Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

On the way to Morelia, Michoacán from visiting the Monarch butterflies I saw the Mexico I’d seen in movies and my imagination… huge hills tinted blue with agave fields, cactus growing wild, massive mirror-like lakes, an occasional tumbleweed dancing wildly in the wind, and even a cowboy walking his horse and donkey. It made me finally feel like I’d left ‘home’ and had begun exploring!

When I first arrived at the hostel in Morelia and went out to take a peek around I immediately fell in love with this city! The architecture is amazingly beautiful! This is considered to be one of the most Spanish cities in Mexico, and is one of the two hundred cities UNESCO named Cultural World Heritage sites. The narrow streets and pink hued stone buildings remind me very much of wandering though similar cities in Europe. Somehow even with modern life flourishing it retains old world charm mixed with the vibrantly colourful culture that is Mexico today.

Morelia’s Centro Historico is filled with many one way streets, and for that, as a pedestrian I’m grateful… the drivers in Mexico have the right of way, and I saw more than once drivers seeming to hit the gas at the sight of a lowly biped attempting to get to the other side. I’m glad I used to have a fondness for the old video game Frogger, if it weren’t for the quick reflexes trained by that game, I may still be standing on the first block trying to cross the road. ;)

I have a massive sweet tooth and one of the things Morelia is famous for is sweets! There were dulcerias (candy shops) all over. Some of the sweets made in the region are even very suitable for a vegan including the super tasty candied fruits (called ate, pronounced ah-tay). I tried 2 main kinds, one that was dried into strips and another that was also made from fruit but was soft and dusted with chili and sugar… delicious! Both came in a variety of flavours. There’s even a Candy Museum (that I kept missing getting to by being distracted with other things along the way to it) and an enormous Mercado de Dulces (Candy Market) that goes beyond satisfying a sweet tooth by also offering a wide range of local crafts.

One of the things that really stood out for me about this city, beyond the gorgeous buildings, fountains, aquaducts, sidewalk café’s, and busy, but relaxed inhabitants were the busses. Yup, you read that right, the city busses. They’re (what look like to me) modern VW vans converted to hold as many people at a time as possible, yet they’re very comfortable and cheap! There were no bus stops that I saw, to catch one waving it down like you’d call a taxi seemed to be the way to go. To me, that seems like a better way to take a bus than standing waiting at a stop.

Photos From Morelia, Mexico

The Aquaduct

Built between 1785 and 1789, this aquaduct snakes through one of the most beautiful areas of Morelia.

Day of the Dead

While I wasn’t here for the Day of the Dead festival, I did catch a glimpse of many of the dolls to be found here.

Fuente Las Tarascas

Morelia’s most famous fountain which has 3 women holding up a massive bowl of fruit.

Morelia’s Street View

This photo shows the view of the mountains beyond the quaint streets and bustle of urban life in Morelia.

Tourist Bus

This isn’t the type of buses I mention above, this is one made for tourists I’m told. It is quite pretty!

As I left Morelia I took one last look down the narrow street and caught a glimpse of the wild landscape beyond this beautiful city, with the not-so distant mountains reminding me that there’s so much more to see and explore here, and so many more moments to experience and remember forever.