Carnaval photos

Scenes form the Guymas Carnival----and our little family Carnival.

Love you all,

Narah

Hi, we are in Arizona, at a KOA in Kingman.  We aren't going to the "Grand Canyon" this trip, we thought we might as well see Las Vegas- if one has to in one's life.  Not to mention the tourists in Grand Canyon area.  Death Valley is this trip.  

Mom wrote this about leaving Mexico and driving 900 kms- in one day.

A long days drive

from dawn on the 

rocky hills around Hotel

Playa de Cortez - cobbled, quiet,

colonial charming; carrying

treasures away from the 

beaches-like conquistadores-

seahorses, pufferfish,

shells, skulls, and broken tiles.

A long day's drive past

fruitstands & pack horses,

taco shacks & military checkpoints.

To the borderland of

cactus & barbed wire...

Then through - all at once

through-

The sights, smells, sounds

and mysteries of Mexico

don't fade but disappear

into memory

And all the tangible is 

understandable suddenly

conversations overhearable

signs each readable

instantly.

And we wouldn't stay there

but drove further North -

A kind of grief hiding

in with the tiredness and 

stress and the growing dark.

Love you all,

Narah

Comment Help

Hi, a couple of people have had trouble posting comments, you have to preview them before you post them, it seems.  

Love you all,

Narah

Copper Canyon

Hola amigos!  We took the Ferrilcarial Mexicana through the Copper Canyon.  It was amaizing!  Beautiful valleys, deep canyons, great expiriences.  It was a 12 hr train ride, but there were such great vistas, that you hardly noticed the time.  Okay, I guess I can't hide the unspokenof.  I, as a child, and Skylar and Levi as children, got a little bit tired.  We took a taxi from our campsite, hotel Bugenbalia, to the train station.  We took the second train that came in at 10:15 or so.  Took the train, as I said it was remarkable.  We hopped off the train in Creel (remember to roll the R in Creel) and stayed at Hotel Margaritas Plaza Mexicana; a wonderfull hotel where we were filled up with a 2 course breakfast and supper.  The next day we took a wander around Creel, esta MUCHO FRIO!  The people in Creel are tourists, mexicans and Raramuris.  The Raramuris are wonderfull people, the have woven shawls, they carry babies in them...  The are like the people you wish you were, they live in caves in the hills.  Mom should be writing this, she appreciated them very much, she says: run away and join the Raramuris.  On our last day in Creel we went on a horse back ride.  It was wonderful.  We were up on a mountain, we had to get used to the terrain, up hills on rocks, downhill on rocks.  It WAS SO FUN!   We were on such an amazing ride.  I LOVED IT!  We even got to trot for a very short amount of time.  Now we are in Guymas, near San Carlos, where Carnival is on.  We went to a parade, there are lots of rides, loud music.  Its pretty neat.  

Love you all,

Narah

  

More cool Mexican culture.

I am very exited to add to our list of Mexican culture.  The campsite we were at last night was accessed by a 45 minute dirt road.  As truly as it is Saturday and Valentines day, all the kids from Isla de piedra (stone island) were riding their bikes to school.  There must have been 100 of them at least, some were sweating, some were so sick of pedaling all that way...8 or so kids decided to hitch an UNINVITED ride on the side and back of the trailer!  If you're wondering if we are crazy letting kids ride on your trailer oma and opa, people also ride in the back of pick up trucks and on ATVs on the high way and no helmets.   We are planning to take the train to Creel on Monday, should be very interesting.  We are at Hotel Bungbalas or something...  In El Fuerte.   

Hope these pictures from the Mazatlan market interest you.  Food for thought.

Love you all,

Narah  

fun in the sun

Us kids on the boat ride back from bird island.

At the Mr. Moro's resterant.  Camarones tacos y pescado tacos.  YUM!  We have americanized/CANADIANIZED* so many of the mexican foods, we have hard shelled tacos, no fresh tortillas, here the cashier catches them as they come of the conveyer belt.  They even have tortilla soup!  As to your question Anne, "basta" is "that's enough" "cuando termina?" is "when does it end?".  

*I LOVE CANADA!

We are on Isla de la Piedra, just south of Mazatlan.  I'll tell more later...

Hasta luego,

Narah.

Horatio, the manager here has organized 2 tours for the people here at the campsite.  The first one was to 'Bird Island'.  When we got off the boat, we saw an osprey nest.  It was in a big cactus, verry-er-ouchy.  There were Caracaras, vultures, frigate birds and pelicans nesting.  Caracaras steal other birds eggs.  Vultures eat off things that are dying.  Frigate birds steal food from other birds, because they can't take off from water.  Pelicans eggs are pelican eggs.  After, we had lunch.

Tour #2  A cultural tour:   We went to a museum about the tamazulas, they were 8 feet tall!  They used hammer like wepans and sling shots for battle.  The museum had a mammoth tusk in it.  Then we went to 2 old ruins, from the 16 and 17th century.  Then we went to the 'Old Tower'.  It was too cool.  Then we went to the government bulding.  So Mexicans from there joined us for the rest of the tour.  Horatio took us to a resturaunt and we all had lunch there. After that they took us to a traditional dance...

See?

This dance was called 'The Rancher's wedding.

For the last part of the tour we went on a small gondela/catamaran.  We played music and danced.  Oh, did I mention that after the traditional dance all of the croud was welcomed to the dance floor.  All of the kids ran away.  

We met some very good friends at Mr. Moro's, they are enrolled with the same homeschool program, self design.  They are from Mission, BC.  

Playing Lego in the sun.  We have seen days with 32 C!!  Or so.

Love you all,

Narah  

Hello from Las Glorias!

Buenos tardes amigos!  Como estas?  I'm just showing off.  We are in Mr Moro's campground.  It has been a few wet days, swimming and all.  8 hrs in all this week.  Today, 4 hrs!  We went in the pool, then the ocean, and took to the waves, and went and got beat up by them.  I got a nose bleed.  IT WAS SO FUN, being twirled and whirled under water by them.   Then we jumped in the pool again and again.  It is so beautiful here in Las Glorias.  Trucks on the beach, frigate birds,   sandy feet.  Alamos was beautiful too, there were locals on horses on cobbled streets.  High side walks in case of floods.  Trying to communicate with the Mexicans.  Levi got caught in a tight situation trying to talk to someone.  His learning from that experience is "One word leads to more words, so you might as well keep your mouth shut."