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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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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.
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Floatflyer
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Location: Whidbey Island, WA
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Mood: Wet & Cold
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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!
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Udo
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Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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Mood: TEQUILA!
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That's a lot of people at DT's mansion!
But at least the party was held at an appropriate place...the house is a dream!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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Just noticed Cassandra and Rick dancing too. The party was a blast.....still dreamin' about it!
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KurtG
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Mood: Press On Regardless!!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaBlanca
Just noticed Cassandra and Rick dancing too. The party was a blast.....still dreamin' about it! |
Thought that was them in the foreground. Been friends for around 40 years.
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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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]
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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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. (((:
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liknbaja127
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Blanca, Will you and Less be still be there on the 13th, tues.? we will be coming
through there Hopefully, that day. We will be at the Desert Inn, only 1 night.
come on by and meet the team, If you are still in town.
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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We will be here til 20th or so. Desert Inn? In La Paz? I havent seen it.
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liknbaja127
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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
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BajaBlanca
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Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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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]
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Heather
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Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: National City, CA
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I am enjoying your posts, Blanca.
We usually get to La Paz in July, and it is always so hot, that I can't wait to get back to the cooler beaches of Cabo!
Have wanted to go to a museum while there, but no one ever moves much!
We always make it down to the Malecon in the evenings to walk with everyone else. My mother-in-law grew up around the corner from Hotel Los Arcos.
Her father used to be in charge of the lighthouse on the Malecon, so she always likes to visit that area!
Although my in-laws are from La Paz city, everyone's favorite thing to do is go out to the Ranch. One of my husband's tios has a ranch not too far
from town, so that is where we always need to visit! Beautiful places, with a variety of animals; goats, bunnies, turkeys, peac-cks, pigs, a horse or
two....girls love it!
Have you been to the beach? Our favorite is Balandra, but don't stay too late or the jejenies (bobos) will eat you alive!
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Whale-ista
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Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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Thank you for Interesting photos of people and places.
You are definitely not a "lounge by the pool on vacation" person, are you?
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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Heather, thanks for sharing your background. I bet they have a huge tinaco pool at the ranch that everyone goes swimming in? Some of the ranches
north of La Bocana have cool water pools. In July, the beach surely is the best solution. We have not been to Balandra but it will happen next week.
Whale-ista: This is a vacation but it is also a discovery trip. We want to travel for 6 months at a time And this might be a destination...so I am
exploring to see if it "fits."! The mornings are wonderful for exploring.
So fat it's thumbs up for La Paz. we could easily see ourselves spending 6 months here.
[Edited on 5-10-2014 by BajaBlanca]
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Heather
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Blanca, the new ranch that Tio Juan is caretaker of is out by Balandra, so usually stop on our way home from the beach. Rancho San Antonio has a big
tinaco where we usually find crazy Tia Carmen swimming!
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bajajudy
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Location: San Jose del Cabo,BCS
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The guy who owns the hotel used throw a fit if you tried to take pix. Glad that has changed. You could spend an afternoon finding different things
to photograph, eh?
Enjoying your posts!
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BajaBlanca
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Interesting, I specifically asked if I could take the pic of the guys playing and he said "Claro que si!".
Heather, are you guys planning on coming down before the end of the month?
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oladulce
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaBlanca
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Love the little guy on the right- discussing the current economic status or contemplating the world's problems?
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Ateo
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Great thread Blanca.
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