Mazatlan tread~*

2008-12-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

Ink

2008-12-06T22:03:00.001-08:00

four leaf clover

Maz Ink - first night open in Mazatlan

Axel

< < <> > >

Finally done
Both are healing up AWESOMELY and look GREAT!

We just can't seem to stay away from George's :)

2008-12-02T11:12:00.001-08:00

Your typical bar conversation between mother and son
Deb explains to Wes that he is one of three children
*~ Except... Wes KNOWS he only has 1 sibling!

Deb - weaving her story
something about squares, triangles and circles...

Wes realizing he IS the 3rd child

Charley

Carlos teaching me about Tequila...

The good stuff & the BETTER stuff!

The Mexican way to drink Tequila...

The Alaskan way to drink Tequila - errr, scary!!!

hermanas

Carlos and Deb

Carlos, Charley and Edgar (Jorge left - party pooper)

Edgar in a hermana sandwhich

JORGE - you should see this man work the grill!

3 Musketeers
Deb, Hollyn & Heidi

Hollyn and Wes
uh - SOBER???

Carlos

Edgar

Jorge

{Oh My God - all these men are Gorgeous!!!}

Marathon in Mazatlan

2008-11-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

I went for a 3 or so mile walk today - down the road next to a marathon and back along the beach. I walked clear down around the furthest point in this photo.

People stepping up to the street to cheer the runners on!

I didn't make it out to the street until most of the runners had passed by - but I did get to see quite a few~*

Agua passage
Water was being handed to runners in cups and sealed square plastic bags. The runners that got the bags would bite open the corners and either drink the water or pour it over them - drop the cups and bags and keep on trucking. As you can see the street was littered with cups and bags for about 1/4 mile.

passing agua to runners

Just a photo I couldn' t resist taking
:)

Birds of San Blas area

2008-11-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

hawk
(I have yet to identify... hawks as it seems are tough for me to identify in the book I bought)
This is an Osprey - thanks Mike for your help identifying :)

Great Egret

Baby Crocodile
we saw a BIG one, but I didn't get a great pic of it as it was behind some trees - muy scary! :)

Green Heron

Anhinga
Drying its wings after swimming

Wood Stork

hawk

Boat Billed Heron - immature
*~coolest little birds~*

hawk

Nighthawk
there are many varieties of Nighthawks - I am still stumped which this one is, as they are all quite similar looking :)

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

Bare Throated Tiger Heron

hawk

heron

hummingbird

dove - immature

Roseate Spoonbill

Turkey's
*~ The ones in the cage :) ~*

Rooster, Hens and Parakeets
(birds everywhere - even in cages)
:)

San Blas, Boats, Mangrove, Swimming, Crocodiles and Birds - lots and lots of birds!

2008-11-30T18:18:00.001-08:00

*~This is not the exact river boat we used - but it was just like it~*
We took a 2 hour ride up La Tovara, thru the mangrove and ended at a natural spring where we got to jump in. Once we returned we realized we had been gone for 4 hours!

Our Mangrove guide and boat driver extraordinaire - Miguel
AKA: Aquaman (I talked him into swimming with us)
He was actually VERY informative and helpful with finding and identifying birds on the trip!

I still can't believe I swung out and jumped into the springs - and 4 times too!
No crocodiles here! They had this area roped/netted off, thank GOD! But we did share it with a zillion carp-si-doodle fishes...

My dad and sister headed for a dip in the fresh water springs!

Some movies have been made in this mangrove... do you recognize these huts?

Exploring the church (Temple to our Lady of the Rosary) and fort (built to defend the port of San Blas from Spaniards) on the hill above San Blas.
*~Me and my dad~*

moments - - - nothing more... nothing less~*

2008-11-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

Getting carried away~*

2008-11-30T17:08:00.001-08:00

Headed to the top of the hill in our helmets and harnesses to get our zip line orientation and start the thrill rides!

This was a steep drop, but not the fastest... that was yet to come~*

*~ Geared up and ready to hit the lines ~*

Our reward after zip lines - yum!

*~ a lotta lotta lots and lots and mucho sunshine ~*
sun kissed me

Gop - knocking off zip line #1
You should have heard his woo-hooo, or was that a Tarzan yell...

Hollyn - proving she can do anything

cachorro (puppy)

*~We finished our day with a rappel down from the tree we landed in from our last run~*

This is actually after doing a run - am on my tiptoes as he unhooks me.

Yup - that's me WAY back there

Here I come...

One of the longer zip lines - blue agave plants below the run!

My very first shot of Tequila - EVER

2008-11-30T16:43:00.001-08:00

Evening at George's

2008-11-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Carlos and Charley preforming a Credence Clearwater Revival Song
{George's kids are: Jorge, Martin, Carlos, Christian, Maximiliano and Jessica}

Carlos on maraca and Charley on tambourine
*~ Imagine Creedence Clearwater Revival sung with a Mexican accent ~*

2008-11-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

Pelican's soaring in the mid day heat~*

Exploring the beach~*

2008-11-26T21:47:00.001-08:00

The rocks on this beach were so varied and beautiful!

