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Our Adventure in Mexico!

Wednesday,February 21st 2007: Day 5
 
We visited Tzintzuntzan ( Place of the Hummingbirds) to explore the history and culture of the Purepecha people. The Purepechas have preserved their language and traditions from long, long, long ago.  We saw the ruins of five ancient pyramids. Our guide & teacher, Mr. Marcos lead the way.
 
 Mr. Brian, Mr. Alvin and I were attracted by the magnificent natural beauty of the place.( Mr. Brian knows a lot about birds and Mr. Alvin studied beavers for two years and was a bee keeper.)
We saw many birds through the lenses of our binoculars.  One bird that I had never seen before was a Vermillion Flycatcher.  What a beautiful little creature!
 
 

Birds in Spanish printout from Enchanted Learning

After lunch we walked around the town and saw the incredible artisans ( like the woodcarver you see below) in the "Seven Patios".
 
Miss Pat, Miss Kathy,Mr. Bob and I went to visit the church of the Virgin of Good Health for Ash Wednesday.  ( This is a day that is important for people of the Catholic faith.)
Miss Pat and I also saw a museum dedicated to artwork celebrating Dia De Los Muertos .
 
We then took a boat trip to the Island of Janitzio (which means "where it rains").
This island is in the center of Lake Pátzcuaro.
The boat ride to the island took 45 minutes. A band played music as we rode. We saw  butterfly fisherman lowering their butterfly shaped nets in search of fish. I got to spend time with new friends.It was a magical ride.  I will always remember it.
 
When we reached the island I was amazed to see that people lived and worked along a very steep staircase that lead to a giant statue of  José Maria Morelos at the very tippy-top of the island.
 
 Several of the teachers I was climbing with stopped with me about half way up. A family ran the cafe where we stopped for a snack. The mom was cooking on an open stove and a little girl was the waitress. Her older brother cleaned the floors.
 
I did not make it all the way to the statue.
 ( But Miss Sally and Ryan's mom did.) We all met back at the boat for the trip back to our bus. This was a really special day.

Miss Hope & Yummy at Tzintzuntzan
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Yummy on a ruin.
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Yummy and the teachers listen to Mr.Marcos.
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A talented woodcarver.
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Beautiful work.
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Arts and crafts for sale.
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A Mariachi band on the boat dock.
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Yummy gets aboard our boat, "The Perla."
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The island is in view!
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Yummy helps drive the boat.
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Our cafe stop.
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Enjoying our snack.
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Day of the Dead display.
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All kinds of families...
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Mr. Bob, Me,Miss Kathy and Miss Pat at church.
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Butterfly Fisherman.
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(Mr. Bob took this photo.)

Click on the Monarch to continue the adventure!
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Bergen Community College Center for the Study of Intercultural Understanding