Bill's Blog

Morelia and Coming to Cuernavaca

After leaving San Miguel de Allende, we drove to Morelia.

We think that Morelia is one of the most beautiful cities in the Mexico's central highlands. I am sure that our opinion is shaped by the large area of colonial buildings and plazas that are at the heart of the city. And then there is the aqueduct that was built more than 200 years ago. Many of the public buildings have beautiful murals painted on the walls and ceilings. The other thing that is different is the size of the city with a population of more than a-half-a-million inhabitants. We spent four nights there and enjoyed the visit immensely.

One day we went on a day trip to Patzcuaro. It is just 40 minutes away by car. It stands along a lake of the same name. We drove through two other villages along the lake and got a good look at the small town than is on a tiny island in the lake. According to one hotelier, Patzcuaro was founded more than 500 years ago. It has two wonderful plazas. One was the largest of any we have seen outside of Morelia.

Last Saturday, we drove the two hundred miles to Cuernavaca. We planned to stop traveling and stay here for a month. We tried to look up the Jimenez family when we arrived, only to discover that they had moved up the mountain to their new house, Monte Casino. We hope to see José and Noah before we leave. I know that Noah is in the States right now. We made our way to my friend, Nacho Sanchez. He was kind enough to put us up for a few nights while we looked for an apartment or house to rent. Nacho, his wife - Ari, and daughter - Andy - live in a rather small apartment just two kilometers east of the city center.
On Sunday, we went out with Nacho's family. First, we visited the site of his new home. The lot is in a nice neighborhood and will have a good view of the city from the second story when it is completed. Hopefully he will get the funds to build in the next year. Unlike the US, credit is a hard thing to get in Mexico. Next we visited an apartment that was for rent. Then we drove up into the mountain to Lagunas de Zempoala. It is a popular small park. A lot of families visit it on the weekend to camp, barbecue, ride horses, and play. We had a nice lunch. But darn if it was too cold to fully enjoy the setting. Betty and I just were not dressed for the 50∞ weather. It was warm and comfortable in the city and we had been in T-shirts.

On Monday we searched in earnest for a place to rent. Once again we were floored by the cost to rent a place. We did find a place that was very nice. It is an efficiency apartment on gated street. We call it Casa de Jim, after its American owner - Jim Horn. There is an internet connection, so we not only can connect the computer, but also plug in our VOIP phone. It is nice to be connected. I say that but the quality of the internet connection here is awful. The quality is better in the morning and late at night. It is likely that they have too many users using the same lines, which means that when more people are on in the afternoon and early evening - service is awful. Another good aspect to the place is the swimming pool.

We moved in the next day. Since then we have just taken it easy. Betty found a Spanish school and will start next Monday. Well, that's it until next time.

Posted by bill at March 3, 2006 07:01 PM