Lazy Week in Mexico

 

A brilliantly coloured Hooded Oriole sat just outside our breakfast table one morning

For several years the topic of a winter vacation in the sun has come up in our family. Our three children remember going to the beach during the holiday season when we lived in Ecuador. Last year we decided that 2025 was the year to go. I booked tickets in February so the anticipation was long. 

One of our daughters is a teacher and calls the week between Christmas and New Year's (or the start of school) "Lazy Week." We dubbed our holiday Lazy Week in Mexico, and what a fun time we had. 

We took a tour to the Mayan ruins at Coba, riding bicycles through the jungle for a short distance. Those who couldn't ride were pedalled in style in a tricycle affair. The bikes were not fancy and I had to remember to use my pedals for braking as mine didn't have hand brakes. 

All 13 of us climbed the very steep and uneven stairs to the top of the Mayan pyramid. The little girls, 5 and 6, did very well. The site was closed for a few months to allow the construction of a wooden staircase over the stones. The rope handrails made us feel a bit more secure. Our guide told us that executions were performed by pushing people off the top of the pyramid. How terrible. 

And here we are, on top of the pyramid with a grand view of the jungle for miles around. A sea of green. 

Our next stop on the tour was swimming in two different cenotes. These were both underground with narrow stairs leading down to the water. How clear it was and very refreshing for swimming. Stalactites and stalagmites were all around.

The food all week was fantastic. We stayed at a resort so no one had to think about food other than what to put on one's own plate. I love Mexican food and enjoyed plenty of it. 

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a gala buffet. There were parties on the beach, sparklers, and fireworks to observe. Most of our crew were in bed long before the festivities began. 

I enjoyed watching the different bird life. This brown pelican dove into the water and frequently came up with a small fish that was devoured in one gulp. 

I didn't grow up near the ocean and when I first visited it during our early years in Ecuador, it didn't appeal to me. I felt it was too restless. It didn't take very long to learn to enjoy the waves crashing onto the shore and creeping up the sand to tickle my feet. Now, many years later, I love it, especially when the water is the warm Caribbean. 

When we lived in Ecuador vacations were almost always spent at the beach, drifting from pool to ocean and back again. This week reminded me of those days and I took a photo of our three children as I had done when they were young. They posed very nicely until the end when I just caught our youngest ready to scoop water onto her brother. A water fight ensued, with lots of laughter. 

This was a week when time felt suspended. Resort life is not real life, and we all enjoyed the break. We returned late Saturday night (early Sunday morning) and today (Monday) the grandchildren are back at school and most of the adults returned to work. Lazy Week in Mexico was a grand success.  

Happy New Year, everyone!

A Few Days on the Wild "Wet" Coast

 

Vancouver Island lies roughly parallel to the mainland of North America. Between the continent and the Island are many smaller islands and islets. Land is almost always visible from anywhere in these waters.

However, the west coast of the Island faces the open ocean, with a clear view to nowhere. Japan and the Asian continent lie far across the waves. The Pacific Rim National Park stretches along the coastline and includes the West Coast Trail, the Broken Group Islands, and the Long Beach Unit. It's this latter section that we visited. 

The road climbs up over several mountains and winds in tight curves through narrow passes and along enormous Kennedy Lake to arrive in the Park. It's difficult to reserve a spot to camp in the Park itself - our son and his family reserved in January. We stayed in another private campsite with our camping caravan/trailer, about 15 minutes drive away. 

We enjoyed hot weather (not too hot) a couple of days before leaving, but once we got down to the ocean, the temperatures dropped to 22 degrees, then to 17 degrees for most of our stay. Fog and cloud rolled in, followed by drenching rain and strong winds.

We put on our rain gear and enjoyed the scenery. The Wild Pacific Trail offered the views in the above three photos. 

Someone amplified the out-of-bound warnings. We saw no wolves, bears, nor cougars.

The Amphitrite Lighthouse is active, and can be accessed by road. It's not open to the public, but the trail passes close by. There is a webcam of the waters around the lighthouse, and I see that today the water and sky are blue, and there is no fog, very unlike our time there. 

This area was known as the Graveyard of the Pacific; several thousand ships have floundered and sunk in the waters stretching from the mouth of the Columbia River in the USA to Cape Scott on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Shifting sandbars, rocks and reefs have claimed many lives over the past few hundred years, and likely before Europeans first explored the area.

