Every year around this time the monarch butterflies descend upon the Mexico highlands. We’ve visited them a couple of times in the past, and when we mentioned we were going again Ali’s sister jumped at the chance to see them with us.
On the road to Michoacán we go.
Along the way we stopped at the archaeological site San Felipe de los Alzati. It seems like a small spot with just one major pyramid uncovered, but looking around you can see that the area once encompassed well over 100 acres of structures like this.
There aren’t a lot of places to stay out by the monarch sanctuaries. No major towns, and mostly just very small farming villages, at over 10,000′ in elevation the butterflies are really the only reason for tourists to be up here. Rancho Cumbre turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.
Basketball, badmitton, foosball and farm animals, they had it all.
Who doesn’t love a fireplace in their room?
Next morning there was no rush out the door. The monarchs don’t really start fluttering around until the sun hits and warms them up. Then they go from giant clumps in the trees to filling the skies around you. We’ve been to a couple different reserves in the past, but chose El Rosario today. Ali and I first came here nearly twenty years ago, shook off the cowboys at the bottom of the hill and wandered aimlessly upwards until we stumbled upon trees brimming with monarchs. On our way back down we became pretty hopelessly lost, eventually finding a road that seemed to circle the mountain endlessly without every leading us back to our VW bus. Today the mountain is a streamlined operation. Pay a park entrance fee, get assigned a guide, and decide if you want to walk up or let the horses do the work. All fixed prices and super reasonable, we chose the horses and headed out.
This happy guy joined us at the bottom and trotted up alongside us.
These mariposas flew south from Canada and the northern US, over 3,000 miles to the Oyamel fir forests of Michoacán. They are part of the Methuselah generation of monarchs. Previous generations only live a few weeks each, while these live about nine months. After flying here from Canada they will fly back to Texas to lay eggs, and die. That Texas generation will fly north to the central U.S. and lay the next generation which will continue to the northern US. Another generation will continue to Canada. Those three generations hardly did anything compared to this fourth generation that somehow flies from Canada to Michoacán, having never been here before, and being four generations removed from the last butterflies to be here. How they do that is pretty fascinating, and worth looking up if you are interested.
They don’t all live long enough to make the trip north again.
Those clumps in the trees are thousands upon thousands of butterflies.
Truly one of the great migrations in the world and always worth the trip to see.
Steep winding switchbacks lead up and over mountains to the nearest “big” town of Angangueo
We continued on to Tlalpujahua, which is known as Christmas Town around here. We missed it by a couple of months, and it was hard to understand its Christmas reputation at this time of year. Apparently, it’s the traditional glass-blown ornaments that put this place on the map with some 400 workshops in the area, but by February it felt like a town recovering from a nasty spiked eggnog hangover.
As is so often the case in these small towns throughout Mexico we were absolutely blown away by the size and grandeur of the cathedral. Absolutely beautiful, it hovers over the poverty with perfect superiority, entirely too grand for the humble town around it. It’s just of a different time, I suppose.
Our hotel was connected to this Christmas village. It must be quite a scene in December.
Standing on a patio overlooking the hills below I spotted it, like an old friend. This neglected old Dodge Travco looks to have once been a mobile clinic in the area. I would have loved to see it plying these steep mountain roads in low gear.
12 Comments on “Mariposas”
Fascinating about the Monarch migration. I have seen some of it here in Texas, but nothing like what you saw.
I was there in February and also took the horse up. That being said, for me at least, the climb was a challenge. I kept waiting, hoping you mentioned it. More for my pride than anything else. LOL Lovely story and photos, as always.
Pretty amazing!!!
Thanks for these amazing pix!
I saw the monarchs 40 years ago in Pismo Beach CA but nothing like the masses you were so lucky to view!
What a journey for such tiny fragile creatures!
The Methuselah generation cycle is fascinating. It reminds of me the Fourth Turning concept. And similarly, “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”, “clogs to clogs”, “fu bu guo san dai”, and other variations.
Great to read of the “Bums” recent adventures. So very amazing to watch Ouest and Lowe grow. Both incredible kids….a credit to you and Ali. Thanks for continuing to post. We’re all still out here waiting for the next one! ❤️
Amazing! The butterflies are so beautiful. Your photos make me feel like I am there💕
Your family is a great, and welcome, advertisement for the wonders of Mexico.
That’s the Boss Hogg of Roosters!!
Thanks for the amazing pictures!
the monarchs also stop at Monterrey, CA — although not at this scale — it is more like a pit stop;
In a documentary about monarch’s (don’t remember the name; I watched 20+ years ago), they talked about an expert spending 25+ years to study and finally locate the mountain regions of Mexico where they migrate for breeding (the source); fascinating stuff about these gentle creatures!
https://www.factualamerica.com/wilderness-watch/13-engaging-documentaries-about-the-monarch-butterfly-migration
anyone curious should also look up the bird, bar-tailed godwit, which could be found in South Padre Island, TX during its migration period! they fly non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand;
Looks like some of your butterflies made it to Laguna Beach, CA in the last couple of days.
For some reason after many years I googled Bumfuzzle this morning, and here you are, still at it. And I still remember the poignant picture of your kids looking through the rear window of your bus(?) at the dirt road behind, as their story unfolds. I hope you have it framed 🙂
Thank you for sharing the incredible beauty of these generational monarchs. We’ve followed their rest stop at Tawas Point in northeast Michigan for years, and have learned about the generations. We’d not realized, however, the short generations, in Texas and beyond, as they return north each year. Such an incredibly beautiful story.