February 26, 2026
I slept well - it was chilly in the cabin because our hosts only use the heat when really necessary, but I had an extra blanket. We got up around seven and Letty made a breakfast of fruit and pan dulce (sweet bread). I think they usually only have a very light snack and coffee but Letty made sure we had as much as we could eat.
We showered and talked for a bit, then we went riding with Jose Luis. He led us across the Lago de Cuitzeo to the small city of Cuitzeo. We found some parking near what I think was the main plaza, then Jose Luis took us to the Convento de Santa Maria Magdalena de Cuitzeo. However, the building was made by the Augustinian monks, and I don’t think they had nuns, so this was properly a monastery not a convent.
It is a big building that appears to have been added on to several times since it was first constructed in the mid 1500’s. It has some art, and there was a ‘guest museum’ display of medically useful herbs, but the main point is just to see how the monks lived and the architecture and decorations of the building.
Convento de Santa Maria Magdalena de Cuitzeo
In the monastery there was still some elaborate painting on the walls and ceilings in places.
Cuitzeo by Gustavo on FlickrWindow seat at the Convento de Santa Maria Magdalena de Cuitzeo
We walked a couple blocks to a rooftop buffet restaurant to have lunch. From there we got a good view of one of the main streets in Cuitzeo.
Cuitzeo
We headed back toward Jose Luis’s house and then continued beyond and turned up a winding mountain road that goes to an area of sulphuric hot springs called Azufres.
Azufres (sulphur springs) - South of Valle de Juárez, Michoacán
There are at least a couple dozen thermoelectric power generation plants here, and the different pipe types tell me things have changed over time as they added more generation capacity.
Pipes for thermoelectric power generation at the sulphur springs - South of Valle de Juárez, Michoacán
We went to a lake high on the mountain which appears to be a big domestic tourist destination during the summer.
Laguna Larga south of Valle de Juárez, Michoacán
We went back down the mountain and stopped at a llantería (tire shop) that Jose Luis has worked with before to see if they could figure out why my rear tire has a slow leak.
Trying to fix the slow leak in my rear tire
They put the whole wheel in a tank of water and discovered that the air is leaking from where the spokes go through the rim. KTM has a sort of cheesy method of making tubeless wheels - they just take a fairly normal dirt bike wheel and add something like a giant rubber band to cover the holes where the spokes go through. Apparently mine got damaged when I changed the tire. The guys at this shop did not have any way to fix or replace it so we ended up putting some liquid sealant in the tire hoping that some would get to where it needs to be.
Then we headed back to Jose Luis’s house. I think I mentioned last time that Jose Luis lives on a primitive road.
The road to Jose Luis’s house
Letitia had been busy while we were away and soon after we returned she had another delicious dinner ready for us.
