i am pretty sure that we could go to a reception of some sort every night of the week and eat and drink for free. just sayin'
(i promise to get caught up soon and say something about life in DC. the short story is that we love our neighborhood (bloomingdale) and that work is going really well. DC life is good. i still don't recognize myself in the mirror each morning as i leave, but life is very good/)
29 February 2012
20 February 2012
transitions, part II: la paz to tucson
i can say very little about the impressiveness of driving up baja. this was our second time doing this drive, and, once again, we did not have sufficient time to explore all the little side towns and side roads along the way. nevertheless, the landscape as you head north, swinging back and forth from the sea of cortez to the pacific and back again never ceases to be dramatic or impressive. and, truthfully, impossible to capture.
so from north to south ... some of the highlights
[turning the corner into loreto]
[bahía concepción]
[bahía concepción 2]
[volcan las tres vírgenes]
[misión de san ignacio]
in an effort to see cave paintings, we drove down a side road up into the sierra. and then ... the road became more and more difficult and bumpy and rocky and my poor car, all loaded down with all of our belongings was not happy with very little clearance and i kept thinking, oh my god, we are in the middle of nowhere and what am i going to do if we get stuck up here?!
so we turned around, much to my dismay. but not without the reward of seeing the vistas through the sierra.
the next morning we entered "valle de los cirios" a protected area that covers most of northern baja and the habitat of "cirios" the strangest plant i have ever seen. somewhere between a cactus and a tree, they look straight out of a dr. seuss book, from another world. just a single trunk, with little thorns/leaves sticking out the side and curving and twirling at the top. they are amazing. i love them.
[valle de los cirios]
[morning silhouettes]
as luck would have it, we drove past a little nature walk through the cirios that ended at some cave paintings, so i got to see some anyways, despite the abandoned chase the day before.
baja california (the north state) is so huge with so little towns and people. winding roads and big landscapes, big sky. so much that i will miss from baja ....
and then, of course, a lovely crossing at tijuana (and this is otay!) to say goodbye to mexico ...
[tijuana border crossing with the line in sight!]
adios mi querido mexico ....
and p.s. it is a miracle that i got my car with everything from mexico and everything that i left in san diego to tucson. my uncle david is a miracle worker ....
so from north to south ... some of the highlights
[turning the corner into loreto]
[bahía concepción]
[bahía concepción 2]
[volcan las tres vírgenes]
[misión de san ignacio]
in an effort to see cave paintings, we drove down a side road up into the sierra. and then ... the road became more and more difficult and bumpy and rocky and my poor car, all loaded down with all of our belongings was not happy with very little clearance and i kept thinking, oh my god, we are in the middle of nowhere and what am i going to do if we get stuck up here?!
so we turned around, much to my dismay. but not without the reward of seeing the vistas through the sierra.
the next morning we entered "valle de los cirios" a protected area that covers most of northern baja and the habitat of "cirios" the strangest plant i have ever seen. somewhere between a cactus and a tree, they look straight out of a dr. seuss book, from another world. just a single trunk, with little thorns/leaves sticking out the side and curving and twirling at the top. they are amazing. i love them.
[valle de los cirios]
[morning silhouettes]
as luck would have it, we drove past a little nature walk through the cirios that ended at some cave paintings, so i got to see some anyways, despite the abandoned chase the day before.
baja california (the north state) is so huge with so little towns and people. winding roads and big landscapes, big sky. so much that i will miss from baja ....
and then, of course, a lovely crossing at tijuana (and this is otay!) to say goodbye to mexico ...
[tijuana border crossing with the line in sight!]
adios mi querido mexico ....
and p.s. it is a miracle that i got my car with everything from mexico and everything that i left in san diego to tucson. my uncle david is a miracle worker ....
11 February 2012
transitions, part I
there is so much to write and share about the past months - our last days in la paz, going to weddings of two friends from high school (one mine, one ivan's), driving up baja, holidays in tucson with family, the drive across from tucson to DC, and now a new city, new job, new home. so many transitions, so many changes, with so many experiences all mixed in.
here's the laundry list:
~ la paz - ensenada de los muertos, la ventana
~ vallarta - wedding
~ la paz to tijuana drive
~ christmas in tucson
~ tucson - hike, historical walk, wedding
~ move out
~ tucson to DC drive (texas, new orleans, atlanta as major highlights)
~ move in
i think i will have to do this in steps, in order to make it readable (and writeable). i will make photo albums on facebook as well, since it's too much to include and write about in a blog...
part i: leaving la paz and puerto vallarta
the last week in la paz was a whirlwind of wrapping things up ... and a bit bittersweet: as always, i am a mixture of excited to be moving into something new and sad to leave a wonderful place (baja). there was also in this case a hint of remorse that we left so many things undone. five months is simply not enough time to see and do everything one would like to. not that we did not see and do and experience quite a lot, but the list of things to do is still quite long. it is, i suppose, a reason to come back, but i always struggle with that notion - why would i go back somewhere when there are so many new places to go? however, given my continued collaboration with the SIO gulf of california team, i expect and hope that i will be back some day in the future.
we did make it over to the beach towns to the southeast-ish of la paz, just in front of isla cerralvo, called el sargento and la ventana. cute little beach communities with the typical mix of american ex-pats and locals (probably mostly fishermen). this coastline will never cease to amaze me, how often can you go to a white-ish sand beach and have no one else there?
