Elimination!

We are back in Maine. We have one month exactly to get our lives down to a few boxes and a couple of bags. I'm curious to see if we can make that happen. James and I are both attached to our books....and I don't mean novels- we have our own different interests, with many many reference books on different subjects. I am curious to see how to narrow those down. We are going to get rid of all of our furniture- as we can come by that easily in Mexico, and what's the point in moving it all 5,000 miles?

Horse grazing at Las Palmas

   Our final days in Todos Santos were great. We had a couple more play dates with new friends made on our trip, some really great folks to connect with, with kids that Parula and Sorrel had a blast playing with. We also got to spend some more time at our favorite beach, Las Palmas. The last time we were there we saw a dead sea turtle, a bunch of jelly fish, and some horses grazing on plants on the edge of the beach. I miss the smell of the desert and the fresh spray from the ocean. mmmm. Our last sunset James and I went to the roof deck on the house and watched the Nighthawks catching insects in the orange glow of evening.

Moon at sunset

   Traveling back to Boston- it is amazing how people are "herded" through customs. I really do feel like just another number, zigzagging through lines and waiting my turn, then waiting for them to riffle through my luggage, then waiting in more lines to go through security once again (because they clearly think something has taken place between one line to the next). I overheard Parula and Sorrel playing yesterday, saying "get your passports ready". Our plane from Houston to Boston had satellite TV at every seat (of course it wasn't free). Maybe that is common now, but I haven't done much flying in the past 5 years of my life- that was very shocking to me! We made it back to Maine on day 2 of our travel, everything in tact, but missing the booster seats for the car, those just arrived today. We seem to have a bit of trouble adjusting to the time change of 2 hours, we woke up at 9 this morning after going to bed at 12- a little off from the norm, oh well!

Coastal mainland Mexico from the sky- loaded with aquaculture

   

So now our plan- eliminate the STUFF, move out of our house by July 31, (in the mean time sell our house in Belfast....it seems we may be close...), visit family and friends in PA and CT, go to NYC for my second body rolling training and certification, and then the end of August head west in the camper van. James is currently re-building the entire inside of the van, installing solar panels on the roof to ensure our house battery will be charged so we don't have to be at a campground plugged in. We will then head to Todos Santos by late September, once we've meandered around the west a bit. We will be wanderers for a while, but it will be an adventure! We have not figured out exactly what we will do with the "stuff" we are going to take with us, but that is for us to figure out this month!

Desert Rain

Looking east at the approaching storm from the beach

Today we got to witness something extremely special. It was the first rain of the season. Not only this, but the last time it rained here was the end of September 2011. That's right- 9 months ago! This rain was apparently quite early. It didn't last long, just a quick 20 minutes for the thunderstorm to pass overhead. But it was spectacular. First we heard rumbling in the distance. James thought it was the ocean the first time Parula asked about the noise, which it could have easily been since our proximity was close at the time, just a few blocks away. But then we looked up in the sky and saw the anvil plume and dark clouds that had formed over the mountains to the east. We didn't think it would make it down to the coast where we were. We took a walk to the beach, the storm looked like it was growing and coming our way. Three dogs followed us, one was a Dalmatian with brown spots- so sweet, and the other two were Mexican mutts. I began to get a feeling that once we move down here we are going to end up with a pack of our own dogs. Maybe Pia and River wouldn't go for that.... Everywhere we go there are dogs following us around. These were clearly somebody's dogs, they all had collars on, but there are plenty of dogs around that don't seem to belong to anyone in particular. Yesterday I saw the most plump little dog I've ever seen in my life. I think it was a pregnant Chihuahua. It was quite an amazing site. It would be even more amazing to see a Chihuahua puppy. I digress- we went to the beach and looked back to the east and saw amazing clouds coming our way, the thunder got louder. On our way walking back to our car Sorrel could not stop talking about the holes that lightening striking the ground and trees can make. As soon as we reached our car it started sprinkling- lucky us!

Approaching storm

The funny thing about driving a car around here is that it rains so infrequently and is so dusty, that when you go to use your windshield wiper for its intended purpose- so you can see when it is raining- it only makes matters worse. I remember this from living in Arizona, and was reminded of this again today!

Watching the waves break

This evening we went to a pizza dinner in someone's back (or front?) yard. We were invited by a real estate agent here that we met today. Every friday night this guy makes really good pizzas in his outside brick pizza oven, serves beer and other drinks, and people (mostly gringos or people married to gringos) gather on his large patio for some favorite American comfort food. It is not free by the way, but a great idea! We met some very interesting people- one woman is an 80 year old artist who has lived here for 13 years. Another woman runs a website (baja.com), and has lived here for 10, originally from New Jersey. There were lots of kids, and young people with families as well. We didn't get to have any conversations with those people, as there seemed to be some social re-uniting with these families, and also we were having good conversation with the people we were sitting with. We had a nice time, and returned back to the house with some puddles to dip our feet into, the lovely sweet air of moist desert plants, and the fingernail sliver of the moon off to the west. Ah what a day!

