Travel So Far

we miss you, Arizona

2009-01-05T15:02:00.002-07:00

We made it home Saturday night. We are becoming more efficient travelers as it only took us 30 hours this time. My goal is 25.
We are not so pleased to be in all this snow and cold and are in the process of figuring out a longer term solution to our aversion to cold weather.

random sights

2009-01-01T22:44:00.008-07:00

It was our last day here, so we found a way to get to this crazy huge baby cutout in the middle of a field next to the freeway. It is something we have been curious about since we first saw it two winters ago. We found a dirt road by an irrigation canal that took us pretty close to it. After playing around by it and snapping lots of pictures, we drove around the area and found some buildings nearby with more fun plywood figures, including a newsboy holding a newspaper that reads, "Big Baby Frightens Freeway Travelers". Also in the area were cabbage farms and lettuce farms and a rose farm which is something I have never seen before. Ila and Mei loved the fields of roses too. Tomorrow we head north again.

fun with friends

2008-12-30T21:50:00.009-07:00

We are lucky to be friends with not just one, but two families who live in this area of Arizona. We are house and cat-sitting for one family right now in Buckeye while they are in Canada. We spent last weekend with the other family at their house in Casa Grandes and then again today. A few of the highlights from our visit to their house was riding their motorcycle and finding a praying mantis (stick bug). We were marveling today at how we were able to do more than one fun thing in one day. We did three fun things today! With kids in tow, our stamina is greatly reduced. We met at North Mountain Park for a picnic, some good quality playground time and a short hike. We then headed to the YMCA for a swim in an outdoor heated pool. It was a beautiful day. After an accidental drive through downtown Phoenix (surprisingly small and traffic-free), we finished the day at Encanto Park feeding birds, having another picnic, taking a walk around the park and playing at another playground. We were all pretty tired and ready for bed by the end. Check out our friend's blog here for her take on the day.

the Saguaro Cactus

2008-12-27T22:22:00.004-07:00

During a recent drive through the desert, passing by the hundreds of saguaro cacti (the plural form of cactus is so awkward), many questions entered my mind. Once again, the world wide web came to the rescue. One article that I came across was particularly helpful. It was written by a 12 year old boy from Arizona who won a Junior Naturalist Award for his article. He answered all my questions.
How old are they before they grow their first arm? 50-75 years old
What is their lifespan? 150-200 years
What causes their erosion/death? sunburn, frost, moth tunnels, nesting by birds such as the Gila woodpecker, bacteria and yeast infections brought to them by the wind or insects.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T21:59:00.010-07:00

We decided to spend the afternoon exploring the desert to celebrate Christmas. But it started raining. But we went anyway. We came across a cotton mill so we stopped to look around. We are hoping that this was not illegal trespassing...although there was no one around we became a little nervous and didn't stay too long.
As you can see in the pictures, Liam was having a great time climbing the mountains of separated cotton seeds.

the trip so far

2008-12-23T22:51:00.006-07:00

Our trip started around 1pm Friday afternoon, despite our intentions to leave early in the morning. There was no trouble at the border, just the same annoying wait for my mug shot and fingerprints and $6USD payment because I am only a permanent resident of Canada and not a citizen. Maybe someday when Denmark will recognize dual citizenship I will take the plunge and become one. We were still in Montana when the sun went down and there was a bit of a snowstorm. The fuse went on the blower on our heater so it wasn't heating the car or defrosting our windows. Our windshield was full of frost, there was blowing snow, it was dark...very poor visibility. I got behind a snowplow (because it had so many lights and was driving slow enough) and followed it off the freeway where Rus found a spare fuse (yippee!) and we were on our way again. There was a moment when we were parked and before Rus fixed the problem, that I was scared. It was so cold.
It wasn't long before we drove past the blizzard and into Idaho. We drove through Utah and Nevada into Arizona, the temperature rising the further south we got. The kids were a little disappointed to be driving through Las Vegas in the daytime. They wanted to see all the lights.
Just outside of Las Vegas on the border into Arizona over the Colorado River lies the Hoover Dam. It is enormous. It's a bit unnerving to stand and look over the side of the bridge. There were helicopter rides being offered for only $30. Maybe we will try it on the way back...we were content with just walking across the bridge. About an hour before arriving at our destination, we were stopped by an Arizona state policeman. The reason for us being pulled over was a burnt-out headlight. He wrote us a repair order for the headlight as well as for the windshield. The crack in our windshield is lower then the wipers, it is not in the line of vision at all so I am not so happy about being forced to repair that. After explaining the repair order procedure he let us go. The next day, our headlight was miraculously functioning again. The crack in the windshield however, had not disappeared. We made it to our friends' house in Buckeye (just southwest of Phoenix) around 10 pm Saturday night. A 33 hour trip with frequent stops for gas, food, baby nursing, etc. Last year the drive down took 36 hours because went to see the Grand Canyon instead of going through Vegas. Since our arrival we have been spending time with our friends (they left for Canada tonight) and not going much further than the local grocery store. We are just happy to be where it's warmer. We played outside in the rain yesterday.
Here is an aerial view of the Hoover Dam, courtesy of Wikipedia.

it's that time again...

2008-12-17T23:08:00.003-07:00

Now that we are in the depths of winter, what better way to deal with it than to escape? This year our migration is only lasting about 2.5 weeks. We will be leaving early Friday morning the 19th and we have to be back January 4th.

Home Sweet Home

2008-01-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

We made it home safe and sound once again.

Portland, Oregon

2008-01-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

We have been staying in Portland for the past few days with some good friends (the same ones that had us come to Salt Spring Island last summer). We have not ventured too far from their house. It's cold, we're tired and whiny. From what I have seen and heard of this city, it is a really cool place, very liberal. I would describe it as a lot like Vancouver, BC without as much skuzziness and drug addicts. Our friends have three young boys who go to a charter school. It's quite small and new and it has progressive teaching ideas and alternative methods. Liam attended the school with them today and he really liked it. He said "it didn't suck."
We are leaving for home tonight (a 15 hour drive without stops), so we should be home by tomorrow afternoon if we don't run into any car or weather troubles.

the Redwoods

2008-01-14T00:44:00.001-07:00

Making it to the Redwood Forests in Northern California was a such a welcome reprieve from a place like Los Angeles. I have long ago realized that the parts of my travels that I enjoy the most are things like this. My other favorite part of our whole trip was that long desert hike. A tree that is a couple of thousands of years old is more awe-inspiring to me than any jolting amusement park ride.

