An odd propane problem

Yesterday was a day off for the group, with nothing official planned. However, we are very close to the small city of Zitácuaro (pop 200,000) so some of the group decided to hop on the collectivo and go into town.

Ruth and I have driven right by Zitácuaro several times, but have never made a stop. This time, we had some other things on the go and just decided not to go. Zitácuaro will have to wait for another time.

Not the best visit to the monarch butterflies

But, it's still a fascinating experience.

This was our sixth visit to see the monarch butterfly wintering grounds in the mountains west of Mexico City. And our second visit to the El Rosario sanctuary. Depending on which article you read, there are anywhere between 8 and 16 known locations, but only 4 of them are open to the public. We have now been to Sierra Chincua twice, Piedra Herrada twice, and El Rosario twice. We have not yet visited Cerro Pelón, however that may change over the next week!

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Patzcuaro to Zitacuaro

With a 9:00am start on the schedule we were up early getting Sherman ready to go. As always, everybody was ready on time, and we set out towards the big city of Morelia (pop 650,000).

We didn't really want to have to drive through the city, but the only other route option would have had us taking toll roads for most of the day. And we wanted the group to be able to see the fantastic scenery from old highway 15 going through the mountains east of Morelia.

Out exploring, and time to move on

Yesterday, some of us just hung around the campground and some of us went exploring. Ruth took off with Roger, Mona, Aron, Owenita, and Denise to go see Lago de Zirahuén.

I never left the campground.

Out for a hike, and Ruth's new glasses

We set out at 9:45am for a hike to Estribo Grande... an old volcanic hill overlooking Patzcuaro. There is a mirador (lookout) there, as well as 472 steps leading up to another lookout.

We decided to do the route that goes up and around the other side of the volcano, and then down the 472 steps.

The copper artisan town of Santa Clara del Cobre

Sorry for the delayed posting. Didn't get out of bed on time, and then had a few other things to do on the internet and time just ran out!

On Tuesday, we took the group to Santa Clara del Cobre. This town is famous or it's artisans who make products out of copper. There used to be a mine in the area, but now all copper used to produce the products is recycled copper that come mostly in the form of copper wire before it is melted down.

Off to the island

One of the tourist attractions here in Patzcuaro is Janitzio Island. And it's worth a visit if you've never been here before.

But Ruth and I have been to the island 3 or 4 times... and we really didn't need to go again. And the people in our group who were with us last year didn't want to go again either. So I walked down to the embarcadero (dock) with those who wanted to go and I guided them to the ferry pier where they caught the boat to the island.

Just another great day in Mexico

A bunch of us went for a walk yesterday morning along a dirt road that goes through a farming area on the other side of the highway. We took off at about 9:30am and went for about an hour and a half.

A few clouds in the sky, but very pleasant temperatures. Highs are around 24C (75F) and lows around 6C (43F). In our opinion, perfect.

In to the town of Patzcuaro, and Ruth orders new glasses

A relaxing start to the day, and we didn't take off until 10:00am. It's a 2.5 km (1.5 mile) walk downhill to the central plaza, and the whole group walked into town.

First stop was the cathedral, followed by the central plaza but we each went our separate ways for a while and met again at 12:30pm to show the group Mario's birria stall at the market.

Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Uruapan to Patzcuaro

No need to rush out of Uruapan because it was just a relatively short 80 km (50 mile) drive to Patzcuaro. So we left the RV park shortly before 9:00am and regrouped at a nearby gas station to get ourselves headed in the right direction to get through the city of Uruapan.

There is no easy way through Uruapan. It's a busy city, and the main east west road is four lanes of busy traffic with a bumpy road and lots of traffic lights. But, it's also an easy route to follow, and we had no problems.