Pooks Canyon

Today I read that Gen X’ers are well-suited to tolerating boredom. While generalizations about entire generations are pretty much always flawed, it is true that our generation spanned a time when mothers went to work but after-school programs and daycares had not quite caught up yet. My brother and I started coming home to an empty house around ages 11 and 9 respectively. And yeah, we were bored and had to find stuff to do. Today every one of our society’s “non-essentials” are bored and having to find stuff to do. Here in California we are in our second weekend of mandated isolation. A Saturday seems so vast in a vacant, eerily large sort of way. The boys (aka Jon and Axel) are becoming FIFA 2020 experts, presumably along with the rest of the soccer gaming world. I have taken the craft of folding laundry to a meditative art form. But even then, there is just such an enormous quantity of spare time. We get creative. Axel and I started a garden last weekend, sowing kale, turnips...

In Barcelona children go to school from 9:30 to 5:00. At first I thought this was just Axel's school but one look at the 9:15 metro and sidewalks tells me that this is the schedule for most schools: the young people in Barcelona have backpacks on and are going places. The schoolchild, in his native habitat, reticent for Mom to be taking photos. Lunch at Axel's school is from 12:00-2:00, where they have a multi-course meal with dining etiquette and decorum strictly enforced. It brings to mind that time in Belgium when a 10 year-old Leah attempted to eat a french fry with her hand and had said hand lightly smacked (though I can report that, despite strict treatment, she did like those lunches).  Let's just say Axel is dining with a knife and fork at lunchtime these days. After the leisurely meal Axel can choose to participate in a variety of activities.  Afterall, they do have 2 whole hours. Yoga, Drums, Violin, Cinematography, Coding/Robotics/Drones are all on tap...

Easter in Mexico is not all about sugar and brightly colored eggs.  I think it is more about church and family gatherings but since I am neither religious nor Mexican I would have to defer to the experts. What I know for sure is finding coloring for Easter eggs was difficult. Acres of groceries and no food coloring!  In retrospect I could have done all sorts of clever things (turmeric, hibiscus) but instead, at the frazzled end of a long grocery trip to a foreign store, I mistakenly decided Jello packets could work. In addition to coloring substitutions, there was the basket to consider... I made Axel an Easter basket out of a salad spinner and braided grocery bags.  Janine from his school had given him the pink flower which we affixed to the basket with a safety pin. Sprinkling vinegar soaked eggs with powdered Jello makes the ugliest easter eggs. But the resulting deviled eggs were still tasty.  Thankfully none of the sabor de fruta h...

El Truinfo is a historic mining town halfway between La Paz and the East Cape of Baja.  Starting in 1850, the mine ran all the way through the late 1890s. The old church. Those colors though. Old archway. Front view. So many goats Traffic jam El Triunfo style. Jon met us there on his bike.  After changing out of his kit, he was thirsty. One of two smelting towers.  I think this one was called Ramona but don't quote me on that. Doggies! I wanted to take this one home. A local showed us where one of the mines were.  A bit of a hike but worth it.  Cool air flowed out of it on a hot day. 1888 Bar el Minelero is just, wow. They grind and case all their own sausage. A week later I was driving through again- the goats are a regular occurence.

Thursday I took the day off work and we booked a trip to Isla Espiritu on the Island Cat catamaran.  The island is at least two hours by boat each way, so if you go it is best to go in style (crew, cook, open bar, two bathrooms with showers, bedrooms, paddle boards, kayaks, two pangas).  Swim with sea lions, snorkel, SCUBA, swim with whale sharks.  They have it all.  I highly recommend doing something with Island Cat if you are ever in the Cabo/La Paz area.  It is the experience of a lifetime. We went back in March with Jon for his birthday and I just had to go again with Sandy. So much awesome.  I wish I had more pictures but I was too busy doing water stuff :)  Espiritu is a pristine desert island with amazing sea life.  Jacques Cousteau called it the World's Aquarium and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Haven't left the marina yet, already have the best bloody marys in Mexico.  Maybe anywhere. Axel chilling on the trampo...

El Serpentario is a must-visit for animal lovers. Iconic. Colorful birds. Attractive lizards. Bunnys hob-nobbing with birds. Supplicant bunnies. Bird selfies. Dinner (mouse a la egg yolk). Putting the serpent in serpentario. This guy only had one leg. We found the only rainy day in La Paz the day we visited el Serpentario.

Axel has really settled into school.  While he says he is not learning Spanish, it only feels that way.  At the store the other day I was trying to tell the cashier I had brought my own bag and Axel rolled his eyes and said, "Mom, just say 'Yo tengo una bolsa' "  And so he was caught knowing nouns, assigning proper genders to said nouns, and conjugating verbs.  Ha. He's doing so well he received a certificate of achievement stamped by the governor of the state of Baja California Sur. His friends.  The girl with the pink purse is Axel's girlfriend, Janine.  He said he likes her hair. Axel got invited to a birthday party!  When we lived in Brugge, Belgium Leah went to a Flemish school and was invited to a party.  This is a great way to experience another culture.  Leah's party, for instance, was for a 9 year old.  It was held from 7pm to 10pm on a Friday night.  When we arrived the lights were low, the music was bum...