nervo 170 serves Spanish tapas but also has about the best
burgers for kids in Morelia. Compared to tapas bars like El Ingenio, Monje,
Belmar, El Buey, El Txoko, Errota Zar, and Taberna de Daniela in Madrid, as
well as Bodegas Castaneda in Granada, Taberna San Miguel in Cordoba, and Bodega
Santa Cruz in Sevilla, and even the Chiki-Jai in Tijuana, Baja California
Norte, the Hosteria del Callejon is quite a bargain.
Los Comensales (Zaragoza north of Melchor Ocampo, across the street from the
Cerda sisters) has a longish menu of standards in a nice courtyard setting.
Viandas de San Jose, at Alvaro Obregon 272 near Emiliano Zapata, has a menu
that appears to be identical to Los Comensales with a similar locale yet a tad
more romantic. Telephone 123728.
La Cabana del Lenador, on Villa Campestre next to the Chevrolet dealership and
Le Bon, has some unique dishes in a rustic cabin setting. I had a Purepecha
soup and very nice cabrito, while my wife had a white fish. There is a kids'
menu.
Bizanchio, on Corregidora very near the Hotel D'Atilanos, has decent Italian
food in another fine colonial courtyard whose view is somewhat marred by a
series of large black plastic water tanks visible at the top of the adjoining
tall building.
La Flor de Las Mercedes, Leon Guzman, has a post-Aztec décor with huge stone
columns and orbs one can imagine will crush you during an earthquake, with good
fish at prices one would consider significantly above average for Morelia.
Despite the price tag, this was my favorite restaurant in Morelia.
[Note: For many of these restaurants where there is outdoor seating, you
should be aware that mosquitoes are prevalent in the evenings. I use DEET and
my kids and wife opt for no protection or some environmentally friendly stuff
that doesn't seem to work as well.]
Cafes:
Café del Teatro, above the Teatro Ocampo, on Melchor Ocampo.
Libreria, on Calzada Fray Antonio de San Miguel, near CMI.
Condesa Café on Madero Oriente.
Limbo, at Dr. Miguel Silva 181 (corner of 20 de noviembre): Interesting artsy
place also doubles as an Internet locale. One block from our place at Amado
Nervo 170.
Café del Conservatorio, at Plaza de Las Rosas, south side of the street from
the music conservatory.
Gymnasium:
Forthus Gym, Dr. Miguel Silva 125, just north of Aquiles Serdan.