2/26/14

Sleeping in a Yurt in San Ignacio - part 1



  We had considered taking advantage of how far south we had already come and heading down to La Paz but after talking to someone who had just come from there, the scales of decision were tipped toward heading back North.  Apparently the highway is all torn up and filled with road construction and repair, adding many hours to the trip.  On top of that this weekend is Carnival in La Paz and it's already jam packed full.  Low on money, and low on ambition to drive for another full day (only to find "no vacancy") we turned the van around and began to make our way back up to North Baja.

We had looked at the bed and breakfast made of "yurts" in San Ignacio on our way down but it was full.  Yesterday afternoon we called and the people who had reserved the family sized yurt had cancelled.  We didn't realize that this is whale season and the San Ignacio lagoon (a short drive away) is full of whales and their calves.  There are also a lot of Gringos migrating here to come and see them. We're not used to seeing so many tourists, or competing for vacancy.  It is good for the local economy though.  It would be really cool to see, but the excursions out to see the whales are pretty expensive when multiplied by seven people.  It wasn't on the itinerary so we'll just be content with all the marine life we've seen already. 

Other than the five hour trip to the beach we really felt like we hadn't been able to play and relax much on this trip south.  Lots of driving.  Lots of searching through duffel bags.  Lots of washing peed on clothes in sinks and sleeping in motels but not much "ahhhhhh".  More than enough AAHHHHKK!

This is the place we found it.  Serenity.

The town of San Ignacio is a mission that was founded a few hundred years ago in a little oasis.  There are springs up stream that feed a lazy river.  The Jesuits brought date palms with them and the area is filled now with palm trees.  This bed and breakfast has a bit of a camping feel...only just the good parts of camping.  Right now I'm sitting next to a camp fire using the WiFi.  The town isn't much to see other than the old cathedral, but this little bed and breakfast is worth coming to. 
 


Only a 10 second stroll from our yurt  is a little paved patio river front that contains kayaks, fishing rods, and a paddle board that we are welcome to use.  The first day we arrived later in the afternoon on a drizzly cloudy day.  It wasn't swimming weather but it we were able to spend a couple hours enjoying the water.
 









                                           The kids playing with some minnows.




We were all able to relax, enjoy each other and enjoy our location.  Being here kind of reminds me of camping up in Northern Saskatchewan as a child...minus the mosquitos and with warmer water and palm trees instead of pine trees.


                                       Elijah loves anything to do with the water.


                                          My first time paddle boarding.



Our Yurt
It's like glamorous camping.
 




Not exactly roughing it.  This bed and breakfast is run by a Canadian couple.

 
The yurt has a familiar woody, comforting, cabin smell.  I'm not sure if it's the pine or what but the subtle aroma takes me back to some elusive childhood memories.



                                          It feels huge compared to the trailer.


 
We thought this was our only river time since we were going to leave in the morning.  The yurt was booked for the next night, but the reservation was cancelled and we decided to stay another night. 
 
 
 

2/24/14

Seals, boobies, and a little piece of paradise.


I guess we could call today our homeschool field trip...one which puts all traditional public school field trips to shame.
If I make it sound educational I can justify leaving the school books behind for a couple weeks. 

Life school is way more exciting anyway.

The day began at 8:30 am with a little boat, and a nice man who agreed to take us out to an island that we had heard about. 



 
Along the way we floated by some volcanic rock islands that were covered with many different creatures.

The water was so clear the kids were able to watch for fish.  Roman claimed he saw a ray.







 
Check out the bird with the blue feet!  Our skipper told us that this is a rare bird that is only found here and in the Galapagos.  He said it was called a boobie.  I wanted to find out more about this bird, and was about to google it, when I realized what word I was about to google and decided I'd just take his word on it. 

 Just around the corner we came across a whole lot of seals.
 

 Loud barking seals that my children enjoyed chatting with in their language.







  More of the mysterious blue footed "boobie"


Off in the distance the skipper noticed a dark line near the horizon and went speeding out toward it.  As we got we could see that this dark line was actually thousands of dolphins.







 






Our destination.
Paradise









 As long as Elijah has a pail and shovel he's a happy guy.


The big kids and the Hubster did some snorkeling off the beach.  They said it was like swimming in an aquarium.



Big sister Aili trying to teach Elijah what goggles are for.


"Mommy! Look, I so strong!"



Our skipper had to leave by 1pm so we packed up and returned to Loreto.  By then we'd already
 been on the beach about four hours.  Although I'm sure we could have enjoyed that beach until sunset it felt like a full day of fun by noon. 
 
Cece was so tired she promptly fell asleep in the boat.  She's been a bit of a hot mess these past few days.  I suspect a month of playing hard, full busy days, poor sleep (she is a very restless sleeper at night), late nights, early mornings and no naps have something to do with it.  She was proof the a cataclysmic tantrum can happen even in the most serene places...over something has petty as a pair of goggles or Daddy going snorkeling without her.  
 
When we got back to the hotel the kids all had a soak in the hot tub..since every one was already in swim suits anyway.
 
As the kids were getting showered and dressed for supper Nathanael left for a bit to check out the laundry facility and I was stretching Elijah and putting on his leg braces.  While I was distracted Cece snuck out of the sliding glass door of the other room (we have two joining rooms) and ran off to find Daddy.  She had tried it one other time but had been caught before she got to far.  I walked into the other room, looked around and asked "where's Cece?".  None of the other kids knew or remembered seeing her leave.  The door was even shut behind her.  She's a sneaky one.
The frenzied search around the pool ( which is about eight feet from our door), parking lot, and hotel floors took about 10 minutes before she was found in the hotel office...where she had wandered and was chatting with some of the Spanish staff..in English.  They said they thought she was Mexican but were confused because her Spanish was so bad.  Not a lick of fear in that girl.
Sheesh.
 
We then went out for some tacos and stopped at a playground on the way home....where Cece peed on the slide...and the other kids all went down it. 
I guess I'll be checking out the laundry mat tomorrow.