Hollywood

2008-01-14T00:18:00.000-07:00

next stop: Los Angeles. It wasn't a very charming place. The smog hanging over that city was unbelievable. I thought that people just exaggerated when they talked about it but it was pretty disgusting. I don't know why someone would voluntarily live there, yet a lot of people do obviously. We parked in Hollywood, saw Mann's Chinese Theatre where all the big premieres are held, walked on some stars, window-shopped, but we didn't stay long. Hollywood itself is not a beautiful place either. We had planned on visiting Hollywood and then driving through the swanky places like Malibu and Beverly Hills, but like I said earlier, we had travel fatigue and just wanted to keep going back north, so we skipped the other destinations. We did see a film crew and spotted one not-so-well-known celebrity: Dian Bachar. I didn't recognize him until I saw him in pictures again but Rus and Niels did.

Disneyland

2008-01-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

After a good night's rest in another motel room, we braved Disneyland. We were lucky to come on one of their slowest days of the year (it was the 9th). Unfortunately, the Haunted House was closed, which is something that Rus has waited all his life to see. None of us have ever been to Disneyland. It was definitely a lot flashier than Legoland, although the kids had just as much fun at Legoland. Ila and Liam even said that they didn't want to go to Disneyland again! Mei was sure to let us know that she still did. I think after Legoland, we were all starting to get travel fatigue. I'm glad we went to Disneyland, but I don't think it's something that we want to do again for a long time.

the ocean

2008-01-13T23:53:00.001-07:00

We spent the night before Legoland in a motel and the night after in a tent (and Niels slept in his Jeep) by the ocean. Rus went swimming snorkeling the next morning for a little bit until we had to check out of our campsite. We found a few good beach accesses and even some starfish, anemones, etc.

Legoland

2008-01-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

After leaving Phoenix, we headed to California, specifically to Carlsbad, home of the Californian version of Denmark's Legoland. My brother Niels' feelings about going to Legoland California reminded me of Rus' when we made it to the original Legoland in Denmark about 4 1/2 years ago. It's a dream come true. Liam was also in heaven. If anyone knows Liam, they know how much he loves Lego.

California

2008-01-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

We're leaving for California tomorrow afternoon and will be in Portland, Oregon by next weekend. But until then, we will not have access to the internet.
Our friends have been back from Canada for a few days now and our kids are loving the companionship of their kids. We will miss them when we go but maybe we will come back again next winter...
Some of the things that we loved in Mexico, we have been able to find in Phoenix. The Hispanic population is so high, we almost feel like we are in a more modern Mexico, complete with drinkable tap water and hot showers! Here's Ila, taking good care of our Horchata (rice milk with cinnamon):

Camelback

2008-01-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been fairly uneventful for the kids and I. Rus and Niels are still recovering from a hike they did on monday. They wanted to climb Camelback Mountain for the same reason that I didn't want my kids going: the state park website mentioned that there were "steep, rocky sections with drop-offs on both sides". They were gone for about seven hours and I was beginning to worry about them. The site said that it was only a 1.5 mile hike. But when they came back, I found out that they had gone up the mountain, down the other side, back up again, then back down again to where they began. Rus fell at some point and has a very colorful leg to show for it. They both have been having trouble climbing stairs lately. Niels let me use a couple of his pictures:

South Mountain Park

2007-12-30T15:34:00.001-07:00

We spent all friday afternoon at South Mountain Park, south of Phoenix. There are awesome park and trail systems here. We decided to take a 3.5 mile hike to a natural hidden tunnel, creatively named "Hidden Tunnel". There were a few petroglyphs outside the tunnel. The tunnel itself was pretty cool but we were feeling quite tired by the time we made it there, so we weren't sure it was worth the long hike with little kids. The hike was awesome though. The desert mountains are beautiful. It wouldn't be a good place to hike in the summer heat however, as there's no shade except for the occasional huge rock formation. On the way back to our vehicles, Rus and Niels each took one of the girls on their shoulders and we made it back in record time. The whole hike took us three hours. It is a prime location for mountain bikers. There were a few there that day and Niels was really wishing he had his bike with him. We rewarded the kids (and Niels) with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's for pizza, games, rides and prizes. We finished off the day by going to Mesa to see the elaborate Christmas lights and nativity scene displays at the Mesa Temple. We all slept good that night and spent the next day relaxing and shopping at thrift and toy stores.

The Phoenix Zoo

2007-12-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent a tiring but fulfilling day at the Phoenix Zoo. Driving there was kind of nerve-racking as we're not used to that many overpasses woven on top of each other. It's good practise for California. Los Angeles will be crazy!
Here are some of our favorites from the zoo (click on the picture if you want to see it bigger):
pic #1: the world's largest rodent. #2: Niels picking an orange...it was SOUR!! #3: Mei (you might notice that there will be more pictures of Mei than anyone else. That's because she's the only one that loves getting her picture taken).

el desierto

2007-12-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a picnic in the Sonoran Desert, exploring, looking for lizards. We saw three lizards and lots of huge Saguaro cacti. Niels even got attacked by one (a cactus, not a lizard); the Jumping Cholla, or "jumping cactus". Two of the lizards we saw are called Sonoran Spiny Lizards. The other one I have not been able to identify yet. We also attempted to explore the Gila River but there were too many No Trespassing signs and fences in our way. On the way home, we had to stop and pick a little bit of cotton. Those fields of cotton balls are just too tempting.

on the road again...

2007-12-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Buckeye, a suburb of Phoenix, around midnight last night. We drove for 34 hours, stopping only to eat, use a bathroom, or admire a view, the greatest being the Grand Canyon. We arrived at the Grand Canyon about 20 minutes before sunset and by the time we left, it was dark. We used today to recover from the grueling drive (there were three drivers to two vehicles- we took turns sleeping) and get to know the neighborhood a little. We are house and dog sitting for some friends for a week or two while they are visiting family in Alberta. They left about an hour after we arrived, taking the same grueling approach to travel that we did. We are hoping to spend a few days with them when they get back before we head over to California. They offered us one of their Chihuahuas (the male, named Titan). Liam is quite entertained by them (bigger picture above is Liam at the park in charge of the two wrestlers) but I think we will decline the offer. A cat, three kids and a baby on the way is enough for now.

Home

2007-09-07T16:58:00.000-06:00

Well, we're back in Raymond again. Here's the one and only picture we took on our return trip. We had to stop for 15 minutes in Roger's Pass while some people were doing some work on the roadside mountain (risk of big falling rocks). So we got out and enjoyed the view.

back in Vancouver

2007-09-03T20:43:00.000-06:00

We stayed at Thomas and Allison's apartment last night. Niels was also there from Edmonton, getting in some vacation time before going back to university. After breakfast at the famous Bon's (all-day $2.95 breakfast) where eight of us ate for $20, we went our separate ways. Our family went to Stanley Park. We spent two hours wandering around the Lost Lagoon (we saw a raccoon, squirrels, swans, ducks, geese...) and didn't even come close to seeing the whole park. We drove past the totem poles for a quick look before leaving the park. We then drove past North Vancouver to the temperate rain forest of Lynn Canyon Park. We went on a few small hikes including one that took us over the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge and past Twin Falls. This trip is really make us want to move to BC. I wonder if I would miss the wide open prairies though...

the last days on the island

2007-09-03T20:24:00.000-06:00

We took the ferry back to Vancouver again yesterday afternoon. The first picture is of all the kids we lived with and Cherry the kitten. We took Cherry to the SPCA Saturday. Mei had a really hard time with it. The second picture is of the little pond with a rowboat that was on the property. The third picture is Mei at the summit of one of the mountains on the island. It was a great experience to be here. We met some people who offered their homes and travel trailers for us to stay in if we ever want to come back. Aside from the tourist traffic, it is a beautiful place. It was interesting to live with two other families in the same house for a whole week! We all got along quite well even though one of the familes and our family had never met. It could have been like an episode on a reality show if we had all had stronger personalities and were competing for a million dollars.

