Butterfly Dreams!

On Thursday, February 25th, Pat and I went to see the monarch butterflies in their winter habitat.  Dana was supposed to join us but unfortunately he was quite sick through the night and had to cancel at the last minute.  We set the alarm for 4:15 am to catch the 5:00 am subway to the 6:00 am bus ride to Angangueo, Mexico.  This small mining town is located about a three hours drive north west of Mexico City.  The last hour of the drive involved a winding ascent on mountain roads.
Once we arrived at the town we found a driver to drive us the final 12 km to the park entrance of the El Rosario Sanctuary.  After paying a fee of $45 pesos each, we were met by a guide who accompanied us on the final climb up the hill.  The altitude made the climb quite strenuous, and at times I felt I had difficulty getting enough air.  My heart was pounding and my legs trembled from the journey.  But every step was worth it when we finally came out of the woods into a clearing where butterflies were flying and drinking water from a small stream.  The guide waited while we took in the beautiful view then motioned us with a wave and a call of, "moy bien".  After another short hike we walked into swarms of fluttering butterflies.  All around us the trees were covered with orange wings.  We took more pictures then saw the familiar wave and heard the words, "moy bien" again.  The last stop was breathtaking.  The trees all around us were covered in butterflies, millions and millions of them.  If the sights were not already enough to blow your mind, imagine for a moment the sounds that you hear when millions of butterflies fly at the same time!  Believe it or not, you can actually hear them.  A sight and sound to behold!

Entrance to the Sanctuary

One of the first butterflies.  He was rather dusty!

Zoom in and you can see the butterflies visiting this bush.

At this, our second stop, the butterflies flew all around us!

Sam, our Welsh friend, makes another friend.

This olymer fir tree trunk is covered in butterflies.

My love!

Butterfly dreams.

Pat makes a friend.

Clusters like these abound at the last stop.

Not so dusty!

When we left the park a local politician was delivering a heavily guarded speech about the importance of butterfly habitat preservation.  He was completely surrounded by guards like the one below.

Don't mess with me.

Looking down at the village of Angangueo

The butterflies are beginning to mate.  Soon they will begin their long migration north.

A poem for my mom!