Oh My My My Morelia

The capital of Michoacan, Morelia totally surprised us. We went on a whim. The plan for this trip is to take two weeks to make our way down to Xela, Guatemala (where we live) exploring a bit of Mexico on the way.

So yeah, Morelia. The first things we noticed was how quiet and calm it was in the Centro Historico. And bear in mind this is a city of over 700,000 people. We quickly realized it was so quiet because there were no cars in the streets--the roads had been blocked off by student protests. Apparently the students were protesting a proposed hike in the fare for the collectivos (little vans that drive you around the main part of the city) though the price hike was only one peso more. Over our two days there, we saw progressively more and more students hanging out in groups in front of the benches that were blocking off streets or sitting on blankets playing games in front of governmental buildings. Although there were protests going on—they were pretty mild. There appeared to be a general feeling of calm in Morelia and the lack of cars (and subsequent noise & pollution) in the streets only added to the pleasantness of the city.

And it was incredibly pleasant. First of all it was immaculate. The parks manicured. The streets were impeccably clean. We saw numerous people putting trash in trash cans. (This is very rare in Guatemala, in fact it is rare to even find a trash can in Guatemala.) Everywhere we looked there was another beautifully preserved colonial building to check out. And many of them with murals! We randomly found the cultural center with a free exhibition of Cuban Art that I really enjoyed. There were numerous listings for free concerts, free film screenings and plenty of free museums to visit. At night all the public buildings were lit up and people walked the streets in groups or with their families. There were cute cafes— a particularly cool arty one inside the old theatre with free wireless internet! There was decent food, though not a ton of good veggie options. Though on our last night we happened to be the only patrons in an upstairs dining room, where we enjoyed some rich pasta dishes, bruschetta and a spectacular view of the Cathedral. And we even found some gelato to enjoy on our walk back...

--Lisa