Puentes

Mexico is the queen of the three-day weekend. Here they are called "puentes", literally small bridges of vacations that help the hard-working Mexican survive the long tedious 10-11 hour-work days.  The other Fulbrighters and I have completely adapted to this fabulous culture. We take full advantage of our 3-day vacations and travel as much as our teacher's salaries can afford (and our credit limits). The February 5th puente celebrates Constitution Day, bringing about a much needed break; my friend Michelle and I set off to Michoacan to see the Monarch butterflies who migrate from Wisconsin to this part of Mexico every year. The butterflies have been on my list of things to see ever since my niece caught a caterpillar last fall. She kept it for a few weeks and watched it bloom into a butterfly. She set it free in September, and off to Mexico it flew.

Michelle is also a Fulbright teacher. She teaches Spanish 1 in a rough school district in New Orleans. In the 5 years she has taught in New Orleans, she has known five students who have been killed in random acts of violence. Mexico is a breeze for her. She lives in the north of the country, about 6 hours from Tucson, Arizona. Her experience has been very different from my own as she practically lives in a suburb of the US.  But she loves her students and her university, and she is an awesome travel buddy.

We decide to make the most of our trip and see as much as we can in 3 short days. Friday after class I get on a bus and I'm heading north of Mexico City to see the amazing ruins of Teotihuacan. After 3 long bus rides in horrific Mexico City traffic, I meet Michelle in a quaint hotel right at the base of the ruins. We get to bed early to be ready for a huge day of sightseeing.

We arrive early (about 8:00am) and are two of about twenty people on the whole site. It is absolutely magnificent. Built before the time of the Aztecs, Teotihuacan has been around since 100 BC and was once the largest Pre-Colombian city in Mexico. Read more here.

After we climb the Pirámide de la luna (pyramid of the moon) and take a few gorgeous pictures, we decide to head out of the site for some local cuisine. As we exit the ruins, nine young chavos swarm us, each holding a menú, begging us to come to their restaurant. I'm feeling overwhelmed by the fast-rambling Spanish, and look to Michelle for some help. She says, "Why don't we ask them to persuade us in English; if they can do it, we'll eat at their restaurant."

So I hold up my hand to get their attention and say in my most polite Spanish, "We are English teachers; if you want us to eat at your restaurant, you're gonna have to speak some English." The youngest of the bunch is about 13 years old; he smiles and says quickly - "Good Mexican food!"

So we follow him for some excellent enchiladas.

Later we head back to the ruins to climb the second and more ginormous Piramide del sol. We run into a guy who looks like Indiana Jones and realize it's our fellow Fulbrighter, Jonathan; he is enjoying the puente as well with his girlfriend and visiting friends. 

After a long day in the hot sun, we pack up our bags and get on a bus and head to the bus station that will take us to our next destination, Angangueo, Michoacan, a small little Mexican town close to the butterfly sanctuary. After 45 minutes of scrambling around the North Station and realizing we were at the wrong bus station, we take a 20 minutes cab ride to the correct station, a comfy bus to Zítacuaro, and then a not so comfy bus to Angangueo. We just barely catch the last bus (thanks to a little girl who stopped the driver from leaving us!) so we are stuck standing for most of the bumpy 40 minute ride. We laugh the whole way.

The next morning, we get up early and find a friendly cab driver to take us to the sanctuary. All of the guidebook advice told us to arrive early to avoid crowds yet the butterflies would not fly until they were warmed up by the sun; so we leave at about 9:00. A successful trip depends largely on the luck of the weather. No sun, no butterflies.

As we skid around the winding sharp corners, the sun disappears under dark, looming clouds. Then it starts to sprinkle. By the time we get to the site, it is pouring so hard, we decide to wait with our kind cab driver, listening to ranchero music. I am in shock as the rain turns to hail. I have a sick feeling that our 5 hour bus adventure will be in vain. No butterfly is going to fly in this cold horrible weather.

The rain lets up and we decide to pay the 50 peso park fee and take a chance. Our guide, a quiet 15 year old, hurries us up a long path through the forest. The altitude of this part of Michoacan is about 2,580 meters (8,465 ft) and walking fast uphill has us breathing hard. I tell our guide that we will be fine following the path by ourselves. He seems grateful he can get a couple more tours in before the day's over, which means more 20-peso tips in his pocket, and he heads back down the hill. Michelle and I continue the path alone and at a much more leisurely pace, enjoying the smell of pine and the awesome view of the valley below.

We finally meet up with a few more tourists and their guide. The guide points us to the left and tells us we have reached the butterflies.  It is still cold, but the rain has stopped and the clouds appear to be parting.  

We reach a clearing where about 2 or 3 families are standing still, staring out into the trees. The trees have strange black clumps hanging from them - at first I think it's some kind of moss or fungus but a closer look, and you can barely see the royal orange of the Monach butterflies.

After about a half an hour, the sun finally starts to shine and warms us up. The forest awakens with hundreds of butterflies flapping their wings. Mother nature did not let us down.

Afterwards, we hike an hour back to our faithful cab driver who patiently waits for us. We stop at a few shops and buy cheap souvenirs. We also meet a young chava selling elotes. She spreads a thick layer of mayo on the ear of corn, then sprinkles on white Mexican cheese and chili powder.

We head back to Mexico City with our suitcases and elote just in time to catch Madonna's half time show during the Super Bowl. Domenica (the 4th and final Fulbright teacher) joins us for Chinese food and wine at our small Super Bowl party. The next day we do a little more sightseeing in Mexico City's historic center and then hug goodbye. 

Until the next puente.

Thanks, Michelle for your awesome pics!!