More cool patterns in the rocks~*

Hollyn beach combing

The view from the hill top - Gop and I hiked out as far as we could in this pic

Can you read my mind?

Family Fun

2008-11-26T21:31:00.001-08:00

Hollyn (my sister) and me riding in a Pulmonia downtown.

Even with out entering here... I knew what was beyond the gate...
What does that really say about me... hmmm?

My dad!

Again... LOL, my dad~* "run Gop - RUN!!!"

Peek-a-Boo

2008-11-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

HOLLYN is reading my blog right now!

Where there's water...

2008-11-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

Showers and Salamanders

Imagine the Slithering beneath your feet, as water washes around your toes...

The quickening heart rate and frozen muscles...

Silence falls over every part of you even though you weren't making a Sound to begin with...

Stillness..... Searching... then - a Splash... almost a Scream, but no time...

Shadowy Silhouette Scurry's up the wall...

My eyes Stare - locking focus on the Startlingly Small Salamander...

Hey it could have been a Stupid Spider or Scary Snake~*

Needs no introductions

2008-11-19T21:12:00.001-08:00

Purple Onion's margaritas

Hiking and playing~*

2008-11-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

My dad and I took a couple hours to hike as far as we could along the beach toward the marina - we were gone many hours.
Despite the peak heat of the day and some red shoulders - it was SO worth it!

Gop or Bill or Dad or Extraordinaire (just pick a title-they all fit) crab hunting!
Heidi watching for buzzards... or photographers :)
[ Self Portrait ]

Where everybody knows your name...

2008-11-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

George's is one of our favorite eatery hang outs!
Good food, awesome ambiance and decent prices and most importantly...
cervesas cervesas cervesas
Wolfgang, Heidi and Bill (Gop)

George (the restaurant's namesake) was the father of 4 sons and 1 daughter. Sometime in the last 2 years George died, leaving his family to figure out what to do with his restaurant...
His boys decided to run the restaurant and reopened it last year. To honor George, their father they held a reception in his honor late November 2007. Behind the bar is one of George's sons~*

I don't know whether to run from or too this guy - he makes me smile every time I go to George's!
Next time I'll get his name and write you a story~*

All creatures gross and flighty

2008-11-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

This here used to be a black lively agile ninja crab - leaping to and from rocks as waves crash around it's 8 legs. Until a bird plucked it from its rock haven and set it delicately above to bake in the sun... an eerie reminder to the others below that the crabs may rule the rocks, but a greater force rules the skies.

Okay... you know your Alaskan when:
a. you see this and think it's rubber
b. you see this and screech
c. you try to climb the rock and feed it an apple
*Please note: I did not ask what you would do if you were Heidi - I asked if you were an Alaskan :)

Beggars come in all forms - I considered giving the creature a bottle cap of cervesa, until I remembered I was drinking out of a can!

I tried talking this guy out of jumping off this fence... until I realized that leaping to his death was not his choice of suicide. He was holding his breath - see those blue lips! He pooped all over the fence and I decided by that sign he would like me to leave so he could die 'blue lips' and all in private. So with that...
I ventured on ward... he did however get a toast later~* Long live blue lips

I love this picture, I love this bird
Every time I look at this scene and the Little Egret I'm reminded how simple life should be..

Branta Negra - daylight

2008-11-19T19:08:00.001-08:00

If I run - the shore line is only 40 strides from our back steps.

My room is the last door on the left.
The kitchen is under the upstairs apartment on the left...
you can just see the bar stools around the bar.

2008-11-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

Do you hear that????

Is margarita calling my name!!!!

*~Why yes - YES it is :)

2008-11-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

Branta Negra
Home away from Home
This morning I rolled out of bed and hit the beach, rinsed off - dried in the sun, read (a book that I must finish or Judy will have my neck), took a dip in the pool you see above to cool down, eat, drink, sleep - play... For those of you worried that I will be relaxing too much (Kevin) don't worry... in my spare time I am calculating the suspended solids in the shallows of the ocean!

2008-11-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

This mine is one mother of a mine - it's huge. The stock pile of rock around the pit dwarf the large city just to the left of the pit... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can - gasp~*

Don't mess with Delia

2008-11-16T17:22:00.001-08:00

*~ The coolest cat in Fremont WA ~*
I got to catch up with one of my best friends - Preston while on a layover in WA.
He and his house mate... both are cool cats!

Mazatlan again!

2008-10-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Mazatlan in 11/2007, I was mesmerized with photographing numbers...
I wonder what images this trip will inspire~*
stay tuned - Nov 15 - Dec 3 2008