And we are in La Paz! May 2014

We are vacationing in La Paz and I thought I would share some of our experiences. The first was finding this small, cozy, well located apartment that feels like a house....$500 a month rent and you can rent for as long as you want. We found it by driving around as no one else had anything available in the immediate mode. So far, we are very happy.

The livingroom






And the kitchen, which is great and has a few utesils, one cooking pot, and 3 frying pans is quite adequate except ypu really have to squeeze in there to wash dishes. No spices provided, no water potable water provided and BYOB.






Here is the bathroom which is located in the middle ... To the left of the sink is a small full bath.





Another angle looking from livingroom towards the back (bath, bedroom and back porch).






The bedroom which has lots of closet/drawer space






Yesterday was boiling hot, so we bought a pool






And today I filled the pool waaaay up, bought some clothespins and did some laundry and we bought Rex (dog), a new bed to sleep on.

And so our adventure begins! More to come as it unravels. I am off to take Rex for a walk on the malecon and maybe search out a margarita......to compare to La Bocana's, por supuesto!

[Edited on 5-23-2014 by BajaBlanca]

And at the far back of the patio is a cool and fun place to sit and chat.





[Edited on 4-24-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Welcome to La Paz....

enjoy this beautiful city and have a great vacation.

I just had a delicious salad at Zitius one hour ago, plus this stunning view of the Malecon.

Karl

Rex and I this evening, right before the margaritas arrived at Tailhunters.....a good margarita BTW.

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca Rex and I this evening, right before the margaritas arrived at Tailhunters.....a good margarita BTW.

The apt has ceiling fans everywhere and a great A/C in the bedroom. You freeze when you put it on full blast BUT, the temp at night is very cold, so we are having screens installed as I write.....but we will take them with us when we leave.

Stefano is the guy for the screens, nice as can be. 612 149-7643 and the total for a partial screen for the front window and a big screen for the sliding glass door in back was 900 pesos. Which beats the mosquitoes, roaches and mega bucks on electricity for the A/C.


New half screen:



Working on fitting the back screen properly since the house is slightly off kilter:

Another day in La paz ... Cooked, cleaned, took a long nap and ended the day on the malecon ......


The sunset





Rex watching the sunset too as he waits for his margarita





The venue for whale-ista







And the margarita, which came much faster than yesterdays, which took at least 15 minutes in an empty restaurant/bar. But this waiter never came back to check on me, so he got a smaller tip.




All told, Life is great. Today, Les became a citizen! He called from Mexico City and the whole shebang of getting the naturalization paperwork and ordering a Mexican passport took all of 2 hours! The rest of the people were still there as he left with paperwork in hand. Folks, if you can afford Gilbert Pineda, do it. His price today April 2014 is $1000 dollars. You must fly to Mexico City two times and you pay extra to get a passport $100 or so. Flights La Paz, Mexico City one way runs you $200. And Gilberto: He is simply brilliant. What was supposed to take 4 months (like mine did) is now taking less than 2 months. Even took Gilberto by surprise as he had told us 4 months and we jumped the gun and bought tickets for June. Which we will use to commemorate his birthday, my birthday and well, another vacation .....


Edit to add: Gilberto told Les that his citizenship process was so fast because I had already become a citizen. Not sure what one thing has to do with the other...but there you have it.

[Edited on 4-27-2014 by BajaBlanca]

And here is Rex waiting for his margarita with mexican dad Les




And after the margaritas arrived:

We took a walk this morning and along the malecon, we saw this gorgeous husky







And a PEAc-ck doing a full on mating dance for a hen .... we did not see another peac-ck in the yard. Hopefully you can make out the bird, it is in the middle, slightly towards the left.





And as we were walking back on Madero Street, we saw the Casa de Cultura where they have events going on all the time. Huge building but the inside courtyard to the right is really nice

Gnukid ... Will you be there next Saturday??? Just seeing this now and it is waaay past noon.

Here is what we ate today at Tony's Restaurant on the malecon and it was GOOD!

