Arriving at Cerro Pelon

November 6, 2018 by Ellen Sharp

Usually in late October the “viento de los muertos” blows through our valley to take the clouds away and mark the transition from the rainy season to the dry season. Last year the wind was so strong it ripped off pieces of neighbors’ roofs and almost sent the water tank on our roof flying. But this year, the winds never came. Cloudy skies and rainy weather continued until today, November 6, when finally we awoke to a gloriously clear day.

Three of the Butterflies and Their People arborists, Oswaldo, Leonel and Jose Carmen, were at work in Carditos on Cerro Pelon when they saw their first monarch flying overhead. From 2:52 pm until 3:15 pm they saw an average of one monarch per minute fly by for a total of 25 monarchs. They managed to take a picture of one.

Meanwhile down in the valley in Macheros, the entry to Cerro Pelon, we caught sight of one monarch at 3:53 pm. At 3:54 we spotted our second. At 4:01, the third. And then nothing. We’re hoping that the weather will hold and tomorrow will bring more of the monarchs that so many have been sighting to the north of us.