On our way home from visiting the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Michoacan, we were intrigued to see a painted red line in the middle of the toll road. Just a little bit down the road, there was a sign that instructed vehicles without brakes to follow said red line. It went on quite a ways before crossing the lanes to the right into a truck stop ramp.
About the time we reached the rampa de frenado (truck stop ramp), we hit major traffic and began moving along at a crawl. Thus, we were able to watch a riveting drama unfold. A small pick-up truck appeared from apparently nowhere at the top of the truck stop ramp. It approached oncoming traffic in the wrong the direction. The driver decided to turn around and turned onto the ramp, which seemed to be made of asphalt. Much to our surprise, and most assuredly the surprise of the driver, the truck sank up to the wheel wells into the “asphalt.” When the driver climbed out to see what was going on, he sunk up to his knees. The “asphalt” was really black sand set up so smoothly that it looked to be a solid surface. The driver got back in his vehicle and attempted to back up. That wasn’t happening. By that time, 3 of his tires were stuck and the fourth looked as if it would pull off the axle at any moment. He tried going forward and no sir, nothing doing. His wife began gesturing furiously. We could just imagine what she was saying about the current predicament. Well, I have to say that the truck stop ramp worked quite well. It stopped that truck dead in its tracks. As traffic advanced, we slowly crept passed, leaving the truck hopelessly mired in the pit of despair.
Rampa de frenado after being used. Notice how deep the sand is!
Just a little way further down the road, we noticed the red line continued. This time, the line curved to the left. I suppose that the second ramp would be in case the vehicle without brakes was unable to enter the first truck ramp on the right. There, on the left, instead of a ramp, we saw a gravel lane at least 1/2 mile long with large gravel speed bumps. In case the speed bumps weren’t enough, there were at least 20 barricas (barrels) full of water (or maybe stones) to slow the vehicle down before a stone wall right loomed up which was in front of a 20-foot steep drop-off. That ought to do the trick.
I think the traffic sign indicated it was a franja, which literally translates as fringe, but if anyone out there has the correct name, I’d be interested in learning it!
As we inched along toward the toll booths we saw the red line reappear. If the vehicle without brakes was still running wild, the center lane had been set aside for its passage, right through the toll booths. In order to keep the center lane traffic free, a brave, brave man stood there with a red cloth, waving the cars and trucks to the side.
All these precautions seemed to be adequate in case of brake failure except for the fact that the toll booths backed up traffic to some point BEFORE the first truck stop ramp, pretty much making it inaccessible. Only in Mexico would toll booths be built at the bottom of a steep hill that required two emergency stops. Maybe the toll road isn’t such a feasible option after all.
One Sunday morning during the long Christmas vacation, we up and decided that today was the day we would go see the mariposas (butterflies). We had high hopes of seeing active butterflies since the numbers were reportedly up this year (2015) as compared to previous years.
I had heard that the hike was not an easy one, so in addition to the “better go and see the butterflies before there aren’t any to be seen” reason, I figured it would be better to make the hike while I was still youngest and ablish–and not wait until I had trouble getting around. As you will see, that ended up being a pretty good idea.
Adult monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) found east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the central, volcanic region of Mexico, specifically in the area bordering the states of Michoacan and Mexico. And that’s where we aimed to go to see them.
There are only two sanctuaries open to the public in Michoacan, El Rosario, and Sierra Chincua. We set out with El Rosario as our destination. Outside of Morelia, we got on the toll road, (133 pesos) but inadvertently headed in the wrong direction. After an anxious 10 minutes, we were able to get turned around.
The directions and maps I had printed out seemed pretty straight forward. However, Mexico road sign makers had other ideas. We were to take the Michoacan highway #765 outside of Maravatio. There was a big road once we exited the town, however not one of the road signs had a number on it for verification purposes. We ended up asking and asking which way to the butterflies? Of course, everybody had a different answer to that, but we were able to head in the right general direction.
Every single sign we passed looked like this–NO road numbers!
