Día de Muertos

So I may have missed out on some Halloween costumes and candy corn this year, but I was able to experience my first Día de Muertos here in Mexico. The holiday, which takes place between November 1st and 2nd, is a celebration of deceased friends and family members. To honor the deceased, families will build private altars covered with merigolds, and ofrendas, which include the person's favorite food and drinks. During the weeks leading up to the holiday, the cities are filled with the sweet scent of pan de muerto, a sweet bread, and calaveras (skeletons) made out of either chocolate or sugar.

For the long weekend I met up with Cammie and Nicole in Mexico City and then traveled to Michoacán (one of the Mexican states) with Nicole's friend Claudia and her family. We were told we would be traveling in a camioneta, which turned out to be an amazing Toyota van that could fit a small country, looked like a spaceship and was fully loaded with camping gear. Two highlights from the drive: 1. Getting stuck in traffic because of the horde of people on horseback along the highway and 2. Getting stopped by a group of small children in costume shouting "No hay paso" and blocking the road with a piece of rope to collect money or candy (aka a fun twist on door-to-door trick-or-treating) from the passers-by.

We left Mexico City on Friday evening and arrived in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, by night. The colonial city was entirely illuminated and as we drove through the narrow, cobblestone streets I felt as though I had been transported back to Spain. Since the camping grounds were full we ended up staying in a hotel that night and I'm sure you can all guess how disappointed I was. Who wants a hot shower and warm bed when you can experience nature? Umm, me.

We spent the day on Saturday stopping through nearby towns, including Santa Clara which is known for its copper production. The streets were lined with markets selling just about everything you could imagine that can be fashioned from copper. In the evening we headed back to Morelia for a fireworks show in front of the famous cathedral. I felt like I had landed in Disney World. The show was accompanied by a video on the history of the city and I found myself singing along to the soundtrack because it was, I kid you not, music from The Lion King with new lyrics.

That night we were going to try our luck on a campground, but one of Claudia's friends had an empty house just outside the city with hot water and electricity. We basically camped out in the bedrooms with the mats we packed. I was the happiest little high-maintenance camper you could imagine.

On the actual Day of the Dead, we spent the day in Pátzcuaro and night on the island of Janitzio, which is famous for its celebration. After having missed out on Independence Day back in September (thanks a lot, swine), I was really excited to experience the authentic Día traditions. The island was llenísima with people who took launches over to climb to the top of the island and visit the cemetery full of ofrendas. It was incredibly beautiful and really interesting to see how different the concept of death is in Mexican culture. Rather than sharing ghost stories, people will talk about how their deceased relatives are coming to visit them and some will spend the entire night in the cemetery alongside their loved one's grave.

The family we traveled with was great! I'm really enjoying being adopted by Mexican families, especially ones with adorable 10-year sons. They were total champs for driving for hours on end, surviving on chips and Coke, and managing to smile the entire time.

Abrazos de México!