MEXICO, January 2009, from Monarchs in Michoacan right across to Grey Whales in Baja California, an itinerary devised by Mike Williams and led by Eric Miranda

​

Tuesday 6 January: overnight at Heathrow The temperature was reading -10º when I arrived for my overnight stop.

 

Wednesday 7 January: outward bound

Up at 5am after a fitful night to a light dusting of snow. Waited for Mike and the others at the Continental check-in only to discover that our flight had been cancelled! Re-routed on a later flight via Newark departing at 12.35pm so hung around airside for the rest of the morning. Had a decent breakfast at Garfunkels though.

 

Arrived at a wet and cold Newark at 4.30pm local time. Took over an hour to get through immigration. Suitcase failed to turn up so made the necessary declarations before proceeding to the transit desk. The transit queue was long and barely moved so that we had no chance to make the connection to Mexico. We were given vouchers for the local Holiday Inn and $26 to spend on food and sent to catch the hotel shuttle. Utter chaos! ‘this bus – no that bus – vouchers/not with vouchers – oh, it is the first bus after all – where are we going? This is the Sheraton. Yes, get off here – but our vouchers are for the Holiday Inn. Don’t worry, get off here’ etc etc. As it turned out the Sheraton was a better hotel but had no catering so we walked the short to the Holiday Inn for a late dinner. Got to the room around 10.45pm NY time but nobody had adjusted my body clock (+ 5 hours). Shared with Tony. Crazy start!

 

Thursday 8 January: still outward bound

Slept well until 4am and dozed for another hour, caught the 6am hotel shuttle back to P1 at Newark. Strange not to be dragging a suitcase. It was a cold, dry morning as we entered T’C’ and made rapid progress through check-in. Plenty of time for a coffee, croissant, and banana before surveying the Manhattan skyline, and the Citi #1 tower, catching the 8.20 flight to Mexico City due to arrive at 1.00pm. Compared to yesterday’s debacle, today had been just the opposite.

 

Mexico welcomed us half-an-hour ahead of schedule in warm sunshine through the haze. At 2,400m this must be amongst the highest airports in the world. Our guide Eric Miranda and his driver Alberto met us in arrivals and we got away in two vehicles around 2.15pm, minus one suitcase. Downtown Mexico City is just like any other major metropolis and I was just thinking how much it resembled the Paris périphique around St Denis when I saw the sign ‘perifico’! Once clear of the city, the central plain was parched yellow being the long since remains of the corn monoculture. A late lunch stop at a roadside typical Mexican restaurant was our first real introduction to Mexican people and they made a great impression! Anybody would have thought we were visiting dignitaries given the way the waiters all leapt into action. Lunch was aloe soup with cheese, ‘rice water’ (very good), and sheets of great crackling – carnitas - for sticking in various dips.

 

At last our first hotel – the Rancho las Margaritas – set in its own lawned and wooded grounds was reached around 5pm. A quick purchase of toiletries (like a yellow handled Bic razor, a relic from the Mesolithic) followed, then an evening wander. Mike Busby kindly lent me a pair of pants, a shirt and some socks. Pre-dinner beers at 7.30pm, dinner at 8, and bed by 10. It was noticeable that the temperature had fallen sharply during dinner, but we were at 2,500m!

 

Friday 9 January: Valle de Bravo

Got a good 7 hours sleep then dozed for two more. Breakfast at 8 then off at 9 heading down into the valley for an hour or so through the small and smart town of St Thomas. Eric turned down a dusty dead-end track and duly stopped. Butterflies were seen at once, the Zebra Heliconid being perhaps the most noticeable. The group split naturally and each group headed-down into adjacent valleys. Mine led to a levada and a small river where the parched vegetation supported a surprisingly large variety of species. The sun was quite hot, c25º I reckoned.

