After a whistle stop visit to the UK to catch up with family and friends before Christmas, we spent a couple more days back at Charly’s RV Park to sort out all the stuff we brought back from home – mostly things we just can’t get in Mexico.

Once back on the road it was on with visiting Pueblo Mágicos with our first stop at Patzcuaro, a town that really brother back memories of our previous South American travels. The main square was impressively decorated for Christmas with huge figures from the Christmas story.


We walked down to the Muelle General port from where we took a lancha to the island of Janitzio in the middle of Lake Patzcuaro. The island is dominated by an almost 40m high statue of José María Morelos Pérez y Pavón, a hero of the Mexican War of Independence. We climbed up to the base of the statue but didn’t take the last few steps up inside the statue – the view would have been no better.


Whilst on the island we got to witness, quite by accident, La Danza de los Viejitos (the Dance of the Old Men), a traditional folk dance said to represent the eternal fight against death.

To the east of Morelia is the Reserva Mariposa Monarca, described in our guidebook as a “great wonder of the natural world”. Every year from November, millions of monarch butterflies arrive from Canada to overwinter in the reserve where they stay until February/March. After mating the males die and the females begin the journey north again. When we visited there were many butterflies around but they were not very active and mostly hanging in large clumps from the trees.



Next stop was Tlalpujahua, once a mining town but now known for its production of glass baubles and its permanent Christmas shops.

We decided to be quite remote for Christmas itself, so after stocking the cupboards we headed to Parque EcoAlberto to spend the holiday parked up riverside in a gorge. Here we spent a few days with Tanja and Boris (@Passion4Patina), who we first met briefly on the Dempster Highway, enjoying a Christmas Eve meal together.


Our stay here was unexpectedly extended due to both of us coming down with food poisoning. Fortunately we had everything we needed nearby to be able to wait this thing out until we felt well enough to move on.
Campsites used
Villa Patzcuaro Hotel and RV Park, Patzcuaro: MXP350 p/n for a fully serviced pitch. There is a large grassy area with showers and toilets (we didn’t use) behind the hotel used for camping. It is sloping so blocks are essential. Location is ideal for walking into the centre of Patzcuaro or to the lake to catch a boat. The hotel does have credit card terminals but wanted to charge a 20% tax for paying with a card – we’re used to 3-5% surcharges but this was just ridiculous!
Hotel Rincon Minero, Tlalpujahua: MXP200 p/n for nothing more than the hotel car park although it did have a Portaloo! Great location though for walking into town.
Gran Cañón Parque EcoAlberto: MXP50 entrance and MXP50 camping per person, per day. Camping is on a large riverside grass area with toilets and water points (OK when put through a filter). There is a walk through the canyon along a walkway built above the river. The staff were really helpful when we were ill. Apart from the fireworks from the nearby town (fairly standard for Mexico), it was a really peaceful place.
Other park ups
Convention Centre Car Park, Morelia: Free, no services. For a city centre park up this was fairly quiet and with regular police patrols, safe. Great for a night when passing through.
El Rosario Butterfly Reserve: Free, no services (although public toilets available by the restaurants and shops). We parked in the lowest car park for two nights and had no problems but that might be different when the butterflies are active. The car park is at 10,000ft with the butterfly reserve another 1,000ft up from there so prepare to struggle breathing, be cold at night and have bottles explode when you open them!