Saturday night in La Paz

This afternoon, I read this report about Las Brisas to Les and he says: i know where it is, let's go there tonight.

The review I read:

about 7 years ago had a bad experience at las brisas. this is the place right on the malacon about 2 blocks south of breesemart. never went back even though it just 3 blocks from our casa. last night after finding NIM closed we decided to try again. about 6 months ago they remodeled and added a beautiful outdoor dining area overlooking the bay.

it was fabulous. we got there at 7pm and left around 8:30. we were the only ones there. the menu is completely redone and in english. i had the bone in NY steak and my wife had the grilled shrimp. just perfect. cooked just right. best frijoles i ever had. the entire menu looked great. wide range from steaks, kidney, cantonese rice, fish, lobster, fondue, huge salad, hamburger, ceviche, seafood c-cktails etc and on the kids menu 3 types of pizza. our server, santiago had worked there 25 years and the other guy just 2 yrs. both spoke good english. the wine was excellent and a good pour. vanilla ice cream was super. they even bought us a drink on the house. don't get that too often. plenty of parking on the side street and the view is best in town. just the right height to enjoy people watching, traffic and a beautiful sunset over the magote.

very enjoyable evening and dining experience and will definitely be going back to sample more of the menu.
From the La Paz Gringo group

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So, we went for our margarita/ beer drink. The restaurant was indeed empty, there were two very friendly waiters and the menus are in English. While we were there, 4 Germans came i. And looked like they enjoyed their meal.

The amazing view:







The menu. Side 1


The menu side 2




The totopos




And 2 people who are just suffering through this wonderful vacation!





[Edited on 4-27-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Sunday ... The Cathedral and Mass

This morning I went to the Cathdral which is only about 6 blocks down the street. It is very bleak on the outside being that it is all concrete




But the interior is lovely

The front altar






The hours




More inside shots - the inside is gorgeous without being ostantacious



Mass at 7 am was very beautiful, they had a singer who led in all the songs and she was good. I prayed for all our souls! You are good to go for the week! (((:



A couple more shots ... The stations of the cross are in English?? Why?? Donated by whom?









[Edited on 4-27-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Breakfast of Champions

So, after building up an apetite after praying so hard, Les picked me up and off we went to the Malecon to search for a waterside restaurant and Kiwi is what we found






The view to the left





The view in front





The view to the right





The restaurant




The Menu







And the food which although really delicious was stone cold. Bizarre since it was early and the restaurant was nearly empty. We let the waiter know both verbally and monetarily. ))):

Mushroom omelet for him




Cottage cheese crepes for her




And Rex was welcomed, Whale-ista

And a last look of my favorite view

Hmmm.....no mention of the saturday nite parade of senorita's on the malecon? now that should have have put a big ol' smile on Les!

What a day ... First off we met bajanomader Gene and his lovely wife for linch at Laureles

The welcoming committee






Meet with Gene and wife to talk about life and the college teens, Gene is helping out Cristian:







The. We returned home, took a siesta and planned a meet with Barbara, who runs a non- profit here in La Paz called Care for the Kids. After living here for 13 years, she can teach me a lot! She and I will do some work together this week and next. I also hope she joins nomads:





From Michoacana, Les and I went driving towards Pichilingue and saw lots of nice beaches










And then we decided to visit Costa Brava's famed restaurants and ended up at this Italian place that was empty, probably since it was quite early still:













This menu is one of the funniest I have ever seen !




Their prices are reasonable and the location exquisite. Not too shabby margaritas either .....and so another fantastic day ended.

Today's Adventure: Allende Books in La Paz

I have decided to join the bookclub and next week's meeting is on Tuesday.....so it was either kindle it or have the real deal in hand. I love reading, and while I understand that kindle is probably the future, I love holding a book in my hand. So, off I went to discover Allende Bookstore:

The front:



Bruce the owner:




And there's my book! Black Swan Green





And lots of arts n crafts, some done by local artists, amidst new n used books:






These did not come out too perfect but I loved these fish!









And more .....


















