Gaspacho for Gringos

The End

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:07:00 +0000

Our time in Morelia and Mexico is at an end. We mapped out route from Morelia to Laredo, Texas with yahoo maps and the drive took 12 hours. The toll highways (43, 45, 57) were great, particularly the 43 from Morelia to Salamanca. Thanks to everyone who visited our blog. Hope it was useful. Hasta luego! If you're looking for information regarding Morelia, check out the yahoo group Morelia Connect.

NaCo

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:47:00 +0000

NaCo (definition: Mexican slang for tacky) is a great clothing company. Their graphics are humorous to me and play on Mexican stereotypes. Estar Guars, roof dogs, ice cream guy, guey etc. Their main store is in DF in the barrio Condesa on Yautepec, just east of the main drag.

Grutas Tziranda

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:00:00 +0000

The Grutas Tziranda are a really interesting site. We were at the Monarch butterfly sanctuary and decided to stop by the caves on the way back to Morelia. They are located just south of Ciudad Hidalgo off Highway 15. If you are heading south, you will have to make a right onto a dirt road and follow that for several minutes. The caves were formed from thousands of years of runoff water and are primarily limestone. The composition varies a lot within the cave: fossilized roots, smooth limestone pearls and other strange looking formations. A guided tour takes about 20 minutes. It's a nice natural picnic site as well.

Costco Outlets

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Ever wonder what happens to Costco items that are: a) discontinued, b) opened packaging, or c) damaged packaging. It appears they sell off these items to various vendors. These Costco "outlets" carry everything from appliances, food, furniture, clothing and electronics. There are two outlets that I know of. One is on Abasolo near Muniz and the other is on 20 de Noviembre just west of the Tu Plaza. The Abasolo location carries more clothing than 20 de Noviembre, although I've seen complete skateboards and golf balls for super cheap at the latter. Just remember that the inventory changes from day to day. Once it's gone, it's pretty much gone for good so drop in often to get the deals!

Skateboard Park

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:45:00 +0000

Morelia is about the farthest thing away from a good city for skating. You'd be pretty hard pressed to find smooth ground let alone good spots anywhere in the city. Surprisingly, the city of Morelia or some other government branch has allocated space for a skate park in Bosque Cuauhtemoc. Unfortunately, it's far from good. Pretty much all the obstacles are made of slippery plastic (similar to hockey rink boards but thicker). There are holes in the majority of the ramps, ledges that look like they ran out of building material, cracks all over the cement ground, nails and screws sticking out of everything. Skating, in general, is a difficult activity to do but it's even tougher when you have these other hazards to worry about. I give this park a rating of 1/10.

Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:28:00 +0000

This poor tree in DF near the Zocalo is covered in gum.

Body Shop/Car Repair

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:00:00 +0000

At the Auto Lavado car wash on Av Ventura Puente 1543 (ph: 324-6443) is a great body shop. Our car had scratches and dents on the back bumper, a bit of a crunch above the left rear wheel well and some jackasses keyed half the length of our car on both sides. Mach Paint fixed everything. Pacheco was our contact there and he was very fast and did great work. The prices was excellent... half of what the Ford dealership on Madero quoted me. I highly recommend.

House Skateboard Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sat, 24 May 2008 03:00:00 +0000

This is a great little skate shop in Morelia. It stocks everything a skater could possibly need. It is located close to where Acueducto meets Madero.

Noise Pollution

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:00:00 +0000

Morelians seem to have a high tolerance for noise. Firecrackers and/or fireworks at any time during the night, gas trucks blasting their jingle, cars with megaphones driving around blasting ads or propaganda, shoe stores with giant speakers blasting music to get your attention, marching band celebrating a soccer win at 1AM.

066 Emergency

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:08:00 +0000

This is the 911 of Mexico. Have an emergency, call 066!

The Best Route: Morelia to Queretero

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:34:00 +0000

When we first arrived in Mexico, the driving was pretty smooth for the most part until we got to Celaya. The stretch from there to Acambaro to Morelia was absolutely brutal. Rural towns with giant speed bumps scraping the bottom of our car regardless how slow we went, single lane snail pace, windy roads, terrible signage. No longer! The construction on Highway 43D Cuota from Morelia to Salamanca was completed earlier this year and it was a breeze to navigate. Then it's just east toward Celaya and Queretero. Super fast, super convenient.

House

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 19 May 2008 03:50:00 +0000

An abandoned house made primarily of mud bricks.

Barrio Chino

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:16:00 +0000

DF is one of the largest cities in the world. It also contains one of the smallest Chinatowns I've ever seen. One city block!

