Mexico Travel: A Walk through
Morelia and a Driving Tour to Cuitzeo
On a gorgeous sunny morning my last full day in
Mexico had begun. The last 12 twelve days had been
an absolute whirlwind. After barely a full day in
Guadalajara I had gone on my first weekend excursion
to Guanajuato, a famous silver mining town in the
mountains of the same state. Guanajuato is a popular
tourist destination due to its history, picturesque
colourful architecture and special status as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. After three days in this beautiful
city I spent five days in and around Guadalajara,
studying Spanish at the Guadalajara Language Center.
I also went on several out-of-town excursions to
Lake Chapala and the Tequila region.
Frida Kahlo immortalized on a façade in Tlaquepaque
(Guadalaja)
During my second weekend in Mexico I had picked
Morelia as my getaway destination, as it is renowned
as one of Mexico’s most beautiful cities.
With its more than 1100 heritage buildings that
date from the 16th to the 19th century, it is a
gorgeous destination and has also received UNESCO
World Heritage status. I had thoroughly enjoyed
the fire works that are launched from the cathedral
every Saturday night. My driving tour yesterday
got me exposed to so many fascinating places: the
market town of Quiroga, Tzintzuntzan – the
former capital of the Purepecha empire, Lake Pátzcuaro
and the famous island of Janitizio.
Street scene in Janitzio
Today one more destination was waiting for me:
the magical town of Cuitzeo which I was going to
explore together with my expert local guide Rodrigo
Muñoz who was going to pick me up at noon
for our driving tour. This left me with a couple
of hours after breakfast to take a final walk through
Morelia and soak up a bit more of its colonial ambience.
The Colegio Primitivo y Nacional de San Nicolas
de Hidalgo
From my convenient hotel, the Hotel Catedral, I
only had to cross the road to arrive at Morelia’s
Cathedral. The current cathedral, a successor to
earlier churches in this area, was started in 1660
and consecrated in 1705. Its 60 metre high spires
are the second highest in Mexico. This awe-inspiring
building is surrounded by the Plaza de Armas which
was originally laid out in the 16th century. A kiosk
(or bandstand) graces this picturesque square which
replaced a monument to Mexican independence hero
José Maria Morelos who was born in this city.
Morelia has more than 1100 buildings that were built
between the 16th and 19th century
I continued my walk in a westerly direction and
went inside the courtyard of the Colegio Primitivo
y Nacional de San Nicolas de Hidalgo. This is a
preparatory school of the University of Michoacán,
and dozens of students were gathering to chat and
get ready for class. Steps away is an ornately designed
former ex-convent that has been turned into the
university’s library. I strolled around the
corner to the Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías,
the sweets and crafts market, where merchants were
just opening up their stalls. Here you can find
anything from traditional Mexican arts and crafts
to religious products, shoes, jewellery, clothing
and much more.
Catrinas for sale at the Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías
My stroll continued to Las Rosas Square, one of
the most beautiful public gathering spaces in Morelia,
with its treed canopy, patio cafes, its fountain
and the statue of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Walking east I passed by another former convent,
the Ex-convento del Carmen, where a large group
of seniors was doing calisthenics. Every corner
seemed to offer another serene glimpse at life in
this historic city. The Templo de San José
just minutes away anchors an attractive treed plaza
with numerous benches that were being used by the
locals.
The Ex-Convento del Carmen, another scenic spot
in Morelia
On Morelia’s main street, Calle Francisco
I. Madero, I admired the ornate façade of
the Templo de las Monjas. I crossed the street and
had a peek inside the Templo San Francisco. Strolling
past a wide selection of retail stores I arrived
at the former convent of San Agustín, Morelia’s
oldest church that dates back to the 16th century.
San San Agustín, Morelia's oldest church
By about 11:30 I was back in the hotel, packed
my bags and was ready for my guide Rodrigo by noon
time. He scooped me up in his car and we started
driving northwards out of Morelia. Lake Cuitzeo
is only about 30 km north of Morelia and the town
of Cuitzeo is reached across a causeway that bisects
a very shallow lake.
Lake Cuitzeo
Rodrigo explained that Cuitzeo, baesd on its history
and architecture, is one of Mexico’s “pueblos
magicos”, or “magic villages”,
a special designation awarded to select towns across
the country that are renowned for their architectural
and historic heritage. The houses in Cuitzeo were
uniformly pained in white with a reddish brown colour
at the bottom. This is apparently done to honour
the Virgen de la Salud.
Entrance to the Monastery Santa Maria Magdalena
From the main square we had a great view of three
surrounding churches: the Chapel to the Immaculate
Conception from the 18th century, the Church of
the Virgin of the Dolores, and the Augustinian Monastery
Santa Maria Magdalena. A large arcaded interior
courtyard is at the heart of this former monastery,
framed by walkways that feature medieval-looking
frescoes. Some areas are adorned by wall paintings
whose condition has deteriorated substantially in
certain parts. Many rooms were leading off the central
walkways, but the rooms I saw were essentially empty
and some of them featured very high vaulted ceilings.
19th century horse-drawn carriages were parked here
as a memento of travel in an earlier time.
Cloister of the Monastery Santa Maria Magdalena
The cloister of the monastery features Roman style
arches; a cistern collects rainwater. The monastery
had very long medieval-looking hallways with small
windows and stone window seats for the monks who
could sit down and converse at these windows. Construction
on the monastery started in 1534, but the last monks
moved out of here in 1873. Since then the former
monastery of Santa Maria Magdalena has been turned
into a museum and exhibition space.
Very old frescoes
We also saw the kitchen and the dining room of
the monastery which were now large empty rooms with
very high ceilings. The “Sala Capítula”,
or chapter room, is the most important meeting space
at the monastery and is sometimes used for concerts
or special events. It holds gorgeous frescoes, but
parts of the paintings have vanished due to deterioration.
Rodgrigo showed me a special vantage point into
the church that was used by monks who had a mobility
problem. They could view mass from high up and did
not have to incur the inconvenience of walking downstairs
on to the church’s main floor.
A toilet from the 16th century
Even the private life of the monks reveals itself
at the Monastery of Santa Maria Magdalena: a washroom
with six wooden stalls was where the monks would
take care of business. Apparently the wood in the
gravity-operated toilets still dates from the 16th
century. Small holes in the wall would work as urinals
and probably required fairly good aim. Life was
definitely austere in those times. Then Rodrigo
showed me a dark cell with a heavy door and big
lock: this was the punishment cell. Even monks were
sometimes in need of punishment for misbehaving.
One of the many long hallways at the monastery
Finally we walked into the choir of the monastery’s
church from where we had an elevated view down into
the nave. The wooden choir stalls looked very uncomfortable
and date back to the 1600s. The organ originally
came from Germany and its keyboard was manufactured
in 1669. This ancient instrument has of course been
upgraded and today has an electric pump to produce
its majestic organ music.
The German organ at the Monastery Santa Maria Magdalena
Towards 2 pm, just as it started to rain, we had
finished our tour of the monastery of Santa Maria
Magdalena. As we drove back south towards Morelia,
the heavens were really opening up and it was coming
down in sheets. Back in town we stopped at a restaurant
called El Portón where I enjoyed a nice tortilla
soup and guacamole. Then it was time to say goodbye
to Rodrigo who had so expertly guided me during
these three days in Morelia. I headed back on the
ETN bus to Guadalajara and arrived around 8 pm,
ready to pack my bags for my return to Toronto early
tomorrow morning. In my head I replayed so many
of the images that I had seen in these past 13 days
and realized that colonial Mexico with its history,
its gorgeous landscapes and impressive architecture
will always charm me and call me back again.