All in all, a great place to spend an hour browsing and if it were a bit bigger, I would suggest a reading area and a small cafe, but ahhhhhhh I think I am dreaming of Santa Cruz. ((((:

TUESDAY MORNING

So much to tell....today was chock full of wonderful experiences. To start with, Les and I went hunting for the dog wash...found it, dropped Rex off and then went i. Search of a cappuccino.

First we found Pan D'Les and bought some muffins and bread from Roberto (hope I got his name correct)








The we found Las Manitas with beautiful artwork, right next door to Pan D'Les and met owner Diane:











And you have all seen this in another post, in a completely different town...let's see who remembers where .........














And then we saw Got Baja / Doce Cuarenta ( which translates 1240 ie the address)




These muffin show cases are made from wine crates that've been repurposed









Wine cork hot plates





Look at the bottle lamps! Just ingenious!







And glasses, glasses, glasses galore








In the back garden patio, there is a wall garden where they used old plastic soda bottles.....












There is a computer room and wifi throughout the place





And more, more, more











Then, we saw the Tuesday market and met Jay from London as well as bought one of his breads

THIS AFTERNOON

I went over to Se Habla, the Spanish Language School to meet owner Juli. Very interesting, her school is fabulous!




Les and I then went grocery shopping at Mega and I saw these HUGE watermelons!





Les and I went over to tony's for pizza with our good friend Linda









After that, I went to visit one of the poorest Colonia/neighborhoods in La Paz, where my new friend Barbara has started a one woman non- profit to help out the kids from families that have no running water or electricity.

http://www.careforkidslapaz.com


And these are two of the scholarship holders .... I want to give the kids some English classes, so everyone reading this gets three guesses as to what I offered to do *********************************************




Yup! I will be baking cakes next week! So, La Paz/East Cape residents: please help

1 I need 2 cake pans - and I can return them
2 it would be nice to get donated boxes of cake, kids love chocolate
3 frosting, any flavor

I will give three classes a week until we leave at the end of May
We can meet up anywhere in La Paz, preferably the malecon
In East Cape, we will be there Monday morning til Tuesday morning


And maybe I will get the kids to clean a bit??? might as well, right? The environment needs lots of helpers.

I will also be talking to them about education and why it is important
for the future

Care for the Kids gives becas or scholarships til they finish high school, maybe I can take them beyond ... Maybe .....

I will take one of these as well! Kids love watermelon!


THIS EVENING

Today we went to .Batolo's for our c-cktails and I will write a restaurant review separately





Typical food from Veracruz



[Edited on 4-30-2014 by BajaBlanca]

[Edited on 5-19-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Nice!

Ok, so we have been laying pretty low for 2 days

Yesterday we had amigos Wendy and Bobby over for lunch and today for lunch, we snuck over to the Apostoli's. There is a full review here


http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=73486


The other day we explored and found EL BARTOLO's Veracruzan and Yucatan cuisine

We didn't have a full meal there, we just had an appetizer and a drink but it was a memorable experience nonetheless


The plants along the outside wall caught my eye first, then the entrance second







Here is the sign





Inside front part




The view from our table, this place is on the malecon, near Republica







The History






And this was one highlight, a special Mayan sauce called ZILQUILPAK (I have no idea of the spelling), made of pumpkin, tomato and spices, including Habanero Chile! Not on the menu but brought out to us once Les let it be known he had just become a Mexican. Very, very good and the heat was at the front of the mouth. Ever notice that different chiles seem to heat different parts of the tongue?





And the second highlight was when the owner, Obet offered us a typical drink from the Yucatan called Torito, from his own private stash! A mix of coconut, nuts and pineapple and who knows what alcohol....sooooo smooth.....so good....thank goodness we only had to walk one block to get home!






This is a picture of Obet preparing a traditional Yucatanian pork dish, Cocinita Pibil. We did not have any since Les nor I eat fat and it looks like there is quite a bit. So, that review will have to be done by someone else!