This is part of an unnamed wreck that sank in the late 1800s. Rusted iron and weathered planks of Douglas Fir are all that remain. 

On the other side of the Pacific Rim Reserve is the more sheltered water of Grice Bay. We drove down the narrow road one evening as the sun was setting.Tim wandered to the water while I took photos where blues and greys melded in tranquil harmony. 

On our last evening there, in the drizzle and wind, we went one last time to Long Beach. Lovekin Rock stands ominous and dark, and swimmers and surfers are warned to stay away from the rock because of strong rip currents. Driftwood lies abandoned by the waves on the sand. It is a place of many moods, and this particular moment felt full of mystery and shadowed loveliness. 

We enjoyed our time seeing this part of our Island, in spite of the inclement weather. Our son and his family were in a tent trailer and decided to pack it in two days earlier than planned. We helped them pack up in pouring rain. It was so crazy that it was funny. 

And now the summer is almost over. Tim returns to work on Monday and I begin in-service on August 31. How will this school year look? 

Books, Beach, Flowers, and Cool Drinks

"There are few pleasures like really burrowing one's nose into sweet peas."

Angela Thirkell

Every few days I snip another modest bouquet of these fragrant flowers. They move from the mantle to the table to the windowsill so that I can catch a sweet whiff as I move around the house. Just now they are outside on the patio and that's where I'm headed. 

Last weekend we went on a little jaunt to Sidney Island, no more than 30 minutes from the boat launch. Our local families joined us for a wonderful day of sand, sun, and sea. These littles spent all of their time in imaginative play - creating a civilization because they were stranded without adults! I loved listening in on some of their conversations. 

When we returned, the boat launch was very busy and we had to bob about for awhile. The children were thrilled when a curious seal came within a metre of the boat, looking up at the children dangling their feet over the deck. (No need to worry, one would have to have extremely long legs to be in any danger.) Then, a fat fried egg jellyfish showed up and drifted by so that the children could see tentacles pulsating. One grandchild was heard to say that the wait on the water was the best part of the trip!

Some of my recent reading material. I have just begun The Salt Path, and just finished The Beekeeper of Aleppo. I keep mulling over the story of the Beekeeper - a Syrian refugee. Such horror and tragedy, yet the human spirit finds beauty where it can. I recommend it. 

The other books are light fare, easy reading for summer. 

Shrub: - a fruit syrup preserved with vinegar and mixed with water or alcohol to make a refreshing beverage.

There was a container of blackberries leftover from last summer in the freezer, and after reading about shrubs in a magazine, I filled a jar with berries, apple cider vinegar, a cinnamon stick, and let it develop in the fridge for a week or more before straining it, and mixing it with a simple sugar syrup. I add 1-2 Tablespoons to a glass of cold water for a very delicious and different drink. 

One hydrangea bush branches through the patio railing in a friendly manner. Sitting so close to it, I noticed the golden tipped stamens and delicate blue veins. Such intricacy of creation. 

I had another close encounter the other day. While working in my garden I heard a loud buzzing sound. Not ten inches away from my hands, a pretty Anna's Hummingbird fed on a pink zinnia flower. I stayed very still and watched her circle the bloom with her long pointed beak. She then moved to the next flower. I could see her heart beating furiously and hear the buzz of her wings. Amazing!

These are beautiful summer days. I hope that you are enjoying them, as well (or autumn days if you live in the southern hemisphere). Let's enjoy the seasons as they come, for they change all too quickly. 

Where is Winter?

The question in the title might be a moot point for some of you, but here on the west coast, we are enjoying a very warm winter due to a strong El Niño system. We've had a lot of gloomy rainy days followed by sunny bright ones. On the sunny days we head outdoors. 

On Saturday afternoon we walked up Christmas Hill for a view of our city. Across the Strait to the south the white peaks of the Olympic Peninsula of our neighbours formed a line across the horizon. To the west, Mount Baker, also in the USA, glowed as the sun dipped low and a faint moon stood out against the darkening sky. 

On Sunday afternoon the good weather took us to the waterfront along Dallas Drive, along with many other walkers out to enjoy the sunshine. It's not that warm, really, 10-12 degrees Celsius, but we saw several people barefoot on the beach, others in shorts, and one hardy young man swimming! He was in the water for a very long time, it seemed to me, and he strolled out, not rushing for a blanket or towel as I would have done. 

The caption of this photo might be "The one that got away" for the crab wriggled mightily and eventually escaped despite the desperate grab of the gull's beak.

