Easter Weekend in San Juan del Rio

It's been a while since we posted here as both Harry and I got sick in Patzcuaro. Must have been something we ate (duh!)—but we don't know what. We never made it to Morelia but Harry did manage to pilot Mohita to San Juan del Rio about six hours away. This town is not in the guidebooks, although it is very nice and has an old colonial centre. We came here to visit the parents of a young man that both Harry and I taught when we were working at the Pan Pacific English School in Victoria. In fact Jamie spent six weeks visiting here the summer before last.

We arrived on Good Friday and were warmly welcomed by Chata, Jose and their daughter Natalia (who is studying at a private university in Queretero, about half an hour away). Jose is a medical doctor so we were lucky enough to have some medicine and care for our illness, as well as a place to rest. This family lives in an apartment in the centre of town. They also have another vacant apartment upstairs where we have been able to stay. To get into the apartment, you open a big double wooden door off of the busy sidewalk and enter a large courtyard with several turns and doors. It's like going into another world. As there is no parking for the motorhome here, we have left it in a gated yard a little out of town with a friend of the family.

On Saturday we drove out to a little town called Pena de Bernal, which is famous for its rocky mountain peak. The weekend of the spring solstice is important in this town as people come to get energy from the mountain. It's a lovely little place with lots of pretty hotels and streets, absolutely full of Mexican tourists. Many people come from the capital as it is only about two hours away. After wandering the streets and enjoying blue corn gordidtas we returned on a highway that was bumper to bumper with cars returning to Mexico City. It took us about two hours to complete a drive that normally takes half an hour. Our dogs were very happy to see us when we arrived home at 8:30 p.m.

Easter Sunday was celebrated with a dinner party at an elegant house in a gated community with friends of the Reyes family. There were several other couples there, all educated and interesting. Most spoke some English so conversation drifted between the two languages. Two of the couples are retired and live in this community. It was an experience to participate in a holiday party. Mexican people are very courtly and warm and they made us feel welcome.

Many businesses were closed over the weekend but today (Monday) the city is back to normal. This afternoon Joanna went to a museum of the dead with Chata and then we all drove into Queretero to have a nice lunch and a look around at the old part of the city. Tomorrow we plan to head north and this time perhaps we really will make it to Zacatecas.