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…
Malecón friends
I walk the Malecón just about every morning. Each day I see new things, or I see old things in a new way. I frequently see friends, birds, beautiful flowers, and random things that catch my eye. Today’s wildlife encounter was new and unexpected. I often see both of these animals at the beaches – away from downtown. Seeing these guys had me grinning 😀 all morning. Burrfish – a small puffer-type fish So cute!! It is really unusual to…
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: FOOD
First a note: We have not EATEN at all of these places, some we couldn’t get in, some we just loved the look of the place, some had no gluten-free options. We could spend YEARS in Barcelona and not eat at all the great places. We do the best we can – thank goodness we are walking so much! We have been quite lucky (and diligent) in finding a LOT of celiac friendly restaurants. The EU makes it a priority…
Barcelona: Out and About
Rather than try to compile a diary of “what we did every day”, which would not be all that interesting to most folks, I’m going to lump types of photos/experiences with a little info. I hope it will be a fun reminder of why the Basha and I love Barcelona so much. Places We have spent a LOT of time (mostly wandering or lost) in the neighborhood of el Born. It tends to be a maze of small streets and…
Tourist Adventures in Guadalajara – pt. 2: Architecture & More Art
The Orozco murals were AMAZING, however those were not all we had to feast our eyes on. More art: MUSA at the University of Guadalajara. A small but lovely museum. We really liked the art of Hector Navarro – and he was there talking with military cadets – we got to meet him!!! Architecture and beautiful things around Guadalajara Day trip to Tlaquepaque (say it out loud – it is FUN to say) We had an AMAZING time in Guadalajara.…
Tourist Adventures in Guadalajara – pt. 1: Jose Clemente Orozco
I’ve been gone. Things have been happening. One was a trip to Guadalajara. This is Basha’s & my first adventure in Mexico outside of our new “home town”. Flights are inexpensive and easy. Our time in GDL was split between playing TOURIST with friends and shopping for FURNITURE at the International Furniture Expo. You can guess which was more fun! We stayed at a lovely little hotel in the historical centro called Hotel Mendoza. Our room looked out over a…
Some days don’t go to plan…
We bought the house in October. We started renovating in November. This has been far more stressful than I’d expected. The house is large, but we have been squeezed down into a small amount of space because multiple renovation jobs are going on at one time. We knew the palapa/roof construction was going to be disruptive. The palapa and pergola are DONE!!! The counter/bar is in, the stairs from ground to roof are done. YAY. We are paused on the…
Construction begins – Week 1
We’d only had the keys for the house for 2 weeks when the first load of construction materials arrived. Our FIRST priority with the new place – making the roof accessible, and having a comfortable place to hang out and watch the sun go down over the water. That is going to involve a lot of demolition and construction. This is going to be fun, right? 😉 Watching construction has always fascinated me. The calculus of what happens when, how…