Salt Spring Island

2007-08-29T15:58:00.000-06:00

We arrived on Salt Spring Island on Monday, drove down some narrow, windy roads past various artisan shops (shoppes?), therapeutic services, gardens and farms to the house where we are staying. The kids found a skinny stray calico kitten hanging around at the house, which has been named Cherry. There are three other adults and six more children living here. One of the adults is an amazing cook and doesn't mind cooking for everyone. In fact, he prefers it.

We explored Ganges, which is where most of the people live. We found the public library (hence this post..). We have found a few beach accesses and I have some trails in mind that I want to check out in the next few days. There are little roadside stands everywhere. We all tried fresh figs for the first time yesterday!

pics: the kids at the house; Liam with a huge starfish; Rus with his prized fresh fig that he has been waiting almost 35 years to try. Decadent! ; the kids at the library

Commercial Drive

2007-08-26T19:30:00.000-06:00

Thomas and Allison took us to Commercial Drive where we could easily be supplied with an entirely organic diet and continuous style inspiration. The houses in the area are pretty colorful and unique and just our size (small). We went to church this afternoon where we were among the most ethnically diverse congregation we have ever been with. Everyone has been so friendly to us but maybe it's because of our cute kids...
Tomorrow afternoon we are leaving on a ferry for Salt Spring Island where we will be staying with some friends at a cabin that sits on 20 acres and has such things as a hot tub and a pond with a rowboat. Our friends have three boys around the same age as our kids, so not only will we be in heaven, but our kids will too!

pics: the kids at Thomas and Allison's apartment, Ila and Mei outside a shop on Commercial Drive, Liam riding a chipmunk

Van

2007-08-25T21:38:00.000-06:00

After breakfast at my brother Thomas and his Girlfriend Allison's place we headed downtown along Mainstreet to Chinatown (the poorest area in all of Canada). We walked through the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens, Hastings, Gastown, Canada Place, and past Grandville, and the Vancouver Public Library. We saw lots of good stuff (and some bad). There was a Zombie Walk going on, which I sort of wished I could have participated in. I like it here. I think if I were young and childless, I could make it my home.

vines, wines, and Fabio

2007-08-25T00:09:00.000-06:00

one last stop at the winery before going to Vancouver; Me and Fabio, Rus with a huge box of empties (building material for our future glass bottle house, he thinks):
Now we are in Vancouver! We will be staying at my brother Thomas' place for a couple of days.

Lake Okanagan

2007-08-24T00:40:00.000-06:00

Our last day in Kelowna...the two childless couples in this house will have to re-adjust to the quiet after we leave tomorrow!
Rus labeled bottles in the winery a little bit today while I tried to clean up after ourselves but the highlight of our day was going down to the lake with our friend Crystal and her canine friend, who is now also our canine friend.
Here is a fun picture of Rus diving into the lake this evening... (that's Crystal's head off to the side of the picture)
It was nice to snorkel again, although there wasn't much to see. I'm getting excited for the ocean! Here's a cute picture of Mei with her "pretty pink rock"... My kids love rocks. Maybe they will be geologists like their uncles...

Aunt Loretta and Arrowleaf Cellars

2007-08-22T15:55:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to see my friend's family's vineyard and winery for about a decade and I finally got the chance today. After spending the morning with Rus' aunt, we headed to our friend's family's vineyard and winery, Arrowleaf Cellars where we were given our own personalized tour and a bag of goodies. No grapes though; they will be edible in about a month.
Pictures: Rus' aunt Loretta with Rus, Mei and Liam; Liam labeling bottles; Ila and Mei with Fabio (who made the Winery Dogs of BC 2008 calendar and poster); and Ila with the grapevines

the beach, an orchard, and some goats

2007-08-21T23:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we did a lot of nothing. After four nights in a tent and a lot of hours driving it was nice to bathe, do laundry and just relax and enjoy the view. Today, we met up with some friends who are currently living in Kelowna and went to a beach, a peach orchard and a petting zoo. It was a good day.

BC so far...

2007-08-21T12:11:00.000-06:00

Being in travel mode has put me in the the blogging mood. Although it's not as "exotic" as Mexico and we are not going to be gone for nearly as long, traveling outside our home province still stirred the blogger in me.
So we set off to British Columbia last Wednesday with our trunk packed with clothes, a tent, and imperishables. We found our trusty old campsite that we have come back to for the past few years on the edge of Horseshoe Lake and settled in for four nights stay. Our first two days were spent at Fort Steele ("Where history comes alive!"), an old heritage town with constant entertainment from live actors and demonstrations. The high point for me was during the indoor theatre performance when I was picked from the audience to go on stage, something I think all of us secretly both desire and maybe fear. Liam spent a lot of time in the blacksmith shop which awarded him the privilege of receiving a handmade nail and mini horseshoe. Nearing the end of out time at Fort Steele, Ila and Mei had gotten so comfortable around the actors that they followed them around, talking to them and holding onto the women's skirts.
The next day we went to a Trout Hatchery and then just hung out at the lake catching frogs, turtles, and even a snake and a toad. Rus was pretty excited that he was able to use his snorkeling skills to dive for turtles.
Sunday morning, we headed to Fairmont, went to a small church there, bathed in the free hot springs, then headed on towards Revelstoke. We searched for a few campsites in the area; one of them leading us a little bit farther into the wilderness than we would have liked (there have been a large amount of bear sightings lately and the "road" was more like a path). It was getting late and raining so we decided to plow through to Lake Country instead where we are now staying with friends.

