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Published: February 12th 2011
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ETN Busline
And we thought the other buses were comfortable, this busline takes travelling to another level After being in Saskatoon for Christmas, we enjoyed just being home here in DF in January. But now, time to go again!Fran and Jo Anne, teacher buddies, had never been to Morelia and we finally found a place they have not visited yet. So off we went, leaving from the bus depot at Observatorio, which is close to the school. We thought the buses we have been riding were comfortable, but for only 50 pesos more, we chose to ride with ETN, the luxury line that charges a bit more and gives way more. Wow, seats were so big that they were only 3 across and the bus can only carry 26 passengers so we had an extra foot of space between rows. Wi-Fi, TV, and games were on a remotely controlled screen on the back of every seat. It was a very comfortable 2 and a half hour ride. Morelia is west of Mexico City, not nearly as mountainous, more agriculture and noticeably more lakes and water. We arrived at about 7 Friday night, and took a cab to our hotel just across the street from the Zocalo. What a great hotel for only $52 a night including taxes. We
Our Hotel room
This used to be 2 rooms, but they took a wall out, we had 2 full bathrooms, and a king sized bed - of course had supper, and walked around admiring the huge buildings, most of them have had a face wash and look fantastic. We booked an all day tour for Saturday to the lakeside town of Patzcuaro. Saturday at 10 in the morning after enjoying breakfast outside in the sunshine we were off. Our first stop, about 50 k's away is Tzintzuntzan, ancient capital of the area prior to the Spanish arrival. There, they are restoring an old church and making a great effort to try and preserve the 33 olive trees that were planted by the original Spanish bishop over 400 years ago. We shop. The local crafts are incredibily cheap. Then off to Patzcuaro, another 15 k away. The town is located on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro, and we took a boat out to an inhabited island with a huge monument. The view is breathtaking, however, the lake has been so polluted the water is brown, the fish inedible and there are a lot of plants growing all over the lake. Sad! Patzcuaro now has a sewage treatment plant, but not many of the other 25 villages around the lake do. We got back to Morelia around 8PM. Our guide
Cathedral
Another majestic cathedral. Morelia is the capital of the state of Michoacan. for the day was very friendly, knowledgeable, and allowed us to proceed throughout the day at our own pace. We just had a chance to have supper and the festivities in front of the cathedral began. There was singing and dancing to celebrate the anniversary and refacing of Morelia and it's heritage buildings. The night ended with fireworks, it is funny how we always seem to be able to find a party! On Sunday, we took a tour of Morelia, a city of about 800,000. We boarded the bus to Mexico City at 5 and got home by 7:30. What a great week-end. Both Morelia and Patzcuaro have become retirement havens for both North Americans and Europeans, the climate is wonderful, the scenery gorgeous, and the cost of living very low.
We then spent a quiet week preparing for our long week-end trip to Acapulco and Pie de la Cuesta.
Off to the bus depot at 2:45PM and on to what is normally a 5 hour ride. The reality of 27 million people and a long week-end was a shock for us. We were tied up in traffic in Cuernavaca over an hour and a half to go
Our Hotel on the Zocalo
The restaurant was outside, the weather was so nice, we even ate breakfast outside, this picture taken in the evening 10 k's. We arrived in Acapulco at 12:30, 7 and a half hours later. We took a cab for the 10 k ride out to Pie de la Cuesta, a quiet beach town just north and out of the bay area that is Acapulco. Luckilly, the Nirvana Hotel was expecting us and led us to our room via flashlight. What a beautiful quiet little hotel, just 22 rooms right on a long sandy ocean beach. It was very quaint and unique. They use the honour system. Each room has an order book, and you take beer, sodas, water out of the cooler and just writer down what you took. The owners said they have been doing this for 11 years and it works well. Pie de la Cuesta sits on a strip of sand between the Pacific and a fresh water laguna. The highway runs down the center and the lots go from there to the water, Pacific on the left, Coyuca lagoon on the right. We had the luxury of the ocean surf and sand on one side, and the quiet gentleness of fresh water on the other. We watched water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing and kneeboarding out on the
Zocalo
beautifully groomed trees, and lots of green grass lake. We enjoyed lunch at the restaurant that rents out powerboats. 350 pesos for an inboard boat, driver, and all the gear necessary! Wow, can't own a boat for that. This beautiful fresh water lagoon is about 10.5 miles long, 4.9 miles wide and has a maximum depth of 23 feet. It has a wide variety of tropical flora and fauna and up to 14 different species of edible fish such as robalo, lisa, mojarra, pargo de piedra, cuatete, bagre and carp, among others, and freshwater shrimp and crabs. We spent Saturday walking around the area and visiting with the local people to get an idea of the area and the situation. Tourism is way down in Acapulco and area, particularly this year. On Sunday, Sara, another grade 5 teacher at ASF, Linda and I took a boat cruise that allowed us to observe a lush tropical vegetation, coconut palm groves, mangroves and water hyacinths floating along the shore, and it took us to the Isla Presidio, the Isla Montosa o de Pío Quinto and the Isla de los Pájaros, which are bird sanctuaries full of black and white herons, pelicans, ducks, marabús, avocetas, gulls, storks and dozens of other
Off to Patzcuaro
On Saturday, on our way to Patzcuaro, we stop to shop in a traditional village tropical species. The lagoon was the setting of several Tarzan movies and of Rambo ll. And we returned just in time to catch the Superbowl at the sports bar across the street from the hotel. Great game, it was interesting watching it with Americans. On Monday, most of the tourists left before noon and we had the place to ourselves and a few other teacher buddies along the miles of beach. What a beautiful serene spot to get away to for relaxation. We caught a nine o'clock bus back to the city, got home at 2:30 and up at 5:30 for Linda to get to school. We are now ready to stay home for a while, enough travelling! Besides, Linda signed up for a course to be IB accredited...not sure why but it seemed like a good idea at the time, and now needs to get caught up on a few assignments. We'll save up for our next adventure as well. Thanks for reading our blog......hope you enjoy
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Annette
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Awesome pictures! We will be enjoying a beer on the beach on Tues.! We are off to Huatulco Feb. 15th - 22nd. We are staying at the Las Brisas... the resort I won in Sept.