 

We left at 12.45pm via St Thomas to a picnic spot by the waterfall next to the hydro plant where a freshly emerged Gulf Fritillary was probably the pick of the new butterflies and where a Monarch flew through. The lakeside town of Valle de Bravo with its catholic church and pleasing square offered the chance for me to buy a few clothes but the outdoor shop was very expensive and all the other clothes shops I could find catered only for women. I wasn’t yet that desperate! I joined the others for a quick sambuca before resuming my shop. Returning to the Rancho by 6pm, Bob kindly lent me his sandals for the duration (I don’t wear sandals, but how could I refuse the amiable Bob?!) and at 7.30 we left for the lakeside floating restaurant ‘Lago Avondara’: the evening was pleasant, but no other diners put in an appearance. Into bed by 11pm.

 

Saturday 10 January: transit west to Tlalpujahua

Away by 9am for the long journey to destination #2, the unpronounceable Tlalpujahua, our base camp for the ascent on Monarchs. We pulled-in at Lago Vellavictoria for the benefit of the birders on a cold dry morning. A huge flock of American Wigeon plus an odd Pintail were on the water, and Giant White Egrets didn’t appear bothered by the litter-strewn and foul-looking shoreline. A Grounhog made a brief and startled appearance a hundred yards away. There was nothing here for the lepidopterists.

 

Our lunch stop was in the middle of nowhere, an old farm in the early stages of refurbishment by Victor and his hospitable wife, Michelle. After a tour of the hillside surrounding Rancho Los Cedros we lunched al fresco on Michelle’s soup and salads whilst chef Eric barbecued some chicken. The hibiscus drink was excellent, dished-out from large jugs. Four butterfly species visited the muddy edge of the fish pond, including the delightful Dainty Sulphur. Victor and some compadres offered us a couple of different tequilas to try in one of the barns in-conversion, and they were excellent. This was a fitting end to a lovely relaxed lunchtime. At 3.30pm we said our farewells and headed back along the dusty track.

 

Just outside Tlalpujahua we stopped at the disused gold mine Estrella (2,800m) and ventured the 200 yards along the old entrance tunnel. The small museum containing artefacts, paintings, and documents was fascinating. Eventually we arrived at the colourful and quaint Hotel el Mineral close to the town centre and I stuck-in a load (small) of washing before beers in front of the roaring log fire and dinner a short walk down the road at the restaurant, Quinta la Huerta. A very pleasant evening crowned with another sambuca brought a long day to an end. But still no news on the suitcase…

 

Sunday 11 January: Monarchs, part 1

Breakfast was scheduled at the Quinta at 8am but staff were clearly unprepared for our arrival and it was not until 9.20pm that we drove out of the town on the 45-minute journey to the Monarch sanctuary at Sierra de Chincua 3,200m above sea level. The night had been cold but we had a sunny start. The last few km were slow and bumpy along tracks managed by the local communities who also controlled the sanctuaries. We decided to walk the 2k to the site through the pine forest rather than hire a horse. The butterflies were initially very hard to see, in fact, impossible, our guide saying to us 'there they are, can't you see them?' but initially we just seemed to be staring at natural pine tree trunks as the butterflies all had their wings closed and there was no orange colour to see, and by now there was no sun either and it was pretty cool. A local Ranger allowed us access to a roped-off colony and we spent the rest of the morning there, initially picking our way through the litter of dead insects until we became accustomed to what we were doing. Many butterflies were struggling to get airborne but after no more than a few seconds on a warm hand they would lift-off and fly weakly to some better location. Lunch was taken around 2.30pm in one of the wooden shacks around the compound by the car park but I didn’t have much appetite.

 

The hotel was reached by 5.30pm and last night’s routine was followed again.

 

Monday 12 January: Monarchs, part 2

Awoke to a cloudy overcast day but at least the room was warmer. Breakfast in the hotel before leaving for El Rosario. Some 2½ hours later, the latter part being very bumpy and dusty trying to lose a carload of four free-loading middle-aged Americans. (Staying at our hotel they’d asked Eric if they could come with us today. He said he’d organise a separate car and the price would be 1,500 pesos. Instead they’d found a cheaper deal but with a driver who didn’t know the way. Could he follow us?! This sanctuary is more formal than yesterday’s – big business in fact – and the long climb up steep steps was quite taxing, quite breathless at times. The sanctuary was heavily marshalled and the path roped-off. There were many more Monarchs on the wing today even though the sun appeared only fleetingly, maybe for no more than 10 minutes. Hummingbirds were seen on the ascent but no other butterfly species. Got back down to the car park by 3pm and had a late lunch and beer in one of the shacks. Bought t-shirts for Isabel and Sophia. The temperature chilled-off and by 4pm the rain had started just as we were about to depart. It was only a light shower though.

