1. Don’t drive at night. Unless you are on a toll road, you’ll be driving through towns and villages which always contain at least a few speed bumps (called “topes”) which will remove the entire lower half of your car if taken at speed, and also at least a few donkeys or cows crossing the road, which can do serious damage (to your car and others) if you hit them or swerve to avoid them. There’s also the occasional napping dog in the road that will be impossible to see. You are also more likely to encounter bandits if driving at night. Some roads regularly have a problem with bandidos while others never/rarely do. Whatever the case, the bulk of criminal activity happens at night. Finally, another nighttime hazard that you might not be used to encountering is that numerous people drive without their headlights on. Sometimes this is because they are broken but often it is because the driver thinks they are saving gas by not turning them on. Either way, it's really dangerous!

3. Make sure you have car insurance. If you are in an accident, you don’t want to discover firsthand whether those urban legends are true. Every car is legally required to have insurance, but not all drivers do have it. If a minor accident happens and one or both parties are uninsured, it is generally resolved amongst the parties with a quick determination of the cost of damage and payment. But if the police show up, everything becomes official and the uninsured motorist will be in trouble.

4. Make sure your car is in safe working order, but also carry enough cash with you for unexpected repairs. I know everyone gets their car checked out before trips (hint hint), but the roads in Mexico can be harsh, and tire punctures, among other things, can happen - and they happen quite frequently. Luckily it’s fairly inexpensive to repair or even replace a tire, but you’ll almost certainly need to pay for any repairs with cash.

5. Know the rules of the road. Actually, I’m only kidding here; I’m not sure that anyone knows the rules of the road, or for that matter, if there are any. For example, a left-hand turn signal flashing can mean that the driver intends to turn left, but it also can mean that it’s safe for other cars to pass on the left. These are contradictory meanings and can result in nasty accidents. So really, this tip is “watch the other drivers vigilantly to see what they are doing.” It’s a different approach than driving in most countries, but if you pay attention closely and figure out what everyone else is doing, you can reach your destination safely without hitting anyone else.

If you do a lot of driving in Mexico, you’ll discover that drivers from different states have different driving “personalities.” My experience has been that many drivers from Michoacán can be polite and will drive on the shoulder to let you pass if you appear to be going faster than they are. My experience with drivers from Districto Federal (Mexico City) is that they are generally in a rush, will tailgate relentlessly until you let them pass, and will pass other cars on curves if they feel like it. In Zihuatanejo, the locals are more tranquil, and will even give you a courtesy wave if you let them in front of you, but many of the local taxis drive in a maniacal fashion - but isn't that true everywhere?

I decided it was time to check out Patzcuaro. I had read and heard much about it over the years, and figured it would be a fun girls' trip for my mom, Trinity and me. And it was fun, quite fun (the American "quite", meaning more fun than just fun), in spite of a couple of misadventures that we had on the way.

What I didn't realize was that Trinity gets carsick. We discovered that about 55 minutes into our journey, and spent about an hour cleaning up the resulting mess.

About an hour later we went through the second toll plaza, and I was telling mom the story of the last trip Andy and I took on this road, and that this was where we had a tire puncture, and Andy changed the tire in less than 10 minutes. It was all very impressive, and he was in a great mood the whole time (which made it all the more impressive). That's about when we noticed the strong vibration picking up in our car. Mom asked if there was a problem with the tire, and I said I thought it was just a bad road. We couldn't possibly have two punctures in the exact same spot. I did eventually pull over, and we had a look at the tires, and they all appeared fully inflated. Also, I had only just taken the car into Nissan for an alignment and tire balance 2 weeks before, so I would have thought they would tell us if one of our tires was about to go. (As it turns out they did, but that's another story, full of misunderstandings.) We continued on for a bit, at a very slow pace, and pulled over a few more times to look at the tires. Then I realized I was hearing a "whack whack whack" sound while driving, so we pulled over again, and I saw that there were wires poking out of the back left tire and hitting the wheel well when it rotated. Apparently the steel belting was coming out. But the tire still looked solid. Mom decided to watch the tires while I drove, so she watched from the front, and then watched from the back. That's when she saw that every time the portion of the back tire where the wires were coming out hit the concrete, it would balloon out. So we definitely had a flat, it just didn't look flat.

