Morelia Morelia

We are writing from Morelia, the state capital of Michoacan, the neighboring state to Guerrero where we have been staying at the beach in Troncones. We decided to take the plunge and rent a car as it gave us more freedom over taking the buses and being fixed to their schedules. We have a cute, fuel efficient FIAT that goes like stink!

The drive to Morelia took about 3.5 hours and we went through some pretty interesting terrain...much of which was HOT as hell (probably 40C at least) and the only vegetation that was able to grow were some grasses, small trees and millions of cacti, all with many long skinny arms. We stopped for a water break over a reservoir that was created for hydro and I could barely stand outside the car for too long as my feet started to cook!

As we continued through 6 toll booths and 2 military checks (they are looking for drugs and guns) we climbed steadily and the vegetation changed drastically. We both felt like we were in British Columbia; rolling hills with pastures, pine trees and very lush areas of mango and lime orchards. Morelia is at almost 2000m elevation so aside from a few bottles semi-exploding, we are enjoying the cooler, mosquito free climate!

We decided to stay in the historical central part of Morelia and we are only a few blocks away from the town´s cathedral. It was built over 100 years from 1647 to 1749 and has a 4600 pipe organ inside. We are going to check it out this morning. We took awhile finding a place to visit as my 7 yr old Lonely Planet hasn´t been a good resource for hotel costs!!! Darn inflation! Most places we checked out had doubled or tripled in price since the book had been printed.

Ironically, we did find a place 1/2 a block from where we parked the car and we are both in love with it! It´s a collection of about 20 suites in an old mansion that was owned by a general of the mexican army. it was built in the late 1700´s and the room we are staying in has the most amazing wood-beamed ceiling, about 18ft high! The whole place is filled with an eclectic mix of antiques and curiosities. Beautiful fun!

So, we are off to go and explore the city for the day!