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Published: March 23rd 2015
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Beautiful view of ranch surroundings Over the weekend of my dad's and my birthday, I traveled to a ranch called San Cayetano in Zitácuaro, Mexico, to observe the migration of billions of monarch butterflies. The trip was a birthday gift to my father.
I was expecting that the ranch we went to would look more like a farm with cows, stables and fresh hay, which was a scene I remember from my trip to south Germany, but I was surprised of how different the ranch looked compared to my memory. When I arrived on the 28th of February 2015 with my parents and some friends that accompanied us, I found myself in a paradise soaked in sunshine, which had a humungous colorful garden, which was calm and filled with silence because a forest enclosed it. It was as if I were walking into a dream. Excitement started building up inside of me as I passed the pool because I was making plans inside my mind of how to spend the rest of the day. As I entered the
room in which my family stayed in over that weekend, my amazement only grew because it was so welcoming and felt like home; it had two large
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View of garden and pool of the ranch beds with cozy sheets and a fireplace which reminded me of winter time in my house in Germany which I spent with my whole family.
Later that day we visited a small church in the area. As I walked along the street leading to the religious building, I thought we would never arrive in daylight, until the church tower suddenly peeked out from behind a tree branch. The church looked very ordinary, until I entered it. I was in awe of the beauty of this building because it seemed to be just an innocent and ordinary church building from the outside, but the inside told a whole different story. The inside of the church was carved out of stone and seemed as if it were drained of most of the color, which made me wonder if this style had any historical reason behind it. Standing inside of this church was a funny feeling because I felt like a giant but also really small, as if being in the power of something larger than me, at the same time. As my eyes moved up the walls and observed the ceiling of the building, I noticed one specific window with colorful
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Rooms of the ranch glass, through which the evening light created fascinating and somehow magical light effects and shadows.
I can remember bits and pieces of the “happy birthday” song dragging me out of my sleep the next morning, so on the 1st of March, and how awkward breakfast had been; everyone was feeling really cold and drowsy, and everyone felt the need to congratulate me, even people I barely knew. I felt very honored but also embarrassed because I do not like receiving a lot of attention. It was surely embarrassing, but on the other hand very cheerful because I was able to discover new typical Mexican traditions.
As we arrived at the foot of the mountain on which the butterflies were, it became very clear to me: I had to hike up the mountain; this confirmed the start of a nightmare because if there is one activity I particularly dislike, then it is hiking. As I got out the car I took in the beautiful scenery of the nature and the strong colors of it. It was a very sunny day, the kind where the weather is so warm that one would prefer to relax at home in
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Amazing ancient little church the cool and promising shade of the house. There was the possibility of riding up the mountain on horses, but I preferred to walk because I do not like the movement of them and I was paranoid that I would fall and break a bone, which was something, which emerged due to my various accidents and visits at hospitals. During the hike to the top of the mountain, I was fascinated by the magnificent light effects which where created due to the casted shadows of branches. Meanwhile it felt as if there was not enough oxygen present in the air for me to breathe as I suffered from breathing difficulties. Soon the hike became a serious challenge for me as I battled for enough air, and the heat did not help. I was starting to worry about losing my consciousness, but after another hour the scenery changed from forest to a path lined with wild growing trees and flowers and before I knew it, we had arrived at the mountain-top. The scene which awaited me and everybody else was breathtaking, incredible, unbelievable and absolutely awesome. Before me the path widened into a larger area and the trees were covered with
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The morning of my birthday and of where we went hiking to see the butterflies. what looked like pieces of bronze, until I realized that what covered almost every tree and ground and even the sky, were adult monarch butterflies drying their tender wings. The scene was like something you would expect other people to experience, but not you.
As I left the ranch in the city of Zitácuaro later that day, the sun warming my back reminded me of the cheerful time I had and that this trip would be unforgettable.
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