I was actually pleased at this point, because at least we knew what the problem was, and it was fixable. We carefully pulled all the stuff out of the trunk, removed the spare tire, the jack and the greasy tools, and that's when we hit our next hurdle. Apparently the Nissan guys wanted to make sure the tires were really not going to fall off, so they tightened the lug nuts with the compressor gun. No matter how hard I bounced on the wrench, my weight still wasn't enough to crank the lug nuts around. Mom couldn't do it either. I decided we had to wave down some help, as we were literally in the middle of nowhere, and there was no cell phone signal. I saw a van approaching from the other direction and waved them down. They pulled over, did a u-turn, and came up behind us.

It seems to me that it doesn't matter what country you're in, there's always that moment of fear when you're waiting to find out who the person is that is coming to help you. Will they be nice? Will they be lunatics and kill us? Will they just rob us and go on their way? I think both mom and I were wondering what to expect when the van doors began to open. We were still wondering when 6 or 7 identical looking large uniformed Mexican men with big moustaches and pistols at their belts began to get out of the van. A few of them had machine guns slung over their shoulders. They sauntered up and asked what the problem was. I told them we had a flat and couldn't get the lug nuts off the tire, and they had a look. They said they thought the tire wasn't flat. I pointed out the bits of metal sticking out, and one of the guys commented, "That's not good," and agreed that the tire needed changing. Then they all started standing a bit taller, chests puffed out a bit more, and said to stand aside and they would take care of everything. They clearly thought of us as helpless damsels in distress, but when two of the men were unable to get the lug nuts off also, they realized that we probably weren't so helpless as they thought. Luckily they had a full-sized jack and lug-wrench in their van, so they pulled out the big equipment, and eventually succeeded in getting the lug nuts off and the tire changed. Then they milled about and had a smoke, while explaining to me that they were Federales from Michoacán. I asked if I could pay a tip for their kindness, but they all replied, a bit sheepishly, that it was their job, and they were being paid by the state. It was nice to know that we could get help in Mexico and not be forced to pay the "mordida" that we always hear about.

That done, we set off again. Our rescuers all insisted that we needed to stop at the next town at the Vulcanizador (Tire Shop) and get a new tire on immediately. Given how funky it is to drive on a tiny spare tire, we agreed. In less than 15 minutes down the road we reached the exit for Nueva Italia, where we found the Vulcanizador right off the highway. We explained we needed a new tire, but he said he only had used tires. I showed him our bad tire and he said, no problem – he definitely had a better tire than that. We waited patiently for him to complete the wheelbarrow tire change he was doing when we arrived, and he put our new/used tire on. As I was strolling around waiting for the car to be ready, I was struck with how there are certain constants in life that cross international boarders. I browsed the garage and noticed the usual tools you would see at an auto mechanic's shop, and the typical wall calendar of naked women stretched out seductively on automobiles, holding various tools. Why are those calendars in every mechanic's shop, in every country?

After paying our friendly mechanic, we continued on our way to Patzcuaro. Luckily, we did not experience any further adventures that morning, other than trying to figure out how to ice down the huge bump Trinity acquired on her head when she was excitedly running around the car at the Vulcanizador and slipped and fell. Well, I guess we had one more adventure – at a tiny rest stop in Nueva Italia we bought some drinks and Jalapeño potato chips, and Trinity insisted on eating the chips. Mom indulged her until she started throwing up again. I think they may have been a tad spicy for her. Either that or she decided that she didn't smell quite bad enough. At that point we started laughing, and just couldn't stop laughing until we reached Patzcuaro an hour and a half later.

