Thursday, October 13, 2011

Mexico 2011

ESPIRITU DE SANTO ISLAND, Sea of Cortez, Baja Peninsula

En route to the island from La Paz, we had a school of dolphins join us and play in the bow waves of the boat - a perfect introduction to Baja - and on the way back we saw a pod of fin whales! The marine life in and around the island was just amazing - we saw everything from frigates to ospreys, rays, turtles and moray eels...and of course - sea lions! :)

The island is completely deserted, without electricity and running water. I have to admit it took a few days to get used to get used to not having my Blackberry on hand...but then it just gets forgotten and time slows down completely. We slept on the beach under the stars, showered from a fresh water well in the canyon and ate like kings and queens (we did have a 5-star chef with us, which made it more along the lines of 'glam-ping' as opposed to true camping, but it was a blessing!)





Our campsite on the beach...













Frigates and ospreys circling...







Los Is Lotus Island - where all the sea lions live. I had the most incredible time here playing with the baby sea lions! They were so inquisitive and just wanted to play and because I could hold my breath for a while and dive quite far down, they kept coming back to me and taking my hand in their mouths and trying to get me to come and play - just amazing!!! :)


































If you look closely at this pic, you will see a school of six rays swimming just in front of the boat...
















Puffer fish - everywhere and sooo cute!













Raoul - one of the team! He made GREAT margueritas for 'Happy Hour', which happened everyday at 17h00 when we got back to the island!
























The camp shower....





Our gorgeous campsite...













Pitaya fruit from the Pitaya Cactus...




Our expert guide, Pedro!











The usual afternoon siesta hour...the only place to be was in the water...
























Happy hour...:)



View from our eating table...



Camp toilet - the incredible views made up for the lack of flushing! :)





Tony, Raoul and Rafael...our brilliant team!!






LA PAZ

























TEOTIHUACAN
- The Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun.























Tequila tasting...







MEXICO CITY

Tribute statue to the Aztecs.



The Basilica of Guadalupe - this is the old cathedral, which is actually falling over as you can see in the picture. The new cathedral was designed by Pablo Ramirez and is right next door.








The interior of the new cathedral of the Lady of Guadalupe, designed by Pablo Ramirez.




The new cathedral of the Lady of Gualdalupe.





The Museum of Tequila! :) All the Mariachi singers play outside here...










Interior of the Grande Hotel in the Centro Historico.



Champagne at the roof top terrace of the Grande Hotel overlooking the square...