SAN DIEGO WALKABOUT'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES
HIKING IN MICHOACÁN, MEXICO
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES IN DIVERSE CULTURE AND NATURE
FEBRUARY 14-23, 2014
(CLICK THE THUMBNAIL PHOTOS FOR A LARGER IMAGE)
On Friday evening, Feb 14, our group of 17 arrived in Mexico City via flights from Tijuana and San Diego. We were about to embark on a week of fun and adventure as we explored the nearby mountains and communities in the states of Mexico and Michoacán. Arrangements for our trip were handled by the Ensenada based travel company, Andiamo Travel. The WalkAbouts had previously used Andiamo's services for trips to Baja California for whale watching and Copper Canyon for hiking.
Saturday, Feb 15
On this day a local guide, Dora, led us on a walking tour to visit some of the highlights of central Mexico City. Our hotel was conveniently located next to the Zócalo which is the world's second largest central plaza (after Red Square in Moscow, I think). Unfortunately, the plaza was occupied by tents for some kind of military displays so we could not appreciate its size.
Mexico City is built on top of what used to be a large lake and the Zócalo is situated where the Aztec capital, the island city of Tenochtitlán, was located when Spaniards first arrived in about 1520. Dora pointed out a number of buildings that were leaning due to slow sinking into the ancient lakebed.
The tour included a visit to the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Place with Diego Rivera murals and a very long walk down the Reforma Avenue to Chapultepec Park and Castle and, finally, to the famous Anthropology Museum.
That evening after dinner we met our guide (we thought), Alejandro. However, Alejandro told us he could not accompany us as a guide due to recent sickness issues. Instead, he introduced us to Rosie and Jorge who would accompany us for the entire trip. What they lacked in experience they made up with enthusiasm, dedication and charm.
Alejandro added another element of adventure in telling us that we could proceed with our original travel itinerary which included two nights in the city of Uruapan. I had previously told our group we would not go to Uruapan due to some civil violence in that general area. However, Alejandro and Jorge (a native of Uruapan) assured us that all was well and safe there. They were right! The area was very tranquil.
Sunday, Feb 16
At 9 am we met our capable bus driver, Armando, and were off for a new day's adventures.
Soon we passed the large industrial city of Toluca which in a few days would host the heads of state of USA, Canada and Mexico for a NAFTA related conference. We also got our first views and photos of the distant volcano, Nevado de Toluca, which was our first hiking destination. Our planned hikes would be at altitudes of 13,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level.
At about 11:30am we entered the park and our bus started up a long dirt road towards the parking area (13,000 feet!). However, it was time for a new unexpected adventure as Armando decided he should not drive the bus up that road. No problem, said Jorge, it is only about 2 miles to go and we can simply walk to the end of the road. We soon figured out that it was a lot further than 2 miles. (actually, about 6 miles)
Fortunately, there was a steady stream of cars and trucks heading up to the mountain because the locals were enjoying a Sunday outing with families and dogs. We all thumbed rides in trucks and were soon ready for our walks. The pickup truck I rode was also occupied by two dogs in their cages in the bed of the truck. The alpha dog, Nico, was very unhappy about a bunch of gringos invading his truck territory. He expressed his outrage with almost non-stop barking and snarling all the way up the road. We were happy Nico was securely locked in his cage.
Finally, we did a short hike of about 1.5 miles one way and 600 feet up to a viewing spot where we could see the two lakes in the bottom of the crater and a distant peak that we did not have time to ascend.
At 4pm we were comfortably sitting in two pickup trucks that Rosie had negotiated to take us back to the bus.
Finally, we ended the day at the town of Valle de Bravo staying in a hotel, Misión Refugio del Salto.
Monday, Feb 17
At 9am we departed Valle de Bravo driving along the shore of a large lake of the same name. Today we were off for our first butterfly visit at a mountain called Cerro Pelón.
At about noon after some uncertainty in directions we reached the community of Macheros. Jorge and Rosie recommended that we ride horses up to the butterfly sanctuary since we had limited time for a hike of 3.7 miles and elevation gain of 2200 feet to an altitude of 10500 feet.
