We arrived in Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacan, following iOverlander directions to a suggested camping spot for the night.  As we turned onto a narrow street, the app told us our location was on the right hand side, but we looked to see a solid wall with a few doors and some windows but nothing a vehicle could fit through…this didn’t seem right.

Derek parked the truck, half on the sidewalk so that other vehicles could get by, and I headed out to walk around the area to see if I could find Estacionimiento San Jeronimo, and the owner Ismael.  After a few false starts, I found a man who knew who Ismael was, and he lead me through a gate to a parking lot surrounded by stone walls and to our host.

Ismael was enthusiastic to have us stay there for the night, and quickly had us set up with power and clean flushing toilets (with seats!) in his estacionimiento, which is basically a pay by the hour parking lot with security.  All this for 70 pesos per night, about 5 CAD!  He told us of the many sites that were within walking distance, and that it was a very important day in Mexico, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.   Moments later he returned with a bowl of peanuts in the shell, and another bowl full of fruit…oranges, guava and something we had never seen before, a fruit called zapote negra, all from his garden behind the wall.  We headed out for the day knowing that our truck was being taken care of, and excited to see the city Ismael was so obviously in love with.

Morelia is a beautiful, exciting city; cosmopolitan yet colonial, full of young people and old buildings, bursting with music and the smell of good food.  But why not let some of the pictures do the talking.

There are so many beautiful doors in Mexico.

This stone aqueduct runs through Morelia and was built in 1735.

The view from the outdoor cafe where we had a coffee.

After exploring for a few hours we returned to our parking lot, regrouped, got the dog settled in the camper for the evening and headed back out to see the celebrations for the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is extremely important in Mexico, as we had learned when we were in Mexico City earlier this year.  The story goes that an indigenous man living near Mexico City in 1531 by the name of Juan Diego claimed to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary.  She asked Juan to have a shrine built in her name on the spot where the vision took place, but the Spanish priests did not believe him.  He returned to the site again on December 12th, where the Virgin appeared again and asked him to gather roses growing nearby in his cloak.  When Juan took his cloak to the priests, the roses fell to the floor and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was imprinted inside.  We visited the church built on the supposed site of the vision when we were in Mexico City, and what is said to be Juan’s cloak is on display behind the alter.  They have so many visitors to see the image of the Virgin that there is a small moving sidewalk that takes you past the alter.

The evening streets were crowded with people of all ages. Food vendors were selling tacos, candy floss, drinks and snacks.  Other stalls were selling all types of household goods and toys.  Little boys were dressed up as Juan Diego with moustaches and sideburns painted onto their faces.  Little girls wore white traditional Mexican dresses.  We were swept along with the crowd who were mostly heading in one direction.  Occasionally the crowd would part, and there on the rough cobblestone streets would be someone crawling on their knees, praying or saying the rosary as they made their way to a shrine for the Virgin of Guadalupe.  They were usually accompanied by friends or family who may take them under the arms to take some weight off of their knees, or who would lay out blankets in front of them to try and soften the path.  We don’t know how far these people were crawling, as we got tired of the crowds and turned around before seeing the shrine, but the distance was great and the people were obviously in discomfort if not down right in pain.

We saw one man struggling on his knees towards the shrine holding a young infant in his arms. It nearly broke my heart, as I imagined that he was crawling to the Virgin to ask her to heal his sick baby, or maybe to thank her for having done so already.   Many Mexicans are deeply religious, and their belief in the power of the Virgin is evident in the suffering they are willing to withstand.

We revisited the main plaza to see it lit up at night.  Here are a few pictures.

We slept well despite the fiesta that went on long into the night.  In the morning our gracious host arrived with a thermos full of a Mexican drink made of hot water, various fruits and some sugar.  Ismael has missed his calling, he should be a BNB host or a hotelier.  But for now the overlanders that chose to camp in his parking lot are lucky to have a cheap place to stay, close to the city centre, with a welcome that feels like a hug from an old friend.