THE END

2007-03-25T20:45:00.001-06:00

It has been a lot harder returning to a normal life than I ever imagined. A lot of unforeseen things have gone wrong. It is hard on our kids too but they are adjusting as well as they can. One of the first things I wanted to do when I got home was get rid of STUFF. I realized how much I can live without. The only possessions I missed when we were gone was the computer, books and the kids toys. I guess I missed having my own home too but not really the stuff inside it, except for maybe the beds, the bathtub and the fridge and those sorts of things. The amount of unnecessary stuff in our house was overwhelming, almost suffocating. I think we will have to have a lot of yard sales in the next few months. Another thing that was overwhelming was the amount of work that still needed to be done on our house, but that's a story in itself and not something I want to get into.
The best part about coming home was how happy the kids were about it. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, even before he went into the house, Liam ran to his best friend's house to tell him he was home. Ila and Mei squealed with delight every time they came across another of their prized toys; their stuffed animals, their princess dress-up shoes and necklaces, their fuzzy purses. I also enjoyed sleeping in my own bed again.
We have spent the majority of our time back just being with friends and family. So many people had babies. During Liam's easter break, we will visit some more. We are friends with a family that speaks Spanish and it has been fun being able to understand a lot of what they are saying. It is a good indication of how much we have learned of the language because when we hung out with them before we never had any idea what they were saying. We have no really big regrets about our trip and we are glad that we did it, for our kids' sake and our own. It was quite the experience!

The Aftermath

2007-03-25T15:04:00.001-06:00

We've been back in Canada since just after 12 a.m. on Wednesday.
The weather has been pretty good for this time of year (17 celcius, 65 fahrenheit yesterday), although the forecast is calling for some cooler weather in a few days maybe snow.
It seems like practically anything that could go wrong has gone wrong since we got back, flat tires on our car, then a huge oil leak, hot water heater problems in our house, and our phone's not working very well... it has been a major pain in the bottom.
In church today I was enjoying seeing some diversity: asians, natives, a little kid with a mohawk, and a dad with a faux-hawk, a girl with fire engine red hair. And it's been cool to see hutterites around and about too.
Liz went to the library before she even went home, we're so glad to have such a wicked awesome library system here to use again.
And the 2nd hand stores are great too, it was best described as relief to go to the MCC thrift store and check out the 25 cent clothes, epecially given how expensive stuff like that was in Mexico.

But, in general, it's like we never left.

-Rus

home...almost

2007-03-21T12:51:00.000-06:00

We had a great time in Phoenix. Ila fell in love with our friends' chihuahua-cross puppies, Belle and Titan. She didn't want to go home. She cried "I don't want to go home. Mei want to go home. I don't want to go home." We took full advantage of their pool and the beautiful weather too. We said good-bye to Phoenix and boarded the first of many buses. We were reminded of the odd people that take public intercity transportation. Now that it's over, it doesn't seem like it was so bad. I don't want to do it again for a long time though! We made it to Great Falls last night where our friend and his son picked us up and brought us to Lethbridge. We slept the night at his place and the kids and I will spend the day here while he and Rus hook up a new water heater in our house. It feels a little odd that I have made it all the way to Lethbridge but still haven't gone home to Raymond yet. But what's another day or two when we've been gone 5 months.
I was really wanting to go to the Copper Canyon before we left Mexico but by the time we decided we wanted to leave we already had a bad case of traveller's fatigue. My desire to go to the canyons was replaced by my desire to just go home.

I apologize for the poorly composed post. I am still so tired and don't have the intellectual energy to make it flow.

the yellow house

2007-03-17T14:59:00.001-06:00

We are scheduled to leave Phoenix on Monday morning and will make it home late Tuesday night. Mei has been saying a lot that she wants to go home to the yellow house where her purple bear is (she got a purple care bear just before we left Canada). I think the only one of us who hasn't mentioned a desire to go home is Ila.

the urge to speak

2007-03-16T14:46:00.000-06:00

I have this overwhelming urge to speak spanish everywhere I go. Phoenix has a 34.1 percent Hispanic/Latino population (2000 census). And that is probably just counting the people that are here legally, so I'm sure the number is higher. I hear and see Spanish everywhere. I've noticed chili candies and panederias and lavanderias and apple soda and a lot of things are bilingual. There are Spanish radio and TV channels. It's a nice transition coming here before going home.

Tataki Mashoo (Let's Beat the Drum)

2007-03-16T14:02:00.000-06:00

The elementary/middle school that our friends'(Jim and Jen) kids go to staged a performance last night of Japanese drumming (Taiko) and song and dance (Soran Bushi). The school had received a government grant to help fund it. Jim, who is the middle school art teacher there, participated in a couple of the songs (he's the one with the white headband in the first picture). He also showed us how to make paper cranes the night before which I have completely forgotten how to do already. They used these to decorate the stage. The last picture above are hundreds of cranes strung together. All the cranes that were made for the show are later going to be sent to Japan to be hung in Nagasaki Peace Park and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. We were pretty lucky to come here in time to see this show. It was awesome. It made me want to drum.

In Case You Didn't know...

2007-03-16T12:37:00.000-06:00

Liz's other blog of book reviews:

http://lisbeths-fruit.blogspot.com/

Rus

good ole Guaymas, good ole Denis

2007-03-14T15:11:00.000-06:00

We made it to Phoenix early this morning. Yesterday, we spent the day in Guaymas between night buses, visiting our friend Denis (in the first picture with us). We took a walk down to the harbour and were bombarded by a group of uniformed school kids who fawned over Ila and Mei's little blonde heads and blue eyes. We also caught a little bit of a boxing match and Liam and Denis made some inuksuks out of chunks of white shells and marshmallows. On the second night bus, I went through a short period of remorse about leaving Mexico but I got over it and am sort of looking forward to returning home to see my family, friends, cat and house. But first, we will take advantage of the beautiful weather in Arizona at our friends' place for as long as possible before heading north for good.

bus bus bus bus bus

2007-03-12T14:07:00.000-06:00

I bought our tickets for a night bus to Guaymas this morning. We might stay there a night depending on how badly we want to keep moving. We are going to take another night bus from there to Phoenix where we will stay with our friends for a few days again and then hop on another bus or two for another 30 hours. phew. That's a lot of bus time. I think when we are back we will feel like we never want to ride a bus again. But isn't that what women say after they have just given birth, that they never want to do something like that again? And yet, plenty of women go through more than one pregnancy and still want more. I guess the desire for another adventure will inevitably lead us to more excruciatingly long bus rides.

el mercado

2007-03-12T13:52:00.000-06:00

Our kids are enamoured with the whole cows, pigs and chickens that they get to see whenever we go to the market. We once saw a guy stumbling down the aisle with the weight of a whole cow on his shoulders. There is very little processing here. It goes straight from the farm to the butcher to the cook to the mouth. It is good for us to see this so we are not so removed from the origin of the meat that we are consuming. We ate cow tongue tacos before we knew what it was we were eating. It tasted fine. Rus really liked it. Liam didn't seem to mind when we told him. I guess to him it would be on par with eating any part of an animal's body because he hasn't been conditioned to think that some parts of an animal's body are less desirable for consumption than others.

the friends we have made

2007-03-12T13:44:00.000-06:00

We have met some amazing people here and we will miss them all; the volunteers at the membership library, the friendly families in our church, the shop-owners and vendors and their kids, the family who runs the place where we stay...

iguanas and geckos

2007-03-12T13:40:00.000-06:00

We'll miss these critters.

tazos and spiners

2007-03-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

Satisfying Liam's daily desire for a new toy are these treasures, found in chip bags, that we find on the street or are given by avid chip eaters. The tazos (with a simpsons theme- homer is homero) are like pogs and the spiners are just tops.

the Vineyard

2007-03-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is the church that is in charge of the feeding, dental and learning centers that have been set up in the poorer colonies that I talked about in a previous post. They are doing some great things.

