Lazy Week in Mexico

 

A brilliantly coloured Hooded Oriole sat just outside our breakfast table one morning

For several years the topic of a winter vacation in the sun has come up in our family. Our three children remember going to the beach during the holiday season when we lived in Ecuador. Last year we decided that 2025 was the year to go. I booked tickets in February so the anticipation was long. 

One of our daughters is a teacher and calls the week between Christmas and New Year's (or the start of school) "Lazy Week." We dubbed our holiday Lazy Week in Mexico, and what a fun time we had. 

We took a tour to the Mayan ruins at Coba, riding bicycles through the jungle for a short distance. Those who couldn't ride were pedalled in style in a tricycle affair. The bikes were not fancy and I had to remember to use my pedals for braking as mine didn't have hand brakes. 

All 13 of us climbed the very steep and uneven stairs to the top of the Mayan pyramid. The little girls, 5 and 6, did very well. The site was closed for a few months to allow the construction of a wooden staircase over the stones. The rope handrails made us feel a bit more secure. Our guide told us that executions were performed by pushing people off the top of the pyramid. How terrible. 

And here we are, on top of the pyramid with a grand view of the jungle for miles around. A sea of green. 

Our next stop on the tour was swimming in two different cenotes. These were both underground with narrow stairs leading down to the water. How clear it was and very refreshing for swimming. Stalactites and stalagmites were all around.

The food all week was fantastic. We stayed at a resort so no one had to think about food other than what to put on one's own plate. I love Mexican food and enjoyed plenty of it. 

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a gala buffet. There were parties on the beach, sparklers, and fireworks to observe. Most of our crew were in bed long before the festivities began. 

I enjoyed watching the different bird life. This brown pelican dove into the water and frequently came up with a small fish that was devoured in one gulp. 

I didn't grow up near the ocean and when I first visited it during our early years in Ecuador, it didn't appeal to me. I felt it was too restless. It didn't take very long to learn to enjoy the waves crashing onto the shore and creeping up the sand to tickle my feet. Now, many years later, I love it, especially when the water is the warm Caribbean. 

When we lived in Ecuador vacations were almost always spent at the beach, drifting from pool to ocean and back again. This week reminded me of those days and I took a photo of our three children as I had done when they were young. They posed very nicely until the end when I just caught our youngest ready to scoop water onto her brother. A water fight ensued, with lots of laughter. 

This was a week when time felt suspended. Resort life is not real life, and we all enjoyed the break. We returned late Saturday night (early Sunday morning) and today (Monday) the grandchildren are back at school and most of the adults returned to work. Lazy Week in Mexico was a grand success.  

Happy New Year, everyone!

Bird Life in Mexico

 

On this quiet Saturday I thought I'd take a look at some of the photos of birds from Mexico. I've been trying to identify them using Mexican Birds, with a fair bit of success, I think. As always, I am always open to correction on identification. 

The Little Green Heron, above, didn't seem at all concerned about me on the river bank above him. His colouring is so rich.

There were so many beautiful birds. We walked along the river in Puerto Vallarta and saw them flitting about, perched on trees or on rocks in the water. This might be a Great Kiskadee, although I'm not certain. Looks like he's wearing a flat black cap on his head. 

One day we took a water taxi to a fishing village. Brown Pelicans often glide over the water just off the beaches, graceful despite their gangly appearance. One day we took a water taxi to a fishing village and this one posed admirably as we floated by. 

I think this is a Tropical Kingbird perched on a power line in the fishing village of Quimixto. We enjoyed a hike to a waterfall there, and a delicious lunch of fish tacos on a white sand beach with the waves splashing on the shore. 

On our walk to the waterfall we saw several Chacalaca Birds (so much fun to say). In one spot there were about six Chacalacas racing around the woods chasing each other in a circle of about 20 feet. Round and round they went. Our guide had never seen that behaviour before. They are said to be very loud birds, but we didn't hear them beyond the racket they made running around.

In the river estuary near where we ate lunch Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets waded together, both elegant and deliberate in their movements.

On another day we visited the Botanical Gardens where trails wind through forested wildlands, down to the river, and up again. More groomed gardens surround the restaurant and nursery where one can purchase plants. The orchids were amazing, and I'll share those another time. 

Across the river, we watched a variety of birds flitting between shadow and light. The Squirrel Cuckoo above is well camouflaged. When he flies his long tail streams out in a fan behind. A beautiful sight. 

On one of our first walks along the river, I spied this bright orange bird, a Hooded Oriole, I think. I tried to photograph it with my small camera while Tim watched through his binoculars. It wasn't until today, while looking at the photos, that we noticed the looming iguana above the bird. We didn't even see him while we were focused on the Oriole. The bird didn't seem too concerned either. 

