TravelStream™ news feed for member jaguaru on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jaguaru en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:00:56 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1199491140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1199491140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1199491140/tpod.html Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:00:56 -0500 Mexico 2008

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Autlan, Mexico

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Autlan, Mexico

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Guadalajara, Mexico

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Guadalajara, Mexico

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Morelia, Mexico

I think I am allergic to Morelia; my nose will not stop running.

We met Luis Miguel at the front of another hotel off the plaza at 8:30 AM. I had contacted him previous via email (posted in my last entry) before leaving for Mexico, to which he was very cordial in his responses. He recognized my name when we met, and introduced himself to all of us with a handshake. The group that gathered was half Spanish speaking, half English speaking, and 11 of us English speakers (a couple of Denmark, a family of three from Columbia, and the 6 in my party), rode in a large van (small bus), with Luis as a driver.

Luis was very good. As we drove through the expansive valleys of Michuacan, he explained that these were all once shallow lakes that were drained by the Spanish for farming through a canal system. He also pointed out pockets of steam on the mountain sides and in the fields, evidence of geothermal activity. Apparently, there are turkish baths offered in the area, where according to Luis, "You'll stink like sulfur for days, but you will feel better." He related to us a bit of indigenous folklore, concerning a tall mountain we were driving towards, saying it was at this point that the prophecy was passed to a woman that the rulers of the land would be born in another land. On that same mountain there are colonies of butterflies (which Luis said he would make trips to on special request), leading anthropologists to believe that the pre-Columbian people were aware of the butterflies, but their civilization was so completely destroyed during the Spanish conquests that the knowledge was lost until scientists "rediscovered" those sites in the 1970's.

Luis had a curious habit of shouting out "Amigos! Parenthesis!" He might had an afterthought afterwards, but rarely would he close the parenthesis. Another Luisism was very academic, where he would say "Amigas, Amigos, a question..." which would be followed by an intellectual inquiry into what was the science behind he way things were. He is the Mexican, Dr. Bill Karasov.

I learned quite a bit about the countryside, but it got particularly interesting when we got off the highways and went through the small towns. Some houses looked like they were barely standing up, stray dogs on the streets, chickens and other livestock wandering around without fences. Here a man washing his clothes in a "warm" spring, there a couple washing their car in a cold spring. It made me introspective concerning the conflicting notions of people who say it is a "simpler and freer life without the hassles of money" and the idea that that might be romanticizing poverty. Whatever it is, it looks like a lot of hard work. It feels arrogant to me to say "It is fine that I have washing machines and running water, but for these people it would only burden them." Something to be explored, I suppose, and the only way to truly find out is talk to the people themselves. For that, I need to know Spanish, so for the moment I am left to wonder.

Enough introspection. Luis turned the van onto a cobblestone and brick road with a very steep incline. I am growing increasingly glad we didn't try driving this ourselves. We drove into El Rosario, where the people of the town own the mountain, and hence the sanctuary. We parked and were allowed to use the bathrooms before starting the hike.

A note about the bathrooms (and I promise not to talk about them too much in the blog), but the going price for using them is 3 pesos. At this particular bathroom you paid a woman at the front, and she rationed you some toilet paper and gave you a ticket. No seats on the toilets (as is common of most of the public rest rooms) and here, there is no running water either. Therefore, there are buckets by the tanks that you use to fill the toilets with water in order to flush. I can't tell you how much water I spilled on my feet, and wish to think less about what might have been in it.

Admission was included in the tour, and the hike up the mountain started on a dirt road flanked by primitive stalls. Some had a cast iron griddle over a wood fire, and tables set up within them. Others had some crafts for sale.

