Morning In Morelia

Note the empty street with the giant van parked on it. We decided it was too wide for the side street and moved it. 

The historic downtown is pretty empty around seven in the morning and we cruised the street grid looking for a good spot to park GANNET2 while we went a-touristing. The van you see below is a collectivo, a fixed route minibus that picks up and drops off passengers on demand for a very small fare. Quantity not quality of riders means they drive fast to make money. 

Rusty and I went for a long walk around 6800 feet altitude in the crisp morning air. You will notice the streets are empty. Our way of handling city tourism is to arrive early downtown and park our home which we then use as a refuge during the day, or as a kennel for Rusty while we are touring museums. 

Workers use motorcycles or collectivos usually to commute though a few have cars. Many walk. 

This sign reminded me of Key West where blocking a driveway earns an expensive tow. In short the sign says no excuses accepted so don’t try to park here. 

This fountain marks the presence of a 17th century city water system. A small child drowned in it so they built the Angel statue to mark her passing. A nearby sign notes some asshole stole the fountain’s pump and please return it. 

I was so enchanted by the streets to ourselves I got distracted and lost. We walked long enough and far enough Rusty drank a whole bowl of water and passed out when we finally got back. 

Note the empty street. The driver of the red Ford Ka behind GANNET2 told me I was fine to park there and he works across the street to keep an eye on us. Typical spontaneous friendliness. 

The Plaza de Armas is typically the main square in colonial cities where martial displays were put on to let everyone know who was in charge. 

Work was underway for the Mardi Gras celebrations that last a few days leading up to Lent.

We were surprised by one of the floats coming down the street. In Morelia the floats are one person sized carried on the shoulder of a single young man at a time though they can change out for relief along the way. They represent bulls and the carriers are called toreros or toreadors. 

A former church has been converted to a public library. Closed the Saturday we were there thanks to the festivities and parade. 

Our plan had been to see a very well known art museum called The Clavijero which was also closed. They keep bankers hours anyway from Wednesday to Saturday only so that was that. Bummer. Not that they had any signs or anything, typically Mexican, but they didn’t answer the phone either. 

Morelia is a lovely city architecturally but we also e joyed the atmosphere on this short visit. 

The hotel below, The Viceroy in English, has been closed since 2019 by a labor dispute without end. I read a newspaper article which said the workers were protesting management taking their tips. 

They are camped out keeping the hotel closed while arbitration proceeds slowly nowhere. Our waiter at lunch confirmed the newspaper story. 

People were walking around the main drag waiting for a parade that supposedly started at ten. 

We sat in the Plaza de Armas and people watched for a while. 

The unmistakable profile below of the hero of independence, Benito Juaréz. 

When I was a kid in Italy in the 60s and 70s I would haunt these newspaper kiosks when we went into town. I was always ready for a new edition of the Italian comic books I followed and traded with friends. These I saw in Morelia struck a chord. They are identical. 

And finally we got to the cathedral, one of the most famous in a country filled with them. My Jewish wife was unimpressed, though she did admit St Peter’s in Rome was interesting, when I took her there a decade ago. The silver monstrance on the main altar in Morelia can be completely disassembled they say. Why you’d do that I don’t know. 

The cathedral was completed in 1744 after 84 years of work and has been upgraded and modified since then. The organ imported from Germany in 1905, has fully 4,600 pipes and the organist was playing resounding trumpet voluntarily when we were there. Most enjoyable. 

What I wanted to see was the corn paste Christ Transfigured. Apparently it was made by Indios using reeds covered in corn paste.  That it dates to the founding era of the church makes it even more astonishing. 

Commercialism is never far away and you can buy relics in the office! 

I caught the tail end of a friendly conversation between the legless beggar and the guy who looks bummed out. That and a couple of stray dogs put me in a bit of a funk as usual. Life is not fair and I tried to explain to my grumpy wife that sometimes spending money on symbols gives the hopeless hope. My justification rang hollow as we wandered the luxurious cathedral interior.  

Oh, and then by accident more commercialization of the church. 

Layne spotted a water truck and as usual wasn’t afraid to ask if he’d sell us 20 gallons. It was the most expensive we’ve bought at ten dollars for the load. 

But it saved us driving around looking. 

We took lunch on the Plaza  de Armas at a restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet for local specialties. First we got cinnamon coffee brought to us in its component parts which didn’t work so well for me, I like it ready mixed on arrival. 

Chocolate, sugar, orange peel and cinnamon and you figure out the proportions. Sigh. It’s called cafe de olla (oy-ya) and it can be delicious if I’m not the one making it. 

The music was pleasant and my hair was still extremely short. 

More parade goers passed. 

Brunch was a strangely sweet rich corn pudding with pork and bell pepper pieces buried in it. 

And eggs scrambled with pork and tortilla chips with a side of beans and a mild tomato sauce with black corn tortillas. With three coffees and tip it came to $25 US. Not exactly street food but worth it. 

A solid police presence with a Fiat Ducato van like our Promaster closed the road. Time to go see the mythical parade. 

There they were… and what fun it was.