One day while walking along the river path we heard a branch crack from a tree just ahead of us. It fell with a thud to the ground. When we got closer we saw just a bit of leafy branch and a big iguana. It had fallen out of the tree. Temperatures were a bit cooler than normal, and apparently iguanas become lethargic and unbalanced when cold and literally fall out of trees. No harm was done and when we passed by later the iguana had moved on. 

It's evening now and time to read a book or watch a British mystery. The little girls are spending the night and have been tucked in after their baths. I'm glad to put my feet up. 

Home Pursuits and a Tour to a Mountain Town

 

Frosty mornings this week, but sunny skies. I won't complain at all as I much prefer the brighter days, even if chilly, to dull grey and rain for days on end. The Hellebores are blooming, and the snowdrops. 

Since returning home earlier in the week there's been laundry to do, groceries to purchase, and cooking. Soup, granola, brownies, plus regular meals. It's good to get back to my own way of eating. 

One sunny morning in Mexico we boarded a sprinter-van with three other couples and drove out of Puerto Vallarta (PV) to San Sebastian del Oeste, an old silver mining town. I learned that PV was once the port for shipping the silver back to Spain in the time of the conquistadores. The road up the mountain was very steep in places, narrow and winding around dry canyons and dusty mountains. Our guide gave a running commentary on the landscape and economics of the area we drove through.

We stopped at an artisanal tequila factory just across the bridge in the above photo. I'm not fond of tequila, and tasting it in the morning just seemed silly. The other couples happily sipped away. Next stop was La Quinta Mary, a family-run coffee plantation where they grow, roast, and sell their coffee beans. I'm not a coffee drinker, but we purchased a bag of coffee beans to grind and serve here at home. The rest of the family loves coffee. 

San Sebastian is a well-preserved town with cobblestone streets, adobe houses, and colourful bougainvillea draped over walls and softening the landscape. 

Through the arch above is the original jail for the town, a dark and damp place. One bed is still there, used by the night watch. 

The local church was light inside, very pretty with blue and white walls and ceiling. Saint Sebastian is venerated as the patron saint of athletics, archery, and plagues. That's quite the portfolio. January 20 is his saint day and the town was gussied up with bunting in red and white. 

Wandering through the streets with narrow passageways, wooden gates, and tiles roofs reminded us both of the mountain villages in Ecuador. Isn't that blue sky beautiful?

The tour included a delicious lunch eaten on a shaded patio. A quesadilla, beans, fresh corn tortillas, chicken with molé sauce, and of course, rice. Fresh guava water was a refreshing accompaniment. 

We've found that taking tours is a great way to learn more about the places we visit. We use Viator - a platform that coordinates with local guides who are very knowledgeable. It's all done online. Our tours in Iceland last summer were organized this way, too. 

I'll be puttering in the house today, but definitely going outside to enjoy the sunshine! 

Road Trip #1: to Mexico

My last post, written almost 3 weeks ago, mentioned that I was heading to Mexico with a group of students and staff to construct homes for needy families. I'm back now, after sharing the driving of 4887 kilometres (3037 miles) there and back. It was a long, long drive. In the above collage are some of the sights seen along the way. We drove the I-5 from the Canadian border at Bellingham to Tijuana, Mexico, and then a few hours into Mexico. 

Such varied scenery - crossing from our Canadian island into Washington State's rainy forests to Oregon's snowy mountain passes, foggy lakes, and down onto the vast California valleys where dry river beds and irrigated fields tell of the lack of water. Then through the crazy maze of Los Angeles and San Diego traffic, over the border and into Mexico. Here, too, bridges over dry waterways told their story. 

There were 39 of us all together, and we divided into 3 teams to build 3 houses. The students were fantastic, working hard and challenging themselves to do new things, with results that they can be proud of. I loved watching them interact with the Mexican children who came around to watch. Scraps of lumber were made into simple robots. Older boys wanted to help build and were given a hammer and nails and shown what to do. The students brought balls and played soccer in the dusty streets and shared small treats and toys with the children. I did a lot of translating when needed, but the universal language of acceptance and kindness went a long way.

I have many thoughts about my experience, but I'm still mulling things over and don't quite know how to put them into words. The expression "grinding the faces of the poor" keeps coming to mind. Our global economy is so complex and so unfair. I wonder about my role in it, and how complicit I am. 
   

I arrived home late (very late) last Monday. The next day family came over and we celebrated Tim's birthday. Katie made the cake. We were going to order pizza, but I decided that I had eaten enough fast food on the trip and cooked a roast beef dinner. I confess that I woke up that morning with lots of spunk, enough to get plans rolling and the groceries purchased, but around 11 am, my energy dissolved into exhaustion and never came back. Dinner was served with help from Tim and my children, and we had a good time. 

While I was gone, spring arrived to my garden. These spots of colour are so welcome and pretty. I wandered around and said 'hello' to all my plants and welcomed the new growth. 