Monarch Butterflies

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:11:00 +0000

The monarch butterfly sanctuaries near Angangueo are a must see if you are in the area. It's roughly 2 hours east of Morelia via Highway 15D Cuota. There are two sanctuaries, both of which require a moderate hike to get to. You can drive right up to the entrance to the El Rosario sanctuary where as for Sierra Chincua, you have to either own a truck or pay to have one drive you there (MXN$400/trip). Lots of traditional food stalls and crafts at the entrance to the sanctuary. When the butterflies are on the branches sleeping, they resemble clumps of dead leaves. When hundreds of them are flying and their orange wings are in full view, it really is a great sight to see. I don't think I've ever seen more than 2 monarch butterflies at one time back in Canada. You gotta experience it to understand how amazing they are.

Starcase to Nowhere

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:34:00 +0000

The staircase to what appears to be nowhere. Patz.

Store Name

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:24:00 +0000

I was cruising through Polanco in DF and came across this store and at first glance, I couldn't help but do a double take. The actual name is this.

Mexican Street Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Before we moved to Morelia, many people we knew back in Canada who had spent time in Mexico told us that there were lots of street dogs down there and knowing how much we loved dogs, said we would end up adopting a dog. As it turns out, the day we arrived last October, we met a momma perro with a litter of 5 puppies. We ended up adopting 2 of them. The other 3 were adopted by the vet at the Patzcuaro free spay and neuter clinic.

Cinepolis Las Americas

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:56:00 +0000

In an earlier post, we talked about the 3 Cinepolis theaters in Morelia. Now, there is a 4th at Plaza las Americas! The grand opening was on April 29th. This is the first phase of the expansion of Plaza las Americas. Almost all of the existing stores in the original shopping center have relocated to the new section.

What's that smell?

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Several times a week when I wake up in the morning, the air smells like rotten eggs. Not sure what factory is producing this foul stench but I think it may be the one in the picture above that resides on the highway toward Patzcuaro.

Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:29:00 +0000

To make a long story short...a dog in our 'hood was hit by a combi (bus). The vet says he has no broken bones but is quite swollen which is why he's having such difficulty walking. He also has a minor infection so he's on some antibiotics as well. He'll be released from the vet clinic on Wednesday the 14th of May. We've already adopted two street dogs (sisters from Patzcuaro) and cannot take this guy in. Later this summer we'll be returning to our condo unit in Canada and it only allows two pets so we've reached our canine limit unfortunately. The vet said he'd probably get put down since it's unlikely he'll be adopted once at the city pound. Anyway, we kept him at our house for 2 nights because the vet had been closed for the holiday (Cinco de Mayo) so we got to know him abit. He's very affectionate & playful. We call him Gus 'cause we found him lying in an Augustin Plaza. He walks extremely well on leash & did not piss or crap when in our house (even through the night)! He saved it for his walks outside. Please let us know if you have any ideas, connections, etc. to get this guy a family. I really don't know what we'll do otherwise.

Mattresses

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Mattresses are not cheap in Morelia. If you like foam, it's not easy to find. Mexican standard sizes are individual (39"), matrimonial (52"), queen (60") and king (78"), all of which have a length of 75". If you are tall like me (6'), it can feel a tad short at times.

If you want standard USA size mattresses, Costco is the only place I've seen that stocks them. Colchones BEKY (Camelinas 1964) is a great mattress store. There are two English speaking brothers (Juan and Pedro) that work there and they were extremely helpful. We ended up getting a Mexican queen foam mattress (pretty darn firm!) and we bought a memory foam topper from Costco (American size so we can bring it back with us to Canada).

Monarca/Altozano Golf Course

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:48:00 +0000

I had mentioned a new golf course being built in Morelia in an earlier post. Supposedly, on May 31, 2008, the course at Bosque Monarca is opening 9 holes for play! Monthly membership for the first several months will be US$150. I'm not even sure exactly what the course is called. Originally, I had heard Bosque Monarca but more recently, I've heard it being referred to as Bosque Altozano.

A little random I know but...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:02:00 +0000

...doesn't he look like Burt Reynolds?

Mexico Driving Aid

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:43:00 +0000

I came across this amazing website application that allows you to map a driving route in Mexico. You select two cities and it outputs a map, the distance, the time and the total cost of tolls on the route. It gives the shortest route, which may not always be the fastest. You can select intermediate cities to keep you on toll roads, which are faster and better (even if they are slightly out of the way). The website is here.

Telmex

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:14:00 +0000

Telmex is the primary provider of telephone service in Mexico. They also provide internet. The initial cost was pretty hefty. We paid MXN$2000 for installation. Telmex's Infinitum 1000 is the internet service we decided to go with. They gave us a free modem which also doubles as a wireless router. No complaints so far. It's fast and reliable. The monthly cost for our land line and internet are MXN$156 and MXN$260, respectively.