In 1324, near the shores of Lake Patzcuaro – at 2050 meters above sea level, one of the highest in the world, they founded the town of Patzcuaro. Today, this is the epicenter of michoacan hecho a mano craft culture and the best place from which to start your area tour. On Friday, the market day, Indian women, most in colorful traditional costumes, flocked from nearby villages, each having a different craft. Patzcuaro itself is known for its high quality woolen cloaks and hand-woven textiles (as well as home-made tamale dish), and the nearby Santa Clara del Cobra products because of hand forged copper. There are also crafts made of straw and pottery from Tsin tsun tsan, furniture and embroidery from local Erongaricuaro and exquisite lacquer objects from Uruapan (which has a lively Sunday market).

It is no coincidence that Michoacan is one of the main handicraft centers in Mexico. In the early 17th century, a Spanish bishop, arrived in the state capital, Morelia, intending to organize local villages like craft groups and teach each city on a separate craft. Most of his basic ideas remain intact today. A simple review can be done even without leaving Morelia: its Casa de Artesanias at the square “San Francisco” is state showcase of the best regional crafts and folk arts.

Morelia by night

The most European of the Mexican cities, the majestic, colonial Morelia is also the perfect background for “Villa Montana.” Located high in the hills of Santa Maria among lush greenery and panoramic views of the pink stone city underneath the villa, is filled with regional handicrafts and antiques the Mexican hostel with french polish (due to its European aristocratic owners).

Separate houses, a maze of cobbled alleys and courtyards create an atmosphere of a small village with its own original manor house in its core. This wide-ranging views from the villa are competing for your attention with acclaimed cuisine and every city view includes graceful silhouette of the cathedral with two towers – the second largest in America and one of the most beautiful in Mexico.

Patzcuaro is 48 kilometers southwest of Morelia. All the towns are within a half hour drive from Patzcuaro. The sea is 306 km west of Mexico City (40 minutes by air).

The best time to go on a vacation there and to see something interesting is around 1st of November. The immensely popular Dia de los Muertos (Commemoration of the dead) is celebrated on November 1 in Mexico in general, but the night vigils with candles on the island Janitzio at Lake Patzcuaro are particularly famous.

Chichen Itza ruins

This site has area of ​​18 square kilometers (5 sq. km. jungle have been removed) was inhabited 800 years, ranging from 432 during the Classic Mayan period and ending with the arrival of the Toltecs. Not more than thirty of the buildings there are explored and hundreds stay untouched.

Be ahead of the bus caravans for day trippers and stay at the romantic hotel “Mayaland” located among 400 acres of its own at the end of the ruins. Many rooms have views of the cylindrical observatory El Caracol. The Flowering gardens and the pools helps with the transition to the hottest part of the day. The only way to visit the ruins at night is to have tickets for the sound and light show, which is far more fun than you can imagine.

In one of the most spectacular annual migrations that nature offers, Pacific gray whales make the 8000-mile journey from the cold Arctic waters to the safety warm shallow waters of the Baja Peninsula, Mexico, where they live and raise their young whales.

Whale watching in Baja, Mexico

Several thousand whales visit San Ignacio each winter and sometimes collect up to 400 at the same time in the lagoon. Las amistosas (the friendly) is the local nickname of whales that regularly approach the small fishing boats panga to be tapped and touched with admiration of the fans of whales in a gesture of sociability that has puzzled scientists for more than twenty years since the first one has been registered.

Brought almost to extinction in the 19th and 20th century, gray whales are returning today massive every year and are deleted from the list of endangered species in 1994. The Pacific lagoons and fifty uninhabited islands off Baja, often called the Galapagos Islands of Mexico, are noted exceptional diversity of marine fauna and birds.

Hundreds of dolphins accompanied gray whales, while humpback whales, fin whales and a Bryde’s whales also regularly appear together with the blue whale, largest animal on the planet.

Where can we go whale watching?
San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja, Mexico.

The best time to go is the late January-Mart.

The picture is copyright of www.bajatravelvacations.com.

Inside Las Mananitas room

The atmosphere is relaxed and lavish, as the very wealthy city of Cuernavaca, Mexico. Peacocks, herons and flamingos wander through the emerald green lawns and flowering gardens, as  in an open zoo, while parrots and rare blue macaws flew over your head.

Most of the twenty apartments are output to the cool, tropical gardens and most of the time in “Las Mananitas” goes here – tea, cocktails, waiting for dinner, wandering just because the pleasure to wander, a nap.

The restaurant plays a key role in the glory of the hotel as an ideal location for a holiday weekend for many guests who come just for the pleasure to have dinner. Make your reservation in early even for the hotel or the restaurant and cross your fingers.

Where to find “Las Mananitas” hotel?
It is located 80 kilometers south of Mexico City.

The climate there is ideal the whole year round.

So close to Mexico City yet so much further, Teotihuacan is an area of ​​over 20 km2 and was once larger than contemporary Rome, which then made it the largest city in the world. In 700 year it was mysteriously abandoned, some scientists believe that its end might have been sudden and violent, probably by arson. A walk along the boulevard of the dead by which are lining up the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, highlights the symmetry and grandeur of its architecture, fully consistent with the movement of celestial bodies – a focal point for the gods, heaven, earth and mankind.

Moon pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico city

The new, most modern museum helps to unveil the many mysteries of the ruins, although many of the artifacts unearthed here are out in the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City. A trip to this museum revives guaranteed era in Mesoamerica before the arrival of the conquistadors in the entire splendor and magnificence. Among the best anthropological and archaeological museums in the world, its collections are housed in an award-winning building, reminiscent of the eternal glory of the Aztec temple.

Aztec calendar sun stone (the central exhibit of the museum), artfully fledged Aztec styles, exquisite objects made ​​of gold and alabaster and simple tools used in everyday life can be just as exciting as a crumbling wreck at the end of march through the jungle.

Where is Teotihuacan located? It is 53 km northeast of Mexico City, the National Anthropological Museum, Mexico.

Tides Zihuatanejo Hotel

The Tides Hotel in the resort of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo offers cool gardens and enchanting lagoons. The elegant villas are located in one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico, where you can touch the genuine romance of the first beach line and sought solitude of the high vegetation.

Tides Zihuatanejo has 70 luxurious rooms and suites in villas of one or two floors, tastefully decorated with local Mexican art and bright colors which reflect the tropics. Each room has its own terrace and stunning views of the jungle or ocean, and apartments and a small outdoor pool.

The beach at The Tides hotel

If you love collecting sunlight you can do this at the beach or at the three swimming pools. The guests of the hotel can also enjoy the spa and relaxing treatments, Mexican-Pacific cuisine, and of course, to experience pleasure from every moment of the stay at Tides Zihuatanejo, thanks to the superior service.