Picture explanations:

1. The bus that takes tourists to see "the other side of Mazatlan" and brings food to the people in the colonias and the dump.

2. The main church building in the Golden Zone (tourist district) where they also host meetings for Friends of Mexico and Hands Across the Border.

3. A line-up for food at the dump. Ila is standing off to the side in this picture.

4. Area where cement water filters are made to give people cleaner drinking water.

5. The water filters in storage, soon ready to be filled with filtration system.

Deer Island

2007-03-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

We had to go to the tourist zone in order to catch a ride on this amphibious vehicle to get to Isla de Los Venados. It was converted from a US army vehicle. Everything we had read about this island promised good snorkelling but when we checked it out, the water was cloudy and we didn't see anything that we hadn't already seen. We had a good day, despite the snorkelling disappointment. We found hermit crabs and some of the best seashells yet. It was nice and quiet (once the beer-drinking tour group left) and the sand was warm and soft. Ila and Mei had a blast jumping into it(Ila is in the blue shirt, Mei in the pink).

Dogs in Clothes

2007-03-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

An exceptionally high percent of dogs wear clothing here. Why? It's so hot!

stickers, tassles, statues...

2007-03-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

The best thing about the transit system here is the personalized driver's spaces.

the poorer colonias

2007-03-07T15:59:00.001-07:00

The people in the first three pictures have just been displaced to this new area on the outskirts of Mazatlan because the owner of the land that their families had been squatting on for 30 years decided to develop it for middle-income housing. The girl holding Ila is standing in front of her "new home". The next three were taken at the dump where people scavenge for things they can haul away to get money for. Some of them use donkeys or horses to pack their daily collections. I was pretty excited that they let me sit on their donkey and so were the kids. The last picture is just a cute little boy from one of the many poor colonias we saw today. The kids there loved our kids because they were blonde. A lady once told us that her kids had never seen blonde kids before, just blonde adults, so it's quite a novelty, especially since they don't live in the tourist zone.

An Orphanage

2007-03-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

This orphanage, simply named the Mazatlan Orphanage is the only one that we have been able to find in our time here, although there are at least two others that I know of. The place looked amazingly well-kept and efficient and the kids seemed more physically well off than a lot of the kids I have seen in Mexico. Liam really liked this bedroom. He thought it looked like something out of a movie. There are 23 kids living there right now, most of them girls and all but one are school-aged.

amaranth

2007-03-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Amaranth is an extremely lightweight kind of grain that Liam absolutely loves. He thinks it tastes like popcorn so that's what he calls it. They are inexpensive tiny little balls of goodness that we eat by the handful but I prefer them in yogourt. They can also be used in baking and as cereal.

It's a jungle in there!

2007-03-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

That is what Rus always says when we pass by this abandoned house every Sunday on our walk to and from church. We have seen quite a few houses like this that have been taken over by nature.

City Park

2007-03-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

This was a wonderful place to spend the afternoon. It is a huge treed park with two lakes and it shares a fence with the Acuario zoo so we were able to peak through it at the parrots and crocodiles (first picture above). Liam was most excited about the turtles in one of the lakes. At one point we counted 29 heads sticking up out of the water, so I'm sure there were more than that. The playground equipment was reminiscent of my childhood; in Canada it has long been replaced or outlawed.

getting ready to migrate north...

2007-03-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

As the date of our departure nears (tentatively March 14th), I have been noticing with greater clarity the things that I like and dislike about Mexico, and Mazatlan in particular.
I will miss the colorful buildings, the beautiful people, the fact that everyone and their dog is an entrepreneur, and of course the weather and the beach.
One of the things that I won't miss are the taxis that honk at us all day long, the scary bus drivers(well, all drivers here are scry actually) and the smell of sewer and the frustration from our poor communication skills (although since coming to Mazatlan, our spanish has greatly improved).

The life of a fish

2007-03-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

We went to the art museum this week and there was a painting there that reminded me of something that happened last week. We were walking along the beach when we came across a fish. It looked dead at first but then we realized it was alive. We took Liam's sand shovel and scooped it farther out towards the ocean. The tide came in and covered it and there was just enough depth for it to start swimming sideways toward deeper water. It looked so alive and excited to be in the wetness again. It was going to live! But then before we could even blink, a pelican swooped down and snatched it up for lunch. It was an exciting and emotional moment for everyone invloved.

playa bruja

2007-03-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

This place has become one of our favorite all-day hangouts. It's popular with surfers because of the big waves and other than the surfers and a handful of locals and tourists, there are really not a lot of people there. That might change soon, as there is an RV park being built close to it. We love it because of all the things to do. We can bodyboard in the waves (I finally tried out the board and although I am far from knowing how to do it properly, I loved it), climb and explore the rocks and cliffs, swim and snorkel in the tide pools, even watch for bats in a bat cave. The kids love the tide pools because they are just the right size for them when the tide is low. Rus had discovered the bat cave last time we went and he took us to it this time (we have decided we want to come here at least once a week before we leave). It was quite the challenge climbing over the rocks to get to it and once we came to it we didn't dare go too far in. Liam and I went in just far enough to see a bat swoop down and up again.

trees versus concrete

2007-02-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

another iguana

2007-02-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

This one scared me because it ran right towards me, only to disappear under the sidewalk beneath my feet. It was dark grey with a little bit of yellow on its back and it was about 1 1/2 feet long.

home sweet home

2007-02-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Me at the Mazatlan Membership Library and Mei running down the aisle from the kids section with selected book in hand.

more carnaval

2007-02-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Carnaval has been a tradition in Mazatlan for over one hundred years. During the week-long festivities I saw everything from a pet monkey in diapers to fireworks being set off a few feet away from me to a group of senior women engaged in semi-seductive dancing. It got crowded at times (we always left before it got dangerously so) but it was fun to see the kids' confetti-covered faces and their expressions when they saw "real live princesses!"

cute

2007-02-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

I just thought I should take a moment to show off how cute our kids are.

Que pasa?

2007-02-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

It's Rus. I´ve been nursing an infected toe (from a scrape on a rock while trying to bodyboard a few days ago, it´s almost better). So, I "took a day off" yesterday and for a bit today, so I thought I might add a thing or 2 here.