Horses!! I had vowed never to ride a horse again after a pack trip in the Sierras and then renewed my vow after a mule trip in the Grand Canyon. Oh well, never say never and we were soon mounted and off and up a very steep and rough trail. (This butterfly sanctuary is unimproved.)
We soon learned that the butterflies have evolved to be very accommodating for tourist. They sleep in until about 1pm and then if the sun is warm they begin their swarms from the trees. We had good conditions for observing their activities and hearing a soft sound similar to snow falling as the insects fly about. Everyone whispers so as not to disturb them and to hear their wing beats.
(I will not discuss the Monarch's extraordinary life cycles in this web site because there is a lot of information available via Google searches on the web.)
At about 4pm we returned to Macheros and I, of course, vowed never to ride a horse again. We had a nice lunch at Doña Rosas restaurant and met an American lady who lives there and is working for her PhD from UCLA. Her thesis area has to do with vigilante justice in Guatamela which seems appropriate since that same sort of justice is happening in the nearby state of Michoacán. She also told us of the very sad story about an American man who recently went missing shortly after visiting in Macheros. Here is a link to the story
We departed Macheros at about 5pm, crossed into the state of Michoacán at 5:30 and arrived at our Hotel Rancho Cayetano in the city of Zitácuaro at 6pm.
Tuesday, Feb 18
At 10am we were off for our second butterfly sighting this time at the most popular and developed sanctuary of El Rosario. A little before noon we arrived at the main parking lot for El Rosario (we were the only tourists) and headed up a paved path for about 1.7 miles and elevation gain of 820 feet to an altitude of 10,700 feet. We arrived in time to see the little critters swarming from their trees to look for water, nectar and, most important, mates. I rudely took a few photos of them coupling on the ground.
Our original plan was to continue our hike along the mountain trails back down to the town of Agangueo. However, that trail is in bad shape so we just hiked back to the bus and rode about 11 miles to the town for a late lunch stop.
Finally, we had a long 3 hour ride to our evening's destination Quinta Los Azufres at the Azufres Park in the mountains. This area is geologically very active with a strong smell of azufres (sulphur) and a number of loud geothermal power plants were making electricity.
Wednesday, Feb 19
Early this morning some of our hardy travelers walked or rode the bus a few miles to some thermal pools for a morning soak. They were not impressed with the thermal pools which were neither hot or very clean.
Unfortunately, a few of us had a bad night with diarrhea and vomiting probably from something we ate in Agangueo or the Quinta restaurant. A local doctor was called in for some medicines and poor Rosie had to act as translator and nurse.
By noon we were well enough to depart Azufres for our next destination, the town of Pátzcuaro. Along the way we passed by the city of Morelia and stopped to pick up a new guide, Ray, who stayed with us for the rest of the trip. Ray led a walking tour from our hotel, Casa del Refugio, through the historic center of Pátzcuaro but I did not feel like continuing on that walk.
Thursday, Feb 20
After a typical breakfast of fruit plate, coffee, fresh juice and eggs (rancheros, a la mexicana or a la american) we started a hike up paved roads and steps (about 400!) to the top of an old volcano peak named Estribo. We had magnificent views of the surrounding countryside and of the large Lake Pátzcuaro. The islands in the lake are accessible via boats for both tourists and the local people who live on the islands. The largest island, Janitzio, is recognizable in the photos via the 40 meter high statue of independence hero, Jose Morelos.
At about noon we departed the hotel via our bus and visited the village and lake Zirahuén. Here we sampled some fresh blue corn tortillas and were visited by a bunch of somewhat inebriated teenagers who seemed to find us amusing. At least none of us had ever acted silly when we were teens!
At 3pm we were in a town, Santa Clara de Cubre, for a demonstration of copper craftsmanship and a chance to purchase copper items. Despite what my guide book says, we were told that copper has never been mined in this town. Instead the local artisans use recycled copper from somewhere, melt it down into ingots and then it pound it into remarkable vases, dishes, etc.
At 5pm we completed a late lunch at the lovely Rancho La Mesa with grand views of the lake and an interesting flock of ostriches. The ostriches are also part of the menu but they only had a few ostrich hamburgers available for us.
