Blogs from Sonora, Mexico, North America

My son Javan is a great camera assistant, an excellent workout buddy, and an awesome traveler. On this trip, Javan was by my side at every moment. He was operating cameras, helping with lens changes, connecting microphones and such. He was also performing alongside me, talking on camera and doing filmed workouts for the new documentary. He got up early when we had to, and I accommodated his needs by taking meal breaks more often than I normally would on a job like this, and going to bed much earlier at night (no crazy athlete parties for me this year). Javan was essential for this project. If I didn't have Javan with me, who would have been witness to the unmanned border we crossed effortlessly on the way into Mexico and the absolutely insane border nightmare ... read more

Why are we in Mexico? You may be wondering why my son Javan and I went to Mexico in the first place. We were there for the iF3 World Championships. "What's that?" you say? The "iF3" is the International (i) Functional (Fx1) Fitness (Fx2) Federation (Fx3). This is the governing body for Functional Fitness as an international sport, representing the sport on the global sports governance scene with the ultimate goal of getting Functional Fitness into the Olympic Games. Every year they put on a World Championships in a different country. I know, that just brings up a whole list of other questions. "What is Functional Fitness?" "What does the governing body for an international sport do?" "What is the global sports governance scene?" "How do you get a sport into the Olympics?" "Why do you ... read more

After a wonderful night's sleep at the surprisingly comfortable and quiet Hacienda Motel in Yuma, we prepared for the next part of the trip: a drive into Mexico! I went for run, and planned on bringing some coffee back to the room. The coffee shop was closed until the afternoon, because it was being repainted, so I returned to the room, changed, and we packed the car once again. We were going to wash the car, but Walter arranged to have someone in Puerto Penasco do it tomorrow, so all that was left was to do was get some cash, and some coffee! Those tasks completed, we headed for the border crossing, with a bit of nervousness. We had our visas handy, the passports out on the dash, and the insurance documents in a folder. We ... read more

It has been a whirlwind week so far. I’m not sure what it is right now, but I will give you an update so far. Our first service projects was a beach clean up at one of the local beaches. The main trash was cigarette butts, but we We cleaned them up. After lunch we went to a dialysis’ clinic that had been shut down during Covid. It needed a lot of cleaning and paint inside and out. It took us about 3 hours to finish. The clinic was put in by Rotarians to help save lives. Before the clinic people had to go 2 to 3 hours to get dialysis and many died in the process. Now with Covid the clinic has been shut down and nobody knows why. All the equipment is there ready ... read more

Well you probably thought we were lost somewhere, but we are here in Puerto Penasco. After a long drive from St George to Phoenix and then a drive from Phoenix to here we arrived the Friday evening. We had four vans with I think are 38 people. Not sure. If you have ever been on a SunRiver hike you know the counting is the hardest part of the hike. We made it through the border with no problems. I think we looked like one of those church groups we always try to stay away from. So far we have been on the move since we got here. First night dinner at one of Jose’ s friends who owns and runs a Restuarant in town and several members of the local Rotary club. Great food and even ... read more