 

Back on the outskirts of Tlalpujahua we called-in at the local (famous) pottery and were all kept in our places by a single guard-goose. Should have video’d some of the antics. Some lovely pieces but nothing that really caught my eye. I’d been after a plate but the only one I was remotely interested in was far too big to bring back. Arrived at the hotel around 6.20 thoroughly weary. Mike lent me a polo shirt and a pair of trousers whilst my jeans went around in the wash. After a beer at the fireside we dined again at our usual place, this time a pasta dish prepared by Eric. Back at the hotel, around the fire again, Mike, Tony, Bob, David and I sampled a couple of tequilas before bed around 11.30pm.

 

Tuesday 13 January: long transit west to Tacambaro

Cockerels and clanky bells again at 6.15am and out of bed an hour later to pack (quite quick these days). Popped into town to visit the ATM and Cathedral for some townscapes before we got underway around 10. Warm and sunny. Bumped over the ubiquitous and frequent urban sleeping policemen and joined Highway 15, an empty dual-carriageway through low density population, dry yellow fields and green wooded hillsides and made good progress. After an hour and a half we pulled onto the hard shoulder alongside Lago de Cuitzeo to do some bird-watching: Little Blue Heron, Great White Egrets and a family of Jacanas. The traffic was heavy into and through the lovely old historic town/city of Morelia with many fine old buildings. By now it was hot and dry - 25º+ I’d say. 

 

Lunch was taken quite late at the Rancho la Mesa overlooking part of the vast hazy Lago Patzcuaro and I managed to get some good photos of inactive Dainty Sulphurs. We got underway again at 3.45pm accompanied by a few drops of rain. One hour 20 later we pulled down a track to the cold, desolate, litter-strewn, overgrazed and windy side of the same lake somewhere near its western extremity. In fading light around 5.45pm we set-off once more and passed our lunch stop on the way (we’d made a complete loop somehow!) arriving at 7.25 in the dark at our next hotel, the Mansion del Molino on the edge of Tacambaro. This was the most upmarket hotel so far and I noticed that the single room tariff was 550 pesos per night, about £30. It had once been an old mill and still retained some of its old equipment and features.

​

Wednesday 14 January: Arroyo Frio

Up at 6.45am to a cacophony of cockerels, still not light, for a 7.30 breakfast. Caught a Hummingbird trapped against one of the windows. Off just after 9am for the relatively nearby valley of Arroyo Frio. This turned-out to be one of the highlights of the trip, and we stayed there for most of the day. A relatively small area, this was butterfly-rich territory. The afternoon ended with a spectacular display of three of the morpho-blue-like Two-spotted Preponas and the eventual capture and photographing of one. Blomfild’s Beauties were coming in to roost on the trunks and branches of willow trees. Sand flies, or similar, feasted unnoticed on everybody’s hidden forearms with differing levels of subsequent irritation. Fortunately, my rash of bites didn’t itch at all. As we left around 3.40pm it was still sunny and hot but the sun was beginning to dip and it was clear that the butterflies had already called it a day. On the way back we stopped ten minutes later at the volcanic crater lake of Alberica but it was in complete shade with a solitary distant Kingfisher the only real point of interest.

 

Returned to the hotel by 5.20pm and strolled into town on my own in search of some trousers but couldn’t find any I liked or that were my size. Bought a shirt instead. Dinner was very good again. 