We followed the signs to the Zocalo of Patzcuaro, because our hotel was supposed to be right on the main square. As is typical with small Mexican towns, the traffic around the Zocalo is one-way, but as soon as we got in the right direction, we found Hotel Mansion Iturbe with no problem. Apparently the Hotel was a 17th century mansion that was given as dowry by one of the leading families in Patzcuaro back in 1830. The property was maintained over the years by the descendents, and is now a beautiful Bed and Breakfast. The staff happily greeted us, (in spite of our lingering odors) and when we asked if the rooms had a balcony where we could hang out while the baby was asleep, they showed us several options to choose from. The rooms that face the Zocalo were beautiful, but the balcony was not even wide enough for a chair. I guess they were mainly designed for standing and watching the activities in the square. They did have a room that didn't face the Zocalo with a lovely private balcony that had a table and two chairs and also a hammock. We decided to go for that one because we assumed that we'd be hanging out and chatting after Trinity went to sleep. Little did we know that we'd be so exhausted both nights that we would go to bed the same time that Trin did. But at any rate, we loved the room, and the balcony was a real treat.

We discovered early on that the Hotel staff were truly into providing top service. When we checked in we asked if there was a laundromat nearby where we could wash our clothes and the fabric from the baby car seat, and they said they'd take care of everything. After dropping our bags off in the room, cleaning ourselves up and changing into some clothes that did not smell of vomit, we dropped off our laundry at the front desk, and they promised to have it ready for us promptly by noon the next day (which they did). We then headed down to the Hotel restaurant for an early dinner.

We started with Margaritas while we excitedly perused the menu. They had a number of enticing dishes to choose from, and it appeared that the Michoacán style of cooking was quite different from Guerrero. Mom and I both ordered chili rellenos, but they were the most unusual dishes we'd ever had. Every chili relleno I had ever had was a poblano (green) stuffed chili, but these were made with dried Pasilla chilies. The Pasilla chili is a slightly spicy chili, and was a delicious change from the poblano. My chili relleno was the Moreliano, which was stuffed with fresh corn tamales and topped with a lovely mild almond sauce. Mom's chili relleno, which we both agreed was the best, was the Uruapan, which was stuffed with ground meat and picadillo, and we think also raisins, and topped with a macadamia nut sauce. This was just amazing experiencing the savory meat, the sweetness from raisins and nuts and the spice from the chili in every bite. We loved it, and personally, I'd go back for no other reason than to eat that dish again. A couple of times.

After dinner we popped Trinity into the stroller and strolled around the Zocalo. There's always so much to look at, and so much activity in the heart of these small towns, and Patzcuaro did not disappoint us. On the side of the Zocalo to the right of us was the municipal building, where people were lined up to apply for jobs and get signatures for voting. On the next edge were several other hotels and posadas, and a number of furniture shops. That was where I noticed a handsome Mexican man that resembled our friend Chucho, and I thought to myself how surprising it was that some people could have doppelgangers strolling around in other towns. Then I noticed that the man was with a "gringa" with red hair, just like Deborah, Chucho's girlfriend, and that was too much of a coincidence. We called out their names and had a nice visit with our friends who were also there all the way from Zihua.

The other edges of the square were filled with hotels, restaurants and furniture shops. We were tempted to purchase some of the wooden toy benches or little chairs and tables, but I know from experience that not much fits in a Nissan Sentra. I had to exercise some restraint. We returned to the hotel from our little walk, and rushed up to the common room where free cocktails were being served at 7:00 pm. We had another round of margaritas, and continued laughing about our crazy day. There was a little confusion when mom called my dad from her cell phone… it wasn't clear if she was laughing and saying she had 3 margaritas or if she was laughing and saying she had a free margarita…at any rate, dad decided we were drunk and being silly, but as least we were having fun.

We went back to our room and got Trinity ready for bed. We decided to go ahead and get ready for bed ourselves also, and found that we had lights off for all of us by 8:30. Trinity thought we were having a fun slumber party, so she spent an hour or so rolling around and whacking us, but eventually she went to sleep, and we had a lovely rest until Trinity woke us up at around 7:30 the next morning.