And besides all that, I am reading Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, so I can participate in the La Paz book of the month club next Tuesday. Assuming we are not in terrible shape after the big 5 de Mayo party in Los Barriles on Monday. (((:

Ahhh the fun of vacationing!

[Edited on 5-1-2014 by BajaBlanca]

I have asked the same thing and It seems like most folks go out to dinner, but we tend to have lunch out and usually just eat very light dinners....let me tell you, I love that the restaurants are empty and that we get to really ask tons of questions!


Now, look what I found out, amigos......just a little hunting under "pumpkin sauce" did the trick:


SIKIL PAK is on the net!


Look what a smart woman can discover!












[Edited on 5-19-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Thanks oladulce! And good advice Udo but if you think Les shares food.....well......not! Hahaha

Today's adventure:

On the off chance that they would be able to help, I wrote the East Cape Dental Clinic about my college "kids"...the clinic does dental work for little ones for free and I asked if they could make an exception and do my bigger twins for free too.

And they said YES!

So, we hopped on a bus (our truck was getting worked on) and 2.5 hours later found ourselves in the office:





This is Clarissa, they both got teeth cleaned today:





And this is the 3 of us as we waited for lunch:




Now, Graciella has a ton of cavities. How many is a ton? I cringe to even write the number. I will whisper it: sevennnnnnnnn. She was never taught how to take care of her teeth. Those will be filled in at her next appt. My concern is her twin Clarissa who needs her wisdom teeth removed and has a possible root canal. The clinic does not handle this. God will provide, he has so far.

Then we rode home and as you all may or may not remember, I snored all the way. Like always.

Now home and relaxing. Is it margarita time yet?

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca Saturday night in La Paz This afternoon, I read this report about Las Brisas to Les and he says: i know where it is, let's go there tonight. The review I read: about 7 years ago had a bad experience at las brisas. this is the place right on the malacon about 2 blocks south of breesemart. never went back even though it just 3 blocks from our casa. last night after finding NIM closed we decided to try again. about 6 months ago they remodeled and added a beautiful outdoor dining area overlooking the bay. it was fabulous. we got there at 7pm and left around 8:30. we were the only ones there. the menu is completely redone and in english. i had the bone in NY steak and my wife had the grilled shrimp. just perfect. cooked just right. best frijoles i ever had. the entire menu looked great. wide range from steaks, kidney, cantonese rice, fish, lobster, fondue, huge salad, hamburger, ceviche, seafood c-cktails etc and on the kids menu 3 types of pizza. our server, santiago had worked there 25 years and the other guy just 2 yrs. both spoke good english. the wine was excellent and a good pour. vanilla ice cream was super. they even bought us a drink on the house. don't get that too often. plenty of parking on the side street and the view is best in town. just the right height to enjoy people watching, traffic and a beautiful sunset over the magote. very enjoyable evening and dining experience and will definitely be going back to sample more of the menu. From the La Paz Gringo group ------------------------------------------------------------------- So, we went for our margarita/ beer drink. The restaurant was indeed empty, there were two very friendly waiters and the menus are in English. While we were there, 4 Germans came i. And looked like they enjoyed their meal. The menu. Side 1 The menu side 2 [Edited on 4-27-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca Thanks oladulce! And good advice Udo but if you think Les shares food.....well......not! Hahaha Today's adventure: On the off chance that they would be able to help, I wrote the East Cape Dental Clinic about my college "kids"...the clinic does dental work for little ones for free and I asked if they could make an exception and do my bigger twins for free too. And they said YES! So, we hopped on a bus (our truck was getting worked on) and 2.5 hours later found ourselves in the office: This is Clarissa, they both got teeth cleaned today: And this is the 3 of us as we waited for lunch: Now, Graciella has a ton of cavities. How many is a ton? I cringe to even write the number. I will whisper it: sevennnnnnnnn. She was never taught how to take care of her teeth. Those will be filled in at her next appt. My concern is her twin Clarissa who needs her wisdom teeth removed and has a possible root canal. The clinic does not handle this. God will provide, he has so far. Then we rode home and as you all may or may not remember, I snored all the way. Like always. Now home and relaxing. Is it margarita time yet?