At the end of the road Michoacan highway #34, we came across an official-looking dude and a big sign that said THIS WAY TO THE BUTTERFLIES. We stopped to talk to the chaleco (vest) wearing man, and he gave us directions to El Rosario and a map. I’m sure the Michoacan state tourism board gives these maps out for free but well, he had one, and we didn’t so we donated 10 pesos para el refresco (for a soda).
We continued along, asking questions in the little towns we entered. Again, everybody had a different answer. One said to turn right at the high school. A right turn there took us to the parking lot. Then another said turn right at the Telecable–again, there was no right turn available. Up ahead, we saw a big old tour bus, like from the 70s. A tour bus must be heading towards the butterfly sanctuary, so we hitched our wagon to the bus and headed up the mountain.
It was an incredibly steep drive, but spectacular! Good old Myrtle (our Volkswagon bug) did her best, and soon we were driving through Angangueo, another one of Michoacan’s Pueblo Magicos. The tour bus did take us to the butterfly sanctuary, but not to El Rosario. We ended up in Sierra Chincua. Well, butterflies were butterflies and since we were here, might as well go to this reserve.
We pulled in and paid for parking (30 pesos), then drove another 2 km or so to the lot. We headed to the ticket booth and bought tickets (45 pesos each). In line, I overheard some Mexicans trying to negotiate the price with the ticket seller. Was there a student discount? Was there a discount for the tercer edad (senior citizen)? Nope.
The price of the ticket included a guide. As we were a piddly group of 3, we were assigned Fernando, who looked to be about 10 years old. Well, that was all right. It took us longer than we had figured and we were ready for lunch, though. Fernando took us to the next to last Cocina Economica (Economy kitchen) where his sister worked. We invited Fernando to eat with us as well. We had blue corn tortillas quesadillas con champiñones (mushrooms) and atole de zarzamora (a blackberry flavored corn-based hot beverage). It was delicious!
We also were right under the Tirolesa c (zip cable) and enjoyed the screams of several high-flying riders as we ate.
Then we were off. This particular reserve offers a horse ferry for part of the hike. We opted to not ride the sturdy fellows and walk. Twice, before we arrived at the base of the hill, I was offered a ride up at a discounted price. Apparently, I looked like I might need it. But I declined. Well, it was a hike and a half. I’m sure about half way up, my face was tomato red. One of the horse leader guys, at least 20 years my senior, called out “Anima Jefa” (You can do it lady) as he passed at a high-speed sprint up the hill. Well, if there’s one thing I am, that’s determined (or pig-headed), and I made it up the hill. But for future reference, it isn’t a hike for senior citizens or for children under the age of 6.
At the top, there was a scenic view, which was quite scenic, before the actual trail. Horses are not allowed on this section of the trail, so it’s on foot or not at all. The trail was about 8 inches wide and was both the coming and going trail, which meant frequent stops to allow other hikers to pass. It was not nearly as steep as the first section, but it was muddy, especially the closer we got to the actual nesting site. Both my son and I slid part way down the mountain while gawking at the trees. Wear hiking boots.
Here’s another future reference tip. The butterflies are most active between 9 and 10 am. After that, the temperature drops (it is definitely winter jacket weather) and the butterflies settle down for the day in a sort of suspended animation. It’s still amazing! However, the butterfly’s underwing is white, not orange and black, so it’s not what you might be expecting. Several of the hikers were quite disappointed. Not me, by golly! The reserves in Michoacan are one of the 13 Natural Wonders of Mexico, and I got to see it.
We headed back–the hike in took about 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes to get back to the scenic overlook. The steep hill trail was much easier going down than up. We gave our tour guide Fernando 20 pesos as a tip and went to the souvenir shops. There were lovely hand knit sweaters, hats, mittens and ponchos for sale. Quite handy if you happened to not have dressed appropriately. There were also some commercially produced monarch memorabilia. Unfortunately, every store had the same merchandise for sale, so that was disappointing. The bathrooms had stone floors, and although you had to bring in your own bucket of water to flush with, they were nice and clean. Toilet paper is 3 pesos like most other public restrooms.