We love this place, the kids love it, Liam tells me how much he loves it pretty often. Mei was telling me this morning about what she had done at "our beach" yesterday.
I was listening to the cd that Liz made for the trip and it was surprising how many songs made reference to the ocean, it seemed fitting - like it was prophetic.

Had time to listen to a horrible book on tape called "The Lake House". Derivative to the point of plagarism. With crap like that becoming a best seller it certainly gives one hope to be published someday.

just a house

2007-02-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

This is just a house that I loved beacuse is quite run down but you can still see how beautiful it once was and what potential it still has.

los pinos

2007-02-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is our favorite place to hang out, especially at low tide when all the ocean life is revealed. The kids just need a bucket or two for catching fish and crabs and other organisms and Rus and I just need a mask and snorkel and we are set for the entire day. That's Rus adjusting his mask in the background.

Carnaval

2007-02-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

Zamantha

2007-02-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Zamantha is the daughter of the family that runs the boarding house (they also live here) and the kids have really grown to love her. She helps us with our Spanish because she refuses to let us speak English and won't give up until she finds out what she wants to know. We have told her that she is our best Spanish teacher and she looks at us like we are loco. She also looks at us that way when we tell her that we don't play the lottery or that I don't wear lipstick or when we accidently say the wrong word or our pronounciation is horribly off.

sports on the beach

2007-02-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

We bought a cheap amateur bodyboard and Rus has been loving it. He even "rode" a wave properly. In the background of the picture is Mei playing in the water and a local playing soccer. There are often ballgames of various types on the beach, especially on Sundays. One game that they we have seen played here originated from the Aztecs and has evolved into something more like beach volleyball.

cats and dogs

2007-02-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Just like there was an unbelievable amount of stray dogs in Dublan, there are is an ubelievable amount of stray cats here. I'm sure that the fisherman feeding them discarded fish heads and tails keeps their population up.

The mystery of the lost pictures

2007-02-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have unlocked the mystery of my digital camera. It turns out that there was something wrong with my memory card, maybe a piece broke off, and that is why I lost all those pictures. That part I can't get back, but I have found that if I take the memory card out, there is still memory available on my camera for about 100 VGA-quality pictures that are able to download (no pictures from the memory card would download). And then I found some presumably missing pictures. I am a genius.
Picture explanations: These are pictures that I thought were lost but it turns out that they somehow got onto the memory of the camera instead of the card. They are from our Christmas holidays in Mazatlan, if I remember correctly. The first two pictures are of a wagon carrying wild animals that we just happened across on the street. It was parked outside a pub and the driver or caretaker was no where in sight, and the cage did not look very securely bolted. It was tempting to pet the lazy-looking bear's paw or the equally lazy-looking tiger's head because they were RIGHT THERE within easy reach. I held back for the sake of setting a good example for the children.
The third picture is of the black iguana that I mentioned in a previous post.

the park and my hair

2007-02-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

We spent some time at the park near our home today. Ila and Mei found some friends in some girls whose parents were here for Carnaval (more about Carnaval later). Notice the crazy angle on the teeter-totters.
And then we come to the last picture. I think Halli will appreciate this greasy mug. I got Liam to take a picture of me so I could show off my hair-do that Zamantha spent 3 hours on. All I can say about this picture is that it keeps my head from swelling any more. Which can happen here in Mexico if you are blonde and green or blue-eyed and get called pretty lady a lot.

rocking and swinging

2007-02-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

1. A skeleton lady in a rocking chair. You can buy skeletons doing pretty much anything here; cooking, playing guitar, performing an operation, anything you can think of.
2. Mei on a swing at a park by the boat dock to stone island. Swinging is one of her favorite things to do in life.

little fish, little fish swimming in the water

2007-02-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here is my one and only tropical fish picture. You can just barely see the little blue fish above the sea urchin. That's Rus in the reflection. I have been tempted to buy an underwater camera but I don't know enough about them to make a wise purchase. Maybe if I get into scuba diving some day it will be worth it.

Technology

2007-02-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Blogger and I are friends again but now I have run into some contention with my digital camera. Over 500 pictures went missing and I can't upload any to the computer anymore. I probably should have saved them onto a disk periodically. I'm glad that I have been keeping this blog because at least I have the pictures that I posted on the internet. I am not as upset about losing these pictures as one would think. Everything is pretty vivid in my memory still and pictures don't always capture the best memories. I think when one is experiencing everything for the first time, it remains in the memory and doesn't fade as quickly. The thing that has stuck with me the most clearly is the first time I floated in the water with a mask and snorkel and there were all kinds of fish swimming around me. The short videos of the kids are the ones I will miss though because none of them are on the internet and there were some cute ones. I had uploaded a few pictures to a certain computer at this internet place a few days ago that I haven't posted yet so I have come back to this same computer in hopes of finding them again and I have. I will post these last ones now and hopefully I can figure out what is wrong with my camera and I can be friends with it again.

the cemetery

2007-02-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

This was a beautiful place and the burial plots varied widely. There were sites marked with everything from rustic wooden crosses to colorful tiles to elaborate statues and buildings. There were even some empty ones overgrown with trees(like the one in the fourth picture), which was a little scary. One gravesite had a big opening and we couldn´t even see the bottom. Yikes. We kept a close eye on our kids here! I think my favorites were the really old ones that were sinking and the ones that were cracking from tree trunks pushing their way through them.

the volkswagon

2007-02-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

This is quite the country for volkswagons. Here is a van that has been converted into a truck.

2007-02-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Rus thinks this is the way the banana should be marketed.

lavanderia

2007-02-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

washing and drying clothes with "help" from Ila and Mei...

creatures

2007-02-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Liam holding Brittle Stars, Mei walking along the rocks during lowtide, another gecko visitor (this one was only about an inch long), and some sea creatures

Arts and Crafts

2007-02-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

grrr.

2007-02-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Blogger is being frustrating lately so I think I am going to take a little break from it until it works better again. It has taken me quite a few internet sessions since friday just to post that last post. So it's break time. Just e-mail us if you are worried about whether we are alive or not.

the lighthouse

2007-02-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

We trekked to the lighthouse on Liam's birthday. The walk to the bottom of the hill where the real hike started was long enough but along the way we saw some neat stuff like a man on his break from his construction job who had caught a Giant Hawkfish with his hands. He also gave Liam a Brittle Star, which is like a starfish, but it has longer skinnier arms and they are brittle. We took some stairs to the bottom of a cliff for some exploring. And just before the climb to the lighthouse we came across a swordfish that was caught that day. The view at the lighthouse was all worth it. We could see all of Mazatlan, its beaches, ports, islands, and the mountains to the west. This lighthouse claims to be the highest naturally elevated lighthouse in America and the highest in the world that is still in use.