The climb seemed to go on for quite some time (about an hour and a half to the top). Altitude, and probably not being in the best shape didn't help (and my nose was continuing to run incessantly). Here and there Luis would stop to give us portions of the natural history of the butterflies, such as the four generations that it takes in one year, and the theory behind how the monarchs find their roosts again the following year. The farther up we'd go, the more butterflies we'd see. At first it was just two or three, then 5, to ten clustered. Each time we'd stop, Luis would scoff and say "That is nothing!" I was huffing and puffing by this point, and really glad I didn't smoke. The Danish woman had to stop less than half way up, unable to continue. I'd seen her smoking just prior to the trip. Then, at the crest of the hill, the trees stopped, and there was an arch. Beyond the arch I could see clear blue sky, and hundreds of butterflies zipping through the air. Luis called out "Heaven is on earth, friends." My legs didn't feel so tired any more and I caught my wind to hurry up the last couple of steps. Everywhere you looked there were monarchs flying. I couldn't speak. Puddles formed by due in the grass attracted countless numbers to form an orange blanket on the ground. I took video and pictures, and was thinking that I'd seen it all when Luis said, "This is wonderful, yes? But this is not it, yet, friends." More? Reluctant to leave the field, but eager to see the core of the colony, we continued up the mountain. Luis stopped at the edge of path and pointed through the trees to a spot about 100 meters away that looked like dead leaves hanging from the branches. That was the edge of teh colony core, but he said that was as close as we could get to it, given the concern the biologists had. It was awesome to see, but a bit disappointing to see how far off the trail it was. I'd imagined them closer. But then Luis points down a little worn path, barely noticeable, that goes off the trail and said there is a smaller colony that they are allowed to get close to. About 100 meters down the the trail, over a small stream, there it was. Giant trees laden in thousands upon thousands of butterflies. I admit I teared up. My hands were shaking. I'd dreamt of this since I was a little girl and first heard of these roosts, and here I was, finally. As the sun came out, Luis shouted, "Look, friends! Look up! Soemthing special is about to happen!" All at once, thousands of butterflies took flight. How do I describe the effect the sound of their wings the air like distant rain, the gold and orange in the sky, the feeling of soft wings bueffering against your skin, having a half dozen or so land on you at once? Awe inspiring doesn't start to scratch the surface. One of the best moments of my life gets close. We stayed with the butterflies for what felt like an hour, and then reluctantly started back. I thanked Luis profusely, but he replied saying it wasn't him, it was the butterflies. I thanked him anyways. After what was a relatively quick but painful climb down, we reached the dirt road and the stalls again. I was talking to the Danish man when suddenly there were seven to eight little boys following us, walking beside us and singing in unison. Luis had told us about this, warning that they did it to beg for coins, and often would take the coins to buy candy out of the supervision of their parents, which could cause serious problems in the future for them. Some, he conceded, might genuinely need the money, but it was difficult to say. I wanted to give them some coins, but decided that it might be best if I didn't. We met in an open air stall with a table and plastic chairs as well as a griddle. Luis brought us around grilled blue corn quesadillas to whet our appetites. This was rustic mountain food: a fire, a pan, and a cook. I had mole chicken, which was delicious, but didn't have the side of nopale which is prickly pear cactus strips I had hoped for. Luckily, Nicole shared. Yummy. Lunch was included with our tour, but the coke I had was not. It cost 10 pesos, and I went to pay the woman, but realized I didn't know how to say I wanted to pay for the coke I drank. Suddenly, I realized I was just saying it English, but louder. Ugh. Luis came to my rescue, but did I ever feel like a gringa. I was sure it wasn't going to be the last time.

We loaded back into the van, and began the three hour trek back to Morelia. Luis made a surprise stop though, exclaiming "Mandatory Bread!" We'd stopped at small bakery selling sweets and had ovens in the back with rows of fresh warm bread, a loaf costing just thirteen pesos. Sweet and wonderful. It was 7:10 by the time we got home, and made a meal out of the bread.

At a quarter to twelve, we went to the square to join in the New Years celebrations, only to find out there weren't any (as I suspected there wouldn't be). We bought some giant sparklers, six for ten pesos, lit them and shouted "Prospero Anjo!" to a TV crew. This was clearly the wrong thing to say as everyone else was saying "Felize Anjo!" Still gringos.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1199053560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1199053560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1199053560/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:34:05 -0500 Mexico 2008

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Morelia, Mexico

Our bus for Morelia leaves at 8:30 AM, so we rose birhgt and early to get ready. I walked down to the esk to check out. Everything was fine until the clerk began asking me a lot of questions about my desiret o make another reservation for when were came back to this area at the end of teh trip. After frantically looking into my phrase book, I apologized and said "Amigas hable Espanol." I know that's atrocious Spanish, but she understood me and nodded, smiling. Or she was just humoring me. I don't know. I ran back to get Lili and Kevin. Between them, we were able to get things arranged. Of course, this wasn't my last experience for the day with the language barrier. I got coffee at the bus station and once more ran into trouble. I think she didn't have change for my 20 pesos. I might have been short changed, but that's ok. I'm still learning. I'm still learning.

The bus is very nice; HUGE reclinging seats with padded leg rests that fold down and make it like a Lazy Boy recliner. They gave you a sandwich and a drink of your choice, along with headphones, and showed two movies. I can see a little of the landscape out of the windows. Low income houses with tin rooves on ranches of cattle on parched mountainous land.

