Mexico - Butterfly, you are fickle
- curvesandcracks
- Nov 11, 2025
- 2 min read
For the past few days, I've been relaxing in Valle de Bravo. This little town, nestled in the mountains of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, had caught my eye before I left Canada, and it was even at the very top of my list. I must confess that it hasn't disappointed me; quite the opposite. The town and its inhabitants have even surpassed all my expectations.
credit: Luis Guzman
Since my arrival, I love everything, I am amazed by everything. From my daily visits to the "mercado" where I buy all the necessary ingredients to cook delicious meals, to the local cafe, to my patio where I enjoy the last rays of sunshine of the day.
Paragliding
My sense of wonder continues whenever I look up at the sky. Valle de Bravo is among the top 10 paragliding destinations in the world and has hosted the World Cup five times. This tells you that the sky is constantly adorned with these wings that make me dream. I also feel a surge of pride when I consider that it was a Quebecer, Domina Jalbert, who invented the "ram-air double-surfaced fully flexible airfoil" in 1963.
Skydiving, paragliding, powered paragliding, landboarding, kite surfing and cargo-ship kite tugging, all of today's ram-air wings owe their origins to Domina's invention.
I might even go for a little flight myself... if I can muster the courage.
crédit: parapente-mexico.com
The Great Monarch
Paragliders aren't the only wings that grace the skies of Valle de Bravo.
Who hasn't heard of the magnificent Monarch butterfly that visits us every summer in Quebec?
credit: J L Kempster
This large butterfly, which travels in groups of millions, is famous for its migration.
Four generations are needed to complete the long journey of nearly 5,000 km, which takes it from Mexico to Quebec.
The first, born in March in Mexico, travels to the southern United States.
The second moves further north.
The third arrives in Quebec.
The last, born in July, returns to Mexico in the fall. This fourth generation lives for about seven months (instead of two months for the others), making it one of the longest-lived butterflies.
After returning to Mexico, the monarchs enter a period of dormancy, allowing them to survive the entire winter in the sacred fir forests. In some places, there are so many that the bark of the trees is no longer visible, the branches bend under their weight, and you can even hear them flying.
credit: National Geographic
I am fortunate to live very close to the "Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve". The butterflies migrate there from their habitat of more than one million km2 in North America to a tiny area of less than 45 km2 in the high forests of the state of Michoacán and Mexico.
credit: wwf.org.mx
Like magic...
The reasons for this migration and how the butterflies, which have never made the journey, find their way back to the same place as their predecessors after several generations, remain a mystery. They are said to have a kind of solar compass located in their brain, and circadian clocks located in their antennae. Or perhaps it's just magic, who knows...
Just like that wedding where I was lucky enough to witness a Monarch butterfly taking flight to mark an unforgettable day.
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