|
|
|
|
|
|
Day 57 Sat. 1/22/05 0 miles 4928 Total
Today was power birding. We arose at 5:45, left at 7:00, drove over a mountain pass at 9,000 feet and spent the day delighting in the variety of interesting birds in this part of Mexico. By the time we returned at 5:45 PM we had seen 33 different birds, 28 of which we had never seen before. Our list of total birds seen on this trip is now 244. The orioles are particularly interesting. At home, when we see an 8” bird with a longish downcurved bill, black and orange, it’s a Baltimore Oriole. The bird book for Mexico has three pages of Orioles including an entire page of black and orange ones. The campground owners daughter got married today and the reception is here in the campground. The music is very loud and the bass is so strong that loose items in the coach vibrate. We are lucky though, since we are about 200 feet from the party tent; some of the caravaners are much closer. Later in the evening we went out to have dinner and see a Mexican folk dance where the performers dress as old men. It was funny and entertaining. When we got back to the campground, the big wedding band had stopped and there were just a few people left playing a boom box, but not nearly as loud as the band.
We are really enjoying our time in Mexico. The people are warm and friendly and interested in what we are doing when we explain, “Mirandes las aves” (looking at the birds). Today some young women came up to our group as we were birding on a side road and asked if they could take our picture. When we bird along a dirt road, the property owner comes out to tell us it’s OK to walk across his land. One young woman came out with a freshly picked bucket of Guavas. She said they were two pesos (20 cents) and we decided to buy a few. However, when the first person gave her two pesos, she handed over the entire bucket! We gave her ten pesos and she was delighted. As nice as the people are, the towns and roadsides are depressing. Dirty, dusty streets, rusty decrepit buildings, dogs of every description, everywhere including roadkilled dogs that on some sections of road were every 100 yards. The roadside litter and trash is appalling. We cannot imagine what these people think when we drive by in our huge RVs!
We just read the weather report back home and hope everyone in the Boston area is safe and warm during the blizzard.
Day 58 Sun. 1/23/05 0 miles 4928 Total
A free day which we will try not to fill with too many activities. This “Power Birding” is exhausting! Carl has a list of chores and repairs to work on and Sandy has been told about the shopping in town. For the first time on this trip we select different activities. Carl gets lots of stuff done and Sandy visits a Mexican village on an island and buys some neat stuff, including a beautiful woven woolen cape for $14!
Day 59 Mon. 1/24/05 128 miles 5056 Total
We didn’t have to leave the campground until 9 so we did some birding around the pond near the campground. We saw a few new birds and many other familiar ones. We drove 128 miles today, mostly uneventful until we got to the campground (actually a field behind a hotel) which had a very narrow entrance. Two of the big motorhomes scraped against the rocks getting in but thankfully we got in unscathed. Tomorrow we go see the millions of Monarch Butterflies up in the mountains.
Day 60 Tue. 1/25/05 0 miles 5056 Total
It is very hard to describe the spectacular experience of seeing trees weighed down with millions of butterflies and as the sun comes out the monarchs get active and fill the sky and cover the lower bushes as well as the tourists.If you stood or sat still, within a minute you would have one or two perched on your hat or shoulder. Everywhere we looked there were butterflies. For us it was another National Geographic moment similar to when we got to stand next to a 7 foot long leatherback turtle as she dug a nest and laid hundreds of eggs in the sand.. However, this was a nature experience we had to earn. After a 90 minute drive we arrived at the parking area at the beginning of the trail. The parking lot is at 10,500 feet elevation! The trail goes up to 11,200 then back down into a steep sided ravine to the side of the butterflies. It was about 3 km each way. Although horses could be rented, we chose to walk. Aside from being very steep in places and there being no oxygen in the air at 11,000 feet, the biggest problem with the hike is that many horses use the trail so it is very well fertilized. It was worth every step.
Day 61 Wed. 1/26/05 58 miles 5114 Total
It was satisfying to hike to the butterflies at the high altitude yesterday. It was also sobering to see the 65 and 70 year old people in our caravan climbing the hills faster than we could. Ken Smith (age 69) got to the top before the first horse! Today was a quiet morning and a ten o’clock departure to our next destination. It is only 58 miles away but there is a 10,000 foot pass we have to cross. We arrived with little trouble. Our motorhome went up the mountain and down the mountain in second gear. We are camped in a field behind a marina on Lake Avendero. A pretty spot and it is 80 degrees. After getting set up we headed into town where there were supposed to be great shops and galleries since this is a big vacation spot for the people of Mexico City less than two hours away. We drove through town and along the lake but found only one nice shop and it was closed. There were some nice restaurants along the lake; we’ll try one tomorrow. Back at the campground, we joined a few other caravaners watching the birds fly over the lake as the sun set. Very pretty.
Day 62 Thu. 1/27/05 0 miles 5114 Total
Today was another full birding day. We left at 7 AM and got back around 4 PM. The leader, Bert Frenz took us to a series of spots where certain birds are expected to be seen. At each spot we leave the cars and walk either along the road or into nearby fields in search of birds. Some birds are easy like the American Dipper was today. We walked out on the bridge and looked along the river where these birds feed and there was one. Others, like a certain class of flycatcher are much more difficult. These birds are small, flit around constantly (catching flies, not surprisingly) and several species look very much alike. In these situations, a few of us will spot a bird and call out distinguishing characteristics (colors, wing bars, eye-ring, etc.). The we take out several reference books and attempt to find a match. A few birds are so similar that they can only be distinguished by their calls or songs. To encourage the birds to sing, and sometimes to attract the birds in the first place, Bert has an iPod loaded with 1,700 recorded bird calls. When he plays the call, the bird usually answers, confirming the identity. It’s very educational, at times frustrating but we enjoy it a lot. At one point we even spotted a Peach Faced Lovebird that had obviously escaped from captivity somewhere. In the evening we had a group campfire and Bert & Shari provided hot-dogs to cook over the fire and marshmallows to roast.
Day 63 Fri. 1/28/05 172 miles 5286 Total
Today was a driving day, 172 miles from Valle de Bravo to the outskirts of Cuernavaca. It was a slow steady drive with a lot of hills (we crossed a mountain pass at over 10,000 feet) and a lot of small villages with numerous speed bumps (topes in Spanish) to control; the traffic speed. We spent a lot of time in first gear! It is a nice campground though the sites are snug and not too level. Our front tires are 8-10 inches off the ground on the leveling jacks. After we all got set up we had another margarita party. We all sat around discussion places to visit in the area (Taxco is supposed to be great for silver jewelry!). We have finally found the hot weather. It was 90 when we arrived; it’s 83 now and the sun has been down for over an hour. This campground is also a grackle roost. As the sun set, hundreds of grackles flew in to roost in the trees throughout the campground. They were very noisy at first but now they have settled down to the occasional squawk. We can’t wait to hear what it sounds like in the morning. Fortunately (?), we leave to go birding before sunrise so it might still be quiet