One of the boys has indeed visited the dentist thru seguro and I asked the girls to check into it too!


Meanwhile, on this homefront, lots of fun this morning!



What a day...we have done so many things:

First things first, after breakfast we snuck down to here



And had coffee and a cappuccino. I brOwsed more inside and found all this:












From there we went over to the organic famers market




and really, I think they should join forces with the other regular market on Madero Street, close off that block like they do in many countries and make it an all out weekly affair! This market has wonderful Germans. ((((: And sausages that she was cooking up for samples and smelled REAllY good:









This family sells honey and sauces, quite a variety:









Pan de Les was there!






And of course, we had to buy one of these amazing tequila drinks...as well as try some samples. The one we had was delushus. Dulishes. Delcious. Well, you get it!






After all that, we went over to the Club Cruceros where I was to meet Nancy, a woman who works teaching English at the local orphanage. She and I will be teaming up this Wednesday and I wanted to hear about the program. I told her about BajaNomad and I sure hope she comes on board! An amazing soul and her determination to make a difference is inspirational:







And talk about small worlds. Nancy had scheduled to meet up with two possible volunteers. When they arrived, we chatted a bit and they wanted to know where we live. As I am explaining, one of them Elia, looks at me and says "Do you know Gary P.?"

Well folks, in our tiny village of 600 people, with all of 5 gringoes, Gary is our neighbor! And good friends with .Elia's brother and stays with her n her husband when he comes down. I told her he had mentioned Maria California as a place to eat near her house and yup.....small world indeed.

And THEN she starts to tell me about a friend who went to a small community and was convinced to return and teach English....and I said "Susan?"


Hahaha, it is the Susan that I recommended leave her RV at my sister's in San Diego. Hahaha

She didnt in the end, but I had heard the Susan story right here on Nomads!


Here we have Elia and Kathy...both will be volunteering at the orphanage and both might join Nomads and both will be sharing a cup of coffee at Got Baja with me soon.






There's more excitement coming today but I am off, so it will be later.

[Edited on 5-3-2014 by BajaBlanca]

My Spa Day

Well, today was pamper Blanca afternoon


First I got my hair done




Then Les did too


Then I got my legs waxed (pic does not want to load). And a pedicure!


This is Rocio





This is the building where she is currently working out of. She used to work at a hotel and then went out on her own. Still setting up shop upstairs in this building. She is fantastic, her rates are 200 pesos for a pedicure, 200 for a leg wax and she does massages as well. I highly recommend her: 612. 170-1398













And at the end of this wonderful day...we met up with new friends Andrew and Merry....funny story because they told us to meet them by the mermaid...well, there 2 mermaids on the malecon and it took a while for us to figure that out. Two couples, neither familiar with the malecon means trouble !


Here we are when we finally found each other






And this is where we went






The sign you see when you leave







All in all, this was a totally pamper Blanca day!




[Edited on 5-4-2014 by BajaBlanca]

[Edited on 5-5-2014 by BajaNomad]

Sunday

First off 7:00 am mass at the Cathedral. I wanted to go to another church but woke up with just enough time to make it to the Cathedral. Again, you are all good to go for the week. I prayed hard.





For baptisms





A group of men who pray together and once a month, they take turns in groups of 2 or 3 and pray all night. They sang at the mass today and I have a short video.




A window






After breakfast, we met weebray who took us to around the beaches past the malecon. Each one nicer than the other. Just ask Rex.




Ask me!








Ask anyone!






This afternoon, I had invited the college freshmen to come to lunch. In a strategy that worked out perfectly, I told them they could invite their significant others. Bingo, they all showed. And double bingo for me, one of them has an uncle who may do the root canal that Clarissa needs (God delivers) !

So we met up at Tony's Restaurant. I bought them pizzas, which they got to choose and then shazam, they started to discuss job interview strategies with me. It was great and they rarely head over to the malecon since their university bldgs are pretty far, so next week I will probably do the same again......wish Max had been there! My bad for not letting him know we were going. We will do this again since Max, you will be their inspiration to dream BIG.