Finally, we completed the days journeys in the town of Uruapan for a two night's stay in the lovely hotel, Mansión del Cupatitzio.
Friday, Feb 21
This morning we had an early 8am start for a visit to the nearby volcano, Paricutín. This was a long anticipated event for me because I was looking forward to hiking on a mountain that is actually younger than I am! Indeed, we missed by one day the 71st birthday of the mountain which was born with a volcanic eruption on Feb 20, 1943. The volcano erupted continuously for 9 years eventually covering several villages with lava and building a mountain which reaches an altitude of 9000 feet above sea level with a cinder cone rising several hundred feet above the surrounding areas.
At 9am the bus arrived at the Purépecha indian village of Angahuan and we were ready to explore the area. We did an easy 1.6 mile walk down to the ruins of the San Juan church which was mostly destroyed by the lava. We soon could see that walking on the lava rocks was not a good approach for getting to the cinder cone. The best option was to go around the lava field via dirt roads for about 12 miles round trip and the best way to do that was (you guessed it!) go via horseback.
So at 11am a few of us were mounted up and off for a 2.5 hour ride to the base of the cone. A few of our fastest hikers did walk the entire distance and then ascended the cone via a very sandy trail to the top. The ascent was rewarded with a fast descent via a soft, dusty slide directly back to the base.
At 3pm it was time to mount up and head back for a brutal 3.5 hour return trip. (Many of us walked our horses for part of the way). On the return trip our way was blocked by a man (the troll) who insisted we needed to buy tickets from him. Our guide, Ray, refused to pay him since our otlher guide, Rosie, had already bought tickets from another toll keeper. He let us through.
My horse, Capitán, insisted on going in front and I soon discovered that I was leading our group through a short cut with no idea of where we were! Not to worry. Good old Capitán and a little dog who accompanied us knew the way and we were eventually back to the horse parking lot at Aganhuan.
With some difficulty and help from local kids I managed to dismount and in great pain shuffled back to the bus---forgetting to say goodbye to Capitán but not forgetting my vow never to ride a horse again.
Saturday, Feb 22
We checked out of the hotel and started a walking tour of Uruapan. The delightful park, Eduardo Ruiz, was next to our hotel and we walked along a path that follows the river, Cupatitzio, through an almost tropical environment.
After departing the park we walked around town, visited the narrowest house in the world (they claimed), checked out a church dating from about 1600 and enjoyed some avocado and guava popsicles. Uruapan is the avocado capital of the world and is also know for its exotic fruit industry.
We headed to the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro for lunch and then to the little town of Tzintzuntzan to learn about the Purépecha people and their ancient history. The Purépecha, also known as the politically incorrect Tarascas, are the local indigenous folks with their own language and culture. There is a theory that these folks were related to the Incas of Peru and some of the pyramid ruins we visited did bear a resemblance to those of the Inca. The Purépecha were never defeated by the Aztecs but they were not so successful in dealing with the Spaniards when they arrived about 1520.
Finally we were off for our last city, Morelia, which is the home of our guides and the capital city of Michoacán. Here we enjoyed a gourmet dinner and then watched the fireworks and cathedral lighting in the historic center.
Sunday Feb 23
This was the day for our return flight to Tijuana and then to San Diego. Our friend, Alejandro, joined us again for the last morning's tours of the city. We did a walking tour of the cathedral, saw the city's oldest building (from 1531), a shopping area for local artisans' works, a statue of Morelos who paid with his life for supporting the Mexican independence from Spain but he did get the city of Morelia named after him, saw the remains of the aqueduct and then collected our box lunches and were off for the airport.
Our return flight from Morelia to Tijuana was on time and we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted in the Tijuana airport by Maria, the owner of Andiamo travel. She apologized profusely for not having Alejandro as our full time guide (we assured her we had a great time anyway) and she presented us with a gift bottle of wine.
The border crossing at Otay Mesa was fast and we were soon delivered back to our cars at the downtown San Diego parking lot. This excellent adventure was over.
THE END
