Where are the butterflies?

---

Morelia is a state capital of pink stone. A UNESCO World Heritage Site we decided it was worth a visit and would be a great base to visit the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.

We stayed in the lovely old Hotel Colonial, not far from the centre, where we had a balcony in a recently renovated room. We found the city beautiful and only a little cold feeling.

We booked our trip to see the butterflies at a tourist info booth with a tourist police officer. First time for everything. It was a full day event and would cost P$600 each. We were picked up the next morning in a big Chevy van. We ended up with 11 adults and one child after being told it would be a max of 9 people. It was a 3 hour drive back towards Mexico City but turning off the highway to climb into the mountains. The hills were lovely with lots of little towns and stone masons with chunks of the beautiful pink stone lying around. As we approached the Sierra Chincua area of the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary we found ourselves in the clouds .. not a good sign. And it was cold when we got out. There was a small settlement of guides and tourist tat stalls and lots of pretty horses. We walked up the hill and I (Rae) soon gave up and took a pretty tall black horse to the top for P$50. As we expected, without the sun out the butterflies were not flying around. They were all asleep in large clumps hanging from the trees. Everyone was disappointed. On the return trip we stopped at Tlalpujahua, a lovely wee town, for lunch and a bit of a look around. It was famous for its hand made Christmas decorations .. still on sale in January.

The next day we explored Morelia. The state museum was vaguely interesting. At the Palacio Clavijero we popped into a very beautiful library. The Palacio de Justice was another lovely building as were the houses of Morelos, an independence leader. We saw the house where he was born and the house where he lived later on. We couldn't help but take a peak into the Museo de Historia Natural. They had babies in bottles and stuffed deformed goats. Our last stop for the day was the Museo de Dulces which was a lovely old shop with staff in 19th century dress and lots of lovely sweets. We brought a small collection to try. Most were really really sweet but the obleas (papery caramelised sandwiches) were yummy. As was the eggy Rompope liquor.

Our favourite restaurant in town was called Los Pioneros and it was a Taqueria (taco restaurant). They served dishes which were kind of like Spanish omelets but with lots of ingredients and very cheesy. It was fantastic and a good cheap feed.

Unfortunately I will remember the town for the failed butterfly visit but our encounter with the sweets and food of the town was a pleasant one.

---

Photos

Balloons
Never did find a blue elephant