Michoacan Highlands to Acapulco, Jan. 20-26
Circling to the north and west of Mexico City into the highlands of Michoacan, we camped amid peacocks near Zitacuaro to visit the Angangueo Butterfly Preserve. The next morning we climbed high into the mountains, where ponies rented from Indians carried us through the fir forest to incredible masses of wintering Monarchs. On the way down we lunched in steep-sloped Ocampo.
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| The Woman on Horseback (F) | Monarch Butterflies (F) | Lunch in Ocampo (P |
Our main base for birding in this area was farther west, in the beautiful colonial town Patzcuaro.
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| Patzcuaro (Wr) | Zocolo (M) | Pleasant campground (F) |
Descending to the coast at Playa Azul for Pacific Ocean species, we continued to a lovely campground near Acapulco. Here we enjoyed a Super Bowl lunch and telecast (en espanol) on the oceanside terrace. But with our favorites eliminated by now, the football championship had lost its charms for most of us.
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| Shade by the sea (M) | Super Bowl lunch (H) | Superfan (M) |
Initials appended to photos indicate copyright (2003) by (F) Bert Frenz; (H) Dan and Sue Hertz; (M) Carolyn Merchant; (P) John and Joanne Powles; and (Wr) Brenda Wright.