Tzintzuntzan, Zinapecuaro

Today we were going to the Butterflies but decided to break up the trip with a little sight seeing.  We went to some Purepecha  Ruins.   They were in 2 different places about 12 miles apart near the town of Tzintzuntzan.   Tzintzuntzan was a stronghold for these peoples, and today has the official standing of an ancient town.
  

The first one had 5 large structures as you can see in the picture below of a model of the original site.    They are in the process of rebuilding them.    They are quite massive.

Then the second one had 2 large rectangle mounds they are just stones that are stacked.  Then the inside is filled with stones and dirt.

This one had a wall built all the way around it  .It was a very large place they said it coverd a square mile.

The wall actually had a road built on top of it to control who was allowed onto the grounds.

And we hit another trafic jam!  You never know what you will see in Mexico.   This held us up for about 5 minutes.

Thanks Kevin you had to mention the Mordita!  Well, I got stopped today.  2 motor cycle cops came up beside me and pulled me over.  First thing he said was I was getting a ticket and I would have to go to Morelia tomorrow and pay it.   So I asked what I did,. and how much was it going to be.  He said 100 dollars then he started pointing at the lanes on the road saying no no yes.   Then he drew me a picture as you can see in the next picture.  I said "100 dollars!!!  Just take me to the police station now."  He said I could  pay cash now and I could just drive away.  It would only be 600 pesos, and he kept asking for my drivers license so I gave him a photo copy and he kept saying I had to give him the original, so I showed it to him but wouldn't give it to him.   He kept saying it was alright just give it to him.   At this point I started laughing at him and saying look all the other trucks were doing the same thing you just pulled me over because I'm a Canadian.   So he says 400 pesos.    So I say 100 pesos,  and then he says 200 pesos.    I said "this is just wrong why are you doing this?".    He answered "I need cigarette money".  By this point we are both laughing out loud and he said "Do you have any sodas?"   I said "How about a couple of beers?"   He laughed even harder, and said "Beers!, Ok, 2 beers".    I sent Brenda to get a couple of beers out of the fridge.  He takes the beer and is as happy as can be.   It was quite fun dealing with him and we laughed for quite awhile after just thinking about it.

At lake Cuitzo we could see all these white birds.  Some one told me they were Pelicans,  but I have no idea.

We arrived at Zinapecuaro.  This is were we are spending the night.  Of coarse we made a wrong turn and had to drive down this crazy narrow street.  It was so narrow that trying to squeeze past a truck I broke the screws off that attach the awning to Myrtle.    I fixed it when we got to the camp ground.  

 And this is the camp ground.     Reino de Atzimba Parque Aquatico is a great place to stop.   We will be doing another blog just about it.     In the meantime, here is their website:   http://www.atzimba.com.mx/english/home.htm