We stumbled onto a fiesta!

Most people would just take the toll road heading west towards Guadalajara, however we like to explore. There was a route heading up to the small city of Yuriria (pop 70,000), and we had never been there before. In fact, until we looked up the route, we had never even heard of it before!

We set off from Los Azufres at about 9:30am. 

Steam pipes.

Coming down the north side of the mountain from Los Azufres, there are a lot of steam pipes. The Mexican electrical company CFE has tapped into the steam pressure to produce electricity and there is a lot of visible infrastructure to support that.

We were trying to avoid the toll highway by taking some back roads, but it kind of backfired! I'm a little bolder knowing that Igor is a fairly small vehicle as far as motorhomes go, but the road still has to be in half decent condition. We went through a little village where I'm glad we didn't have anything bigger than Igor. But the pavement disappeared and it became a dirt road. 

I walked up the hill, but it was in terrible shape, and we would have still had another 4 kms to go.

I managed to find a spot to turn around.

And where did we eventually end up?

That's right... on the toll road!

But only for a 16 km (10 mile) section. The toll fee was 88 pesos ($6.15 CAD, $4.25 USD) for that short drive!

Then we returned to the back roads.

We crossed from the state of Michoacan to the state of Guanajuato.

Lots of farming vehicles and tractors.

Scenery along the way.

This is one of those crazy roads where slower drivers use the shoulder, and faster ones pass right though the middle into the oncoming traffic. It's actually quite common here (and in parts of south Texas), although the first time you see it it takes some getting used to!

For sale at the side of the road.

We passed a big landscaping business.

Lots of flowers and plants for sale.

We stopped for lunch just before town, and then headed in to find somewhere to park near the center.

There are no actual RV Parks or campgrounds in Yuriria, which is kind of surprising because it's a worthwhile stop. There are a couple of free camping opportunities, but they are quite far from the city center and we don't want to leave Igor unattended. The problem with the central area is a lack of suitable parking, and the city streets are very narrow.

This is where we ended up, through that alleyway.

GPS 20.214834, -101.12864

Going through that alleyway leads to a big open parking space, with room for probably 50 vehicles. Igor found a suitable spot, and I went to talk to the owner about staying overnight. He asked for 200 pesos ($14 CAD, $9.70 USD) and we thought that was fair. No services, but they do have public toilets open during the day at additional cost.

Then we went to see what there was to see.

There weren't many people around, but that would sure change later on!

We saw a lot of signs posted that were advertising a fiesta, with a big event at the bull fighting ring. And the date said January 4th, which it was! There was no time on the advertisements, but we assumed it would be in the evening. And it was fairly expensive, at 400 pesos ($28 CAD, $19.50 USD) per person. 

The highlight of the town is this massive ex convent fortress built in the 1500's.

Lots of Christmas decorations around.

Ready for 2025!

Well done manger scene.

Side entrance to the ex convent.

Ruth, at the Yuriria sign.

The main front entrance.

Unfortunately, it is closed January 4-6!

There is documented evidence that this (now dead) tree was planted in 1588.

Big plaza and Christmas tree.

I didn't take a photo at the time, but we saw a huge professional stage being set up. 

Another one of the local attractions is the crater lake. It's on the edge of town, and about a 2 kms walk to circle the lake.

It looks pretty dry from here!

But once you are on the other side, there actually is a lake.

Beautiful sky.

There are several spots around the lake where we could have overnighted for free.

Just a dog.

Back at Igor, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I did some online research regarding the evet taking place at the bull ring. It turns out that the starting time was 3:30pm, so we missed it! Oh well... I also found out that the evening events are all free, and taking place where that big stage was being set up.

There was music starting at 6:00pm and events taking place up until 1:30 am! And some kind of a parade at 10:00pm.

We had dinner, and sure enough, just after 6:00pm we could hear the music. Then as we were getting things tidied up, we heard drops on the roof. Can't remember the last time we had rain! The drops turned into steady rain that lasted about an hour. We actually had quite a bit. And not surprisingly, the music stopped when the rain became heavy. 

But by 9:00pm, the rain had stopped and the music started up again. So we headed out to see what was going on.

Everything is well lit up!

There was a steady line of people getting their photo at the 2025 sign.

The ex convent lit up at night.

Lots of lights everywhere.

The big tree all lit up!

Lots going on... food stalls, drink stalls, people selling hats and ponchos and blankets. The music from the stage was loud, but very good. They were professionals, and the crowd loved them.

Very professional stage show with lights and videos and fireworks.

And all for free.

Most people in the crowd were drinking. People would huddle around in groups with their bottle of tequila and a few bottles of mix (mostly Squirt, which is very popular to mix with tequila) and even coolers with ice. A real party atmosphere, and everybody having fun. We didn't see a single bad incident despite all of the alcohol flowing. And very little police presence. 

I took a video for you. Turn up your volume... although you don't need it very loud... it was already loud!

What a fun time we had. We tried to find where this parade might have been taking place, but it was already 11:30pm when we made it back to Igor, and although it looked like some people were setting up on the street to watch something, it might have been another hour or two. Who knows, in Mexico!

We can't believe how lucky we were to stumble onto this event. The place was packed and we were the only gringos in town. Have I mentioned lately that we love Mexico?!

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