Morelia, Part I

Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico April 17, 2009

Morelia Part I:

Charming and Entertaining!

Morelia is a charming city. It has an attractive, sizable downtown area filled with World Heritage buildings, friendly and courteous people, fine cuisine and many free, high quality cultural events. Like Merida, Peubla and San Cristobol de las Casas, it's more beautiful, richer in culture, better organized and cleaner than you would expect. Everything comes together in a way that leaves you tranquil and culturally elevated.

Morelia is in the province of Michoacan, with a population of about 685,000. It sits at an altitude of 1920 meters (6300 feet) with an average daytime temperature of no more than 85F. Rain is infrequent; the skies are always blue. The downtown area has over 1000 colonial buildings and churches that are World Heritage designated. Cost of living compared to the US is about one half. Medical care is excellent and as affordable as is most everything else.

There are some concerns, of course. Recently a mayor who fired his police chief for corruption was assassinated, and there have been some attacks on police or army installations by drug traffickers. However, most of the violence in this province as elsewhere in Mexico is between competing drug trafficking gangs. Most of that occurs in non-public settings so safety is not effected. My other main concern is air quality. Pollution from cars and buses on main thoroughfares can be quite offensive. The constant breeze means the problem ends up somewhere else.

We arrived on in Mexico on March 24, 2009. At the bus station in Morelia you pay 35 pesos (currently at $13 pesos per $US- they use the $ symbol here too, in fact the word dollar comes from Spanish) at a desk inside the station for the taxi ride to town. There is no dispute about how much the ride costs, and there is no extra charge for an extra passenger or luggage, getting visitors off to a good start.

Peg found our place using the wireless internet in the $20US a night hotel in downtown Morelia. In less than two days we moved into an apartment run by the Baden-Powel Institute. BPI has about 7 apartments rented to students studying Spanish. There were plenty of spare apartments so they rented us one. We negotiated a discount from the weekly rate but still a lot more than we would pay for an apartment elsewhere in the city. Since we are going to be here a relatively short while, and since the rent includes all utilities, a cell phone, weekly maid service, a water purifier, cable TV with lots of subtitled movies and other English language programs, wireless internet and a very convenient location in the historic center, it makes sense to pay a bit extra. So far it's worked out very well, although our first apartment was a bit noisy being right on the street. Now we are on the second floor, it quiet, less dusty and we are not bothered by automobile fumes.

One of the many beautiful buildings in downtown Morelia showing tyical stonework

Since we arrived we've seen 1) a two-day outdoor weekend international folk dance festival with participants from 7 or 8 Latin American countries, 2) an outdoor production bu a modern dance troupe 3) an excellent outdoor production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and, 4) the first three of four evening performances of the 19th Annual International Guitar Festival and competition. Total cost to us: $0.

There is also live music at many of the bars. One night we saw a very good belly dance performance by 3 women at a restaurant; one of them also did a few flamenco dances. Our total bill for a very good meal, 2 beers each included, was $42US. That's for four people, not two. That's about as expensive as it gets here.

We Gotta Get Out of This Place! El Salvador Part IV

We Gotta Get Out of This Place

All of the charm of Nic village is in it's people. As charming as they are, that was not enough to keep us here for long.

Ramon and Lucy were extremely generous to us. They made us several meals. One was a deep fried fish. It was whole and deboned, and quite tasty. On Christmas day she made sandwiches, a local tradition. These consist of slow-cooked beef, as tender as you can get it. It was served in it's own juices but not so liquid that the Bimbo (that's the brand name) white, very white and very floppy bread couldn't hang together long enough for you to eat it. It was very good. For the first time since we'd been here (by now about a week), they served beer. Nic explained that el Salvadorans frown upon drinking. They think that if you drink at all you drink to excess. There is no in between.

Another meal we had some tamales. These tamales, unlike the other's we've had in el Sal, have some meat in them. In one I ate there was chicken, a chicken leg with the a bit of the bone included! As usual, the masa was quite tasty. One day we had a wonderful chicken stew. They chicken was probably running around the yard earlier in the day. Peg ate some of the eggs. The chickens have chosen a spot to lay right next to Nic's door. It's easy to see how many eggs you have, and just as easy to step in chicken poop as you walk in and out. Makes you be thankful for shoes and makes you wear them all the time.

Ramon works for someone in the village who has some bees. They use some German technology which has significantly boosted production. He says you can work with the Africanized bees. You have to use more smoke and exercise greater caution. Ramon let us taste the honey, served with the comb. It was good honey. Out back he has a coconut tree. He said compared to the coconuts you get in the US, these are much more tender, and much better. He was right about them being more tender, but both Peg, I, Nic and Jeanine find them to be unpleasant, being mushy, and tasteless at best.

