Sticky Nights & Birthdays
It is not what you think! It gets VERY hot and sweaty here in the summertime. The “snowbirds” go back north, and in the height of the heat, even Mexican nationals do not come in large numbers. So to draw a crowd, and to keep the “summer survivors” happy the municipality hosts monthly FREE open air concerts at the Kiosco on the Malecon. These evenings are called “Noches Pegajosas” or “Sticky Nights”. We have had some amazing Mexican and American…
Summer in the (near) tropics
Living in the sunny climes of BCS is a dream – most of the time. The occasional hurricane – Hillary was our latest, and she didn’t produce much – and the monsoon-type rains and 100+ degree temps are the “dark side” to living here. We are mostly protected, and don’t get the brunt of most storms, but we still get our fair share, and the infrastructure isn’t built for large quantities of rain. WHY? – you ask. Don’t these sorts…
With a vengeance!
Summer has arrived – in FORCE!! The temperatures are up in the “warning” levels, the humidity is already here, and the first TWO named Pacific hurricanes are headed this way. Welcome to a climate change, el Niño, living in a desert summer! Seeing is believing! We won’t see any evening temps below the mid-seventies for the foreseeable future. The thunderstorms are the potential remnants of Hurricane Adrian. The next one, Beatriz, seems to be losing steam and may not give…
More Oaxaca: Food, Food, and Mezcal
We knew when we planned this trip that food was going to be at the center of all of our activities. Oaxaca has not failed in that respect. There are foods here that I’d never even HEARD of, even though I live in Mexico. Different region, different food. Not as much seafood (mariscos) here, but there are memelas, tetelas, LOTS of moles, empanadas and quesadillas that are very different from home, the list is never-ending! The food here ranges from…
Oaxaca adventure begins
We have been “accidental Mexpats” for almost 3 and a half years. During that time we’ve experienced “the before times”, full pandemic lockdowns, gradual easing of restrictions, flagrant disregard for a SERIOUS health threat, and eventual calming of emotions and acceptance of the “new normal”. Through this time, our dreams and joy of travel and adventure have languished behind a screen of uncertainty and health prerogatives. We are now embarking on the first of (hopefully) many adventures to new places,…
New Perspectives – Kayak
We’ve been talking for YEAR about getting kayaks. There was a lot of discussion about what specifics we wanted. Originally we were looking at sea kayaks with covered hatches and a rim for a spray skirt. Then we realized that we are living (nearly) in the tropics. The water here won’t have you hypothermic in under 5 minutes, we will be mostly in protected bays, and the weather is typically nice (no rain). We got two “sit-on-top” type kayaks. They…
Sealions!
We recently had the opportunity to visit a sealion colony. A huge bonus was that the fees we paid would be used to help the local, volunteer paramedic corps buy their own ambulance. Why do they need to buy an ambulance? Good question! The health care system here is … different. The hospitals have private ambulances that they will (sometimes) send out to pick people up. But only if the patient has $$$ to pay. No dinero (money), no ambulance.…
Circuit Ricardo Tormo – MotoGP 2022
The second part of our trip, in Valencia, was for the purpose of attending the final races (Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP) of the 2022 MotoGP season. Going into these races, the Moto3 championship was the ONLY one that had been decided. The promoters for this race dubbed it “The Decider”. A little corny, but still a tense weekend for Moto2 and MotoGP. We were fortunate to be able to get VIP Village passes, which meant a private grandstand on the front…
Barcelona: Architecture
Going beyond just Gaudi’s well known structures in Barcelona, I had lots of fun taking photos of all kinds of little (and big) architectural details and styles. Purely Gaudi There is SO much Gaudi influence in Barcelona that it can be overwhelming! This trip, we did not go to Parc Guell, although it is AMAZING, we have been the last two times in Barcelona. If it were our first trip, we would not have skipped it. A caveat about many…
Penedès: Cava
As a special experience this trip, we decided to venture out of the city to the region of Penedès – the heart of cava country. If you’ve never experienced Spanish cava – the Spanish version of sparkling wine – then you are missing out. Of the three types of sparkling wine, French champagne is the best known, followed by Italian prosecco, and least known is Spanish cava. In my (not so) humble opinion, my preference runs in the opposite direction…