Weekend trip--AMAZING!

This past weekend I met up with a fellow volunteer in the State of Mexico, which is west of Mexico City. We went for one reason--Piedra Herrada, one of the few Monarch Butterfly Reserves in Mexico (and the only one not in / near Michoacan state...which is a bit dangerous right now). Monarch butterflies spend their springs / summers / falls in the US and Canada, but every fourth or fifth generation makes it way back to Mexico in the winter. This generation somehow returns to the EXACT SAME SPOT where its ancestors were born, four or five generations earlier! Scientists still don't know how the whole process works. This migratory generation doesn't eat for six or so months--they only will drink water--and by living six-ish months, they shatter the standard lifespan of a Monarch butterfly (less than two months). More can be found here. It was an incredible experience to see the ten to fifteen million butterflies that were in this small reserve. They looked like oak leaves flying in the sky, and their flapping could be heard on the quiet mountainside (not audible in the video...too bad). And yes, every single one of those things that you think is a butterfly, is a butterfly.



Here is a picture of a male (right) and female (left). The male is distinguished by the two small, black dots within its wing pattern (near the guy's thumb).



Also, Monday night happened to be a lunar eclipse! We got up early (or late) to take a look, and I tried my hand at night-pictures. This is one of the few that turned out good, and it is by far my favorite. Yes, the moon turned red!

Random week

Last Sunday (the 12th) was the day of the Virgen of Guadalupe...basically the most celebrated religious figure in Mexico. Last year I was in a not-very religious part of the country, so I had no idea how big this day was. But people from all over make a pilgramage on this day to the Bascilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Some walk, some ride bikes, and these pilgramages can last two to three days (one-way; most people who walk get rides back). On Sunday some fellow vols and I headed to a local park for a hike, and we saw people returning from their pilgramages--both biking and walking!



Today we have a Christmas posada, or party, at a coworker's house. Along with another colleague, I am responsible for the piñata! So here is my contribution...soon to be broken with the candy all over the place.

Navidad is in the air

Last night, I went to a pre-posada (a pre-Christmas party) at work, where I practiced my dancing non-skills. Official "posadas" don't start until the 15th, so it's not like we will have another one!

My neighborhood has put up its Christmas tree in front of our church. Here is Christmas in the rancho...tree, church, bell-tower, and kid cowboy.



Also, a friend opened up a local cafe to try and capture the student population. I stopped by to pick up a snack last night, and on my take-out bag was hand-written the ingredients! I thought it was a cool attention to detail, and probably a lot of work for her to write these out beforehand on each bag.

Wine tasting

Friday night I had the chance to attend a wine tasting with a Venezuelan sommelier who lives in Mexico. He brought with him three types of Mexican wine--apparently the state of Baja California is home to most of Mexico's wine industry (in addition to the states of Coahuila and Queretaro). I enjoyed learning about the different types of grapes and how to tell qualities of the wine from color, odor, and density. No pictures, but it was a great learning experience!