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…
Living in Paradise
People frequently tell me how lucky I am to live in Paradise. And I agree – don’t get me wrong. Yet every paradise has a bit of purgatory in it. It is an unavoidable fact. Not EVERYTHING is perfect ALL the time. It is early September and we are in “second summer” (my term). First summer is May to mid-July and is much like the summers that I experienced when I lived in the US. Sunny, breezy, temps in the…
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…
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…
Tropical Flora
The plants here are NOT what I’m used to. I have spent most of my life in temperate zones, so living in a hot climate brings new challenges, adventures, and beauty. Many of my plant photos are from walks – along the Malecon, around the neighborhood, etc. These were in the yard at our previous rental house: Who knew there were so many beautiful types of HIBISCUS? And BOUGAINVILLEA? And the other things, that I really don’t know what 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.…
SJC and the BEST News
In all the hubbub about the house, we’ve realized that (1) it is a BIG house, and (2) it is only PARTIALLY furnished! Since nearly all of our worldly belongings were sold last year when we realized that we were Accidental Mexpats – that means that we have very little to bring into the house – and, LOL, for now it is all still “up North”. How do we solve this problem? We’ve looked around at furniture and appliance stores…
Hurricane Olaf – a big blow-hard
Olaf is the second hurricane to reach “worrisome” status for us. The first was Nora – who veered towards the mainland at the last moment, and left Baja with some rain and not much else. Olaf was considered a non-event, until the last moment when it intensified to a category 2 hurricane and made landfall near Todos Santos – north of Cabo San Lucas, on the Pacific side. In preparation for Nora, we battened down the proverbial hatches. We got…