Graciela n boyfriend






Julian




Clarissa n boyfriend







Cristian






Alfonso






Very rewarding to work with these kids ....I just wish I could fast forward 20 years .....soooo curious to see them reach for the stars and succeed.



Moving on......


So, we had heard today from weebray and husband, that NIM was a good place to eat.....and decided to go there for dinner. Turns out it is only 5 months old or 5 months new, as the case may be. Really pretty, our waiters spoke English enough to joke around in English! It is across the street from the new 7 crown hotel, on the corner of Revolution. The sign is way too small.





These came highly recommended and they did not disappoint! Reubens were absolutely incredible.

One for Les with fries




And one for me with a salad




The bar, right as you walk in






I will be doing a separate restaurant review.

While I was having lunch today, two events occurred. First I read on facebook that Wiley passed and said a quick prayer for him. Then later, I heard from the little girl who lives in one of the neediest parts of La Paz, with no water or electricity. I had asked to to see if she could get a group together. She told me that 24 kids are going to the English class on Tuesday! I will bake 2 cakes and I will do this while vacationing in Los Barriles tomorrow LOL. I am so excited! Can you just see these kids speaking some English?!

Anyways. Hope these long writings inspire you to be all you can be.

And by the way: As always, yours truly is still doing her part caring for Mother Earth:







[Edited on 5-5-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Los Barriles

Well, this thread is about La Paz but for 24 hours, we are in Los Barriles

We arrived at 8:30 and went over to the dentist first to grab the X-ray which turns out does not help the college student with her root canal, so we left it.

Coffee at the roadrunner and a chat with Gail? Guess what? The person who runs the medical and dental clinic, thru accountant Gail, has offered to give both twins a full physical checkup when they come next Tuesday. The Cathedral in La Paz has special powers, folks, if you need some prayers answered, GO there.

From roadrunners we came over to our good friends Cliffh from bajanomad and wife, Carol to drop our stuff off, check Rex in and head out to El Viejo for chile rellenos. We arrived at 11:30 and managed to order the last 4 ! Carol and I had fish tacos .... Great as always.

Super amigos, Carol and Cliff





The famous chile rellenos at El Viejo



Here we are now, the boys siesta- ing, Carol is taking a break, and me with 2 cakes in the oven for the 27 kids who may show up for English class and cake at the impoverished La Paz colonia tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness for friends who let you use their kitchens. ((((:









Tonight is the famous DtBushpilot 5 de mayo party.....I better get a nap in too. See you soon, David n Jill!

Party at DTBushpilot and Jill's house

Wow....amazing does not even co e close to describing this party. I will let the pics tell the story!


We started off at the " safety meeting" at Buena Vista











And from there we went to the 5 de mayo party for 200 of .david and jill's family and friends






My people!





The photo editor doesnt want to cooperate, so I can make the pic upright. Just pretend I drank too much LOL








The ever so beautiful Jill




The band that will come





Les way back there






Sooooo much food















This is how you go to a party in Los Barriles





People people people














And here is the final view as we left......thanks for a wonderful time....eating, drinking, chatting and dancing!

Great post BB & les

two years ago I ate mid mornings at the "road Runner" a few times and will never forget the most beautiful women that I have ever seen that works at that dentest place ..straight up !! L.B. is getting grigoised but still has a cool feel about and for me the only two citys in the world that I love is La Paz and anchorage AK.....BB pregunta ? why wont you let your dog in the pool?? I'am missing something as always.....have fun while you can...Its a short journey......Good on you and thanks for sharing.....K&T

[Edited on 5-6-2014 by captkw]

Rex

Good morning Capt! Why won't I let Rex in MY pool? Cause he is a stinky P-nche perro. Hehehe. He rolls in dirt when he can, he is just a Baja dog and nope...not gonna happen!

Lovely morning here in Los Barriles. Off to La Paz soon for some cakes and kids and their moms may come too, a little bird told me.......


