aBeen a busy ten days for us! Our friends Vern and Kathleen, from Lake Chapala, arrived for a visit on February 25th. Love it when they visit! Kathleen is my partner in crime, always ready to join me for a bloody mary, glass of wine or a margarita. And Vern is always up for a game of golf. So we were all happy.
We all four went on a boat trip to Isla Espiritu Santo, which is a large island just off the coast of our favorite beach, Tecolote. I'd been on this trip while Matt was in Kansas City and knew what an incredible day it is, but this was the first for Matt, Vern and Kathleen. We had a great time. Before the trip, Kathleen and I got all glammed up with new ankle bracelets from one of the few beach vendors at
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| New Ankle Bracelets |
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| Matt, Syd, Kathleen and Vern |
Tecolote. Then we boarded the boat! This island is a protected area and is pristine. It's a sanctuary for blue footed boobies (which we didn't see) and home to a large sea lion colony. In addition, it's not unusual to see whales, dolphins and mantas during the trip. Most of you know that Matt is not a fan of being out on the open sea. Boats are not his thing. But he did great! The highlight of the trip (at least for me) is visiting the sea lions and being able to get in the water and swim with them. The adults generally ignore you, but the babies are curious and want to play. They'll often swim right up to your mask and try to figure out who that is in there. I actually had to push one little guy off of me because he kept coming up to play. After swimming with the sea lions (los lobos as the Mexicans call them, which is "the wolves"), it's time for lunch. At the point of your day, your hungry and thirsty and the cold beers and ceviche on the beach hit the spot! Fun day!!!
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| Sea Lions |
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| View From the Boat |
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| Our Lunch Spot! |
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| Vern and Ceasar |
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On the Beach!
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On Thursday we took a trip down to San Jose for a little shopping and to catch the Thursday night Art Walk. Kathleen appreciates the art; I seem to most appreciate the free drinks they pass out at each of the gallery. We spent the night at Hotel Collie, just a block from the square. Then Friday morning we had breakfast at the Cabo marina and then headed for Todo Santos for lunch. A drink at the famous Hotel California is always in order, so that's what we did!
New favorite beverage: Jamaica Jalapeno Margarita! This drink is OMG good; Kathleen and I asked for the recipe so we'll be working hard to perfect this beverage when Matt and I return to Chapala in April.
La Paz is one of the handful of cities in Mexico that has a Carnaval celebration. We went to the carnival one evening with Vern and Kathleen (Kathleen and I even rode a carnival ride) and then Matt and I returned on Sunday for the last day of the celebration so we could watch the parade. The theme of the parade was extraterrestials, so lots of aliens and little green men in the parade. Seemed very typical of a carnival in the US, but possibly just a bit tackier. We indulged in street food, Mexican breads, churros and banderillos (corn dogs). While we were there it was much more a family celebration than Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Families were out in force, no flashing your tatas for a string of beads and all ages participated in the parade. My personal favorite was the troop of dancing grandmas!
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| A Concert Every Night but the Headliners started at Midnight! |
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| Must be a shortage of sequins in Mexico after these costumes were assembled! |
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| Everything you'll Never Need |
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| Add caption |
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| Lots of Cute Kids! |
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| Kathleen got "egged" |
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| Wigs were a big seller at the carnival |
Matt and Vern also were able to get in a round of golf. What happens when you send two guys and one camera off to play golf ? One picture!
I've got a great Spanish tutor here in La Paz, and I also pick up Spanish phrases from friends and at yoga. I have a couple new phrases I love. Me doy la manita del gatto - which translates to "I give myself the hand of the cat". This means you try and fix your face to go out. As you get older there is another phrase: Me doy el garro del tigre - which is "I give myself the claw of the tiger" meaning it's much harder to fix yourself up. So true! At my spanish class yesterday, we were talking about clothing. I asked my tutor, Alexsa, what was the term for "grannie panties" in Spanish; she replied "matapaciones". I thought, "oh, I'll never remember that" then I started to break it down.; Mata is "to kill" and paciones is "passion". Perfect!
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