Dia de los Muertos Tour
Tentative Itinerary
Oct 28 – Nov. 5, 2008

pdf file of Itinerary

Please Note:
I've searched the web for links to help you better understand the trip. Besides the websites I've chosen there are many more you can find by surfing on your own. Today, there is a lot of information out there; some better than others, but most are interesting. To access the links just click the underlined names of places in the itinerary below, and learn more about the places we'll be visiting.. Be sure to checkout the YouTube videos in the left hand column.

Day 1 - October 28.
Leave McAllen by 9 am. Stop in Reynosa at Migracion and Aduana to get our Visas and a permit for the vehicle. Drive past Monterrey and Saltillo to arrive in Matehuala, San Luis Potosi around 5 pm. This gives you time to enjoy the desert setting at the Las Palmas Hotel. Rent a bike, take a walk, or play a round of mini-golf before dinner at the hotel.
Meals: Lunch from the ice-chest in the van included. Dinner at the hotel on your own.
Approximately 390 miles
Evening’s accomodations - Las Palmas Hotel, Matehuala, San Luis Potosi.

Day 2 - October 29
Leave Las Palmas Hotel at 7 am to head south. Around 11 am, stop for brunch at El Potosi, a large rest stop on the bypass around the city of San Luis Potosi. There are many restaurants to choose from, including Subway, Church's Fried Chicken, and an excellent Mexican buffet. We’ll arrive in Morelia about 4 pm and enjoy an early dinner on the sidewalk (Best Western-El Casino) across from the cathedral and main plaza. At 6:30 pm reboard the van for the drive to Hacienda la Cruz near Santa Clara del Cobre. This lovely private hacienda will be our accommodations for four nights. Relax by the fireplace in the shared greatroom, or turn in early.
Meals: Brunch on your own at El Potosi. Dinner in Morelia on your own.
Approximately 540 total miles.
Evening’s accomodations - Hacienda la Cruz, Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan.

Day 3 - October 30
Sleep in or rise early and explore the grounds. Walk in the woods. Before breakfast, Senior Alvarez will give us a tour of the tree nursery and will tell us about the program to restore forests to the mountainsides around the lakes, as well as to the mountains around the monarch sanctuaries. Enjoy a late breakfast at Hacienda la Cruz. About noon drive to Patzcuaro to explore the craft and flower markets. Meet at El Patio Restaurant, on the Plaza Vasco de Quiroga (Plaza Grande) for dinner. Return to Hacienda la Cruz.
Meals: Breakfast at Hacienda la Cruz included. Lunch and Dinner in Patzcuaro on your own.
Approximately 50 mi round trip.
Evening’s accomodations - Hacienda la Cruz, Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan.

Day 4- October 31
Breakfast at Hacienda la Cruz, then drive into Santa Clara del Cobre to explore the copper workshops and stores. Lunch on your own at a local hotel restaurant. Return to Hacienda la Cruz to relax or take a nap in preparation for an evening of trekking through the the Mesita Purepecha to visit cemeteries lit and decorated in welcome for the departed relatives of the villages. Before "departing" we will partake of traditional , local style hot chocolate and pan de muertos and other pan dulces (sweet rolls). The evening's tour will be an full night of exploring moutain village cemetaries led by Jose Luis Alvarez. He describes the experience as beginning with moving visits to cemeteries that are merely candle-lit, and others decorated with candles and flowers, and all eerie in their silence, with no one in attendance. As the evening progresses, we will visit other cemeteries where the towns people sit in vigil, awaiting their loved ones who've passed to the other life. The trek will continue through the night and end with festive, and crazy celebrations of welcome to dearly departed relatives.
Meals: Breakfast at Hacienda la Cruz and snacks before evening trek are included. Lunch in Santa Clara del Cobre on your own.
Approximate mileage unknown.
Evening’s accomodations - Hacienda la Cruz, Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan.

