father of mine, tell me where have you been

throughout my journeys, i have been lucky enough to have one, the other, or both of my parents come visit me wherever i am. this time around, my dad came out to visit us here in la paz and we had a whirlwind of a trip while he was here, running around like mad and seeing at least a bit of everything that the region has to offer.

he flew into san jose del cabo, which is about three hours from la paz, but much easier (and cheaper) to fly into from the US than la paz. we decided to take advantage of being down there the afternoon he flew in and wander into san jose del cabo, which i'd heard was much less resort-y than cabo san lucas. the airport of "los cabos" is actually cabo san lucas and then tourists are bussed into san jose del cabo, about thirty minutes to the south. there are actually two exits from the airport - one for these guided trips that are headed to the resorts, and one for the "individuals". amusing.

so we drove into san jose and drove towards the coast and ended up at this beautiful little estuary and beach. the beach drops off suddenly, so there were huge waves crashing in. the water was warm, so we decided it was still the gulf and not pacific water.



[san jose del cabo beach and mountains]


[bird, dad, ivan]




[palms estuary]


the historic center of san jose was surprisingly nice - your typical centro with the church, municipal palace, culture center, gazebo and lots of nice tourist shops and restaurants. quaint, clean, with lots of character. we were basically the only people there wandering around, which makes me feel so bad for the store owners.





our wanderings around la paz were fairly limited and only in the afternoons after work. we visited the typical landmarks - the church, the center, along the malecon. dad said that la paz reminded him of tucson in a way. however, the truth is that i'm not the best tour guide - my knowledge of la paz and the history is really quite limited. we did enjoy wandering through the exhibit at the casa cultural, seeing the loteria exhibit, and the mix of "normal" with "tourism" thats here near our house.



[church and statue of the famous balandra rock (photo credit: dad)]


[casa de la cultura de la paz]


[playing at tour guide]


[sunset drinks]


on the way home from work on friday, we were chatting about what to do that evening and decided to head over to near-by todos santos (a "magical pueblo") and have a bbq on the beach. we (ivan and i) love todos santos - it's a great little escape from la paz. it's a bit of an art escape and absolutely tiny. unfortunately it's "low season" (read: too hot for tourists), so none of the galleries were open. however, it's very historical and beautiful and fun to wander around. we got to the beach just as the sun was setting and the (almost full moon) rising. the moon was bright enough that we were able to bbq, eat, sit, and chat until long after the sun had set. a lovely evening.









the one thing that we had planned on doing was going kayaking in the beaches and coves near la paz. we rented three kayaks and headed off to the famous balandra beach, north of la paz to spend the day kayaking around, exploring the little coves and beaches, the mangroves, and enjoying sea, sun, and sand.



[balandra beach]


[the famous balandra rock]


[take two (photo credit: dad)]


the day was absolutely amazing and lovely. we had clear blue water, explored, wandered. i need a kayak.



[urchin]


[hidden beach]


[clear blue water, ivan and dad kayaking]


[crab!]


[sky, mountain, mangrove, sea]


[mangroves]


[the life is good car]


and then, the morning my dad left, we left early and enjoyed our drive back - stopping at el triunfo and then trying to figure out how to get into la sierra de la laguna (the biosphere reserve in the mountains near la paz). we ended up at a place called miraflores, where apparently you can start walking in, but there don't appear to be marked trails. we wandered up a wash for a few minutes and marveled at the greenery of the mountains.



[la sierra]


[up the wash]


[soooo green]


[standing water!]


we had a great time and did so much exploring :) baja has so much to do and see and it was great to have the excuse to go see more! thanks daddy :)

silver mine ruins, church, tiny town

as you round a bend on the highway south towards los cabos, climbing into the sierra, you are greeted by this view:





welcome to the town of el triunfo, an old mining town that boomed, and then busted. when silver and gold were found in the mountains in baja california sur and then a big mining company moved in in the mid-1800s, people streamed into the area, causing the population of el triunfo to climb to around 10,000. the mine has since closed, making this place a bit like a ghost town.

now the town is quite small, with a population of only a few hundred, but has great charm - cobblestoned streets, old beautiful buildings, crumbling brick walls, a church, a music museum, and mine ruins.



[center square]




[empty frames]


the music museum is a collection of pianos that were brought into el triunfo during its hay day. culture and music was apparently a favorite of the people who came here and the fun fact of the day is that at one time, el triunfo had more pianos per capita than any other city in mexico. the museum is quirky - a collection of old pianos (dating from the late 1700s!) up to more modern electric organs.



[entrance to the museum]






the church, nuestra senora de guadalupe, is from the same time period, around the mid-1800s. i love how its painted, in brighter colors than most missions. the inside is fairly bare, with a dark-beamed ceiling and it sounds like bats live somewhere in the rafters.









the mine's old smokestack dominates the sky and local landscape. it's around 40 meters high and still looks absolutely perfectly constructed. the rest of the old mine buildings - a processing plant, basically - are mostly destroyed and in ruins. makes for a fun place to explore and wander around and marvel at once was ...













the details of the town are great. for example, this beautiful door with carvings that show the history of the town





el triunfo is a wonderful escape and historical place to explore. there are little shops with local products, including fresh-made cheese, a bakery with freshly baked cochitos (pig cookies), and woven baskets.