Las Palmas

The past couple of days have been a joy! Kids continue to be outside from wake until sleep. What a nice way to be! I had a nice session working on myself with my Yamuna balls on the rooftop deck for about 90 minutes the other day- it was so perfect to be in the sun with the ocean view in front of me. Couldn't have been nicer :) Not to mention that any aches in my body residual from the previous night sleep were completely gone!
 
It was Sunday, which is a day of rest here in this Catholic country. Mexicans take a day of rest to heart. The town closes down, there are a few things open- some touristy shops to cater to American tourists. But for the most part, it seems life slows down drastically for a day, which I found to be quite alright. We discovered a beach called "Las Palmas", which was a perfect place for the kids to play. It is called las Palmas because there is a sweet little oasis of palms there between desert and beach. There are two horses grazing amidst some bamboo, and hundreds of giant palm trees greeting you on your walk down to the beach. It is a brilliant micro-habitat for all sorts of creatures. We saw a deer bounding across and down the road yesterday on our way to the same beach. Sunday when we arrived there were quite a few cars, but still nothing compared to the busy beaches of New Jersey that I grew up going to. The beach is flat, and there is a little outlet of fresh water that runs on the south end of the beach to the ocean, making it a perfect place for the kids to play. We ended up meeting some other gringos there- two who are NOLS instructors, one also Prescott College alum (what a small world), and two others who picked up and moved to the area about 3 years ago from NYC. It was great to meet and talk to these people. Parula and Sorrel instantaneously found playmates with 2 other siblings, (older girl, younger boy), and have already had a playmate with them at their house yesterday. They seem to have a blast with these kids, (Luca and Kai), and their place in Pescadero was really cool for us to see as well!

Yesterday we returned to Las Palmas, with only one other group of people present on the beach. Sorrel was thrilled to go deep into the water (for him) and feel waves crashing into him as we walked out. I had to drag him out of the surf, only because he was getting cold! As we explored the outlet of fresh water coming out into the ocean, a Brown Pelican arrived and began walking up the stream towards us. It was a juvenile, and was quite fearless of us. It came within 3 feet of us, stopping near a rock, then proceeded to scoop water, and fish, into its pouch. What an amazing thing to see close up! The kids got to see its pouch fill with water, and we saw the fish squirming inside its pouch before it swallowed it. The pelican repeated this a few more times, then walked up stream to do the same near another rock. All of this happened with us watching just a few feet away!

Can you see the Brown Pelican?

Today is foggy (but not that Maine socked-in fog), and therefor a bit cool so far. We are hoping to go to Los Cerritos, a popular surf beach, and check out what is going on there, and perhaps visit the pool that we have been told is there to swim in!

Another serendipitous day....

This day has been quite comically serendipitous. I have been having some fascinating dreams at night. Last night I dreamt of a whale pushing a cruise ship over after tormenting some cruising kayakers just off the port side of the ship. Back to waking life- I walked down the road from our rental house to the Montessori school to talk to the head teacher before their day began. I took out my notebook to jot a few things down, and what do I see on the cover of my book but the same whale tail that I had been dreaming about! I have had this book for quite some time that a friend gave me before we left Prescott, about 5 years now, so it has been an image I have come across frequently, but it is so funny how those two so readily came together!

I was slightly re-assured with the school, although James and I are leaning towards a Waldorf-inspired home-schooling program. The schooling options around here are pretty limited, and right now we are just feeling that would be the best thing. Wheels are still turning in our heads.

After I returned back to the house, we realized we were supposed to be meeting with a real estate agent to show us some properties. I contacted this guy from a recommendation from the person we are currently renting our house from for this stay. We had set up this morning to meet and he would drive us by some places and give us an orientation to the town. We went to his office- he wasn't there, and no one there had known he was supposed to meet us, and he didn't answer his cell phone. I am not surprised. I have been told by several people so far- Americans and Mexicans- that dealing with a real estate agent here is not a good idea. We told the people at the office we would walk around town a bit and come back. We walked about 1/2 a block, and came across a shop that had some nice "mexican sweaters". You know the kind- the blanket-looking sweaters with a hood, woven cotton. The kids and James each got one. Then James began talking with the woman who runs the store. They got into all sorts of conversation before I realized it, and all of the sudden we were all in the car together with her and her friend to show us properties for sale. This is the best way to make connections here- and I am so thankful that James speaks Spanish! I can understand about 40% of what is being said, but can't speak a word of Spanish when it comes down to it. I want to so badly, but don't have the background to get anything out of my mouth besides "Gracias" and some other basic phrases. AH! But, James was able to  make some good connections with several different people today. We saw some properties in Pescadero, which is a town just south of Todos Santos, and came to realize that we don't want to live there, it is just too far from the town we want to be in, too far removed from what we see going on that we like.

