This morning was the last morning in Agua Blanca. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t savoring each final moment at this beautiful oasis.
The morning started with a 7:30 am hike to the caves and waterfall on the Agua Blanca property. From earlier posts, you may have noticed that Agua Blanca is a tropical paradise, but there is more to Agua Blanca than meets the eye. Not only are the mineral pools a relaxing pastime, but the mineral springs also have created some striking geological formations. On today’s hike, we explored the stalactite-like cliff wall that have been formed over thousands of years. Within the cliff walls are also caves that are home to fruit and insect-eating bats that we could see flitting around each morning and evening. From the cliff wall, we continued further down the trail to the waterfall where we all posed for photos.
Mini and Beverly checking out some tropical milkweed at the base of some of the interesting geological deposits from the mineral springs
The beautiful waterfall below our rooms at Agua Blanca
On an earlier bird walk, we noticed a monarch caterpillar hanging from a leaf. This morning, we found this chrysalis it had transformed into! This monarch is probably part of a resident population that lives in Mexico year-round, unlike its migratory cousins that we visited in the high elevation reserves.
After the hike, we had another delicious breakfast to help fuel our brains for the learning ahead. Our next adventure was a cooking class with the chef, Angelica, from Agua Blanca. Before getting our hands on the dough, Angelica explained the importance of each ingredient and how these tortillas differ from the ones we buy in the grocery stores at home. Angelica demonstrated with ease the process of making a traditional blue maize tortilla. She made the process look extremely quick and easy. Next, it was our turn, and this is where things got sticky (pun-intended). We learned that the pressure on the press, dropping the uncooked tortilla on to the hot cast-iron pan, and flipping of the tortilla with your fingers require finesse and precision. This experience caused us all to appreciate the delicious meals we have been enjoying throughout the trip all the more. We were all grateful that our own tortillas were not on today’s lunch menu.
Tortilla-making with Angelica
After lunch, it was time to load up and travel to our next location. We gave the hotel dog one last scratch behind the ears and hopped into the van to ride 2.5 hours towards the Toluca Airport for our flight to Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast. Stay tuned for another magical migration adventure.
A gorgeous sunset from the plane to Puerto Vallarta
what do you think?