March 2010 more about the butterflies

I have thought of a few more things to mention about the butterfly trip and also adding a few more pictures.

Please enjoy a few more of these pictures. On the movie - you will see a blank screen on the page and a little triangle in the bottom right corner of the movie screen which you can click on to activate the movie.

After leaving the first sanctuary, on the way to the town of Zitacuaro where we stayed, we passed through the town of Angangueo which is a tourist town during the butterfly season where many folks stay and arrange tours. This year there was a devastating rain storm for 2 days in early February (not the normal rainy season) and much of the town was washed away. We traveled through and I took some pictures. It is hard to imagine how they will recover but apparently the government has come in to help some and people are hoping to get the town back again to what it once was. This rain (and much cold) also had some effect on the butterfly situation which made it better in some ways for us - they were there a little longer this year.

I also failed to mention the sound - when cupping ones ears we could hear the sounds of the butterfly wings in motion - an amazing sound.

This last picture is made of shells and china plates - amazing. It was in Mexico City. Every day and every corner of Mexico has interesting combinations of color and artifacts - a photographers dream.

March 2010 Visit to the Butterflies

Today we are back from Mexico after a fantastic two week trip. I shall break up the posts and start with the beginning - our trip to the state of Michochoan to see the sanctuaries of the monarch butterflies. Here is where they winter from November to March, hibernating after their trip from Canada and northern USA. There is still so much that scientists do not know about these butterflies - for instance it takes three generations to come down to Mexico and so how do they know where to go since they have not been there before. They come down to the same area of Mexico every year. Towards March they begin to get ready to fly north again and we were there just at the time that many were flying down the mountain (by the thousands). Because of a rainy and a colder than normal February they were about a week behind the normal time which was perfect for us.

We flew to Mexico City and then took a bus to Morelia where we met up with our tour - Rocomar Tours (based in Canada). They were recommended to us by friends and we were very happy with this tour company. The group was 10 (including us and Paul and Phil from Rocomar). The first morning we had a great tour of Morelia by a local guide - Guilliame Moreno (Bill Brown). This is another beautiful city and we will probably go back and visit again sometime. Later the first day we met the rest of the group and watched a video about the monarch butterflies. We enjoyed the rest of our group very much - two young ladies from Colorado, Linda & Phil from near Albany, NY and Patti & Rudi from Texas. Having a small group for such a short trip was good as we had a chance to get to know each of our new friends. (A little plug for Linda Ford who just wrote a new book about the Wildflowers of Copper Canyon and will offer trips to Copper Canyon in the fall. Visit her website at: http://www.coppercanyon.wildflowers.com/ ) Maybe that will be another adventure trip for us.

Well I shall try to get back to the subject at hand...the incredible, magical, spiritual mariposa experience. We spent one day at Sierra Chincua and the next at Macheros. The first was great and if we had not done more we would have been quite satisfied. But then the next day was beyond any possible expectations. I tried to capture these moments on still and movie shots and though I hope you will enjoy them, I cannot begin to explain in words how it was to be there among these many little butterflies.

Each trip involved a long hike up into the mountains (about 10,000 ft). We had the option of a horse to ride led by one of the guides. I took the horse down the first day but actually felt happier on my own two feet so I walked both ways on the second day. Each day included a cooked lunch by small local families right by the sanctuaries - one had locally caught trout for those who wanted it on an open fire. They made steamed vegetables for us.

Here is another video...the butterflies mating which they do in Mexico before the long fly north.

I would also recommend the following video to you who are interested - a PBS show that we saw in Feb. before our trip. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/butterflies/program.html

Here we are...two happy people surrounded by butterflies doing something that has been in our dreams for a very long time. Later I shall follow this blog with the next adventure with my brother Richard and his wife Mei Mei as we traveled south to Oaxaca...stay tuned.

Nov. 13 art class and friends

Here are the latest pictures that we have created. Richard's is a street scene with the man collecting gold and my owl is for Erwin - the wise one. You will see our art teacher Lilliani, Bob and Jamie and Zeke the cat.

