Judy Peterson, founder and chair of Fundación Ayuda Niños La Paz gave Charlie and me a tour of Colonias Laguna Azul, one of the impoverished “colonias” on the outskirts of La Paz (see photos here).The colonias were hit hard by Hurricane Odile, and will be among the last to receive power and water. Most of the people live in ramshackle cardboard-and-sheet metal houses with open roofs and walls. The houses we visited lost almost everything … more →

That’s how I’m measuring heat, by the number of showers I take a day. Today it was was (so far): In the morning, your run-of-the-water ordinary shower Around noon, when I returned from Se Hable La Paz after my 11 am Spanish lesson, having biked there, to meet a realtor (to look at another possible rental property), to get cash (to pay for my Spanish lessons), and to Got Baja?, my favorite coffee shop for … more →

Update: ~24 hours later I took the second photo, which shows the meter at 2 ___________________________ Simon our property manager tells me that the cost of electricity is “.80 Peso per Kw which is around 0.06 to 0.07 US per Kw.” Our electric meter read 2400 when we moved in on Sept. 2. Today, Sept. 8, it reads 2599, so we’ve used ~ 200 Kw. Figuring .80 pesos/Kw, that means we’ve used 160 pesos worth … more →

It turns on to Palmira, which in a short distance leads to the Malecón and Sea of Cortez. To the north are the tennis courts and entrance to the Hotel Araiza Palmira where last week the U.S. baseball team playing in the Pan-American games stayed (yes, a random fact). Not much to look at but offers some orientation to our hood.

The road to our house, Golfo de California, is nothing special – dirt and rocks that turn into mud and more rocks when it rains. The road runs more or less east-west. The first photo shows the entrance to our road from La Palmira. The middle photo, due east, captures our private if not entirely charming neighborhood. In the last photo you’ll see the boulder-field entrance to our driveway, one that we take slowly and … more →

I noticed several new subscribers to the blog: goldeneye2517 cowhollowboy (figured this one out – thanks, Bruno!) sdp47 (thanks, Sue!) But I don’t know who you are, at least not by that name. If it’s you, please email or reply to this post to let me know. Thanks!

I’ve attached a little map from one of my field journalsof some of the recent attempts to develop the national park on theeastern flank of the Sierra Laguna. You can reach all of thesepoints from Santiago which is a quaint village just off Hwy 1., southof La Paz. The best spot is a campground at Santa Rita indicated bythe dotted dirt road. There are tables, tent sites  etc., but thebest thing is the lovely public … more →

Leaving SFO – smiles On Virgin America. Contemplation? Skepticism? Or simply practicing the raise of an eyebrow? 12 something hours later, upon arrival at Casa Mariana in La Paz, a look that requires no words.