Waterfall in Uruapa

Ihuatzio Ruins 900 AD

Our trip inland proved to be extremely interesting. It was a lot of driving but very rewarding.
We left on the Sunday in a very old rental car. We had said as long as it had four wheels! Our journey was to take us up into the Sierra Madres. Pine, cedars and maple trees are surrounded by a ring of mountains. The valleys rich red soil is perfect for growing. The crops vary from semi- tropical to local BC type crops. I was surprised to see apple orchards.
The high mountains have waterfalls, lakes, hot springs, volcanoes and more importantly a lot of culture and history.
This is the land of the Purepecha (poo-ray-pay-cha) indigenous people. The towns are vibrant markets, have monumental ruins of ancient imperial cities, antique churches. (Yes Mike ancient cemeteries. Ken limited me to the number I was allowed to visit. It was great to see the economy thriving here. Their farming practices are still carried out the old way but everyone works and helps to provide for their families. Don’t get me wrong This IS NOT a 3rd world country. The American Embassy “Mc Donald’s” is alive in all the larger cities.
Uruapan is one of the oldest cities in Mexico. Its main natural attraction is the Cupatitzio River (dubbed "the river that sings"). The National Park Eduardo Ruiz is home of "La Rodilla del Diablo", the source of the river which courses through the city and out toward "La Tzaráracua" and "La Tzararacuita", waterfalls on the southern outskirts of the city.
This national park is a tourist attraction but also a great place for the people of this country to take their families for an outing.
Paricutin volcano emerged in the vicinity in 1943, scaring away much of the population. Two towns were basically taken over by the lava and no longer exist. The remains are visible for the tourist and locals to examine.
The following day we traveled higher into the mountains to the town of Patzcuaro (PAHTZ-kwah-roh). It is a small colonial gem in the state of Michoacan, It is 7500’ above sea level. Patzcuaro is founded on hills above one of the lakes; Lake Patzcuaro. Now very polluted and dropping in levels dramatically. Volcanic activity and the state's latitude position help create a setting not unlike Hawaii, The Purepecha people first settled in Pátzcuaro in about 1324. The town retains its ancient atmosphere. It consists of largely one-story adobe or plaster-over-brick buildings with red tile roofs. The streets are dusty cobblestones traveled by horse and car. The Plaza Grande (Big Plaza), is Pátzcuaro's central square. On the east side of downtown is the beautiful Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Salud (Basilica of Our Lady of Health), We took a trolley tour to learn about the history. The town dates back to the 1300’s. The mortars in many of the old buildings were made with corn cobs and honey. The buildings have shifted but they are still standing and being used.
We were lucky enough to witness the Dance of the Viejitos (Old Men), one of the best and most widely known native dances of Mexico. The dancers wear wooden masks that depict smiling old men. This dance was performed to mock the Spaniards. T he Indigenous people believed the Spaniards grew old quickly because of the foods they ate and their unhealthy practices.
The people of this area are carvers and there are many furniture manufacturing companies that send their products world wide. All hand crafted.We drove to Ihuatzio located on a remote road that traverses a cow pasture. It is often referred to as the "Place of the Coyote", these strategically located ruins near the shores of the Lago de Pátzcuaro, which were once used for water defense and enemy lookout, are only partially excavated, and therefore only partially open to the public. Ihuatzio is essentially dated (900–1200 AD). These ruins were small in comparison to the ruins we visited in Guatemala but non the less interesting.
Onward we forged to our main destination The Monarch Butterfly Conservation area. (Ken is going to do the blog about this as it was the delight of the trip. Totaly an unforgetable experience. Enough to write an entire blog about.

Onward we forged to our main destination The Monarch Butterfly Conservation area. We decided to head to the small town of Ocampo. This very small indigenous town farms and lives from revenue that the Mariposa butterfly tourist industry creates.

During the summer the monarch lives in the northern US and Canada. At the end of the summer it begins its southward migration and on November 1st punctually all the monarchs arrive in Michoacan. They spend the winter in Michoacan, Mexico and mate and in the spring return north. As these fragile creatures have a lifespan of only a few months the monarchs who came to Mexico from Canada are not the ones who return, but their offspring. So the monarch migrating to Canada in the spring never went there before. And likewise the monarch leaving Canada and the northern US to migrate to Mexico never went there before. Each trip is a new generation, but yet each new generation knows to return to this same mountain range.In its trip south the little butterfly travels about 70 miles per day; it travels over 1,800 miles in about 25 days.And it's only a few inches long. It only flies during the day. During the night they eat. The descendants from last year's trip feed on alkaloid plants commonly called swamp milkweed or cow’s tongue which are poisonous to its preditors. For the monarch this is a form of protection as if a bird would try to eat it the bird would die from an accelerating heart rate. Knowing this all the birds leave the colorful monarch alone.
The best time to observe the butterfly is during the day. In the morning they are motionless with the cool air. Once the afternoon suns arrive they come alive. The sight is incredible.
Ken says it is like walking through a snow storm or a large popular tree loosing all its leaves at one time. Thousand of orange butterflies fill the air. When landing on the trees they cluster together. The swarms turn the trees into a bright orange flora. Looks similar to the Spruce Beetle dead fall in BC.
To arrive at the viewing area from the parking lot at 8600 ‘, you must walk 2 km and rise another 2000’ to almost 11,000’ in elevation.
The journey and exercise is well worth the effort.
If you stand perfectly still they will land on you. They are so light you cannot feel them on you.

Ken with a butterfly on his arm

We spent the night in Ciudad Zitacuaro. We had dinner out and walked around the city square then went back to our room. This city appears very prosperous.
The next morning off we went taking the old highway. Golden has 12 km of very windy roads try 300 km of this! The highways are not marked well and this led to an adventure into a large lake town.
Valle de Bravo is a town and municipality located in Mexico State. It is located on the shore of Lake Avandaro approximately 145 km (95 miles) southwest of Mexico City and west of Touluca on highways. This town was quite beautiful.
When we returned we were welcomed by an infestation of ants. The marina paid to have it fumigated. The next day was spent cleaning. I don’t think this boat has ever had this good of a cleaning done to it.
RJ and Mike have arrived and we will shove off to some anchorages. Until next week.