Nov. 13 Winding down with Circles

Our last afternoon for 2009 in San Miguel. I have been taking circle pictures for the last few days so will send along a few for you to see. Soon we will be home again and back to a new (old) life again. Haste luega ahora.

Nov. 5 A typical day for Ricardo y Susita

Here we are winding down to our last week in San Miguel. We have made several new friends here and of course, our friends from years past are important. We are happy that Bob and Jamie are returning home on Saturday.

Today we started with yoga with Margaretta at 8:30, followed by breakfast at our favorite cafe - Cafe Monet. Then art class with Lilianna followed by meeting Kathy at her house and heading to Eunice's to pick her up and go for lunch at Sapphos. Then I went off to shop a bit and Richard went to his conversation class at the Biblioteque. Dinner at home tonight together and both reading and studying spanish. My class has finished and I am excited to have learned alot of spanish in the 2 1/2 weeks and look forward to coming back and going to the same school - Warren Hardy, when I return next year.

Of course, just as it is at home, emails to keep up with at night. We are working on a celebration weekend for my dad in April in the Adirondacks (upstate NY). This is a place we have been many times before for family reunions and a good place to remember my dad.

I have included some pictures that show some of my "color" days in the beginning of the trip when I took only one color for a day. The hard copies are just spread out on the counter but it gives a good idea of what I saw for the day.

Nov. 2 - More Dia de las Muertos and communication with Erwin

Yesterday my focus was on my alter and thinking about Erwin. This afternoon Ricardo and I sat for a while by our alter and reminisced and talked about Erwin. I felt his presence and the cat was very involved with us but no direct communication. Knowing Erwin as well as we do, I suspect that his communication will be in a very interesting way.
I thought I did receive a message the Sunday I returned from the burial in Maryland. I was reading a book (Born to Run about the Taramuhara Indians in the Copper Canyon of Mexico). Now this book has NOTHING to do with anything that Erwin would have cared about but within a few minutes of reading it the discussion was about the human race and whether it was born to run - the author then mentioned that humans are the only running biped that are tailless. Those who know Erwin and our family might remember way back when Richard Vogel was about 3 or 4 years old that he would come every morning to Erwin, pulling down his pants and asking if he had grown a tail yet. Erwin always told him that he would soon and to come back the next day and he (Erwin) would take a look again. I do not remember how long this went on - do you Richard??
The next page in the book was talking about how people's faces were at one time larger than they are today and that Benjamin Franklin's face was chunkier than yours. You all now know that Erwin dressed as Ben Franklin many times over the years. I remember him dressed in Washington DC at the bicentennial (1976). These two items, when I was reading that day in the airplane, felt like communications to me from my dad that he was there with me. You may all take this for what you will but I shall also take it for what it meant to me.

Celebrating the Day of the Dead here in Mexico is a wonderful experience and mixture of fun and memories. I have included pictures from yesterday - many alters, events at the Jardin (center of town), beautiful art on the ground made of seeds, sand, etc.; Katrina parade where folks dress as skeletons. This is just a small amount of many pictures that I am happy to share with anyone who wants to see them.

Nov 1 - Dia de las Muertos

Today and tomorrow are the celebrations of Day of the Dead or here it is called Dia de las Muertos. There are so many things that are different here and this is a big one - celebrating death with memory and fiesta. Alters are built everywhere and there are families who have big parties in the cemetaries. We have seen it all today and will share some pictures with you in a few days.

My celebrations revolved around setting up an alter for Erwin with different things that he will enjoy as his spirit comes to visit. There is a little beer bottle, a ham and cheese sandwich, two owls, a pussycat, a little frying pan with fried eggs, a cake, a coffin and skull (traditional on these alters), a feather, his watch, a little owl ashtry of his,a lollipop,a pretzel, a picture and marigold flowers which are also traditional. Most of these little items are handmade of candy and sold in little booths all over town. Behind is the quilt I made for his 80th birthday which is escher like with owls and cats. Candles are lit to light the spirit on the way and I shall light them again tomorrow. There is also a little heart which says "Te quiero Papa" (I love you papa).

Richard and I hope to keep this tradition alive every year and celebrate with alters for all our loved ones who have passed on.