We took our time to get used to the sunny days and visit some of the cities along our path. Between Mexico City and Guadalajara, the landscapes were quite stark and defined by some great rolling hills. Compared to our recent trip to Morocco, we didn’t find the countryside to be too remarkable or awe-inspiring. However, I also couldn’t complain because I was able to wander around without a jacket.

Our first destination after Zitacuáro was Morelia – a (relatively) smaller city with great colonial Spanish architecture. This was the first city out of many where Ced and I were able to see the Spanish influence in Mexico. Walking along the cobble stone streets made me feel as though I were transported to somewhere in southern Europe; it wasn’t what I was anticipating for Mexico.

After a long day of driving and a hiccup in our plans (our AirBnB reservation fell through), Ced and I arrived in Guadalajara. Although Guadalajara also belongs to one of the biggest cities in Mexico, it is nowhere on par with the expanse of Mexico City. Both that night and for a bit the following morning, Ced and I visited some of the historic buildings that still remain in the downtown area.

After Guadalajara and right before driving down the winding roads that lead towards the Pacific coast, we made a quick detour to see Tequila. That’s right, the main city/region where tequila is produced. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of Tequila, it was still very interesting to see how it is produced and distilled from the blue agave plant.

While driving towards Puerto Vallarta, we got to see how the landscapes changed from agave-studded and rocky hillsides to mountains with lush rain forests. One of my favorite parts of driving through Mexico was seeing how my surroundings slowly changed as we added more miles to the car.

Since we were fortunate enough to be traveling through Mexico in the winter, one sight that Ced and I didn’t want to miss was the Monarch butterfly winter hibernation areas. Like many other migratory species in North America (ex. my parents), the Monarch butterflies head south to find a mild habitat to roost for the winter. Up in the mountains west of Mexico City at approximately 3200 meters/10,000 feet happens to be a perfect climate for the butterflies.

Although seeing tree branches buckle under the weight of so many butterflies was an amazing experience, one can’t help but feel a twinge of despair when knowing that the migration populations are declining precipitously. Compared to twenty years ago, the current butterfly population has been reduced to a small percentage (a mere 5%)  due to stark  weather changes and human influences. We heard other people from our lodge discuss how the migratory patterns are changing and that there are significant uncertainties for these butterfly populations in the future. It was weird to think that an insect that I was accustomed to seeing every summer might not be around for future generations to enjoy.