This is Rex 5 minutes ago. And he convinced Cliff to rub his belly.




[Edited on 5-6-2014 by BajaBlanca]

You are having far too much fun!

Thank you Blanca for taking us everywhere with you!

There are certain days in our Life that go down as special and this was surely one of them.

We drove back from Los Barriles without incident and the first thing I did was finish up the cake which was for the Vista Hermosa kids in the elementary And middle school scholarship non-profit that Barbara runs: Care for the Kids La Paz.


The Cake!



Then, I made lunch for the 2 college boys who want to go help out with the English and life skills for the poor.

Pic of Julian, Barbara, Natanael






After that, I got my book and headed off to Se Habla, where Juli was to lend me a pan for baking cakes. Check.

Then, I went to the book club meeting at Jeans house only 4 blocks away. Beautiful home and I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting. A mixture of book discussion (and most of us had not liked the book Black Swan Green) and personal anecdotes about coming of age, as that is what the book is about. I had to leave early to head off to teach.


Kids at gate, waiting to get in. Veronica was the one who told the other kids about the class, born leader that kid!




Started out pretty small









And ended up much bigger!







It was such a fun class! They learned all the pronouns and they learned how to conjugate the present tense for dance and swim. Not too shabby!







We are only here for 2 more weeks and after that, Julian (one of my scholarship kids) and his roommate Nathanael want to continue working with the kids. They will come up on Tues and Thurs for an hour and teach English and Life Skills: care for the environment, no littering, wash hands before eating, please, thank you.....I am so proud that they are volunteering.




The kids in Barbara's non profit are the poorest of the poor, she chooses the ones who have no electricity or running water in their homes. She gives them breakfast before school three times a week and any child who has an A or B average has their school fees covered, uniforms, books and school supplies. Barbara is a one woman show and I gotta hand it to her, she is something else!


Every kid got a bookmark, every kid got cake and most 2 pieces of cake, every kid got fruit and water to drink and mostly, they had fun and were off the streets. I don't have any pictures of that part as the 4 of us were pretty busy slicing, serving and cleaning up.


And that was the most special part of the day for me.

When I got home, our friends from Punta Chivato had arrived. They are staying at El Moro because they accept dogs.




The outside







The inside of the $135 fully equipped kitchenette









From there we went to Calypso Restaurant (separate review). Our friends told us the owner built this restaurant so her yacht crew would have a place to eat their meals when in town. Must be nice, eh?





And I am sneaking in a photo taken of Les and I dancing at the party at DTBushpilot's last night...so fun, so very fun.

Tell your friends that are staying at El Morro that Casa Buena also takes dogs and is a lot cheaper. I thought your stay in La Paz was to be a restful experience!

In the morning, we went to old mercado. What an amazing sight.

This is what you see as you head in







The entrance, on Revolucion, here in the downtown area




And the amazing and sometimes gross (pigs etc.) displays











Really nice sandals running $30 ... Ouch.






This woman's family has had this stall for 30 years and the flower one next to it




Got Fish?










135 pesos for the big pinata






This little girl UNDERNEATH was serving up coffee and cake on her play dishes to her brother..gotta tell ya, she was adorable! I guess she will be a future seller here (((:








Orphanage

Today was the day for going to the La Paz ' orphanage with Nancy. She has been teaching the kids English for free. She is amazing with them. I was totally impressed!




Today's group were beginners. Charming kids, ready smiles and when you think that they have probably been in the system since they were 6, it is shocking. .... But when you see them smile and interact, they have overcome obstacles and with lots of support, they seem serene.


Susan invites volunteers to practice English with the kids. She prefers you not speak Spanish- this way kids get the real experience!







I heard that they are totally supported by many entities, including OXXO. I thought I would be donating some things to them, but happily, they have clothes and educational material and computers. So, still on the hunt for another entity and of course, the kids in Vista Hermosa in the Care for the Kids Foundation of La Paz are getting cakes and classes twice a week.


Here are some pics from last Tuesday with the really poor kids





Second or third helpings!






