Richardson Report

 It's not technically a full week, but we made the most of our last few days in Mexico. We made the most of the Malecón boardwalk We hiked to a viewpoint overlooking the city and the bay And we ate all our favorite foods La Paz is famous for its sunsets.  And I'll be honest when we first got there we saw something like this: And I thought - that's nice, but I've been looking at ocean sunsets for a long time (Fort Bragg had some pretty spectacular ones).   So yeah, it's nice, but I'm not sure why it's famous ... but we took the obligatory 'happy-to-be-in-Mexico' pictures.  Because we were.  And it was pretty amazing weather too. But once the sun sets, a few minutes later the sky lights up like THIS : and then THIS.... And towards the end of the evening those oranges turn into deep purples and you're left just completely in awe of the rainbow that God painted across the sky for you. We spent our last night enjoying that sunset from a restaurant wai

Thanksgiving week in Mexico is really nonexistent.  The Mexicans were aware it was a holiday for the Americans but there was absolutely nothing going on in Mexico....as expected!   One of the highlights of this week was our day-long outing on the water.  Our boat was full with the ten of us, our captain Alejandro and our guide Angel.  They were amazing.  Angel was the one who got in the water with us and supervised us for all our adventures.  Our first stop was to go out to La Isla de Espiritu Santo (Island of the Holy Ghost), which is a protected island off the shore of Baja Sur.  At the tip of the island lives a colony of sea lions numbering approximately 600.    We had wet suits and snorkel gear and Angel gave us the scoop on swimming with sea lions.  He said that typically the older ones will just ignore you, and the younger ones will find you fascinating and swim around you.  They are like puppies and might choose to explore who you are with a little nibble - nothing aggressive or

Ivy has been highly entertaining and cuddly - we all love cousin Ivy.... Welcome to Playa Balandra.  Honestly we can't get enough of these beaches.  To get to Balandra we leave by 7:30 or 8am because the parking lot fills up FAST and the shade palapas go quick too.  We got there at 8:15 on a Thursday morning.  At 9:00 a tour bus pulled up and unloaded a slew of tourists, and then another one came 15 minutes later.  However - I think they must have left after awhile and we didn't notice because the beach didn't ever seem uncomfortably busy and full.  Eventually locals replaced the tourists.  We rented kayaks and did a little light snorkeling.  It was a really nice day. The girls made the hike to the view point too - we could see them from our spot on the beach. Faith tried snorkeling and turns out, she likes it!  Which is good because she's going to have another opportunity in a week! One night on the Malecón we found this lady making these delightful delicacies...someth

We have completed our second full week in Mexico. This week the kids started Spanish class in our home with Marcela.  They seem pretty excited when she comes so I guess it's a good experience.  I actually haven't had much of a chance to ask them!  I am usually gone to my own Spanish language class, and Josh works.  Mornings are full of work of various sorts for everyone.   So far I can't say that I feel more fluent, and I probably won't, but I am getting so many of my questions answered for the *why's* of certain things.  I really like how my teacher explains things.  She pays close attention to what she can hear I need to practice and usually presents a lesson on that the next time we meet.  She speaks four languages and has a degree in teaching language so I feel like I'm in good hands. One of our favorite activities is to hit the Malecón in the evenings.  And we finally made it for the entire sunset.  It was gorgeous as all ocean sunsets are.  The photos are