Day of the Dead Celebration

Arrive in Morelia on a direct flight. You'll be greeted and transferred to your lovely, centrally located suites-hotel. Enjoy Mexican hot chocolate or other refreshments of your choosing, local-style, at the open-air portales located across from the Cathedral. This is a perfect setting for receiving your orientation to Michoacan. Overnight at the Suites Galeria, or similar.

Meals: Dinner

Your Michoacan guide will lead you on on a walking tour of Morelia, the capital of the state, where traditions in music, arts and higher education run deep. The city is a colonial architectural gem, with stone streets and plazas, and one exquisite building after another designed around central courtyards and gardens. On the walls of the inner courtyard of the Government Palace, larger-than-life paintings by the famous muralist, Alfredo Zalce, tell a vibrant story of the people of Michoacan. You'll also visit the Cathedral, Temple of the Roses, the former Aqueduct, and the outstanding House of “Artesanias." A special evening will begin with the viewing of the illuminated cathedral, followed by an impressive welcome dinner at one of Morelia’s top rated restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy a morning at leisure in Morelia to further pursue your own interests. You may want to spend time in a courtyard, museum or market, or riding the charming streetcars. Mid-day, transfer to Uruapan. The hour and a half drive crosses into a totally different ecological zone, and you'll notice the profusion of palm trees and other highland tropical flora. Uruapan, in the heart of the Purepecha Plateau, is home to Eduardo Ruiz National Park. Your lovely colonial garden hotel, Mansion del Cupatitzio, is directly adjacent to the park. Enjoy the lush grounds and large swimming pool.

Meals: Breakfast

The National Park is beloved by Mexicans, with good reason, but on this Monday morning your group will be well ahead of other visitors. Wander deep into the park, amidst wild orchids, banana trees and bird of paradise plants, above and below the spraying waterfalls. In the afternoon, we drive to Angahuan, a typical village on the plateau, seemingly of another era. People still speak Purepecha and use horses for their daily business. The villagers run their own cooperative eco-tourism enterprise, guiding visitors on horseback to the ruins and hard lava rock remains of the 1943 eruption of Paricutin volcano.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Spend a full day on the Purepecha Plateau, visiting homes, markets, and traditional artisan workshops in the villages of Pomacuaran, Paracho, Nurio and Cocucho. Paracho is Mexico's most well-known guitar-making center. In the village of Cocucho, observe potters creating human-size burnished pots with methods that date back to pre-hispanic times. In every village, you'll see a small church and hospital, established during the evangelization period, with unique woodwork, painting and sculpture. You'll be visiting during the week leading up to the Day of the Dead, and everywhere, you'll see signs of the upcoming festivals. Families will be constructing special altars, villages will be decorated with flags of intricately cut colored paper, and ribbon wreaths will be on display and for sale.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Morning transfer to Patzcuaro. En route, you will pay a visit to the local farmers who have been cultivating their marigold fields since May for the Day of the Dead celebrations. In this lakeside community, you can smell the lake air and the rich earth that combine to produce a bountiful harvest of marigolds. You'll be invited to wander through the unending golden fields -- an other-worldly experience! When you arrive in Patzcuaro itself, you'll be welcomed into your cozy B & B. Settle in for a 3-night stay. The location could not possibly be better for imbibing the spirit of Day of the Dead. The flower market, a colorful hub of activity day and night leading up to the holiday, is right outside the front door. On a guided walking tour of Patzcuaro, visit the Basilica, Large and Small Town Squares, and the House of Eleven Patios. The markets will be overflowing with Day of the Dead goodies, including food miniatures that locals buy for their family altars, and the dramatic, whimsical "Catrina" dolls -- skeletons made of ceramic or wood and dressed in the highest of fashion! Enjoy a special dinner overlooking Patzcuaro.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, you will travel to the lakeside ruins of the pre-Hispanic Purepecha empire in Tzintzuntzan. Little is known about the early Purepecha people, referred to as Tarascans by the Spanish, but it is believed that they are descendants of peoples from northwestern Mexico, known as the Chichimecas. Spend time visiting the present day village and artisans of Tzintzuntzan. From here, you will travel to the artisan community of Santa Clara del Cobre, where the ancient tradition of hammered copper thrives to this day. The rest of the evening is at your leisure, before your overnight at the B&B.

Meals: Breakfast,Lunch

Rising before dawn, head out for an early morning boat journey across Lake Patzcuaro to the island community of Janitzio. Travel early in order to witness the Vigil of the Little Angels, where the souls of children who have died are visited. Following the return boat journey, the afternoon is free for you to stroll and shop in Patzcuaro, and to rest up for your nighttime departure to witness the all-night grave site vigils that take place in the communities surrounding Lake Patzcuaro. Here, you will surely further your understanding of the Mexican views about life and death.

Meals: Breakfast

On your final day, you will take a wonderful guided lakeside drive and tour to visit the numerous artisan villages that surround Lake Patzcuaro. You will make stops in the villages of Tocuaro, which is known for wooden mask carving, Erongaricuro, and Santa Fe de la Laguna, the first town founded by Vasco de Quiroga. Tonight, you will enjoy a farewell dinner in Morelia.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Say goodbye to Mexico. After breakfast, you will be transfered to the airport for your onward flight home.

Meals: Breakfast