 

Thursday 15 January: long transit, still westwards, to Uruapan

Up at 6.45, just getting light, but a cloudy morning. Breakfast at 7.30 and away a couple of hours later in cool and overcast conditions. Our first stop happened at 10.30 in the copper town of Santa Claira to visit one of the many foundries and manufacturing shops. (En route we’d passed through Opopeo that specialises in making chairs). Stop number 2 was for a late morning coffee at the lakeside Zirahuen restaurant stopping for lunch around 1.30 at a roadside café on main street Tingambato – bit of a cowboy frontier town feel to the place. It’s name means ‘the place of the mild weather’. Enjoyed a stuffed chilli pepper. Only stopped for half an hour weaving our way through the colourfully festooned streets (celebrating a strong Nativity tradition that is associated with this town) stopping again shortly after at the ancient pyramid site of Tacambero.  Interesting only because it was the first construction of its type/era that I’d ever seen but otherwise underwhelming. We left as the rain came around 3.15pm.

 

An hour later we arrived in a downpour at our next hotel – the very smart 5-star Mansion del Cupatitzio adjacent to the National Park on the north-west edge of Uruapan. Quite how such a place fits in with the nature and price structure of our trip was hard to fathom, but a bit of luxury was OK! When the rain stopped around 4.30pm 7 of us ventured into the lush tropical Park for an hour’s stroll: I returned ahead of the rest prompted by blackening skies and thunder, aware that I wasn’t exactly over-supplied with clothes. The Park looks wonderful – I felt I could easily spend a whole sunny day there.

 

Relaxed until dinner at 8 watching some Al Pacino gangster movie in the room. Posh nosh and twice the price of everything hitherto. Single room I,460 pesos (c£80). Noticed that there was a long table of Germans and I commented quietly to Tony and Mike that ‘the 5th Panza Division is here’. But obviously not quietly enough as, when we joined the buffet queue, the chap in front turned round and said, ‘Actually we’re a group of Swiss farmers from Wintherthur!’ We all had a good laugh about it. 

 

Friday 16 January: around Uruapan and Paricutin

A buffet breakfast – by far the best type – at 7.30. the cloudy and cool start to the day doesn’t augur well. But an hour later some patchy sun had arrived, so fingers crossed! We walked into the National Park again at 8.45am but it remained sunless until 10.30 heralding the appearance of Magnificent Swallowtails by the main entrance. An hour later we took the vehicles to another part of the park lower down the valley some 40 minutes away through heavy traffic to the Tzaratacua waterfalls. En route I noticed for the first time the orange or yellow Monarch-banded car number plates for Michoacan state and it was pleasing to hear Mexican songs and music being played on car radios and from shops.

 

The walk down many steps to the waterfalls that appear half way up the massive rock face, presumably a junction of two lava flows, produced few butterflies in the overcast conditions although a Fantastic Skipper, a white, and xxxxx put in an appearance around the horse corral. A fresh coconut drink was welcome on the return at the top of the steps. We got away sometime after 2.15 and had a late trout lunch at the restaurant opposite the hotel whilst the heaven’s opened but we managed to time our departure coincidental with its end.

 

Although a bit late in the day, we remounted our vehicles at 4pm and headed off for the distant Paricutin (whose name means ‘makes us travel’ i.e. it displaced us). The local community taps pine trees for resin – just like for rubber – all the way through the 21k bumpy dusty trail! It seemed like an eternity to get there. The volcano steamed quietly in the distance and in fading light. We drove through the black jagged lava flows and visited the engulfed church. Three ravens flew from the lone tower, very atmospheric! I scrambled across the difficult terrain to the altar-end which remains visible as if protected from the lava. Tony asked me if I now believed in God. ‘No?!’ I replied.

​

Now dusk, 6.45pm, we headed back to the hotel, fortunately not back the way we had come. Eric would probably have had a riot to deal with had there been no alternative. The hotel was reached at 8.25 and we all went straight into dinner. This had been a long and quite eventful day.

 

Saturday 17 January: long transit to Guadalajara

Heavy rain had woken me in the small hours crashing on the windows and ground but the day had dawned sunny. Our breakfast at 8am was prior to a departure at 10am for Guadalajara. We decided to spend a final hour in the Uruapan Park before setting off to take advantage of the sun.