We went on several visits during our time in La Dumpa. We met Adepio and Marta, both warm, friendly and welcoming, and maybe one or two of their eight children and perhaps a batch or two of grandchildren. Marta has been to the US. Nic likes their 'comida' the best. I think they severed us some tamales, rice and beans and tortillas, of course. They were joking about how one of their grandsons had injured his penis. He jumped off a ledge, which shoved a sharp object in his pocket into his penis. He screamed far louder than necessary, they said, but they took him to a doctor in San Sal for some stitches anyway.

We ate on our laps. This is a common practice. I recall only once sitting at a table. Here we got to sit on chairs. At Lucy's we sometimes sat in the hammock. I preferred to sit in the hammock at Lucy's, because it was indoors while the seats were on the porch, where the two annoying dogs begged, the chickens constantly tried to climb in your lap and if unsuccessful would poop on your shoe.

While we are they sat. This is also common practice. Visitors are fed when they get there, and often the family has already dined.

Another day we visited the House of Women. The mother had five or six daughters, the husband gone or dead. The daughters who had children all had girls, four or five perhaps, and the fathers were gone or dead. They were such lovely people I didn't suspect them of murdering any of the fathers.

Theirs was the most attractive house we'd seen in the village. It was fairly new and paid for largely by remittances from the oldest daughter, who works for Neiman Marcus in personnel. I gathered she made no more than $30,000 a year. She had no high school diploma or if she did, that was all she had, so I could not imagine her making even that much. She rented an apartment for something like $600 a month and had a roommate. But her English was quite good, so she could be very helpful dealing with Spanish speaking employees.

One day Nic took us on a walk up the hill to the cisterns. A previous Peace Corps couple helped set up a water project which brought potable water to the village for the first time. The area mayor put up the $80,000 it took to build the cisterns and lay the pipe. The cisterns are filled from a small stream. The pipes are about ½ mile in length and are gravity fed. The pipe installed in one cistern was installed too high so that cistern does not feed the system. As a result of this or other issues, there is not enough water pressure to serve the whole village, so only one section at a time has water.

There are three sections. One can be shut off independently, but the other two can not. A villager goes to each house and turns the water on and off. Some villagers want their water on when it's supposed to be off, so the section being served at that time does not always have enough pressure. By the time we left, the village council had established a fine for anyone who turned their water on during off periods.

Ramon has a well so during off periods you still have water, but you can't drink it. But you can take a shower and flush the toilet. But you can't really flush Nic's toilet by operating the handle because it is clogged. It will flush if you pour enough water in it. No one had gotten to the point where finding a plunger or snake seemed like the thing to do.

My 'guests' chose this time to make their grandest exit. This only involved minor inconveniences unless someone else was in the bathroom. As it happened, I nearly died only once. Nic was trying to get the toilet to drain while I danced around the living room, Jeanine watching my face get increasing pale. As this was going on she explained that PCVs (Peace Corp Volunteers) in el Sal spend a lot of time dealing with issues like this. How lovely.

But at least I was sleeping well. I still can't figure out why. The bed Peg and I were sharing was at most a single. I spent nights perched on the 2x4 frame edge. But this seemed better than what Nic and Jeanine were doing- sharing the hammock. Not a double wide one, just a single. They looked like they were in hog heaven, and if the sounds coming from the backyard were any indication, that's exactly where they were.

Beach restaurant in Fuoco

Within a few days I found myself singing “We Gotta Get Outta This Place”. Jeanine heard me and laughed. Two bus rides later we were in a beach town, El Fuoco. It has to be one of the world's ugliest beach towns. The beach is lined with tin roofs held up with sticks. Dogs wander about, some looking not too healthy. Our hotel cost $35 a night, with threadbare sheets and no hot water. Just as well. When there is hot water in el Salvador, it's produced by a device attached to the shower head. We've both received shocks when we tried to adjust the water flow or temperature.

We ate a lovely dinner in a dumpy hut on the beach (none of the restaurants had names) . It was a deep fried fish, it was very good, and it was only $5.00, but we just had to get out of that place.

el Sal part III

In the dumps

We're back in the pickup heading back to San Vincente and then to Nic's place. On the way, while hanging off the back with his feet on the bumper and sending text messages, Nic explained the situation between him, Jeanine and Wendell. Wendell and Jeanine were in the process of splitting up, and both agreed to the divorce so there were good feelings all around. Nic and Wendell were still good friends. Nic had been worried that we might think he was having an affair with a married woman. Nic forgot we lived through the 70's when it was shameful if you weren't!

