Audubon invites you to join us on a spectacular natural adventure to a land of cloud forests, orchids, birds and butterflies. You’ll have the opportunity to hike and bird watch in glorious botanical settings with world-renowned bird guide, Robert Straub, at Cerro de las Culebras, Macuiltepetl State Park and the beautiful trail above Texolo waterfalls in Xico.
You’ll be treated to a special guided tour of the newly opened Museum of Orchids in Coatepec with its collection of over 5,000 specimens. We’ll stay at the beautiful newly renovated boutique hotel, Meson Del Alferez, in the peaceful, charming town of Coatepec with its aromas of freshly roasted coffee and warm freshly cooked bananas. Its lush main square flaunts orchids at every turn, and is surrounded by cafes serving coffee grown in the nearby hills. Later, we’ll have the opportunity to visit Hacienda de la Orduna, housing La Ceiba Grafica graphics arts center.
You’ll visit the Archaeological Museum of Xalapa, in the capital city of Veracruz with its stunning collection of Gulf Coast cultural artifacts. The museum is the second largest in the country and holds Mexico’s most ancient artifacts.
On our way to Coatepec we’ll travel through Mexico’s smallest state, Tlaxcala, visiting the enormous, yet little known, archeological site of Cantona. Tlaxcala may be small but is blessed with magnificent open vistas. On our trip back to San Miguel we’ll stop for lunch at one of the old haciendas, Hacienda Soltepec, in Huamantla for delicious Tlaxcalan cuisine.
We hope to have you join us in going to this remarkable and diverse area of Mexico!
Day 1
7:00 AM
Leave from St. Paul’s Church for Tlaxcala, Breakfast provided on bus *
1:00 PM
Arrive at Cantona archaeological site for lunch * and visit archaeological site
3:30 PM
Leave for Coatepec
5:30 PM
Arrive at Coatepec - check in to hotel
6:00 PM
Free time to relax
7:00 PM
Cocktails and dinner
Day 2
7:00 AM
Breakfast at hotel *
8:00 AM
Leave for State Park Cerro de las Culebras
8:15 AM
Arrive at State Park for hiking and bird-watching with Robert Straub
11:30 AM
Leave for hotel
11:45 AM
Arrive at hotel - free time to relax and freshen up
This Itinerary is subject to changes without prior notification
* Meals marked with an asterisk are included in the trip's fee
Bring an official ID such as your current Passport and INAPAM ID if you have one
Water bottle or small canteen, can be filled up with purified water in the hotel
Binoculars
Camera
Flashlight
Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrella and rain gear
Hiking sticks
Insect repellent
Day pack
Light-weight walking/hiking shoes
A fleece garment can be useful in case of chilly mornings
We recommend packing your binoculars, toiletries and travel documents in your
day pack
A supply of resealable plastic storage bags can be very handy for storing food items from the breakfast, to be used as mid-morning snacks
Please bring a small bag with toilet paper and another sealable bag for your soiled tp
Be sure to carry small change for bathroom fees
DEPARTURE Timing is Critical, Our departure each morning is as early as possible in order to be on site when bird activity is best. All wildlife activity diminishes as the midday heat intensifies.
Nearly 10 years ago a gangly American from Delaware flew to Mexico City with his binoculars and a passion for birds. No one he asked in Mexico City had heard of the town he was headed for, but a day later he found a bus to Veracruz and eventually to Ciudad Cardel.
Robert Straub caught what he calls “the migration bug” years earlier, while working as a bird researcher in national parks around the United States. He studied migratory birds in New Mexico and Utah. “When you are in that world,” he explains, “you hear about Veracruz.”
When Straub showed up in 1997 he planned to visit for just three months, but it wasn’t long before he decided to stay. He gave himself three goals: learn Spanish, learn the tropical birds, and find out if he liked guiding birding groups. The key to the last, he says, is whether or not you “can handle ten strangers for two weeks.”
“The fantasy of any birder,” says Straub, “is to have someone else pay for you to travel the world and look at birds.” Making that dream come true usually involves becoming a guide.
“There’s a certain trait you have to have which is that you have to really want people to see this thing you see. And,” he adds with a half smile, “there’s probably an ego gratification thing. You are the expert.”
Straub loves sharing his bird knowledge with strangers. He also came to believe that by igniting and nurturing a love of birds in others, he might also spread his desire to preserve bird habitat.
Straub set himself up in Xalapa teaching English. Eventually, he got work with Pronatura, the Mexican conservation organization, as coordinator of their Tourism for Conservation program. In 2003, he helped found the Club de Observadores de Aves de Xalapa to foster local interest in birds. And, last year with Pronatura, he published the Site Guide to the Birds of Veracruz.
Straub sees his new job as just one more way to raise awareness of the importance of birds in Mexico. Can they save wild land in Veracruz? If he can create a river of birders, Straub believes they can.
If using an American bank account make a check out to Colleen Besman.
If using a check from a Mexican bank account make payment out to: Colleen Besman
Please put your phone number, email address and trip form inside a sealed envelope with your payment, so that we may contact you with further important details.
Sociedad Audubon de México, A. C., based in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, is the only Audubon organization in Mexico. From San Miguel de Allende, we spread out to work with local communities to help preserve and restore bird, wildlife and plant habitat, and to foster biodiversity in general. To make our mission a reality, we develop events, programs, conferences and projects. Learn more about our mission and programs at www.audubonmex.org
