A visit to Tlazazalca and Pracho, Mexico

After everyone got over their stomach bug (and the pain of watching the horse surgery…heehee), we packed up 2 large vehicles, 4 adults, 8 kids, and set off for the State of Michoacan. Our first stop was in Tlazazalca (say that twice), a semi-typical small Mexican village. After all, it had a small plaza with vendors selling produce and goodies, a cathedral, and it provided just enough of a break for us to stretch our legs and find some fresh apples to eat! Apparently, this town is older than some of the oldest cities in Mexico, including Guadalajara.

This cathedral was built from cool old stone, and vendors outside the gates were selling large wreaths in preparation for Day of the Dead.

One fun thing about traveling with friends is the ability to swap out children!

We ran across a small mountain town that had creative road blocks, requiring the highway traffic to slow down. We even saw an antique vehicle used as a roadblock for one lane. My guess is they didn’t want anyone speeding through this area, and perhaps they had experienced some recent trouble.

Next stop up was Pracho, the Guitar Capital of Mexico!

Every store seemed to boast of beautiful wooden instruments hanging from its walls!

We sneaked a glance at a guitar artist at work. It’s a shame they don’t just stain the guitars instead of painting them, because I thought the natural wood grains were so beautiful!

We also spotted the largest guitar in the world, smack-dab in the middle of an intersection!

Our stop here included a visit to a yummy eatery in the heart of an indoor market (with ridiculously cheap food). To read our friend’s perspective on this leg of our trip, check out their blog here!