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Travel and Photgraphs

During the last few days of my stay in Monterrey, Mexico, I traveled to two places.

The first of them was Parque Estanzeula. It is around 15 or so kms from Monterrey, and it is supposed to be a stop over place for the Monarch butterflies that migrate from Canada to Morelia, Mexico. There is a nice trek for around 5kms or so. Not recommended if you are not in shape, as there is a steep incline, which the three of us, Sachin, Lokesh and myself, in spite of being in top physical shape, were quite beaten by the time we reached the top. It is a different issue that we were doing a pretty good pace, but still, I would not recommend it if you are not in decent shape. Here are some pictures from there.



A stream where we took a dip. The water was freezing cold and yet, the dip was quite refreshing !!



My personal favorite shot.







Though the focus point has moved out of the butterfly in this shot, I still like this for the light. This will also teach me to keep my hands a bit more still when I take a photograph. What could have been a nice shot has been mauled :-(. Anyway, there is always a next time !!


I also traveled to Morelia, Mexico. However, this time, we chose to drive down from Monterrey. The drive was fairly decent one. The migrating monarch butterflies from Canada reach a place called Angangeao, around 150 or so kms from Morelia. All the while during the drive from Morelia to Angangeao, I kept wondering whether there are any bus services to reach this place for backpackers. Well, I was proved right the next day. If you are a backpacker or planning to backpack in Morelia, fret not. If you get to the cathedral in Morelia, (It is quite a famous landmark and hence, it is easy to find) on both the left and right sides of the cathedral, there are guided tours available. These tours are all day long and take you to the butterfly park in Angangeao ,the volcanoes in Patzcuaro and the park in Uruapan. Each of those tours last nine hours and include lunch and multi-lingual guides. You can get more details from their website here. And the food in Angangeao is fabulous. Dirt cheap and typically Mexican. Of course, if you are hoping to get vegetarian food, well, you are in for a rude surprise. You might get some rice and beans, but I am skeptical of that too !

Here are some photographs from Morelia.



The cathedral in Morelia.





Some antique buildings in Morelia.



A fountain near the aqueduct.



Shops outside the butterfly park in Angangeao.



An old man at peace with himself.







Some monarch butterflies that we saw in Morelia.



A landscape on the drive from Monterrey to Morelia, somewhere near Saltillo.

K.Shyam

Tags: Morelia, Monarch Butterflies, Parque Estanzuela

Posted by Unknown at 7:10 AM