Kisses and butterflies...

We arrived to the "capital of kiss" when it was already dark. Luckily we were approached by Iraclis, a medicine student, who was very curious about the world outside of Mexico and was planning a backpacking trip to Europe. He showed us how to get to the hostel and on the way told us a legend about Guanajuato's Romeo and Juliet - Doña Carmen and Don Luis (http://www.donquijote.org/guanajuato/info.legends3.asp).

After leaving our backpacks at Casa del Angel we headed straight to the zócalo (the main plaza or square, set in the heart of a Mexican town). Because it was one month anniversary since the start of our trip, we treated ourselves to some strawberry margaritas, then lemon, then orange... Next we visited a rock bar, where we met a really nice bartender, Juan; afterwards we went to a karaoke bar (no, we were still not brave/drunk enough to sing!). A few hours later we met with Juan and the owner of the bar, Carlos, and we all went to Bar Ocho for one last drink... or so we thought! At the bar I met a cool Australian guy, Chris, who after working in Canada for some time was taking a vacation in Mexico.

Unfortunately it was getting late and the bar was closing, but since we really enjoyed the company of our new friends, Asia, Carlos, Chris and I went to a cantina for a beer. Soon after that the guys walked us to the hostel and at 5am we were finally in bed!

The next day we woke up at 9 am, probably still drunk with a huge hangover to come, but we were really excited to see the city during the day, since it looked lovely at night. So far it was the most picturesque town we have seen in Mexico. Every little street looked like a rainbow filled with pastel-colored houses and bright flowers in the windows.

After a huge breakfast at one of the restaurants in the zócalo, we conquered the hill with the monument of El Pipila (http://www.donquijote.org/guanajuato/info.legends2.asp).

Luckily we didn't have our backpacks this time and we still had enough strength to go to El Callejón del Beso (Alley of the Kiss - so narrow that it is possible to exchange kisses from opposite balconies).

Two hours later we were on the bus to Morelia. We wandered around the historic center of Michoacán capital admiring more than 1000 colonial houses and churches. The most remarkable building was the baroque cathedral that looked very impressive illuminated at night.

After a goodnight sleep at the Hostal Allende we woke up to catch a trip to "Mariposa Monarca" sanctuary. Four hours later, after stopping for a quick tour of a gold mine, we arrived at El Rosario, one of the main monarch butterfly colonies. We walked up and down a very dusty path for 4km seeing single butterflies here and there, and finally, completely exhausted, we saw IT!!!

Millions of black and orange butterflies dancing in the wind around us. It is really hard to describe how beautiful and breathtaking it is. The pine trees looked like they were covered with orange leaves; when we looked up the sky was blue and orange, everything around us was flickering with black and orange colors.

We were completely blown away!