 

On the road finally by 11am pulling-in a couple of hours later at the National Park of Lago Camecuaro for an hour’s boat trip. Some time later we stopped at the stand-alone La Canada restaurant just before Jiquilpan and had our best lunch yet, surrounded by a party of very attractive Mexican chicks. Some consolation I suppose. Managed a bit of fruitful butterflying in the adjacent parched patch before getting underway again at 5pm. We were to stop again at the edge of Mexico’s largest lake, Lagouna de Chapala, a truly fantastic birding spot where I also managed to find a very small fritillary.

 

In fading light we set off again around 6.30 with still a long way to go. But then we stopped again at the lakeside in the dusk and walked down a long causeway into the marsh watching White Pelicans and Night Hawks taking insects on the wing. By now it was dark and it was not until 9.35pm that we reached our hotel in the second city. How a stranger could ever find their way through the chaotic and fast-moving sea of vehicular metal that constitutes Guadalajara’s traffic is a mystery. Our hotel, the 5 star El Tapatio, was very grand – apparently the best in the city – perched high on (probably) a volcanic plug like a bullseye with 360º views across the massive city. Shame really because we had arrived in the dark and would depart in the dark. We went down for dinner at 10, endured the over-loud pianist, and I put out my light at 11.50. 

 

Sunday 18 January: flight to La Paz

The alarm rang at 5.45am and we were off for the airport at 6.30 for the 8.50am Volartis flight to La Paz. Queuing was chaotic at the airport with people jumping lines and helping themselves through and under the cordons. In any event we arrived airside by 8am. Coffee! The 90-minute flight touched down on time at 9.30, La Paz being 7 hours behind GMT. Just as we were about to drive away, the Police held us up to check that Eric had the necessary tourist papers/permit and then inspected a sample of passports, mine included, for some reason or other. Eventually off by 10.45 and agreeably arriving at the Hotel Perla on the sea front some 10 minutes later. Time, at last, for breakfast at the adjacent open-sided restaurant. A brunch in fact – I enjoyed the ‘combinacion rancho’ – after which several of us took a walk along the prom until 1pm in warm sunshine.

 

At 2.30pm the minibus set-off up the north-facing promontory for a boat trip around Islas Espiritu Santu but when we got there the trip was too expensive and would take four hours. So we spent the afternoon exploring the dune and desert vegetation/saline scrub which I enjoyed immensely. But I was kicking myself for not having brought the Pentax as I didn’t want to take it on the boat, but my Olympus was to hand and served me very well. Lesson – always take the Pentax!! Surprisingly floriferous and with some excellent butterflies, notably the tiny Western Pygmy Blue, the smallest butterfly I’ve ever seen and a bugger to follow when it flew, Southern Dog-face, and Howarth’s White. The latter two found incredible camouflage as the photos attest. Each species was tracked forensically to its resting point but several times I was unable to locate the insect until my hand would disturb it when no more than a couple of inches away! We departed at 5pm and 40 minutes later reached the hotel.

                                                     

Having some spare time before drinks/dinner I located the nearby MAS supermarket and bought a small suitcase, some underwear, jeans and a couple of shirts. Dinner was taken at a kerbside Taco restaurant not far from the hotel and very good it was too. Back at the hotel I surfed the net for half an hour, discovered that Continental had still not found my case......

 

Monday 19 January: across the spit to Puerto San Carlos Lopez Mateos

Another early reveillé at 6.30 for breakfast at 7. Off at 8.30 westwards some 250k across the spit to Magdalena Bay some three hours away in light drizzle for the first half of the journey. The road traversed an eternity of cactus scrub with some deep ravines cut into what appeared to be a huge raised beach and I would love to have had a chance to go a wandering amongst it. Crested Caracas and Ospreys sat atop tall cacti and the specially installed nesting platforms on top of power pylons. After 2½ hours we pulled-up at a gas station for a coffee in the town of Constitucion. Our next hotel was reached just after 12.30pm and provided a shock to the system – not only did the nearby sardine factory emit a strong fishy pong but my bathroom was filthy – mucky soaptrays, grubby washbasin, dubious-looking shower floor – hope the bed’s OK!