A seat became available as we talked but I was unaware of nothing but the strange things Nic was doing with his lips as he stood inches above the road. They were pursed and seemed to be pointing. This turns out to be Salvadorans often do when you ask for directions. For example, if you pass their table and ask for the bathroom, they'd purse their lips in the direction of the toilet. The movement is so subtle that at first Nic thought they were just ignoring him.

I think we transferred to another bus in San Vincente and on to San ______ where we got the bus to to Nic's site, _______. San ______ must be the patron saint of ugly dusty villages. At least it would give him a following, as there are probably tons of these in el Sal. ______ may be one of the most in need of something, anything at all, that isn't ugly and dusty, and gotten to by means of an axle busting dirt road that crosses several creeks, dry now but flowing in the rainy season so sometimes you just can't get through.

_______ in all its glory

The chicken bus that serves this route is the ugliest one I've seen. Not a drop of chrome, the seats badly torn and the stuffing long since worn. The hour and a half ride is only $1.00, which under the circumstances explains the condition of the unit. There's a sign that says, “We'll be serving you until Jesus comes.” The buses en el Sal (as well as all of Central America) are full of Jesus things. Apparently there are some Jehovah's witnesses around, as I saw some references to Jehovah. These are my favorite, because of the way Jehovah sounds in Spanish: “Hey - ova.”

Chickens scurry, pigs snort, and a herd of cows walks in the middle of the road as we arrive, only grudgingly moving to the side. It's a short walk past the town hall, a recently completed structure without windows, which is the case with most of the houses here. Several people were painting it as we walked past. Everyone stopped to greet Nic. The kids were especially fond to see him, but everyone greeted him with great warmth, a warmth that contrasted with the dust and trash and dreary concrete huts we passed.

Nic's concrete house is located off the road. You have to pass through two yards. His landlord lives in one, just 30 feet away. Ramon is in his 40's, married to his second wife Lucy, who is 19. She's round faced and round everything else, both friendly and reserved simultaneously. They have a 5 or 6 year old named Marvin (pronounced 'Mar- VEEN'). Marveen, Lucy and Ramon bath openly in the back yard. There are chickens running everywhere. There's a pig behind Nic's place. Nothing but dirt in the yard. It must be awful in the wet season, but even now the smell us unpleasant. My 'guests' don't seem to like it much, but at least Nic and Ramon have flush toilets. Nic's is permanently clogged, though it does eventually drain. Good, because although I feel better, my friendlies are not ready to leave quite yet.

Nic has a shower. There's hot water for about 10 seconds because the pipes cross the hot roof. Since it's about 80 degrees F, the cold water is tolerable. The gray concrete floors and walls don't exactly make your bathing experience something to be savored, but at least you can get clean.

When he moved in Nic did some painting. There's a cow with the saying, “La Vaca Sabe” beneath. If no one knows the answer here, they say, 'the cow knows.'

Nic never has to cook when he's in ___________. People are always feeding him. Because he's very slender he's an object of concern. Salvadorans are rather plump by choice (can't blame it on the automobile here!). The first night we are at Ramon's. I think we had papusas, which are always served with 'cortido,' a vinegary coleslaw. They were good as papusas go but I am already sick of them and the 'guests' agree. They're happy, I'm happy, they're not, neither am I.

On Sunday we took the 6 am bus to __________. Nic has to appear on the English teaching radio show. After Nic went off Peg and I had breakfast at 'Comedor a la Vista.' They Comedor offers freshly made papusas from their sidewalk grill but Peg and I took the guests inside. Me and my guests wanted more of the delicious stew. Their coffee is brewed but like everywhere we've been so far, they don't have milk. It's cremora instead, and this turned out to be the case everywhere. But breakfast for two costs a mere $4.00, a third or less of what you'd have to spend in the US, and it's very good!

By the time Nic was done and we walked to the bus station, we found that the last bus for ______ leaves at 10:30 on Sunday. This meant we'd have to walk home from the main road, an hour on the shorter of the two routes. Nic says if anyone comes along they'll give you a ride. We walked the entire way without seeing anyone. Fortunately it was not too terribly hot, and only a few hills are steep. It actually felt good, although doing that walk once was enough on that barren, dusty route.

Next: We Gotta Get Outta This Place!

Morelia: short video

Visit to the Plaza de la Armas, downtown Morelia April 5. 09