Villancicos are religious songs now primarily sung and performed during the Christmas season in Mexico. Quite a number of the villancicos played nowadays are just Spanish translated versions of English Christmas carols. However, there are some quite unique songs. Many of these songs came from Spain and were brought to Mexico during the conquest.
One of the songs that I was delighted to hear this past Christmas was Los peces en el río en el río–literally The Fish in the River. The students at the school I work at did a delightful performance this past Christmas Event. Actually, they performed the song twice since there was no communication between the program coordinator and the music teacher prior to the evening’s performance. That does seem to happen a lot where I work.Anyway, in the song, the Virgin Mary calmly goes about her pre-birth preparations while fish jump in jubilation in the nearby river in anticipation of the event. She brushes out her hair, she washes the diapers and washes herself.
The English translations are my own, so it probably won’t match anything you might search out on Wiki. The translated versions I came across didn’t really make any sense.
Los peces en el río
La Virgen se está peinando
entre cortina y cortina.
Los cabellos son de oro
y el peine de plata fina.
The Virgin is combing her hair
you can see her between the curtains.
Her hair is golden
and the comb the finest silver.
ESTRIBILLO:
Pero mira cómo beben
los peces en el río.
Pero mira cómo beben
por ver a Dios nacido.
Beben y beben
y vuelven a beber.
Los peces en el río
por ver a Dios nacer.
CHORUS:
But look how they drink
the fish in the river.
But look how they drink
to see God born.
They drink, and they drink
and come back to drink some more,
the fish in the river,
to see God born.
La Virgen lava pañales
y los tiende en el romero,
los pajarillos cantando,
y el romero floreciendo.
ESTRIBILLO
The Virgin washes diapers
and hangs them on rosemary branches.
The little birds are singing
and the rosemary is blossoming.
CHORUS
La Virgen se está lavando
con un poco de jabón.
Se le han picado las manos,
manos de mi corazón.
ESTRIBILLO
The Virgin is washing herself
with a little bit of soap.
Her hands are irritated (or sore)
the hands of my love.
CHORUS
Another song that isn’t in your typical English Christmas carol list is Campana sobre Campana (The Bells of Bethlehem). Again, this song was repeated twice during the Christmas event at my school, but hey, who’s counting?
In this song, it talks about the bells of Bethlehem rung by angles when the Christ child was born. Of course, there is no more historical evidence for the heavenly bell ringing than the drinking fish of the previous song, but when has that ever stopped anyone?
Campana sobre Campana
Campana sobre campana
y sobre campana una
asómate a la ventana
verás a un niño en la cuna.
One bell after another
and after another–one (1 o’clock)
Come to the window
to see a child in the crib (Coro) Belén
Campanas de Belén
que los ángeles tocan
que nuevas me traéis. Chorus: Bethlehem
Bells of Bethlehem
that the angles ring
What news have you brought me?
Recogido tu rebaño
a donde vas pastorcillo?
Voy a llevar la portal
requesón, manteca y vino
(coro)
Among your flock (or with your flock)
where are you going little shepherd?
I’m taking the path (or way)
bringing cheese, lard, and wine.
Chorus
Campana sobre campana
y sobre campana dos
asómate a la ventana
porque esta naciendo Dios
(Coro)
One bell after another
and after bell –two. (2 o-clock)
Come to the window
because God is being born.
Chorus
Caminando a media noche
¿donde caminas pastor?
le llevo al niño que nace
como a Dios mi corazón
(coro)
Walking at midnight,
where are you walking to shepherd?
I bring my love to the child that
was born as God
Chorus
Campana sobre campana
y sobre campana tres
en una cruz a esta hora
del niño va a padecer
(Coro)
One bell after another
and after bell –three. (3 o-clock)
On a cross, at this hour
the child will suffer.
Chorus
I’m happy to report that the art of composing villancicos has not died out. I have been fortunate enough to work with maestro Sergio and have heard his original compositions performed. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
Rampa de frenado after being used. Notice how deep the sand is!
Surviving Mexico 