Michoacan

Michoacan

Discover the land of the Ancient & Present Day Purepecha People.

Known for its natural beauty and colonial charm, Michoacan is a gem waiting to be discovered. The vast and diverse landscape ranges from coastal lowlands, to peaks of over 10,000 feet. In 1943, the great peak of Paricutin blew its top and today one can see the remains of the Tarascan village of San Juan that lied in its shadows. Unlike Pompeii, however, the townspeople knew the eruption was imminent and fled to their safety. Lake Patzcuaro and the small island of Janitzio provide stunning panoramas. Michoacan is also known for its famous Cocucho pottery and the Dance of “Viejitos”!

Tours in Michoacan:

This is why we love Michoacan:

The Capital City of Morelia, a Colonial gem and center for Education, Art & Music.
The Lakeshore Town of Patzcuaro, known for its plazas, cobblestone streets & craft traditions.
The communities on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro such as, Tzintzuntzan, Santa Fe de la Laguna.
The craft traditions in pottery, fiber arts, textiles and copper; dating back to the early colonial period 
and the work of Bishop Vazco de Quiroga.
The Ancient Purepecha Ruins of Tzintzuntzan, “Place of the Hummingbirds”. Here, the Purepecha 
people evaded the incursions of the Aztecs.
The high tropical plateau, or Meseta Purepecha, this is the avocado growing capital of Mexico.
The Day of the Dead Festival and Traditions are singular in Michoacan.
It’s so nice in Michoacan, even the Monarch Butterflies like to spend their winters here!.

monarch

monarch

 

Monarch Butterfly Migration

Unlike most other insects in temperate climates, Monarch butterflies cannot survive a long cold winter. Instead, they spend the winter in roosting spots. Monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains fly south to the forests high in the mountains of Mexico. In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the Monarchs of North America. They travel much farther than all other tropical butterflies, up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterflies to make such a long, two way migration every year. Amazingly, they fly in masses to the same winter roosts, often to the exact same trees. Their migration is more the type we expect from birds or whales.

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However, unlike birds and whales, individuals only make the round-trip once. It is their children’s grandchildren that return south the following fall. As they migrate southwards, Monarchs stop to nectar, and they actually gain weight during the trip! Some researchers think that Monarchs conserve their “fuel” in flight by gliding on air currents as they travel south. This is an area of great interest for researchers; there are many unanswered questions about how these small organisms are able to travel so far. Another unsolved mystery is how Monarchs find the overwintering sites each year. Somehow they know their way, even though the butterflies returning to Mexico or California each fall are the great-great-grandchildren of the butterflies that left the previous spring. No one knows exactly how their homing system works; it is another of the many unanswered questions in the butterfly world.

Dia de Muertos

“Day of the Dead in Mexico represents a mixture of Christian devotion and Pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. As a result of this mixture, the celebration comes to life as an unique Mexican tradition including an altar and offerings dedicated to the deceased. The altar includes four main elements of nature — earth, wind, water, and fire. Earth is represented by crop: The Mexicans believe the souls are fed by the aroma of food. Wind is represented by a moving object: Tissue paper is commonly used to represent wind. Water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar. Fire is represented by a wax candle: Each lit candle represents a soul, and an extra one is placed for the forgotten soul.” -Mary J. Andrade, from Through the Eyes of the Soul, Day of the Dead in Michoacan

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Photos From These Trips

altar

altar2

panteon

people

artcraft

hard-work

artcraft2

boat

cheers

church

dayofthedeath

dayofthedeath2

enjoying

fireworks

flowers

fruits-market

group

happy

little-church

little-girl

mural

muralism

paztcuaro-view

paztcuaro

pictures

radishes

saling

watermelon

tamales

tamales1

tamales2

the-group

the-kiss

butterfly2

butterfly3

butterfly4

ceramics

church

domingo-ramos

domingo-ramos2

domingo-ramos3

domingo-ramos4

domingo-ramos7

domingo-ramos8

domingo-ramos9

domingo-ramos10

girl

lady

palm

paranguaricutirimicuaro

patzcuaro-lake

patzcuaro-lake2

patzcuaro-lake3

boy

church-interior

church

death

dessert

enjoying

first-picture

hotel

mezcal

pears

relaxing

riding

smiling

stephanie

the-family

transportation


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