http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , Mexico , Baja California Sur en-us Tue, 17 Nov 09 01:56:02 +0000 Tue, 17 Nov 09 01:56:02 +0000 Our next scheduled cruise is on the HAL Zaandam to the Sea of Cortez. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Cabo-San-Lucas/blog-452919.html It's been 9 days since we last blooged and it's hard to think of how to begin recounting the adventures. We've made it to La Paz our final stop along the Baja Peninsula before we trek it over to the mainland. The city with it's quaint cobblestone Malecon boardwalk and abundance of palapas on the beach is the perfect place to recharge our batteries both electronic and human and catch our br http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/La-Paz/blog-449792.html Here are some pictures of our Carnival Cruise Elation that we took over the labor day weekend of 2009 September 3 2009 to September 7 2009.This is our pretrip before we head back to Asia for our fourth time. This time we include India Vietnam in addition to Laos Thailand...Our itinerary will beDecember 22nd 2009 from San Diego CA to Varanasi India via BangkokDecember 24th 2009 Ar http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Cabo-San-Lucas/blog-446829.html It was like a scene from a movie two dusty cyclists emerging from the desert after 4 days of pedaling greeted by a salty breeze eyes squinting against the brilliant sun reflecting off the cresting waves of the ocean.... except unlike our moviestar counter parts after not having been able to shower or wash our clothes we smelled pretty foul and had a layer of dirt and sweat caked on to our sk http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Guerrero-Negro/blog-446742.html After a busy few months a well earned break in the quiet little town of Loreto Mexico enjoyed 6 days of relaxing and reading at the pool and 1 day of diving oh and lots of eating too http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-444429.html The property manager for Justin's parents condo invited the 4 of us to head out and explore the Espiritos Santos Islands off of La Paz. The trip was not cheap costing about 50 USD. However it was a lot of fun. Heading over we attracted the attention of a pod of dolphins which then proceeded to swim along side the boat and playfully jump right next to us. I enjoyed being right next to 6ft awa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/La-Paz/blog-424549.html We decided to head over to Todos Santos and Playa Cerritos for a day trip to check out the pacific side of Baja. It takes about an hour from La Paz. We walked around checked out the very chic town and took a quick look into the hotel California which was famous for something. The street we were on had more tourists than locals on it complete with Viagra dispensing pharmacies. We ate some great http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/blog-424529.html We arrived at around 10PM touching down right on time. I was ever so ready for a few days of doing nothing. Two friends were flying down from Seattle on the 29th and that meant that we had several days to hang out. I put in a lot of time by the pool. A lot of time. It was fantastic. I did very little besides go to the coffee shop and hang out by the pool. Two other residents invited us over for http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/La-Paz/blog-424523.html A nice morning of walking in Loreto and Emilea says goodbye to Patricia and Mike. Emilea will be staying for another week taking care of Patrick's dogs and enjoying some more time in Mexico. Four more dogs are leaving today Queso Guapo and one new dog are going with Patricia. Jose is going with Mike. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-417046.html Three people remain Patricia Emilea and Dr. Mike. The original plan for sea kayaking today was delayed by a morning storm that churned up the waters in the Sea of Cortez. The day turned into a day of sampling the foods in the area and playing with the dogs. We explored a great deal of Loreto and ate at several restaurants did a little shopping and visited some of the locals.In the evening Em http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-417040.html If three people are enough to have fun it's also enough to run a miniclinic. Dr. Mike Emilea and Patricia volunteered one more day at Animalandia to finish a few surgeries that couldn't be done last week for various reasons. 6 spays and 3 neuters were done today. In addition to the surgeries that were planned our new friend Jose got neutered. He will be moving to Washington with Dr. Mike. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-417026.html One more day of fun. Sea kayaks were lent to us by Alejandro and we spent several hours paddling along the waterfront and South of town. A stop at an isolated beach allowed some cooling off in the sea water as we watched some manta rays leap into the air.After a late lunch we decided to try the road up to the Mission at San Javier. The road is paved for about 10 of the 30 kilometers. About hal http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-417025.html The day for most people to return home has arrived. Three people have decided to get a little more time in Mexico but an afternoon flight means that everyone has a little time to see the Sunday market and do some last minute shopping near the town center. Along with the group leaving today is a group of new US citizens 6 cats and 1 dog. Gremlin is on her way to her new home in Washington and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-417019.html Saturday there were 2 goups out for fun activities.Dr. Mike Jen and Andrew took a day trip out to the larger island and took advantage of the opportunity to do some scuba diving and see some of the reefs and sea life in the area. Many coral were seen along with some very colerful fish moray eels and manta rays. The visibility was 100 feet and the water was nice and warm. Underwater photos wer http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-415765.html Very busy last day...we did 50 surgeries today. In addition to the spays and neuters we did reapirs on some entropions in dogs. This is a condition where the lower eyelid is turned inward and rubs the lashes against the eye. Dr. Ravi did a mastectomy to remove a mammary tumor from a dog owned by Alejandro who arranged the island tour on Monday. Alejandro also had another dog with some skin is http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-415756.html 55 surgeries done today Many more done by the vet students. Choco is continuing to improve. He started eating at lunch when he was offered some grilled chicken from the great lunches that have been provided each day by the volunteers at Animalandia.Gremlin will be getting a new home in Washington State. KC has fallen in love with her and will be taking her home to live with other dogs goat http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-415731.html Today was much busier. Fortyeight surgeries were completed most of them spays. In addition to the surgeries Animalandia recieved 2 anaimls from neglectful situations. One dog had a callar grown into the skin of his neck and the other had been inadvertently locked away from food and water for 20 days.The dog that was deprived of food and water was severly dehydrated and emasciated. He was st http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-415332.html We arrived at the clinic early and went right to work setting up stations for premedicating animals with pain medication and antibiotics induction of anesthesia surgery and recovery. The first clinic day always starts a little slow to allow time for people to get used to the system and to solve any unforseen problems. There were a total of 36 surgeries completed today. Most people gat a cha http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-415026.html Today we had a day to relax get to know each other and enjoy some of the area. Alejandro from the fisherman's coop arranged for a half price tour of Coronado Island. We were all taken aboard two boats and given a tour of the island. One of the boats was lucky enough to encounter some pilot whates on the way to the island. Once arriving at Coronado Island and seeing the geography we were pla http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-415019.html We arrived well with the whole team at the airport in beautiful Loreto Mexico. We were greeted by the representatives from Animalandia and rode to the house Mexican style in the back of a pickup. We took a trip to Animalandia to see the clinic and do a quick introduction to how things will flow on the surgery day. We met some of the residents awaiting adoption. After stocking up on groceries http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Loreto/blog-412708.html