Had we not been having our fun slumber party with Trinity, we would have been out at the Zocalo that night and we would have witnessed something truly unusual. Patzcuaro was celebrating its 170th birthday, or something like that, and they had a traditional game of "fire ball" on the Zocalo to celebrate. This game was astounding in it's creativity and remarkable degree of danger. It was literally a soccer match with a ball of fire. Several times the ball was kicked into the crowd, and people were rushing around to put the fires out. There was apparently even a young mother with her baby in the front row, which didn't seem too concerned when the ball regularly came towards them. I'm sorry we missed the match, but at least Trinity will be able to grow up without any disfiguring burns on her body (so far).

We started the next day with breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Mom had huevos rancheros, always a good choice no matter where you are, and I had the Enchiladas El Zacatecano, which was chicken rolled in a corn tortilla covered in a bean sauce and topped with cheese. I found it absolutely delicious. Our original plan for the day was to take a boat to the island just off the shore and browse the artisan's shops and have lunch. The plan changed when we discovered that the boat ride was about an hour long. Knowing as we did then that Trinity gets motion sick, we decided she couldn't handle the boat ride. Instead we strolled the couple of blocks down to the Hotel parking lot, piled into the car and drove to Morelia.

Before we could go, we had to stop and check out the activity at the Zocalo. The traffic was stopped as far as we could see, and horns were honking all over the place. The bus drivers of the local buses were protesting unfair business practices by the corporation that hired them. There were protesters with signs held up high in front of the municipal building, buses parked at strange angles blocking traffic, and crowds everywhere. Eventually the bus drivers called an end to the protest, and moved on. When the crowds cleared, we were able to make our way out of town.

Now, I know it is totally sacrilegious to leave this lovely colonial town full of artisans and fabulous restaurants and go to a big city to do some shopping, but after living full time in Zihuatanejo for over 5 years, the pull of shopping in "civilization" just becomes too great to resist. Mom is game for anything, so she was quite happy with the change of plan. Morelia was only about 30 or 40 minutes away, and Trinity took the opportunity to have a little power nap as we made our way there. We didn't have much time to spend in Morelia, so we were quick and efficient with our stops at Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Costco. Our shopping was uneventful, except for the huge disappointment I felt at Costco when I saw the gas barbecue of my dreams and found it was priced at $750.00, and I knew that my brother had just bought the same barbecue at Costco in Seattle for $350.00. I'm also totally embarrassed to admit that we indulged in Costco pizza, but the cool thing was that we discovered that Trinity likes pizza.

I haven't mentioned the weather yet, mainly because it was gorgeous, it was rainy at times, it was mild, and generally just great all around. It rained on our drive back to Patzcuaro that afternoon, sometimes rather hard, but it was great getting a feel for the different climate. I keep forgetting that after living in the heat and humidity of Zihua for so long, my blood is quite thinned out, and when I feel like it's "cold" and I need a sweater in Zihua, it's really only the high 70's. I went to Patzcuaro completely unprepared for being cold. I actually do have clothes I could have brought, for me and for Trinity, but I kind of blew it. However, we managed to not get too cold, in spite of the low 70's and upper 60's that we experienced at times.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to have a light dinner and an early night. Mom and I shared a plate of nachos and some chips and guacamole. Mom also ordered quesadillas for herself and Trinity, and I had a bowl of hot tortilla soup. After being fortified from yet another delicious meal, we headed off to bed. Trinity settled down much quicker this time, and we all managed to fall asleep together before 9:00 pm.

For our last morning in Patzcuaro, we strolled around the streets beyond the Zocalo. We walked up the narrow cobblestone street to where the town cathedral was located. We hadn't realized how hilly the town was until we were atop one, and looking at the lovely view.

We waited patiently as a man on a horse and a following pony passed us by, and we continued on the little roads, checking out the small shops selling glass, woodwork, and woven materials.

