Viva la Vida Travel goes to Morelia, Michoacan!

I was invited to the World Cultural Tourism Fair in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico with the whole goal of encountering new vendors and destinations to sell to future clients. In all honesty, I was a bit freaked out by going to Morelia simply by what I’d heard on the news. My flight was through Atlanta to Mexico City then to Morelia…all of which made me a tad nervous. Why? Simply because traveling to Mexico City and then on to Morelia all by my lonesome seemed pretty damn daunting. Here I am, a 5’9, blonde haired. blue eyed Minnesotan traveling to the inner workings of Mexico~ alone. I decided to take the whole trip one leg at a time and not focus on the big picture because eventually, I’d get to my destination, or at least that is what I was telling myself. I landed in Mexico City and had a good 5 hours to wait before my  3^rd flight of the day to Morelia.  I didn’t have a gate assigned yet because in Mexico City, they don’t assign them until about 45 minutes before the flight which seemed crazy to me. I had 5 hours to cart around a very heavy carry on and figure out just how I was going to spend those hours.

            I decided to plant myself at a gate and people watch. I was starving and exhausted however I felt like a deer in headlights when it came to moving around the airport. I am not sure what I thought would happen if I moved around but for a good 1 ½ hours, I sat and people watched.  I finally got bored of that and decided that hunger had persevered  and had finally won the face off between it and my own insecurities. I’ve never been the type to go and eat dinner by myself but traveling alone is pretty much  a sink or swim sort of deal ~ there’s no room for ego or self-esteem issues when you rely solely on yourself to get through it all. I dragged my crap through the airport and found a Mexican restaurant and the tacos de carne asada were calling my name in a really big way. I’ve never eaten tacos that tasted so good nor have I ever had a beer that went down so fast, okay, the latter may not be 100% true but for this entry, it’s a fact! I managed to kill a good hour enjoying a well-deserved meal.

            Let’s cut to the chase here because I could go on and on about  my airport experience but that’s not what this is about. I’m not sure what this is about really, but we’ll see when we get to the end! Anyhoo, I  finally found my gate to Morelia and in doing so, discovered a a Chicago employee of the Mexico Tourism board who I had met prior. I quickly ran up to her and said, “Hey! Aren’t you….?” And so she was and from then on, I had a traveling partner and I couldn’t have been happier.

            We flew on a super tiny Interjet to Morelia seating only 3 people across. I was a bit leery but at this stage of the game, I had no choice  . The upside of this flight was that it was only 30 minutes and in no time flat, we were in Morelia ~ safely. My luggage arrived perfectly and our ride was waiting with a sign that said, Carmen Schaffer . Let me tell you that  it has never felt so good to see my name on a sign.. We bumped along cobble stone streets and came upon our quaint hotel, Hotel Mission Catedral de Morelia , situated right in the heart of Morelia. The hotel was   an oasis to me after hours of traveling; the ambiance was 100% Mexican with dimly lit rooms, religious art and rustically painted walls in colors of red and yellow. It was a dream~ seriously, it’s everything I loved in interior design. I went to my very modest little room that faced the cathedral, threw my shoes off and collapsed into bed.

  All of my “fears” and preoccupations of getting to Morelia safely were now history and unnecessary in hindsight. I took it all just  one step at a time and I learned to trust in my own abilities as an  independent, woman traveler. Fear, in and of itself is very limiting. Faith in our abilities and a little bit of know how will take you far. Trust me. 

El centro de Morelia ~ right outside of my window.