So Epi, our new "real estate lady" who owns the crafty store, is going to be helping us out to find some properties in the next couple of days. Apparently she has several friends with properties for sale. We shall see. We still really love the piece of property we have been lusting after in San Sebastian, a "neighborhood area" in Todos Santos, and are hoping to go back to see it again soon. In return for her help to us, we have promised Epi that we will bring her a working sewing machine from the U.S. for her friend that is in great need of one. Apparently affordable sewing machines are very hard to come by in Mexico. By looking at what she sells in her store, she and her friends are quite talented seamstresses as well. She makes all sorts of clothing, hammocks, and embroidered tapestries.

Instead of looking at "terranos" (properties for sale) with an agent today, we ended up looking with a local, and making many connections with an adobe brick maker, and several other local folks who also know many people around here. Things are turning out well!

More updates later, and one more quirky thing about Mexico that I'd forgotten. The propane gas truck driver drives around honking his horn in order to find out who needs gas. It is great! Every other day you hear a truck driving around honking, hoping someone will come out of their house and wave them in to give them more gas! The longer we stay here (we are only on day 3 now) the more we find people telling us what a great place this is- quiet, safe, and tranquil. I like it :)

Pueblo Magico, Todos Santos

Yesterday we arrived in Todos Santos. It took us 2 long days of travel. Day 1 we drove our car from Rockland to South Hampton, NH. My friend Sara welcomed us and the doggies. She will be taking care of our pups for the next 2 weeks while we are gone- thanks Sara! Sara then dropped us off at the train station on Newburyport, MA, where we took the commuter rail into North Station, Boston.

Parula and Sorrel on the commuter rail to North Station

 We got the T to the airport (one transfer), and then a shuttle bus to our hotel. We left home at 12:30, arrived to our hotel room at about 8:30. It was a long day!

The next morning we woke up at 3:15 a.m., got the shuttle to the airport, and got on our 5:30 plane (which was nearly empty) to Houston. All was on time, arriving with 2 hours to get some food in us before flying to San Jose del Cabo. I had a brief panic attack upon entry onto our first plane. Thank goodness for EFT (tapping), because I was about to run off the plane and never look back. My consistent tapping throughout the flight really saved me from any drastic movements or freak-outs, thank you for teaching me, Marianna! (for those of you who don't know, I used to fly frequently earlier in my life, but since having kids I have only been in an airplane twice in the last 5 years, thus my fears and skepticism about air travel have had some time to develop....) Anyway, the traveling was long and uneventful, and then we arrived in Baja!

August looking out the window of the airplane

The drive to Todos Santos took us about 2 hours, after some unintentional wandering in Cabo San Lucas on some one-way streets, we found our way to "Pueblo Magico". The house we are staying in is located in Las Tunas, which is just north of the main part of town. There are mostly gringos around us, it seems, and the beach is only a 5 minute walk from the house, the Pacific Ocean is visible from the front door, and from the rooftop deck.

Agave blooming by the front door- the Hooded Orioles are loving these, along with many other birds and bugs!

We can hear the waves crashing at night from our house. At sunset James and I were buzzed by Nighthawks swooping around our heads catching insects. In the morning I woke to the sounds of the chortling Cactus Wren, squeaking Gila Woodpecker, and whistling Hooded Oriole. It was the best way to wake up! I have seen Magnificent Frigate birds, Turkey Vultures, and Brown Pelicans all soaring through the air. I am in bird paradise- it has been way too long since I've seen and heard these birds last!

James and the kids admiring the mighty Pacific

Looking south on the beach

We went for a stroll down to the beach this morning. We were the only people there- for miles and miles- as far as we could see, it was just us!

This afternoon we went to see a house we have been drooling over for the past couple of years. It was all that and then some in person. I will have to talk about that more another time....it was a great treat for my birthday though!

 After our house tour we found the health food store in town. I had a feeling we would meet like-minded people, as that is the type of place that we prefer- ya know what I mean. And we did- not only that, but we got an invitation by the owner (who seems to be about our age- a young surfer/massage therapist/ health food store entrepreneur) to go to a drum class for kids he is leading tomorrow morning at one of the alternative schools in town. It will be a good opportunity for us and the kids to meet some more people and see what's going on in this town. It couldn't be more perfect!

Later we went to dinner in town for my birthday. The food was excellent, and our waiter, Carlos, brought out a flan with trick candles in it. We had a great time and the kids were quick to say they wanted to return there to eat again another day.

James and Sorrel at my birthday dinner