January 8, 2019 - More butterflies in Michuacan

I’m feeling a bit better and go down to breakfast! There is orange juice, fresh papaya with yogurt and granola, and scrambled eggs with bacon or ham and beans. Everyone is so pleased to see me;  it makes me feel all warm and happy!  We aren’t leaving until noon, so that the butterflies have time to warm up and take to the skies.  It’s great to have some down time.  The kids go exploring in the little town and everyone seems happy to have a break, especially after climbing the pyramids and the steep trail yesterday.

Perfect location for monarch viewing!

There is so much color everywhere!

It’s a fairly short ride to Sanctuary de el Rosario, and this is obviously one of the premiere sites.  There is a serious welcome sign and lots of little shops.  But the big giveaway is that we are already seeing more butterflies on the walk up than we saw all day yesterday!  There is a little creek and there’s just a stream of butterflies down it and stopping to get a drink!

Before we start the adventure we stop for lunch at the little restaurant by the entrance.  We’re sitting right next to the little cooking area and lunch is yummy.  I had mushroom soup and there were more mushrooms than broth!

Mushroom soup!

I believe they're making more monarchs!

And we're not even in the sanctuary yet!

Kathleen doesn’t want to risk another horse ride and hike, so she stays behind; but she leaves the van to that Adan can come with us.  (Another tip off that this is going to be quite the experience!)

We walk up the boardwalk, past the shops, and arrive at the place where the horses are waiting for us.  It is a bit easier to mount the horses here and each one has it’s one handler. At one point my mount wants to go a bit faster and his handler disappears behind us!  Turns out he’s pulling the horse’s tail to slow him down!

It’s only a twenty-minute ride and the path is quite smooth, so the whole experience is much nicer than yesterday.  Dismounting is kind of a trick;  but my handler is so helpful and kind!  There is a WWF guide who accompanies us on the smooth and nearly-level path.  He tells us where to stop for the best views and reminds us not to speak above a whisper and to always look down when we’re walking.

Riding through clouds of butterflies!  Wish I could have taken both hands off the saddle and gotten you a better picture!

There are no words to describe the emotion of seeing the clouds of monarchs filling the skies and encrusting the trunks of the trees.  Several of our group are moved to tears.  Wherever you look they are all around us! Marilyn describes it as snow flurries of monarchs!

Even though we could stay here all day, it is time to head back and we mount up for the return trip.  My handler stops to take my photo, but it doesn’t come out.  That’s okay;  I know what I’ve done!  When we get back Ginger tips everyone and we wander back, checking on all the little shops.  This is the ideal place for souvenirs because it’s hard to imagine anything else on the trip matching this experience.

On the way home we stop to see the remains of an old aquaduct.

Back to our hotel and dinner will be at 7:30.  It appears that we are the only ones eating, since they tailor that schedule to our needs!  I’m feeling like I might be able to eat something so I come down There is an appetizer with half an avocado with corn and grated carrots, then a soup with a tomato base and some kind of pasta strips. Then came a choice of meatballs or breaded chicken.  I was going to skip the entree but Fred and Marissa assure me that they’ve got my back!  I have a couple of bites and pass my plate across the table.  It all disappears eventually, I think Fred had one of the giant meatballs and Adan had the other!  Then came fresh strawberries and cream for dessert! I can’t finish those, either, but I didn’t get a taste!  I’ve been shivering all through dinner and finally move down by the fire.  That feels really good!

After dinner we go back up to our room and I take off my shoes and jeans, put on my jammie bottoms and crawl into bed.  It’s going to feel so good to finally get warm.  I hope we have heat tomorrow night.  We’ll be in Morelia for four nights and I really need a shower!  I’ve just been too cold to get undressed and get wet!  I’m sure I’ll feel better soon - but it’s been worth everything to have seem the butterflies!!  Tomorrow is another day!