At Clover Point pigeons flew dark against the eastern sky, then wheeled and circled to the west where the light illuminated their wings. A single male pigeon alighted on a lamp post and was soon joined by a female pigeon. Immediately, the male began showing off. He jumped onto the green bit on top of the lamp, turned round and round, bobbed his head up and down, and tried desperately to impress the lady. She seemed very unimpressed, and if pigeons could yawn, she would have. After a bit, the male gave up and just stood there, head to the wind, perhaps thinking of his next tactic.

“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.” 

― Thomas De Quincey

After we arrived home I made a lemon loaf and we had tea and cake. Delicious and restorative, beside the fire, even on a sunny afternoon! 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf. 

Hanging on to Summer

Here we are. The great blue bowl of September skies covers us in the afternoons. The first day of this month was a great day to pile 6 adults and 2 children into the boat and take a short ride to Sidney Island for a day of sun and sand.

Never lose an opportunity of seeing

anything beautiful, 

for beauty is God's handwriting

Ralph Waldo Emerson  

Together we walked along the wooded trail to the walk-in campsite, then circled around to the other side of the small island, took steps back down to the beach and meandered back along the sand. Water + sticks + sand + children = unending entertainment.

Sticks and sand also provided entertainment for our son, who found this pointy-headed creature and thought he needed sunglasses. 

Not even a hint of wind ruffled the tidal pools in the morning. Calm waters and perfect reflections hint at the resignation of summer's soon end. Meanwhile, we soak in the sun and delight in the thought of cooler nights.

Go out, go out, I beg of you,

and taste the beauty of the wild.

Behold the miracle of the earth 

with all the wonder of a child. 

Edna Jaques

Eel grass is thrown up by waves onto the beach to dry and tangle, or be caught by a rising tide and tossed back into the sea. 

An indomitable blackberry plant grows from an old stump, surviving hot days with no rain. 

Oh, that blue sky!

Instructions for living a life.

Pay attention.

Be astonished

Tell about it.

Mary Oliver 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

Gardens and Beaches

It's time for Mosaic Monday once again. I can't get over how brightly coloured these Cineraria are, seen at Butchart Gardens. Mass plantings of them are like a POW to the eyeballs. 

Spring has been unseasonably cold thus far, but that all changed over the weekend. On Saturday we took our son and his family out on the boat, just across Sidney Channel. 

I always enjoy observing the arrangements tossed onto shore by the waves and wind. Half-buried clamshells, delicate sand cupped in purple-hued mussels, intricate barnacles, and more.

A shallow tide pool + sand + seaweed + shovels + a found piece of plywood to float + imagination = hours of absorbed fun for Bigs and Littles alike. Mr. F also had fun pretending to drive the boat. 

What a day! Off in the hazy distance is Mount Baker, in Washington State. 

Three gulls on a log were unfazed by the ferry boat passing in the distance. I don't know if the gulls were nesting or not, but one of them swooped down low over me, squawking all the while, and making it very clear that I was unwanted. 

It's the Victoria Day weekend here, so tomorrow is another day off. I just love Sunday nights when Monday is a holiday. 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

Fathers, Forest and Beach

Four of the finest fathers I know - my own father, my husband, our son and son-in-law. Our daughter and son-in-law were camping for the weekend, so the rest of us (minus the Vancouver lovelies) drove up for lunch on Sunday.

Although the weather was cooler than we'd hoped, fun was had by all. Travis blew bubbles for the littles. Don't they look magical in the forest?

What fun to try and catch a bubble before it pops. Miss A caught several with her mouth and confessed that they didn't taste all that wonderful. 

While the grandchildren tried to catch bubbles, I caught some ocean spray (holodiscus discolor) with my lens. And some pretty "bubbles" in the background.

After lunch ("We're eating al fresco," said Miss A, demonstrating a newly learned word), we headed off to the beach. The tide was out and the sand stretched far into the distance. However, the girls wanted to plop down immediately to start their sand castle. We convinced them to wander a bit further, to the edge of a tide pool. 

These cute little feet splashed and ran... 

and sat on top of the sand pile accompanied by plenty of giggles. 

Kite flying was popular that day. 

Success! We (my parents and Tim and I) didn't linger very long on the beach. It was chilly. But as we drove the 2 hours homewards, the sun began to shine and the evening was warm and lovely. I hope it was the same for those who stayed longer.

How was your Father's Day weekend?