MONARCA MARIPOSA MAGICA

Fluttered out early this morning, 3 hour bus to the mountain town of Angangueo (ann-gan-GAY-o), mining silver since the 1500's but now mining fame as the biggest wintering home of Monarch butterflies ("Monarca mariposas") in the world. The town is at 8,000 feet altitude to begin with, then you have to climb another steep 2,000 feet to the UNESCO reserve. This is the altitude of small aircraft! Lots of huffing and puffing, but info signs along the way give you an excuse to stop and read (real slowly!) while you recover.

The old-growth pine forest and cool fresh air is reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies. But  on the way up, orange-and-black visions wing past ---  first in singles then in hundreds, then thousands, then in today's official estimate of ten million butterflies! The effect is totally magical, like being in a cloud of silent random new friends. They clump to absorb the moisture of mud ponds. They clump to share warmth in low branches. They flutter like burlesque queens daring you to get closer. One does, landing on Pat's knee.

We have the luck of the angels to experience this without another soul in sight. Mesmerizing, awesome. These butterflies are the 5th generation of the ones we hosted in our garden in the spring of 2102! The generations have together covered over 4,500 miles to spend the winter and mate here. Then the cycle starts again. Overwhelming to think we will see the great-great-grandchildren in the spring of 2014, feeding on the milkweed by our steps. Today will be remembered as the high point of this trip, in more ways than one. An absolutely magical wonder of the world.