We arrived in Morelia, and it appears the city has more wealth than Guadalajara. We took a cab to Hostel Allende which was on a very narrow street. The building is clearly old, nestled among the rows of other older stone structures on a narrow cobbled street. After some time to get the receptionist to take our reservation (he helped four people that just walked in front of us before helping us), we finally got one of our rooms as the other wasn't ready. We put our bags in the room and asked the recptionist how to get to where Luis Miguel López Alanís (mexmich@prodigy.net.mx), the Monarch Guide had suggested we go to get the tickets. This turned into a wild goose chase around the central plaza just a few blocks away from hostel with a gorgeous cathedral in the center, and me repeatedly telling Barbara that the kiosk we passed three times couldn't be teh right one, we finally tried to kiosk. What do you know? She was right. Mea culpa. We bought our tickets for $500 pesos a piece (appx $50 USD) and proceeded to take a ton of pictures of the cathedral and explore the little artisan shops. We decided we wanted to go check out the cathedral, so changed into pants and shoes. The cathedral had an english speaking tour guide, and it was really beautiful. I think it was started in the 1600's and completed in the 1700's. It has several famous pieces of art including a statue of Jesus. I t was originally constructed with Jesus on the cross looking to the heavens. But as it was constructed of bamboo and a waxy resin, the heat in Morelia caused the head to bow. This statue, with Jesus's head bowed on the cross became an iconic figure that is repeated throughout Catholicism now.

As we left the cathedral, we heard a clacking sound, and there were dancers in the center of the square. At the time I saw them I didn't know what they were about, but later I found out it was the "Old Person's Dance." They were very athletic, jumping and using their canes and wooden shoes for the percussion. We ended the day with dinner at Onyx, a swank Mexican fusion restaurant. The prices were comparable to a cheap night at TGI Fridays but the food was much higher end. I would definitely recommend it. We sat outside, the square lit up for Christmas, and musicians in the central gazebo. Little boys and girls would come up to our table every 10 minutes trying to sell us dolls. After dinner we watched the band for a while and then went to bed back at the hotel.

Thin walls = thanking God for ear plugs.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1198910940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1198910940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jaguaru/1/1198910940/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:26:07 -0500 Mexico 2008

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Guadalajara, Mexico

The flight from Midway was unremarkable ( ATA) though in the last moments of check in, Lili said we'd take the exit rows, which meant no reclining seats for 5 hours. She got a little razzin' for it, but all in all it was fine. My cold made the flight almost unbearable and I began to wonder if I'd taken too much tylenol. Would my liver be ok? I switched to Advil.

I should mention here that I am traveling with five other students at the moment, Lili, Mandy, Barbara, Nicole and Kevin. We will meet the rest of the students on January 2, 2008

Touch down in Guadalajara was gorgeous, pasing over a huge canyon and the mountains while the sun set. We arrived around 5:15 PM and got our first taste of what the country was going to be like with a language barrier. The announcements were completely in Spanish and very fast. Lili and Kevin speak a little Spanish, and I speak whatever I learned from Taco Bell commercials. Good grief. This was going to be hard.

After getting some pesos and a cab, we made our way to the hotel Serena Terminal, though our cab driver offered to take us straight to Morelia. The weather was pleasant, 70's when we landed, and in the 60's when we got to the hotel. We are on the outskirts of the city, towards the south east near the New Bus Station. The neighborhood is definitely marginal but feels safe. I saw no sky scrapers, just a lot of small brick and block houses, with businesses going up the hills like steps. The traffic was nuts, turn signals optional, and merging happening without warning. I'm really glad we didn't drive. Many buildings appear abandoned, and some look older than others.

We checked into the hotel and went to our rooms. They are very modest; 2 queen beds in one room and a simple futon couch in the other. It is threadbare but clean, and has two full bathrooms coming off of each room. We designated one the "I drank the water" bathroom.

After checking in, we went to get some food. Along the street many stands of people were cooking unidentified meets in simple tents that reminded me of state fair. Some smelled good, some not so good. Some where cooking directly out of the back of their vans. We found a small strip of what looked like more permanent stands (though still open air and simple, plastic chairs and tables), each cooking with what looked liked various chopped meats as quesadillas or tacos. We chose one with the most people at it (do as the locals do, and all), and sat down. They didn't speak any English, so we were determined to try Spanish. I looked at the menu and suddenly realized how tough this was going to be. There was a list of meats, and I went down the list with Kevin.."What's Cabesa?" Head (do not want) Sesos? Brains (definitely not). Tripitas I knew was tripe and I didn't want that. "Kevin, what's Ojo or Lengua?" "Eye and Tongue." I saw chorizo like a godsend, and ordered that. At least I knew what to expect. I know, I chickened out, but I wasn't quite ready for that kind of adventure. It came with onions and cilantro, which we were all hesitant about as we were told to avoid all raw vegetables given you didn't know what kind of water they were washed in. It was impossible to avoid them though, and I ended up psyching myself out for the rest of the night, sure I was going to get sick. Whaddaya know? I survived.

We walked back and bought our bus tickets ($300 pesos a person/ roughly $30) to go to Morelia the next day. Barbara and I bought our first beers at the hotel bar (Dos Equis). When it came time to pay though, I was very proud of myself for asking in Spanish how much did it cost? Oh, but then he answered in Spanish, and we both gave him blank looks then looked back at each other. was it 4? was it 45? Giving us an annoyed look, he says flatly in perfect English "Five Dollars." Oy. I'm still learning, right? It will get easier. I keep telling myself that.
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