I was home for two nights and then Tim and I took off on another road trip. I'll tell you more about that later. I've missed my blogging friends and look forward to reading your posts and catching up soon. Happy Easter!

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

Historic San Jose del Cabo

Before we went to this area of Mexico (Baja Peninsula) I thought that Cabo San Lucas was the larger, older town and San Jose del Cabo a smaller village where they just happened to put the airport. San Jose del Cabo is the original town and Cabo San Lucas younger. Both have a population around 70,000. (Cabo is the Spanish word for "cape," hence Los Cabos - the Capes.)
 

The younger town is much more of a touristy party town and we went there only once, for the whale watching tour. That was enough. I didn't like the feel of it at all.

In contrast, we walked to San Jose del Cabo several times. Yes, it's still touristy, but much quieter. The historic district has some lovely old buildings and interesting architecture.
 

The Jesuits established a mission in San Jose del Cabo in 1730. I wasn't able to discover when the cathedral was built, but much of it was destroyed in the 1918 hurricane and the building you see now was reconstructed using portions of the old walls.
 

The colourful painted walls in the historic district are enhanced by the strong light. Beautiful ironwork railings, lamps and doors add to the beauty.

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Judith of Lavender Cottage Gardening. 

Birds of a Feather

A 10-minute walk from our hotel took us to a river estuary. The tall green reeds and grasses there were a direct contrast to the desert-like conditions elsewhere in Los Cabos. 

My camera worked overtime taking photos of the birds we saw there. The grouchy looking fellow in the above photo eyed us with suspicion as we stopped along the path. "Should I flee or shall I stay?" he seemed to be thinking.

Here's the same kind of bird, a Great Egret, with his lovely long neck extended. 
 

And away he goes, lifting off with sudden grace, long spindly legs trailing behind, extending a lovely double arch of feathers.
 

This brown pelican looks like he's doing a salutation to the sun, but he is just landing on a scrappy island in the middle of the estuary.

The editing of photos is going slowly. I've been working full days since Tuesday and have agreed to work full time until the middle of March, filling in for a teacher who has some family issues to cope with. Lesson prep takes precedence over blogging, I regret to say. Still, I hope to keep posting as time allows. 

My last class of the day is Home Ec 8 - the students are sewing aprons. What a bustling hive of activity. For all of them, this is their first introduction to sewing. What fun it is to help them, and what a great job most of them are doing. Soon we'll move to the foods unit. This is a half-term class designed to give them just a taste of sewing and cooking. 

 

The Whales Go By

I sit on the couch, one, two, or three children nearby, perhaps one leans against me. Outside the window is a tangle of jungle growth and the heavy sound of tropical rain beats on the roof. I open the book and we are transported to another world, that of the sea. I begin reading the tale of the humpback whales' yearly migration from the Sea of Cortez to Alaska. 
  

I clamber into the inflatable open boat, fasten my life jacket tightly and protect my camera from the spray. We're off!
 

The boat slows as we pass the famous rock arch dividing the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez.  It's mid-afternoon and the water is cold molten steel.
 

The waters surge around the rocks. Waves heave in every direction. Just a moment longer and we round the last bit of rock to head for the open ocean. 
 

The spectators, 20 of us or so, give a collective gasp as we see the first of many whales.
 

We maintain the distance mandated by law so as not to bother the whales unduly. The whales, however, are unaware of the law and approach the boat. Most of these photos are cropped, but the above one is not, just to give you an idea of how close the whales came to the boat.
 

We see several pods of humpbacks, their enormous charcoal coloured backs rising from the sea, then sinking down in a graceful arc as the water pours off their tails. In between whale sightings, I take a photo of the land in the distance.
 

Down he goes as lovely trickles of water flow off his tail.
 

Two, three, and four whales at once. Mothers and babies. It's an abundance of life and beauty and action. Click, click, click, goes my camera.  
 

All around us the whales rise up to breathe, expelling air and mucus in great blows. Scanning the ocean for plumes such as this is how the boat pilot knows where to go. 
 

Each tail is distinctive, our guide tells us. The pointed ends of the tail are encrusted with barnacles.

Humpbacks are massive creatures - 12-16 metres in length and around 36,000 kilograms in weight. Massive.

A new spectacle. A female begins waving her pectoral fins in the air, first one and then the other. She does this to attract male attention. 

Slap goes her tail on the water and the males churn up the water. Wave, slap. Wave, slap. Wave, slap. She rotates from side to side as she flaps and slaps first one fin, then the other.
 

The males rise to the surface, then dive down, circling the female. Our guide tells us they will fight each other for her attention.
 

Wave, wave in graceful arcs. I stop clicking and sit watching in awe at the amazing display. 

We are the last tour of the day and our guide and pilot are in no hurry to return. They are as entranced by the show as we are. Finally, as light threatens to fade, we head to shore.

The Whales Go By. A story book come to life.