"The crown jewel of highland Michoacán..."

...is how Lonely Planet describes my current location, Pátzcuaro. Located south of the lake of the same name, it has thus far lived up to its moniker, though I have been here but a few hours.

Last night in Morelia I enjoyed a lovely evening with Marion, the aforementioned "francesa loca" who is a treat to spend time with and speaks Spanish with the most beguiling French accent. Every Saturday night, it seems, the cathedral in the town square is magnificently lit and crowds fill the streets and plaza (along with vendors selling balloons and glo-toys and cotton candy) to see a series of fireworks set off from in front of the cathedral. The air had a thoroughly enjoyable flavor of chill fiesta, and it was most enjoyable. The rest of the evening was passed with card games, smoothies, food, and a return visit to a bar of an earlier night (Alquimia) where a really great rock band played cover songs ranging from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Juanes and Jarabe de Paulo (shout out to ER and SL!).

This morning after a leisurely start to the day (it was oddly raining in the AM; downpours tend to be reserved for the afternoon.... every afternoon), I took leave of the wonderful hostel and town and friends in Morelia to come to Pátzcuaro. This viaje can be repeated by following these simple steps:

1) from the hostel, walk several blocks away from el centro to an enormous and confusing intersection, populated by friendly people who are eager to tell you where the combi comes, but none of whom will point you in the actual direction
2) since you will be asking several folks the same question, try and mix things up. For some, you might try, "Discúlpeme señor, ¿sabe Usted de donde sale la morada dos a La Salida de Pátzcuaro?" If you tire of this, consider the approach, "Perdóname, señora, ¿podría ud. decirme donde puedo subir la combi morada numero dos?" As you will have to go through this routine several times as you navigate the area, don´t hesitate to mix things up! (Hint: the actual stop is behind the left butt cheek of the towering statue in the center of the square, where the friendly guy is waiting and who will also take the same combi is ready to chat it up with you about all the various ways to get to Pátzcuaro)
3) board the combi (think: a small van with benches around the edges instead of seats) and make an awkward show of getting in with your giant backpack. Erase awkwardness by paying the fare promptly and offering a polite "buenos días."
4) once abord and seated, you are now ready to begin wondering if you will know where to get off, as you have never been to this "salida de pátzcuaro." Take a minute to look around the combi and decide who to ask.
5) if your neighbors seems friendly enough, ask them to let you know when we get to the salida de pátzcuaro. They will then proceed to tell you that they also are going to the salida (and can thus show you where to get off) as they have relatives in pátzcuaro whom they are visiting. They will have grown up in Pátzcuaro, and will answer your questions about the islands in the lake and the nearby hill (El Estribo) that you might climb, though upon further discussion the gentleman will tell you not to go alone and to try and climb it during the morning.
6) the three of you will get off at La Salida where you *could* wait for a bus but since there are taxis that are there that will take you there for the same price when they are full, the three of you can get in a taxi with another gentleman and cruise out of town.
7) as you drive out of Morelia, sit back and take in the scenery. On the outskirts of town, keep an eye out for such sights as the giant Cinépolis, Wal*Mart, and Home Depot that have sprung up as so many box stores tend to do. You will get a bit nostalgic for Framingham and a little sick at the thought of these stores near a town as sweet as Morelia, but before you taste the bile in the back of your throat, the city will melt away into a lush countryside filled with trees and plots of tilled land and framed by hazy mountains.
8) you will get dropped off at a seemingly random place in Pátzcuaro, where your friendly couple will take their leave, but the taxi drivers who sit around there waiting for fares will gladly tell you which combi to take to get to the center of town (answer: any of them).
9) repeat step 3
10) discreetly pull out your guidebook (which by now you have covered in a white placemat from the vegetarian restaurant in Mexico City using duct tape so as to avoid looking too much like a bungling packpacker waving around a brightly-colored Lonely Planet guidebook) and open up to the map of Pátzcuaro. In this way, you will be able to trace the combi´s progress and know when to get off. Be sure to mess up in a moment of being flustered and ask to get off a block past where you actually want to go.
11) rather than going to one of the hotels near the pleasant Plaza Quiroga, attempt instead to find the "Casa del Sol Hostel." Not in any guidebook, you heard about this place from a guy named Pavel in Morelia, who is from Toluca but has been travelling a bit for a few days. Pavel has informed you that you can find a place to sleep here for 50 pesos in what is actually some guy´s house with a few extra rooms. With the crude map he has drawn you burned into your brain, you set off to find this place. In the long tradition of drawing maps without all the cross streets on them, your thoughts will go from "hey, this place is just 2.5 blocks away!" to "wow, I sure am getting a workout climbing this big hill for many, many blocks" to (and this should tell you something) "maybe I should have sprung for a taxi..."
12) after much walking (read: hiking) up the hill, you will think you are getting close (since the "second" cross street on the map has been found), though the few elderly gentleman will have no idea what you are talking about when you ask about this place. Don´t worry, because eventually you will find the place, and spend a few minutes wondering how to ring the bell (there is no sign, and no buzzer button). Further inquiries to some nearby ladies reveals the secret: look for the green string dangling from the left side of the garage door... it is tied to another rope that ends in a little bell upstairs in the house. Tug the cord a few times, and be prepared for the door to open just as you are wondering if you have come this far for nothing.
13) a kindly gentleman will open the door and introduce himself as Jaime. He will usher you in and make you feel right at home, smiling when you say that Pavel sent you. Since this is literally the guy´s house, you get to hear him say those lovely words, "mi casa es su casa."
14) he will show you the two rooms right in the house for 100 pesos each and will tell you about the cabaña for 50 pesos a night. The cabaña turns out to be a shack out in the back yard, "decorated" with some children´s pencil artwork and several calendars of scantily clad women and furnished with a wooden slat bed. You say you´ll take it, and wait patiently in the house as Jaime makes the bed.
15) you are then free to trek back into the town, have a look around, enjoy a four-course meal more expensive than your hard-earned lodgings, and invite a lost-looking gringo to join you. Since the gringo David turns out to be nice, you have a leisurely chat and walk-around in the plazas and mercado before he has to get back to meet his bus for his exchange program, as they are on a weekend excursion from Guanajuato. You enjoy the football game on TV (Gold Cup 2007), trying not to cheer too loudly when the US beats Mexico, 2-to-1.

Now you, too, can make the viaje from Morelia to Pátzcuaro in 15 easy steps. Enjoy!