Millions of Mariposas!

This past weekend, 5 of my friends from my program and I adventured to Zitacuaro, a small city about 5 hours from Puebla to see the spectacular monarch butterflies congregating in the forest and preparing for their migration back to the US and Canada. We read about this specific reserve dedicated to the monarchs in the guide book, but set off not sure exactly what we were getting into. In turned out to be a huge success and we were all blown away by the immense quantity of butteflies and the absolute beauty of seeing an entire forest filled with the flapping of orange and black wings. In order to get there, we had to take 2 busses and the metro, and I was in charge of figuring out our route so I was very proud that we didn't get lost and everything worked out fine! We didn't know much about Zitacuaro, but it proved to be a cute city with very few tourists and super nice people. We certainly stood out in the weekend market where we went to buy fresh bread and eggs with beans and tortillas for breakfast but we were heartily welcomed! In order to reach the reserve, we took a taxi for 40 minutes to the countryside and from there, a tiny little pueblo, we paid a guide to take us to the top of the mountain. The hike was very steep and hard with tons of dust, so I rented a horse for part of the time, but the journey was worth it because when we arrived at our destination we could hardly believe our eyes! The sky was filled with butterflies and so were the trees, bushes, ground, everything! When you closed your eyes, you could hear the sound of their wings and feel them brush against you. As soon as we sat down, they started landing on us and one even landed on my hand! Our friends who have very blond hair butterflies on their heads! We were all taking pictures like crazy and I took a video which really helps to capture what it was like. We all didn't want to leave; it was like being in a dream! But we knew our guide was waiting, so after a picnic of pan dulce (sweet bread) we began the decent down the mountain and arrived completely covered in dirt from head to toe! After long showers, we wandering to the zocalo to eat delicious tortas (mexican grinders, kind of) and ice cream! Our trip was short, but very sweet and I enjoyed spending time in nature- I miss it since I have been living in the city for 2 months!