Day 5 - November 1
We will return to Hacienda la Cruz early in the morning to sleep until noon. A continental breakfast will be available when hunger strikes. We’ll leave Hacienda la Cruz at 1 pm for a drive around Lake Patzcuaro, proceeding around the west side of the lake. We'll pass through a number of villages, including Erongaricuaro, near where Sue Sill, your tour leader, lived during most of the 1990s. Further around the lake, we'll stop in Opongio and have a late lunch at a quaint restaurant overlooking the lake. On the north end of the lake, we'll stop briefly in Quiroga to explore crafts and leather markets, then head south on the east side of the lake to Tzintzuntzan (a name often translated as place of the hummingbirds). Once the Purepecha capital, this historic craft center boasts the oldest olive trees in the new world. Planted in the church yard, about 500 years ago, as part of a plan to produce olives for export to Europe, the new world olives, as it turns out, were too successful. Because they were out competing Spanish olives, the new world trees were ordered distroyed. Only those in this church yard survived. Here, we will shop for crafts and explore the church and its grounds, then drive up to the Yacatas (entrance fee included). These unusual-styled pyramids overlook the town, and were once the major Purepecha cerimonial center. On viewing the grand vista of Lake Patzcuaro, it is easy to understand why the Purepecha believed the lake was the gateway to heaven. We’ll then stop at Tzurimutaro for a light supper of carnitas - succulent, pit-roasted pork with home-made tortillas and cauldo, before returning to Hacienda la Cruz for an early evening around the fire place to visit and reminisce.
Meals: Continental breakfast and carnita dinner are included. Lunch in Opongio is on your own.
Days mileage approximately 100 miles. Evening’s accomodations - Hacienda la Cruz, Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan.

Day 6 - November 2
After breakfast at Hacienda la Cruz we will drive to Uruapan by way of the old road, stopping at Tingambato to explore the pyramids (said to be the only pre colombian ruins in western Mexico with a Maya style ball court). When we reach Uruapan, we’ll have lunch at a local restaurant (or if you prefer, snacks from the van) then tour the Parque Nacional de Cupatitizio (entrance fee included). The 20 acre park surrounds the artesian spring from which flows the vast amount of water that becomes the Cupatitizio river that rushes southward, toward the coast, and spills over the waterfalls of La Tzararacua. If time allows and the group is interested, we may visit the waterfall which is about 6 miles south of the city. Dinner at the hotel for the evening, Pie de la Sierra (translated - foot of the mountain) which is on the highway just north of town.
Meals: Breakfast is included, Lunch in Uruapan and dinner at the hotel are on your own.
Approximately 60 miles
Evening’s accomodations - Pie de la Sierra, Uruapan, Michoacan.

Day 7 - November 3
Early breakfast at the hotel, then leave Uruapan and head to Talaquepaque, Jalisco (a suburb of Guadalajara). Along the way, we will take a 30 mile round-trip detour to Angahuan to see Paricutin, the volcano that arose from a corn field in 1943. Lunch will be from the ice chest at the overlook. Proceeding back onto our route we'll pass through Paracho, Michoacan, where most of the guitars in Mexico are made in small workshops. We will stop briefly to explore the guitar and woodcraft shops, then get back on the highway. Depending on the length of our stops, we should check into our hotel (tentatively Quinta Don Jose - a small Boutique Hotel only a block from the outdoor malls and restaurants) around 5 or 6 pm. We'll explore the cobbled pedestrian streets and crafts shops until dinner at a El Adobe restaurant a few blocks away. The night owls in the group may decide to drink margaritas to mariache music into the night.
Meals: Breakfast at the hotel on your own. Lunch included. Dinner and margaritas in Talaquepaque on your own.
Approximately 270 miles.
Evening’s accomodations - Quinta Don Jose, Talaquepaque, Jallisco.

Day 8 - November 4
Enjoy a continental breakfast at Quinta Don Jose in Talaquepaque, then drive through beautiful canyons to Zacatecas. Arrive early in the afternoon. Check into Hotel Argento Inn, located in the heart of Zacatecas’ historic district. After a brief period to relax, we will gather in the lobby for a walking tour to explore the colonial mining city, ending with dinner at La Garufa, an Argentine restaurant.
Meals: Contenintal breakfast at Quinta Don Jose & lunch in the van included. Dinner at Argentine restaurant on your own.
Approximately 200 miles.
Evening’s accomodations: Hotel Argento Inn, Zacatecas, Zacatecas.

Day 9 - November 5
Breakfast at 8 am at Acropolis, a popular Italian-style coffeehouse, ice cream parlor and restaurant that is a landmark in Zacatecas. Spend the morning exploring the beautiful colonial mining city on your own, or take a tour bus (also on your own) or just relax. At noon, we'll check out of our hotel and drive up to La Bufa, the major mountaintop monolith and park overlooking the city. From this famous rock formation you will have a panoramic view of the city, be able to climb on the big rock and tour the museum dedicated to General Francisco (Pancho) Villa and his troops. At 1 pm, we'll begin the last leg of our trip home. Lunch, supper and snacks will be from the ice chest in the van. We should arrive home in McAllen about 9 pm.
Meals: Breakfast at Acropolis on your own. Lunch and supper from the ice chest in the van, included.
Approximately 420 miles.
Eveninging’s accomodatios - your own bed.