Submitted by Susan Meyers and Trecia Neal
Travel
Week: February 13-20, 2010
Because of road closures and conflicting reports about the safety conditions
at El Rosario sanctuary and the town of Angangueo, we decided again not
to risk visiting the area this week.
February
17: A Wet, Cold Visit to Chincua
Our
Monarchs Across Georgia group of eighteen teachers and butterfly
enthusiasts left Morelia early Ash Wednesday morning. The grey skies and
rain did not dampen our spirits as today would be our first visit of the
week to a butterfly sanctuary! We traveled by bus 2 ½ hours through
Maravatio and Santa Maria, arriving at Sierra Chincua around noontime.
The gentle rain did not subside as we ate our lunch and the cold winds
at this mountain reserve had us gathering our winter coats, gloves and
rain gear to ride on horseback for 25 minutes into the forest where the
monarchs awaited.
Along the trail we saw evidence of small mudslides and downed trees due to the recent rains. A muddy “creek” ran over the trail where we dismounted and had to walk the remaining distance to the colony. The monarchs were in the same location as last week but hung tightly clustered high in the trees like beehives, they swayed in the breezes. From our restricted point of view on the trail, we saw little evidence of mortality but wondered what a walk under the clusters might reveal.
Although a spectacular sight, our stay was short as wet gear and cold temperatures chilled hands and feet to the point of aching.
More rain was predicted for Thursday, February 18, but clear skies were in the forecast for Friday, February 19, so we postponed our visit to the butterfly colony at Cerro Pelon.
February
19: Sun and Fluttering Butterflies
We
were awakened several times during the night by heavy rainfall but as
morning broke, we actually caught glimpses of blue sky and a rainbow appeared
which made us hopeful that our trek to Cerro Pelon would be “brighter”
than that to Sierra Chincua.
Delivering
Books to the Community
A short drive from Jungapeo, crossing the border into the state of Mexico,
we arrived at Macheros. Books, school supplies and special bookmarks,
posters and letters from students in the USA brought smiles to the faces
of students at the “Vincente Guerrero” school and tears of
joy to the teachers who delivered these tokens of goodwill. Besides seeing
the monarchs, this is our favorite activity each year!
After our traditional trout lunch at Rosa’s, we mounted our steeds and rode 50 minutes up the mountainside through the beautiful pristine forest. We noted evidence of small mudslides and downed trees from the recent rains along the trail and our guide reported that two days ago, it had snowed atop the mountain of Cerro Pelon.
The
Butterflies
When we arrived at our final destination, it was 2:00 p.m. and large white
fluffy clouds were moving quickly through the sunny skies. The monarchs
were in the same place as last week but today, thousands of them were
posed eerily all over the ground, shivering and slowly crawling upwards
onto whatever object was close to them. At one place on the trail we observed
a couple standing quietly that were covered with butterflies – on
their heads, shirts and pants!
As we sat and observed monarchs flying in the sunlight of the canyon, hanging in clusters on oyamel and pine trees, and crawling along the ground, we witnessed on several occasions, thousands take flight at the moment when a cloud blocked out the sun. How spectacular to see and hear the flurry of so many orange and black wings!
Although we have not seen an official report of the quantity of monarchs at Cerro Pelon, our guide estimated that the colony was about 1 hectare in size. The temperature during our visit was 51 degrees F and humidity was at 66%.
Buenos dias to the following schools!
- DeKalb County, GA: Fernbank Science Center, Briarlake Elementary, Smokerise Elementary, and Huntley Hills Elementary.
- Douglas County, GA: Eastside Elementary, Arbor Station Elementary, New Manchester Elementary.
- Worth County, GA: Worth County Primary
- Rockdale County, GA: Rockdale County JH House.
- Canastota Central School District, NY: Peterboro Street Elementary from their teachers that traveled with us this week.
- Hola tambien to members of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Southeast Michigan Butterfly Association.
Susan Myers and Trecia Neal
For more information about the Books to Mexico program, see the Monarchs Across Georgia website. |