And my two wonderful helpers tasting the cake to make sure it was up to par. The one on the right will probably be carrying on this mission....he is one of the students in my college scholarship program. He wants to inspire the kids to be all they can be.




And the two cakes for this afternoon!



[Edited on 5-8-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Vista Hermosa (beautiful View) up in the hills behind La Paz is home to Oaxacan migrants who live in homes without electricity or water. It is a shame, I think, that they are so far from their native land and that dreams are simply not coming to fruition....and so the kids are suffering.

I met Barbara and decided to try and somehow make a difference with these kids. Her program provides breakfast three times a week and scholarships for elementary and middle school students who maintain high grades, whose parents participate in the breakfast preparations and each child has community service duties. This is where we come in! We are giving the kids English classes with a party afterwards. The pics really tell the story:


At my house deciding who will teach numbers (julian) colors (Alfonso) verbs (me) and fruit (Jorge)






To get the strawberry you have to say " One strawberry, please."





What color is this? It was Alfonso's first time and he did great!






Julian is awesome with the kids. And a clown, which helps!







All of us working together to get plates ready for the bambinos....green frosting chocolate cake, strawberries, watermelon (cut by Julian)









The whole group!






We will do this for another 2 weeks while I am here and then if we can get sponsorship to cover gas money for the boys to drive out 2 times a week plus some extra to buy fruit and cookies to give out, then they can continue the effort. Barbara's board is more focused on formal education, so we have to find our own funding.
Or just do it when I come. (((:

Sorry, My bad. not sure were we will be in La Paz? I will have Brenda, Let you
know were we are. I am gust along for the ride

Well, another day filled with interesting outings. First we went to Cafe Olimpia for breakfast, as it was highly recommended by weebray. Gotta admit, my first look inside and my hungry stomach was not favorably impressed. The end result: It is a hole in the wall, not pretty by any stretch of anyone's imagination, ridiculously reasonable and GOOD eatery!

For 50 pesos you get coffee, juice, toast with butter and a choice of huevos made many different ways, my huevos rancheros were good and I could not even finish. No pics, did not have my ipad with me.

Oops, gotta back it up a second. Olimpia only opens at 8:00, so at 7:30 we went for coffee and cappuccinos at Got Baja? And look what the ladies room looks like...again, the owner is huge on repurposing objects:




I wished everyone a good morning







And this homemade cork board is just brilliant:






So, continuing after Olimpias, we went to see the new mercado. Very similar to yesterday's:


A shrine to the Virgin in front






This place usually has two tacos for the price of one on Wednesday and the
Line is down the street, but the offer is off this month





And some smiley folks selling inside!




Yuck....could have done without seeing this dude.





Make way!





So, our friends who have come to La Paz since the 70s took us to this bizarre hotel, which is on a street near the Marina end of the malecon. The owners told me it was 60 years old and what a collection of .....well, collections:


The wooden horse in front






And here is only a small part of what you see inside. Mind you, there are rooms for rent at 480 pesos per couple. This price includes breakfast and laundry. Hate to say it but you could not pay me to stay there. That's just me.


The entrance















This is the Cathedral many moon ago. The garden in front has changed, it looks quite different now.






Fancy a game of chess or an intricately carved board?









I had read bout this exposition and wanted to go:


Recently opened exhibitions: The celebration of Semana Santa by indigenous people in the mountains of Nayarit, a beautiful altar of Dolores de María Vírgen and Mexican wedding gowns are the subject of these new exhibits at Centro Artes Populares BCS, the site of the old Casa de Gobierno del Territorio on Madero across from Jardín Velasco, between Independencia and 5 de Mayo. The Centro Artes Populares BCS is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Admission is free.


So, the boys were not interested but the girls were:



Facing the building:






Facing away from the building:








Some traditional wedding gowns from different Mexican states:











There were more, but I don't want to bore ya.



The Semana Santa rituals:










And the altar:






Hope you are enjoying the ride. TGIF!

[Edited on 5-9-2014 by BajaBlanca]

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca