I arrived in Mexico with some trepidation. From the little research I had done, it was clear it was a fascinating and vibrant country, full of things that I enjoy about travel. But it was hard to quell the mild anxiety stemming from the media's portrayal of the country as drug and violence-plagued place, with robbery and murder around every corner. So I resolved to put aside my anxiety - without being careless of course - and get to know Mexico.
Mexico City was my first pleasant surprise. It's a modern, bustling city, filled with world class museums and art galleries, and some pretty funky architecture.
Next was Morelia, an atmospheric little city tucked into the mountains west of Mexico City, where I had one of those "top 10" travel experiences - the monarch butterfly sanctuary. Literally billions of monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and the United States and cluster together in sanctuaries on mountain peaks. As our tour began ascending through the sanctuary, everyone was pretty excited when a few butterflies were fluttering around, and the cameras began clicking. Little did we know!
As we climbed higher, the butterflies increased exponentially - from tens, to hundreds, to thousands, to millions. Monarch butterflies are highly attuned solar collectors so, when the sun emerged from behind a cloud, the air quickly thronged with butterflies. When clouds obscured the sun, they settled back onto the trees within minutes.
Arriving at the top of the sanctuary, I was astounded to realize that the huge grey clusters hanging from the trees were not plant matter but were actually densely packed monarchs with with folded wings exposing the drab underside. Some stubborn clouds were hiding the sun as we approached the top, and we worried that we might miss the full experience. But after fifteen minutes, the sun emerged and the clusters quickly dissolved as the air became thick with fluttering wings. The first video below shows the clusters during the cloudy period; the second video is after the sun emerged.
It was quite a profound experience to hear millions of butterfly wings flapping. It actually sounded as if a breeze was blowing through the trees, even though it was completely still!
Next was the Pacific coast, where I spent some quality time with my Uncle Lou and Auntie Wynn, who live in Barra de Navidad. My cousin Ian, who I hadn't seen in a while, was also visiting his parents so I got the added benefit of catching up with him too. I had a number of great experiences here: visiting a isolated beach and seeing whales cavorting in the ocean, including a few who jumped entirely out of the water (but were too far away for photos); watching hundreds of pelicans dive-bomb for fish: a regional soccer finale; and an earthquake! It was short - only a few seconds - but quite an experience as it was the first earthquake I've been through. It's disconcerting, to say the least, watching a large concrete home shudder around you.
Next was Oaxaca, undoubtedly the nicest city I visited in Mexico Colonial architecture was everywhere, as were massive cathedrals.
It was a great city to wander in, popping into coffee shops, restaurants, galleries, museums and markets. As well, outside of Oaxaca are a number of fascinating natural sites, including Nierve el Agua with it's petrified waterfall and natural infinity pool:
After a week on the beautiful beaches of Puerto Escondido, a world-renowned surf town on the Pacific coast (where I put in some time towards my goal of being able to surf properly), I headed inland again, to the city of San Cristobal de las Casas. After Morelia and Oaxaca, I thought I might be somewhat indifferent to cute little colonial cities ... but that was not the case with San Cristobal. Nestled in a cool mountain valley, it's renowned for it's cobblestone streets, quaint buildings, tranquil location as well as the natural wonders in the surrounding region, notably Sumidero Canyon. I took a boat tour through the canyon, between the sheer vertical walls that tower up to a kilometer above the Grijalva River.
The fascinating, 150 meter high "Christmas Tree" formation shown below is actually a series of stone shelves constructed by centuries of water flowing out of the canyon wall and releasing dissolved sediments (in much the same way a stalactite forms).
After San Cristobal, I headed southwards towards the Mayan ruins at Palenque. Enroute, I stopped at Agua Azul, with it's striking blue water contrasted against a brown limestone bed, tumbling through a fecund jungle. Stunning!
The Palenque Ruins were as I envisioned Mayan ruins to be - crumbling stone buildings emerging from the thick jungle.
I also visited the ruins at Tulum which, although not nearly as large as the ruins at Palenque, have a pretty spectacular cliffside location, overlooking brilliant white beaches. In Tulum, I also took the opportunity to go cenote diving, which is one of the more well-known adventure activities in the Yucatan Peninsula. Cenotes are basically sinkholes that open-up into the vast network of underground caves, many of which are filled with a combination of freshwater and saltwater. Essentially, you dive down into the sinkhole and then head off laterally into the connected caves (not too far of course!). While there are not a lot of flora or fauna in the caves, the rock formations are spectacular, as is the adreneline rush from swimming through narrow, dark caves! Unfortunately, I don't have a underwater camera so I've had to borrow the pictures from the web:
Google's collection of Cenote Diving Pictures
I ended my time in Mexico spoiling myself with some nice hotels in Cozumel and Cancun (along with thousands of other Canadians)! I can see why people flock here in droves - the beaches really are spectacular - but the atmosphere was nothing like the rest of Mexico, so I was happy to only spend a few days here, before boarding my flight to Nicaragua.
Ultimately, travel in Mexico was wonderfully contrary to my initial perceptions. Sure, there is a bloody drug war taking place in certain parts of Mexico, especially the north - e.g., Ciudad Juarez - but it felt very safe and comfortable in every place I ventured. Here's a telling statistic from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs: of the 1.6 million Canadians who visited Mexico in 2010, there were only 5 murders and 11 killed from other causes. Tragic for the people involved, of course, but a statistic that certainly doesn't suggest crime around every corner. Here's an interesting article from the Economist on this topic as well:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2010/08/mexico
The simple fact is that the Mexicans I encountered were, almost without fail, friendly, civil, and polite. And, of course, the scenery was beautiful.
