Mariposa Monarca

Hello there :-) This is Lara here, blogging in place for Gerry today.  He somehow looped me into writing today's post, I'll complain about it but I really don't mind too much.  My experience today was absolutely magical, and since the two of them have already gotten the opportunity to see the monarchs' winter home here in Mexico, I suppose that I am the most enthusiastic and fitting person to write this post.

 

Yesterday was pretty lame weather-wise, but after our hike up to the top of the mountain, my aunt and I went into town and explored a bit, determined to keep our spirits high. 

 



This cake did the trick.  How cute is this darn thing.  Thank you, Pastelleria Katy.

 

On another note, this darn thing is quite cute too.  Gerry found him just outside of the trailer this morning (probably about 4 hours before I got up). 

 

This same insect excited us quite a bit last night when we found one crawling across the screen door.  His body is about the same size as my finger and at first glance I thought he was a gigantic spider.  We ended up having quite a pleasant day yesterday, though it didn't work out quite as planned.

 

Luckily, this morning was absolutely gorgeous.  20+ degrees and sunny, without a cloud in the sky.  Nevertheless, my spirits were kind of low beginning today. We saw quite a few interesting farm animals on our hike up, but no butterflies.

 

This donkey was so adorable and obedient.  It is insane how much these people over load them though, the poor thing must have been carrying over 100 pounds of loggs on it's back.

 



I had never heard the sound that a sheep makes in real life.  It is super manly and absolutely hilarious.  Imagine a dude with a really deep Kermit voice saying "mm-bbaaaahhhh".

 

About half-way up the mountain, though, we began seeing butterflies flying around!!!

Sadly, there were also a lot of dead ones on the ground.  This poor little guy was in pretty rough condition, he was missing half of one of his wings and struggling to crawl about the plants.  I gave him a hand onto this pretty flower, but he was just so weak :-(

 

Then... we made it to the area where they live!  This sight is so much more breathtaking in the sunlight.

 

And there are MILLIONS of monarchs flying around.  This sight filled me with an overwhelming sense of happiness.  It is so wonderful to see them all flying around so freely after everything that they have been through.  Surviving from egg through caterpillar, to pupa and finally butterfly, back at home in our gardens in Canada is tough enough; then flying thousands of kilometres down south to Ocampo and enduring their freezing weather to boot!  No words or pictures can truly capture how amazing this is.

 

For those of you who don't think that you can make it all the way up to the top of the mountain (about 4000 metres above sea level, about 1000 metres of those walking up a steep incline), they offer horse back rides as well.

 

It is truly an experience of a lifetime that I would definitely reccommend everyone to take if they have the opportunity.