[pelicans in ensenada de los muertos]
[pangas, ensenada de los muertos]
[isla cerralvo from la ventana/el sargento]
oh and i will miss the sierra, that we barely explored.
[rolling road]
between el triunfo and la paz is a sign for a cactus sanctuary a few miles down the road, so we pulled off and followed it, wondering what exactly, a cactus sanctuary is, or are we going on some wild goose chase into the middle of nowhere. but sure enough, there is was, a fenced off area with a walking path through an area thick with cactus. i cannot, of course, remember the name of the most prevalent one ... but it was a fun little wander. and right next to a cemetery, which i always enjoy exploring.
and our goodbye from la paz ...
the above is from our last evening in la paz, the next morning we left for vallarta (and returned a few days later in the early morning and departed la paz that afternoon (yes, we are insane)). we went to puerto vallarta for the wedding of a friend of ivan's from high school and spent a weekend there.
vallarta is a wonderful surprise- i was expecting cabo (over-the-top touristy, american "mexico")- but i was pleasantly surprised. for the most part, actually, vallarta is pretty real mexican. it is gorgeous, tucked into the jungle and hills. the malecon area was just redone and is closed to motor vehicles, so it is a lovely place to walk along the beach, people watch, and enjoy a beautiful day.
[malecon art]
[sand sculptures]
the centro is a wonderful mix of touristy and local places, like many of my favorite places are. we wandered through neighborhoods, tasted the local drink ("agua de tuba"), climbed into the hills. this remains my favorite way to travel - you wander just a block from the curios shops and see the reality of a place.
[iglesia de nuestra señora de guadalupe]
and of course we went to a wedding (the whole excuse for the trip). absolutely beautiful wedding on the beach complete with good friends (pretty small, about 50 people in total), good drinks, good music, and fun dancing. felicidades a juan pablo e irma :)
[three guys friends from high school with their wives/girlfriend (ivan and i are the only ones not married)]
here's the laundry list:
~ la paz - ensenada de los muertos, la ventana
~ vallarta - wedding
~ la paz to tijuana drive
~ christmas in tucson
~ tucson - hike, historical walk, wedding
~ move out
~ tucson to DC drive (texas, new orleans, atlanta as major highlights)
~ move in
i think i will have to do this in steps, in order to make it readable (and writeable). i will make photo albums on facebook as well, since it's too much to include and write about in a blog...
part i: leaving la paz and puerto vallarta
the last week in la paz was a whirlwind of wrapping things up ... and a bit bittersweet: as always, i am a mixture of excited to be moving into something new and sad to leave a wonderful place (baja). there was also in this case a hint of remorse that we left so many things undone. five months is simply not enough time to see and do everything one would like to. not that we did not see and do and experience quite a lot, but the list of things to do is still quite long. it is, i suppose, a reason to come back, but i always struggle with that notion - why would i go back somewhere when there are so many new places to go? however, given my continued collaboration with the SIO gulf of california team, i expect and hope that i will be back some day in the future.
we did make it over to the beach towns to the southeast-ish of la paz, just in front of isla cerralvo, called el sargento and la ventana. cute little beach communities with the typical mix of american ex-pats and locals (probably mostly fishermen). this coastline will never cease to amaze me, how often can you go to a white-ish sand beach and have no one else there?
[pelicans in ensenada de los muertos]
[pangas, ensenada de los muertos]
[isla cerralvo from la ventana/el sargento]
oh and i will miss the sierra, that we barely explored.
[rolling road]
between el triunfo and la paz is a sign for a cactus sanctuary a few miles down the road, so we pulled off and followed it, wondering what exactly, a cactus sanctuary is, or are we going on some wild goose chase into the middle of nowhere. but sure enough, there is was, a fenced off area with a walking path through an area thick with cactus. i cannot, of course, remember the name of the most prevalent one ... but it was a fun little wander. and right next to a cemetery, which i always enjoy exploring.
and our goodbye from la paz ...
the above is from our last evening in la paz, the next morning we left for vallarta (and returned a few days later in the early morning and departed la paz that afternoon (yes, we are insane)). we went to puerto vallarta for the wedding of a friend of ivan's from high school and spent a weekend there.
vallarta is a wonderful surprise- i was expecting cabo (over-the-top touristy, american "mexico")- but i was pleasantly surprised. for the most part, actually, vallarta is pretty real mexican. it is gorgeous, tucked into the jungle and hills. the malecon area was just redone and is closed to motor vehicles, so it is a lovely place to walk along the beach, people watch, and enjoy a beautiful day.
[malecon art]
[sand sculptures]
the centro is a wonderful mix of touristy and local places, like many of my favorite places are. we wandered through neighborhoods, tasted the local drink ("agua de tuba"), climbed into the hills. this remains my favorite way to travel - you wander just a block from the curios shops and see the reality of a place.
[iglesia de nuestra señora de guadalupe]
and of course we went to a wedding (the whole excuse for the trip). absolutely beautiful wedding on the beach complete with good friends (pretty small, about 50 people in total), good drinks, good music, and fun dancing. felicidades a juan pablo e irma :)
[three guys friends from high school with their wives/girlfriend (ivan and i are the only ones not married)]
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