My Winter Home- November 28, 2007

Excitement is in the air around the small town of Telluride as ski season officially opened today! A foot of snow fell last Thursday which provided a base and the snow making equipment has been busy day and night as temperatures have dropped substantially in the past week. It is 14 degrees as I write and more snow is expected this weekend. I bought a new pair of skiis before Thanksgiving and they are in the shop getting the bindings mounted. They are the cutest skiis I've ever seen; pastel pink and blue, sculptured shape, and they only reach up to my nose! I can't wait to try them out even though I haven't down hill skiied for about 12 years. I imagine it is about like "riding a bike," at least I hope so!

I had a wonderful and quick visit to New England for Thanksgiving and moved to Telluride on Monday morning. The gray house in the picture is mine for the year and one of the rooms serves as the classroom. The home has been totally remodeled and is so comfortable and cozy. I am one house up from Main Street and everything is within walking distance which I am loving. I used to love to live out in "nowhere" and having land around me has always been so important. As I've gotten older, however, I've realized how much I love being near the center and being able to walk everywhere. This is part of the charm of San Miguel as well.

To go skiing, I will walk out my front door carrying my skiis and wearing my boots as the gondola is a short walk down a side street. This lift, which is free year round, takes you to Mountain Village where most of the ski trails are located. From the top, all levels of trails are available but I'll be staying away from the Black Diamonds!

This small but magical, snowy village appears to be the perfect spot to spend the winter.........

Bahia Magdalena- November 2007

One of my favorite days of our Baja trip was Sunday when Todd dropped Katie, the kids and I off at the little fishing village we could see from our boat. From the moment I had spied it, I wanted to go and visit as my favorite part of Mexico is visiting the "off the beaten path" places and really experiencing the culture. It was also a perfect opportunity for the children to practice the Spanish I have been teaching them. I told them I was pretty sure that if we went ashore we could find a little tienda and buy ice cream but they would have to ask for it in Spanish.

This is one of the poorest looking villages I have ever visited though at one time, it appeared to have been more prosperous. Several very large, ruined buildings were in the center but they gave clues that at one time this town must have had a larger population. Today, the 195 inhabitants include 56 children and the two schoolhouse must be pretty full. As usual, the best kept building in town is the church.

Large bones are displayed throughout the village as decorations as well as outhouse style toilets. Indoor plumbing did not appear to exist. Many homes (shacks) were boarded up and the streets were dusty and littered. People were friendly, however, and we enjoyed seeing some of the local catch of scallops and octopus.

My three were delighted to find a broken down playground and happily played with yelps of joy for at least a half hour. We walked and found several tiendas but none had ice cream! We had noticed at night that lights were sporadic on the shore and I found out they only have electricity sometimes. So of course, they can't count on any food remaining frozen. I was able to buy the kids sodas and snacks so all was not lost. Of course, they had to use their Spanish first.......I was proud.

Before leaving, I asked if they would like to live there. Teddy said "No." I asked why and she said because it was too hard to understand the people........ and they didn't have ice cream!!!

Baja beach November 2007

We stepped from the ponga onto the fine, white sand, devoid of any footprints except those made recently from the birds or other types of wildlife. In the distance, on one horizon, we could see the mountains and on the other, rolling, white dunes and a pristine beach, as far as our eyes could take us. A gentle breeze cooled the air from the hot sun and overhead, the sky was a lovely shade of blue, a few shades different than the ocean surrounding the bay.........more visually perfect than words can describe.
It felt as though we were the first visitors to this beautiful land but of course, we were not! We all approached the dunes and walked onto and among them. We immediately sank into the deep, soft sand, wiggling our toes in delight. I especially enjoyed standing and watching the dune activity. The sand is so deep and fine that with the gentle breeze blowing, the dunes are constantly being reshaped right before your eyes in slow moving action. You can watch the sand build up at the top and begin to slide down in miniature rivers and avalanches, quickly covering over any evidence on someone having been there before. This reshaping was mesmerizing and poetic in it's own way.
As the beaches are seldom walked, I enjoyed walking and picking up all types of shells and interesting bones. Some of the bones were too large to attempt to bring home but very interesting to see and to use as a lesson with the kids. We speculated as to what animal group they may have belonged to; fish, bird, mammals, estimated size, etc. What a classroom!
I brought home lots of sea urchins, sand dollars, and other types of shells which we are studying now but these are some of the ones I left behind. I'm really enjoying learning as I teach!

The Baja, Mexico Nov. 2007

Spending 5 days on a boat in the Baja was a very different experience for me. On previous trips to Mexico, I have always been on the land so it was a bit difficult to be sitting on a boat. However, it was an amazing opportunity to view an abundance of wildlife and to appreciate the beauty of uninhabited beaches, the ocean, and the wonderful night sky.
When we first arrived, Ted was there with a brother-in-law so there were 10 on board the first night. There are 4 staterooms below, three additional sleeping areas within the boat and the top deck, under the stars. Often, the top deck is the desired sleeping quarters so I joined 6 others and slept on top the first couple of nights. It was magnificent! I woke a couple of times and lay on my back and just enjoyed the moment, the stars, and the vastness. In the morning, we woke to beautiful sunrises and warm days.
Ted and James left with Dennis to go hunting on the mainland so 7 of us remained for the rest of the trip. We stayed in Bahia Magdalena for the first two days and then moved the boat to another bay, Santa Maria. It was much windier there and we couldn't get close to the beach in the ponga but we were able to do some fishing and lots of schoolwork!
I especially enjoyed seeing the wildlife....so many pelicans, terns, osprey, and seals to entertain us. I learned the names of many varieties of fish and we kept a fish log which we will graph today. Speaking of that, it is time for school! More to follow soon!

Return from Baja November 12, 2007

Hello folks,
I took this picture this morning of the sunrise before we got picked up in the ponga by a local to take us across Magdalena Bay which was an 1/2 hour ride. A taxi picked us up from there and we traveled for another hour to get to the airport in Constitution on the Baja where Dennis, the pilot, was waiting to take us home. We had to go through customs in the states but it is quite different in a private plane and only amounts to checking passports and a little paperwork...no baggage checks or security so it is quick. We arrived in Telluride around 2:00 and we had school for a couple of hours. We also did school work on the plane so we accomplished quite a lot today.
The kids and I were all feeling lightheaded this afternoon because of the drastic elevation change and tonight, I'm struggling with an elevation headache. I'll be fine tomorrow after a good night's rest.
I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog so I'll be posting lots of tales this week if "blogger" cooperates!
Hasta pronto!
Patti

Just a few quick words.....Nov. 6, 2007

Hello all,
I've been trying to sign on to Blogger for the last hour and was about to give up as I still have to finish packing. We leave at 5:30 am for the Baja. Probably will not have any access to a computer so I won't be in touch for a week. Then, I'll catch you all up on the happenings.
Have a great week!
Love,
Patti