Jicama

2007-02-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Samantha gave us a strange vegetable the other day that was really tasty, especially with lime juice so we looked for it in the supermarket and bought some to enjoy again, with lime juice of course. It is called jicama. It's a root vegetable and it looks a little like an onion. It's like a sweet version of a red radish.

Happy Birthday Liam!

2007-02-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Liam is seven years old today. We celebrated with cake, pizza, some Kinder surprises and a piñata on the roof of our building with just us and the landlord's daughter Samantha, who has become great friends with our kids. I think she is about 13 years old. Liam and I found some cool Mazatlan-related Lego while perusing the Lego site after reading some birthday e-mails. I guess only the underwater theme is related to Mazatlan...there aren't actually any giant squid attacking exploration centers here.

our new passion

2007-01-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

We only have to go about waist deep to see hundreds of fish. Rus was lucky enough to see a pufferfish yesterday. Liam said he saw "a fish like the one in that movie Finding Nemo" this morning.
That's me in the picture, in case you couldn't tell...

homesick

2007-01-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling a little homesick lately and seeing this little curious cat peeking over the old boat at me reminded me of our cat Simon and it made my homesickness worse.

a fisherman and his tricks

2007-01-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

In an issue of National Geographic Traveler, Rus showed me a good quote that was related to an experience we had. It was about how a man would rather give someone money to perform their native dancing than have him move into the city to work at a gas station. It made us feel better about this fisherman today who wanted money from us. He gave Liam a stick to hold and wrapped sea food skins around the end for Liam to hold up to feed the birds. He kept telling us to take a picture and we have laerned that if someone wants us to take a picture then they want money for it later and we kind of hesitated but we saw how fun it was for the kids so we just went along. We hate being pressured into giving someone money. Then we realized that we would rather give him money and have other tourists give him money for this so he can keep doing what he does than have him do something he might hate, assuming he doesn't hate what he does...

sea shell city, the golden zone, and feeling useful

2007-01-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

We decided to venture into the tourist zone, the Zona Dorada (Golden Zone). It is what our Lonely Planet guide book describes as an "unashamed" tourist playground. We didn't stick around too long, although there would probably would have been some interesting dive/snorkelling shops if we had looked for some. We came across a huge store specializing in selling seashells and other sea treasures. It was ridiculous. I have never seen so many in one place. It made us a little angry though because all the seashells were there and not on the beaches for us to discover ourselves. They also had some funny coconut faces as you can see in the picture.
We also found a non-denominational christian church (second picture above) that offered free internet and phone calls to Canada and the US, for a small donation, which we didn't mind at all since it went to some excellent programs. They help kids go to school, they feed and clothe hundreds of people, they build water filter systems, they help with orphanages, etc. They told us that what they really need other than donations are people to go and play with the kids in the orphanages. I went to talk to the couple that runs the Salvation Army down the street but it was hard to communicate because of the language barrier, so not much came out of that. Our friend Mimi from "the breakfast club" is also interested in helping at one of the orphanges so maybe she can tell us something next time we see her. Despite our good intentions, we find it a little frustrating because of our inability to communicate (we are getting a little better) especially with kids because they seem to have a harder time understanding our heavy accents. We also find ourselves spending most of our time just keeping our own kids content and out of trouble.
One thing that I have started doing is working at the volunteer-run library in the old historic downtown. It is only once a week for a few hours, but it is something that I think I will look forward to each week. I feel at home in a library and at least a little bit useful. This has been easy work because the majority of the books and patrons are in english.
We have found quite a few Spanish language courses here but they are out of our budget. There are plenty of courses offered at home that I think we will look into when we return instead.

We're famous! "Crecimiento rapido" means "growing up fast" referring to Rus sitting in our kids' stroller. Me and the kids are in the background.

2007-01-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

Falling in Love with Maz

2007-01-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

A few of the things we like about Mazatlan:
1. all the animals we have seen - we found this pale little gecko in our room under a pile of clothes - the kids named it Gecka Gecko
2. beautiful tiled exterior walls on tiny houses - like the houses in Dublan, I have to limit myself with the number of pictures of tiles that I take
3. all the cheap intertainment - because this is such a big place, there are things like big malls with mini amusement parks - the kids rode these boats until they were sick of it for 15 pesos each
4. The cool people we meet - we have nicknamed some of our friends that we have met at the same restaurant "the breakfast club" because they all seem to know each other - this is a tiny restaurant kind of tucked away and the menu is simple, cheap and delicious - I don't even know the name of the place. Rus and I just call it Lerma because it is by the Hotel Lerma that we stayed at when we first came. The picture is of Liam and a three-legged black poodle he befriended by the name of Lola, owned by a Newfie named Mimi.

Isla de la Piedra

2007-01-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

We met a local man in a restaurant a few days ago who had found some interesting things on the beaches of Isla de la Piedra (one of the above pictures shows a dried sand dollar -estrella del mar- and a recently dead and not so dry sand dollar). He gave these sand dollars and a couple of nice shells to Liam. He also showed us some bird skulls and a manta ray tail with the stinger on it which he would use as a knife. This inticed us into going to Isla de Piedra (Stone Island). We took a small taxi boat (note the picture of Liam in the boat above who will be getting another visit from the tooth raton) and were a little disappointed when we arrived at the beach and were bombarded by vendors. It didn't look as peaceful as we had been told. We walked past all the restaurants, ATV rentals and the RV lot to find the uninhabited beach area. The beach was beautiful, very soft sand, and on the edge of the beach was a huge coconut grove that stretched farther than we were willing to walk. We explored a little in the trees and watched some horses that lived in a fenced-in area in between the trees. A few of them looked terribly undernourished. Walking through those trees was worth the trip. And then on the way back, we saw a black dolphin. I have yet to capture a dolphin on film. There is also a bright green hummingbird that hangs out in the backyard around the flowering cactus (pictured above) that I have tried unsuccessfully to capture.

church?