(kings of) leon (roar)

almost two years have passed since the last time i visited ivan's family - unacceptable, especially in light of the fact that he has visited my family many times over the last year in various parts of the US. and so i joined him for a week's visit for a "working" vacation. his family lives in leon, guanajuato, which is northwest of mexico city (map below). the timing could not have been more perfect .. i try not to complain too much about the weather, but it is hot and humid here and much cooler in leon - i wore jeans for the first time in months and even had to use a light coat at night! what a wonderful feeling :)

casi dos años han pasado desde la ultima vez que visite a la familia de ivan - inaceptable, especialmente considerando que el ha visitado a mi familia muchas veces en el ultimo año en varias lugares en los EEUU. entonces, fui con el a pasar una semana en una vacación "trabajando". su familia vive en leon, guanajuato (mapa abajo). estuvo perfectamente coordinado .... intento a no quejar bastante sobre el clima, pero hace calor y hay mucha humedad acá y mucho mejor en leon - usé mis jeans para la primera vez en meses y tuve que usar una chaqueta en la noche! hurrah :)





it was a good week to be in leon - there was a hot wheels festival, a horse show expo, we went to the science museum and wandered around parks, enjoyed independence day decorations, ate lots of delicious food, visited guanajuato, and spent time with ivan's family and friends. leon is considered an industrial city (its about the size of tucson, maybe one million people) and doesn't have the historical attractions that guanajuato, dolores hidalgo, and san miguel de allende do (where the revolution began), but it has a fabulous convention center and is well-known for it's leather products. we went to the hot wheels and horse expos while we were there (there was also a veterinary one and the next week one about padlocks (for three days?!)).

i'm not really sure what the hot wheels fest was about, but there were some decked-out cars that were fun to check out.

era una semana buena estar en leon - hubo un festival de hot wheels, uno de caballos, fuimos al museo de ciencia, visitamos parques, disfrutamos las decoraciones mexicanas, comimos comida rica, visitamos guanajuato, y convivimos con la familia y los amigos de iván.

leon esta considerado una cuidad industria (tiene alrededor de un millón de gente) y no tiene las atracciones históricas de guanajuato, dolores hidalgo, y san miguel de allende, pero tiene un centro de convenciones fabuloso y es conocido por sus productos de piel. aprovechamos los festivales de hot wheels y los caballos cuando estábamos allá.

no se que onda con lo de hot wheels, pero vimos los autos "decked out" que estaban divertidos a ver.



[mini little green car / auto verde pequeño]


[i want my car doors to open like that / quiero que las puertas de mi auto abren asi!]


[car celebrating mexico by driving around in circles / auto celebrando mexico por manejando en circulo]


even though i have not ridden a horse in years (and how i miss it), i still love to go watch them. the horses danced, they bowed, women danced with horses, great entertainment.

aun que no he montado un caballo en muchos años (y lo extraño), me encanta ir a verlos. los caballos bailaron, las mujeres también, se inclinaron, etc.



[woman dancing with horse / mujer bailando con caballo]




[bowing horses / caballos inclinandose]


[demonstration of ranch events - dance, horses, lassos, cock fights / demostración de los eventos del rancho - baila, caballos, lassos, peleas de gallos]




what i like about visiting a place where someone is from is that you do things you normally wouldn't as a tourist - nothing particularly special or unique, but the kind-of things that make you really learn about a place and learn what life is like there.

lo que me gusta sobre visitar un lugar con alguien es de allá es que puedes hacer cosas que normalmente no harías como turista - nada especial o única en particular, pero lo que te hace conocer un lugar y saber como es la vida allá.



[fountain in explora park / fuente en parque explora]


[science museum structure / en el museo de ciencia]


[explora park / parque explora]


[price of dinner for two people. that would be seven tacos and one drink for 46 PESOS (about $4USD) / cena para dos. siete tacos y una bebida para 46 pesos!]


[municipal palace decorate for independence day / palacio municipal decorado para el dia de la independencia]


leon is famous for its shoes (leather products in general, but mostly shoes). it is completely overwhelming and beyond explanation - there are malls and outlets with only shoe stores that take up BLOCKS. problem is, i have big feet (thanks papa and mom) and i barely fit into the largest size they make (sigh). i was still able to find some wonderful boots for DC! phew

leon es famosa para sus zapatos (los productos de piel en general, pero zapatos mas). no lo puedo explicar - hay centros comerciales y outlets que son solamente de tiendas de zapatos que ubican CUADRAS. mi problema es que tengo pies grandes (gracias papa y momma) y apenas puedo usar el numero mas grande que hacen (sigh). aun, pude encontrar algunos botas a usar en DC! phew



[shoe outlet - this photo does not even begin to capture the size of this place / outlet de zapatos - esta foto ni empieza a capturar que grande es]


guanajuato, as i have mentioned, is my favorite place in mexico (thus far). apart from the lack of a nearby ocean (damn), i would live here in a heartbeat. there are details in the city that make it so unique and it has so much character. we went for a day and spent it wandering through museums, crooked narrow cobblestone streets.

como he dicho, guanajuato es mi lugar favorito de mexico (aun). aparte del hecho que no hay un oceano cerca (maldita sea), viviría allá en un segundo. hay detalles de la cuidad que la hacen muy unica y tiene mucha personalidad. fuimos a pasar un dia allá, visitando museos y caminando por las callejones ...

p.s. i've been to leon and guanajuato (i want to live here) before, and wrote about it, in case you want to see more touristy photos than i have from this visit.

estaba yo en leon y guanajuato (quiero vivir allí) antes, y escribia en el momento, si quiere ver fotos mas turisticas

leon
and
guanajuato



[temple / templo de la compañía]


[flowerpots / macetas]


[a whole exhibit of miniatures / una exhibicion de miniaturas]




[alley / callejon]


and now back in la paz to the daily grind and to the heat :)