We made our way to the outdoor mercado and browsed the stalls of fruits and vegetables, artwork and knick-knacks. It had a real feel of small town Mexico to it, and we were really enjoying ourselves. We stopped to look at some cocker spanial puppies for sale, and Trinity had a chance to pet the softest, curliest puppy fur that I've ever seen.

Because it can be dangerous to drive in Mexico at night, we decided to forgo browsing the different artisan villages around the lake and headed straight back to Zihuatanejo. The trip home was surprisingly uneventful, and found we only really needed to stop once for a stretch, bathroom break and to pick up snacks. We opted to stop at the little tienda in Nueva Italia again, given we knew where it was. In the end, we managed to get back to Zihua in one piece, with plans of returning to Patzcuaro again as soon as possible.

Before you go: Before you leave for Mexico or any trip, make sure you stock up on acidophilus tablets, and start adding fresh yogurt to your daily diet. I recommend that you do this at least one week before you leave. While on your trip, eat yogurt at least once a day and keep taking the acidophilus tablets to keep the flora in your stomach strong.

While you’re here: A lot of the activities on a Mexican vacation involve water: swimming, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, showering, even brushing your teeth. The more you are exposed to different sources of water, the more chances you have to catch a bug. Do your best not to swallow the water during the water sports – I know that’s obvious, but try telling that to my 18-month old toddler! If you are here on a brief vacation, take extra steps and brush your teeth with bottled water. If you are moving here or are here for an extended vacation, it is best to build up a tolerance to anything in the water, so go ahead and brush your teeth with the tap water. We do at our house. You won’t necessarily get sick from brushing your teeth, it’s just another source of exposure.

Eating out: When we first moved here, I did manage to catch every bug under the sun. Then I developed some guidelines when eating out, and discovered that I felt a whole lot better. To start with, the restaurants we review on this site will not give you food poisoning (under normal circumstances anyway) and they follow accepted health guidelines. Generally speaking, any cooked foods will be okay in most places. For myself, I limited the places where I would eat raw fruit and vegetables to restaurants that I felt very confident about. If they don’t wash the fruit or vegetables properly, you could get sick if you eat them raw, so order wisely. My local doctor recommended against me eating raw fruit or vegetables from any of the street vendors or in the Mercado. However, many of my friends eat at just such places all the time and have no problems with their tummies.

Eating in: It’s just as easy to catch a tummy bug when eating in. It’s important to remember that all fruits and vegetables need to be washed with disinfectant drops. It’s not enough to just wash with the tap water, as that’s not a reliable source for clean water. The grocery stores and mercados always have stock of the different brands of disinfectant drops. As far as I can tell, all the brands are more or less the same: 10 drops per liter of water for 10 minutes and your fruit and veg are ready. As an added anal-retentive step, I also wash any fruit or vegetable that will be cut or peeled. If you don’t wash the melon, and you cut into it, any bacteria on the skin will just flow into the meat along with the knife. Also, be sure to cut strawberries in half before you soak them, as the space on the inside is a location for amoebas to hide. (You should also do this at home if your store-bought strawberries are imported.) Finally, be sure that when you buy canned foods, the tins are not dented or looking like they are about to burst. In the US and England, grocery stores won’t even consider trying to sell a can like that, but I’ve come across several instances in Mexico where the canned goods were obviously old, and obviously dangerous, but they were trying to sell them anyway. I tried to explain botulism to one person at the mercado, but he just pulled out a newer, less dented can. Regardless of the condition of the can, if you hear a hissing sound when you cut into it with the can opener, it’s best to just toss that out. Better safe than sorry.

Have fun: The most important thing is to just have fun on your trip. Exploring new parts of the world, or returning to old favorites is what makes life interesting. Try new foods and drinks, or just stick to old familiar favorites, whatever makes you comfortable. It’s possible to spend an entire trip in this region just eating hamburgers, pizza from Domino’s or sandwiches from Subway, if that’s what it takes to give you peace of mind. But remember, we are lucky to have numerous tasty restaurants with unique regional dishes that are worth checking out. I guess what I’m trying to say is: Eat, Drink and Be Merry!