Que Sera Sera: Las mariposas de monarco

The Monarch butterflies start their migration from Canada, through the United States and finally congregate on the fir trees of Michoacan and other parts of Mexico. This annual migration happens between the months of November through March, and we made our second trip west this weekend to visit them.

We set off on Saturday afternoon to Valle de Bravo, a pretty lake town, to have have some leisure time with another family before visiting the butterfly reserve the next day. On Saturday we did a little exploration of the town. We went on a speed boat around the gorgeous lake, and gawk at all the beautiful lake side houses. The kids had a fantastic time (as did the parents) but we made up for the carbon footprint we added during that one hour by walking around the rest of the day! The rest of the day was a spent at the local park where we were treated to a traditional pole swinging dance. A what? Well basically there's a long vertical pole erected on the ground, about 25 metres long, whereby 4 guys in traditional garb spiral down to the ground with only a rope secured around their waists. Oh wait, there is also a man standing at the top, on the pole beating a drum and playing a flute. Can you picture it? Well, it's all very extreme but also very beautiful.

We ended the day at a Churreria (Churros restaurant). Churros are sinfully delicious! It is a Spanish doughnut (long and thin, like Chinese 'yu-tiao', here in Mexico) and is typically found all over the Americas (and France too?). The pastry-like dough is fried till crispy yet moist on the inside, then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, but you can also fill the hollow middle with chocolate, dulce de leche ... the sweet fillings vary in different countries. Be warned, one is never enough! Look ... I didn't even have time to take a photo because all 8 hands swapped them from the plate!

Sunday afternoon, after a long breakfast, we set off to the butterfly reserve about 40 mins drive from Valle de Bravo. The 45 mins trek up meant the kids all wanted to go on horses which just added more thrill to the journey. The parents huffed and puffed behind them! All tiredness vanished when we arrived at the sanctuary. It was peaceful, breathtaking and the constant 'swishing' you hear are from the millions of butterflies all around. All we did was sit on the whatever flat ground you could find and soak it all in. I would return every year if possible just to be part of this. Eventually, we made our trek back down ... all happy, light and very awe-struck. Reluctantly, we climbed into our cars, and drove into the Sunday traffic back into the city. Till next year ...