World Neighbor, Carlos and the Crafts

Carlos was a very knowledgeable guide. He told me about the local flora and fauna as well as the local politics. He was happy to have a chance to practice his English. He spoke English very well but it was about a month since he last had some practice. The Monarch butterfly mating season is a popular tourist attraction in the area and the season was now over. This meant there were less English speaking tourists to practice with.








Carlos my Guide, Interpreter and Good Guy...

Carlos told me that while international tourism was generally picking up, this area was still largely a place for national visitors. In Morelia, I did find myself being the only pale skinned gringo walking around most of the time. This made me somewhat of a novelty but everyone was very nice. Unlike Cancun, which is almost nothing but tourists in the resort areas, Morelia is populated with mostly native Mexicans. It is a very relaxed place with no vendors yelling out "Hey Honeymooners!" trying to sell you their imported Chinese crap. On the contrary, Morelia and the surrounding areas are all about century old crafts, artisans and their traditions. As with most big city areas these cultural treasures are becoming scarcer. But the outlying P'urhépecha Indian areas are still managing to keep the traditions alive.









World Neighbor's Wonderful, Award Winning World*












* OK....so I gave myself an award and a pat on the back...