2007-01-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

We went to church yesterday morning only to find that the gate was locked and there was no one around, which we found a little odd because we had gone to that same LDS church a few weeks earlier at the same time and there was a service. It's a mystery...Finding ourselves with plenty of spare hours on a Sunday, we spent some time in the plaza in front of the cathedral catching pigeons.

our home

2007-01-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

There is so much to explore around here. We are never without something to do. We live within a few blocks from the beach, the market (where we can get excellent deals like a big chunk of cheese for 15 pesos), four internet "cafes", tons of restaurants, laundromats, even a Salvation Army thrift store.
The above pictures show the family sitting in front of the entrance to the stairs up to our place, Ila at the end of the hallway looking into the backyard, view into backyard, and the view from our room's window onto a noisy busy street (it was a cloudy day today so some of the pictures aren't that great). We have to wear earplugs in order to sleep at night, there is no hot water and we have to share two bathrooms with the other tenants but it is cheap (1500 pesos for a month) and we know that in order to live here we have to give up some creature comforts. Our life here in Mexico has definitely not been without sacrifices!
The second last picture is of the kids showing off their new beach duds. We figured that if we would be living on the beach, we should invest in some swimsuits for Ila and Mei. The last picture is of Ila, also taken today. There is a natural saltwater pool nearby that is full when the tide is high and there are usually a few bright tropical fish to see there so we bought some snorkelling equipment.

notes from Rus

2007-01-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

Rus asked me to post this for him:
Rus here again - Day three in Mazatlan, we like it still. There's a lot to like: the climate (25 is the average high, 15 the average low for Jan. to March and April is only a few degrees warmer, and 4 days max with rain average for any of those months), the public transportation is good, things are cheaper, the kids love the beach and can spend hours on end there - without fighting!, Danish and Canadian consulates (just in case), a market close to where we live and a playground, we were so lucky to find our room - I suspect divine intervention. It is a tourist town, but when you consider that 38% of all tourists to Mexico go to Cancun it's not that bad, we barely speak any english when we are out and about. It's really nice to actually have something to write about as well! All things coinsidered, it's simply better than Chihuahua. The climate there is too cold for the houses, I had a really hard time justifying a roaring fire inside when it was nice outside. It was dusty as heck, too. But, if we hadn't gone there we never would have come here. The only things that still really irritate me are some things that are particular to Mexico (not Mazatlan): the pay per pee (or poo) washrooms. They're not expensive, 20 - 50 cents, and we had to pay for bathrooms in Europe, too. It's still an irritant, and bathrooms can be hard to find at all sometimes. And the traffic is crazy, the way stop lights run is a little wack. You can only cross to the middle of a street on a light. Pray for us! Also, We just discovered a drink here that we all really like - Jamaica - an herbal tea made with hibiscus flowers.

good-bye Dublan, hello Mazatlan

2007-01-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

I think this is the longest I have gone without posting. Don´t worry, we are alive and well. We checked into a monthly-rate hotel (casa de huespedes) this morning after two consecutive nights on buses. Laying down on a horizontal surface has never felt so good. We met up with a friend that we had met halfway to Mazatlan, in Guaymas. He lives in Edmonton but has spent the last few months in Mexico on his motorcycle.
We met so many nice people in Dublan and it was especially hard to say good-bye to our neighbour that rented the other side of the house. We are looking forward to our life in Mazatlan though.

decisions decisions

2007-01-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

We have really developed a love/hate realationship with Mazatlan. We are never bored, the kids are endlessly entertained, and the weather is always nice. There are plenty of opportunities for Rus and I to make ourselves useful (we had been starting to feel a little useless in Dublan - the only thing we could find was the library work). The fact that this is a much larger place makes it easier to find things to do. There are plenty of spanish classes. There is one institution that organizes volunteer work and there is also a volunteer-run library. Some of the things that we hate however, are the crazy traffic, the noise level late into the night and the heckling street vendors. It seems that there can never be things so wonderful without the contrast of things so terrible. We are a little concerned about Liam's education for the next few months because we haven't found a suitable school here yet for him and even if we did I think it would be too hard on him to go to yet another school where he doesn't know anyone. Before we left Raymond, I got all the material from his teacher that his class would be doing while they were gone. She was really good about taking the time to organize it and meet with me. If we relocate to Mazatlan, I will use this material to homeschool Liam before he heads to the beach every day. I'm just glad that we started this now and not later in our lives when we would have three school-aged children to worry about. Something that we are trying to remember as we make our decisions is that we might never make it back here again and so we should squeeze as much out of the country as we can.

We are returning to Dublan tomorrow on a night bus, where we will finalize our decision on where and when to relocate.

Note the smiling picture of Liam. He lost a tooth! Here, there is a tooth mouse (raton) instead of a fairy that left 50 pesos for Liam under his pillow.

Mazatlan

2007-01-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

We made it as far as Los Mochis and we missed the beach too much after only a day so we decided to continue south to Mazatlan. We have been here two days now and although there are a lot of tourists, there aren't as many as I expected. We are staying in Old Mazatlan, the center, and not that many tourists venture out of their resorts. The ones that are here in this area are mostly retirees and snowbirds. We are going back to Dublan soon for Liam to start school again but I think we might leave that area in a month or so and come out to the beach instead.

pictures explanations- 1. Mei looking out our hotel room window(Hotel Lerma); 2. Liam in front of the devil's cave in the side of a hill; 3. Catholis cathedral in downtown Mazatlan; 4. a big banana!; 5. Liam taking a rest on the un-stroller/wheelchair friendly sidewalk, typical everywhere that we have been so far; 5. the devil inside this cave at a nativity scene at the cathedral; 6. baby goats (there were also horses, ducks, donkeys, chickens, sheep, etc) at the same nativity scene. We also saw live animals at the nativity scene at a cathedral in Guaymas; 7. Ila, happy that baby Jesus was finally in the manger.

The old jail

2006-12-29T17:13:00.002-07:00

This place was eerie. There was one room tucked in a corner that I entered into that was especially creepy and I got the feeling that something terrible had happened there. It didn't look that different from the others, it was just the feeling I got when I went into it that scared me. It was fun though(and a little dangerous) to explore this old jail. We had to keep a close eye on the kids so they wouldn't fall off the numerous ledges. There have been so many times while here in Mexico that i have thought to myself "something like this would never exist in Canada". I guess there is just not that fear of a lawsuit here as there is in some other countries. Another thing that triggered my emotions were the faded walls above the rusted metal bunkbed frames, decorated by the prisoners with drawings and magazine cutouts.

Hotel de Cortez

2006-12-29T17:13:00.001-07:00

This is a enormous hotel that was built about 100 years ago and it is almost completely empty all the time, but is very well taken care of. It feels sort of wierd being in it. It was way too void of activity. This intiricately decorated place is in Miramar, just down the beach from where we spent most of our time. We explored inside and outside this beautiful hotel as part of our last visit to the beach before leaving for Barranca del Cobre.

artsy-fartsy

2006-12-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Christmas and pre-Christmas activities

2006-12-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

Before we left I was able to attend the temple in Colonia Juarez, which was nice. For the third time since I came here I was asked if I was a Mennonite. The second picture is of Mei decorating our Christmas tree. We held Christmas last Monday night. A few days before we left Liam's elementary school had a Christmas program. Liam is the one in the middle smiling at the camera. The other picture is of an older grade's dance. The whole program was traditional music, dress and dance from various states in Mexico. Liam's class did the state of Veracruz. I didn't get a still picture of Liam's class performing because I was video-recording it instead.

Our Christmas dinner was spent on the main street in Guaymas with a couple that we met at our hotel (outside our room pictured below). It consisted of styrofoam cups of corn with mayo, cheese and butter and hotdogs with mayo and avacado sauce and paletas leche (milk-based popsicles) for dessert. Yum!