I Love Living Here. You Might Hate It.

Pátzcuaro, Michoacán isn’t for everyone. It’s old and a little rough around the edges, and it doesn’t seem particularly interested in performing for visitors. Maybe that’s part of its magic.

Come along with me for an ordinary day of errands, markets, little shops, old plazas and a good cup of coffee. This isn’t really a tour of Pátzcuaro. It’s a glimpse of the town I’ve slowly come to know, and some of the reasons I’m so glad to call this corner of Mexico home.

And later we’ll go downtown, because that’s where I think you’ll really see why Pátzcuaro works for me, and why it might not work for you.

I realized recently that for someone who supposedly makes videos about my life in Mexico, I spend an awful lot of time showing you my house.

Part of that is because I’m uncomfortable pointing a camera at people here. These aren’t attractions. They’re my neighbors, and I’m very aware of that.

But this town is a huge part of my life now. So today I thought I’d take you along on a completely ordinary day of running errands in Pátzcuaro.

Before I show you downtown, let me show you what living here actually looks like.

I have a list.

Got to go to the ATM

I’m going to a new vivero (for me). I’m looking for this sort of ornamental grasses, but I’m not sure I’ll find them.

I need to stop at the hardware store and the agro-chemical store for some fertilizer.

My friend likes this vivero and I wanted to check it out, so I met her there. 

It’s beautifully laid out and there are a lot of varieties. Didn’t find the ornamental grass I was looking for but I bought this young fig tree. I think the prices at this vivero might be slightly higher than my usual plant lady closer to my house. The tree was $200pesos.

My friend says it’s also a good vivero if you want to order a delivery of gravel or other things for the garden, so I’ll keep that in mind for the future.

This is Garza Agroquimicals where I can buy fertilizer and other things for the garden. I find shops like this on Google Maps or by recommendations from friends.

I couldn’t seem to get the word fertilizante out of my mouth, so I gave up and said “fertilizer.” Luckily, it was close enough. I frequently still struggle with Spanish but I’m improving slowly. Lucky for me most Mexicans are gracious and patient. There is not a lot of English spoken here.

Soriana may be the closest thing to a supermarket in the States. It may be a little more expensive, but if you need one stop shopping it’s good. I come mostly for the ATM.

It’s a little unnerving to leave a store with a lot of cash but it’s necessary. I recommend Charles Schwab because they refund all the foreign transaction fees!

This is another market I like better. Even though half the stalls are empty there’s still a lot of variety and good prices.

Here’s my favorite carniceria where I get the dog’s bones.

Unfortunately, I didn’t specify that I wanted actual bones and not a lot of fat and gristle. Yuck.

Now let’s go to Centro!

When I first came to this area I used to pay to park in Centro, because look: there’s not much available. But since, I’ve discovered free and available parking near the Basilica, at least most of the time.

This is Plaza Vasco de Quiroga, otherwise known as Plaza Grande, the main plaza in town. It’s where I first fell in love with Patzcuaro! It dates back to the 1500s, and is named after the first bishop of Michoacán, who was not your usual bishop! He is remembered fondly here, and there is a statue of him in the middle.

The plaza is surrounded by these beautiful old colonial buildings, many of which were once the homes of Pátzcuaro’s wealthier families. Today the old portales are filled with cafés, restaurants, hotels and little shops. It’s a great place to spend some time. I love poking my head into all these lovely restaurants I’d like to try!

Here is one of my favorite cafes Loretta’s. They make a good cappuccino!

This is Casa de la Mora, and legend has it that a wealthy miner fell in love with the beautiful daughter of a Jewish merchant from the Moorish part of Spain. The version I’ve been told is that he built this extraordinary house for her, with Moorish architecture. How much of that is history and how much is legend, I have no idea. But I love the story.

There’s a huge new market in Pátzcuaro that I want to show you. It’s right next to Plaza Gertrudis Bocanegra, otherwise known as Plaza Chica.

The market is enormous, three stories spread across two buildings, and I think it says something about this town. Pátzcuaro has invested in its people and what they need. This is a market for everyday life.

There’s produce and meat, shoes and clothing, blankets, household goods, and just about anything else you can think of. I don’t come here very often because I can usually get what I need at some of the smaller markets without dealing with downtown parking, but I’ve bought shoes here before, and even found a souvenir for my son.

The second floor seems to be mostly clothes and shoes, and up on the top floor are all these little fondas, where you can sit down and have a really inexpensive meal. I’ve had nothing but good experiences eating at fondas. My general rule is to look for one that’s busy, with plenty of people sitting down and enjoying their food.

And this is one of the things I like about Pátzcuaro. Even right here in the historic center, this isn’t a market built primarily for visitors. People are buying groceries, getting shoes for their kids, having lunch, picking up things they need. It’s a beautiful old town, but underneath all of that, it’s still very much a working town.

This smaller square is Plaza Gertrudis Bocanegra, although everybody calls it Plaza Chica. It’s named for a woman from Pátzcuaro who worked with the insurgents during Mexico’s fight for independence. She was captured and refused to give up the names of the other rebels. In 1817 she was executed by firing squad right here, in the plaza that would eventually be named after her.

There are so many more things to see and do here, and I haven’t even talked about the surrounding villages, arts and crafts, or the lakes and islands!

Pátzcuaro isn’t going to appeal to everyone. I’ve heard people complain that it’s old, a little run-down, that there aren’t enough good restaurants or places to shop. And depending on what you’re looking for, they may be right. It’s not a polished resort town.

But one of the things I love about Pátzcuaro is that it still feels like a town for the people who live here. Of course there are tourists, and there are beautiful hotels and restaurants and shops that cater to them. But the town doesn’t feel like it’s performing for visitors.

The markets are here because people need to buy their groceries. The hardware stores and pharmacies and little shops are here because people live here and need them. The plazas aren’t attractions so much as places where people sit and talk and eat and wait for someone.

It’s old and imperfect and sometimes inconvenient. But it feels real to me.

And I think that’s a big part of why I like it.

But I also love coming home.

Turning onto my road, seeing my neighbors, coming through the gate and finding the dogs waiting for me. There’s something about returning to this little piece of land that makes everything in me settle.

The world outside my gate is becoming more and more a part of my life here. But this is still my sanctuary.