                                            

Left soon after to take a boat for a couple of hours in search of Grey Whales +/- calves and were successful – fantastic experience to witness the vast creatures no more than 20m away. Once again, the local community (of fishermen) controlled the tourist rights to the Bay ensuring that income remained ‘at source’. A late lunch at the Sandra’s Bar restaurant next to the motel was followed by 4 of us visiting the mangrove heath surrounding the town and found some new species – Common and, I think, Mangrove Buckeyes, Grey Hairstreak, Great Southern White, and a couple of skippers. Picked-up a nice shell too. Latterly merged with Mike and made our way around the shore to the jetty where Bob and Tony were deep in chat sitting on the railing in the evening glow. All of us watched the sun go down casting a sequence of lovely colours.

 

Back to the room for 6.30 ahead of dinner at 7. I bought the beers as a ‘thank you’ to everybody who’d lent me stuff or offered assistance of some kind. Afterwards, in the dark seven of us strolled through the shanty fishing dwellings to the chorus of yapping dogs until we arrived at the shore but the various torches didn’t illuminate anything of interest, so we retraced our route to the hotel. The stars were amazing – don’t think I’ve ever noticed such a density before.

 

Tuesday 20 January: more whales, then back to La Paz

The factory hooter summoned the faithful workers at 8.50 and again five minutes later. We took another boat at 9am piloted by Hector, a local clam fisherman, this time southwards down the channel towards the Bay of San Carlos and were due to be out for four hours. The day had dawned bright after a chilly night. Hector brought us sensitively close to a Grey Whale and pointed out a pair of Dolphins that put in a brief appearance. He also beached on the Isla Magdalena in Mediterranean-hot sun where we spent a great half-hour finding surprising floral and butterfly riches! The place was alive with Grey Hairstreaks, long-tailed skippers, Queens, and Silver-banded Hairstreaks – fantastic, and probably my highlight of the trip. As commented before, I would have stayed here for the rest of the day if I could have done!

                                                                     

Back to the jetty at 1.30pm – good value for money – we lunched again at Sandra’s and I took the opportunity to nip to the factory gates to photograph an Osprey on its nest. A pair had been there but only one remained when I arrived. On the return leg, at my request, we stopped in the cactus scrub for a short break and, once again, were surprised by the butterfly fauna. Although not great, we identified another couple of species new to the trip and this was despite the volume of spiders’ webs that seemed to obstruct every flight path! The cactus scrub had been cleared extensively around Constitucion and irrigated very successfully for agriculture – no doubt the shape of things to come….

 

Back at the Perla spot-on 7pm for a round of icy cold marguerites before the final dinner at a very good French restaurant a short walk away. 

 

Wednesday 21 January: the long trek east…

Up at 4.10am, off at 4.30 for the airport on deserted roads, slightly delayed by an encounter with a female drunk and the need to shuffle the vehicles to get ours out of the car park. The airport was largely deserted too when we turned-up at 5.10 with no staff yet on duty. Our 6.30 flight to Mexico City left on time and the topography below was fantastic – black volcanic ridges and peaks set amongst buff and tawny plains – with a volcano smoking on the east of Mexico City visible above the yellow smog. Terminal 2 looks new, is very smart, and was crowd-free.

 

The rest of the trip went like clockwork, including a smooth passage through immigration at Houston. Even the Heathrow experience was a good one with bags coming off the carousel right on time. Got home around 9am to be welcomed by Jean and a cuppa.

 

Postscript

Around 7.30pm on Thursday 26 February, exactly 5 weeks since returning, my suitcase was delivered intact to home! It was good to be reunited with various items of clothing but especially with the gifts from my girls – the Swiss Army knife from Alice, a fleece from Charlie this Christmas, a head torch from Liz, and a sweater from Jean.  All’s well…