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Published: January 25th 2017
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It was 31 degrees F at 7:30 this morning in Angangueo! No heat in the hotel, but we had gotten extra blankets so stayed warm. We walked up the hill in town and found two old ornate churches and a plaza with a fountain. Right across from the plaza was a charming restaurant called Los Arcos. The food was very good, huge portions, and usual reasonable Mexican prices. We explored the town a bit more until it was time to meet our ride to the butterflies at the hotel.
This turned out to be very convenient. He gave us a ride to the butterfly refuge (Sierra Chinchua), waited for us in the parking lot, and took us back to the bus so we could go back to Zitacuaro. The road up out of Angangueo was very colorful, multi-colored houses, some pastures and cows. Then the road turned into a winding mountain road.
Entry to the refuge was very cheap, $2.25 per person. This included a guide! But we did give him a good tip upon return. They did give the option of riding a horse up, but we chose to walk. Our guide Roberto walked with us for about
an hour from the refuge entry up to the actual butterfly area. The trail was fairly flat in parts, steep in others. Colorful wildflowers lined the path, and there were a few spots with a nice overlook. The butterflies are at about 10,000 feet, so hiking can be a little difficult because of the altitude.
The butterflies were beautiful, sitting along the path, and on tree branches. There were long pods of dormant butterflies hanging together from tree limbs to stay warm. When the sun shines you can see them flying amongst the trees. But they will be more active when the weather gets warmer. Some were very tame; one sat on my finger. These guys fly down from the northern US and Canada in October or November. An amazing sight!
The guide took us down a different path, which was much easier and quicker. We found our waiting driver, got to the bus and were on our way back. We were the first ones on the bus, so got seats. Very different from our trip up from Zitacuaro. The bus was full, the aisle was packed, and some guys were hanging on by the door. We stood
in the aisle and hung on for the ride.
We got back to Zitacuaro, then got another bus back to Morelia. The bus was a little late, but we got back in the early evening in about four hours. We bought our bus tickets for Zihuatanejo, where we will be returning tomorrow.Then got a taxi back to our hotel, making sure it went to the hotel Plaza Morelia and not the shopping center.
We had a very nice dinner at an outdoor restaurant by the cathedral, a couple of blocks from the hotel. Back to the hotel, got a couple of extra blankets and settled in after a very busy, interesting day.
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Golf Captain
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The Hat
Tak - I see you let Margie where your lucky fishing hat. You should have worn that when we went smelt fishing.