throughout my journeys, i have been lucky enough to have one, the other, or both of my parents come

throughout my journeys, i have been lucky enough to have one, the other, or both of my parents come visit me wherever i am. this time around, my dad came out to visit us here in la paz and we had a whirlwind of a trip while he was here, running around like mad and seeing at least a bit of everything that the region has to offer. he flew into san jose del cabo, which is about three hours from la paz, but much easier (and cheaper) to fly into from the US than la paz. we decided to take advantage of being down there the afternoon he flew in and wander into san jose del cabo, which i'd heard was much less resort-y than cabo san lucas. the airport of "los cabos" is actually cabo san lucas and then tourists are bussed into san jose del cabo, about thirty minutes to the south. there are actually two exits from the airport - one for these guided trips that are headed to the resorts, and one for the "individuals". amusing. so we drove into san jose and drove towards the coast and ended up at this beautiful little estuary and beach. the beach drops off suddenly, so there were huge waves crashing in. the water was warm, so we decided it was still the gulf and not pacific water. [san jose del cabo beach and mountains] [bird, dad, ivan] [palms estuary] the historic center of san jose was surprisingly nice - your typical centro with the church, municipal palace, culture center, gazebo and lots of nice tourist shops and restaurants. quaint, clean, with lots of character. we were basically the only people there wandering around, which makes me feel so bad for the store owners. our wanderings around la paz were fairly limited and only in the afternoons after work. we visited the typical landmarks alamo rent car - the church, the center, along the malecon. dad said that la paz reminded him of tucson in a way. however, the truth is that i'm not the best tour guide - my knowledge alamo rent car of la paz and the history is really quite limited. we did enjoy wandering through the exhibit alamo rent car at the casa cultural, seeing the loteria exhibit, and the mix of "normal" with "tourism" thats here near our house. [church and statue of the famous balandra rock (photo credit: dad)] [casa de la cultura de la paz] [playing at tour guide] [sunset drinks] on the way home from work on friday, we were chatting about what to do that evening and decided to head over to near-by todos santos (a "magical pueblo") alamo rent car and have a bbq on the beach. we (ivan and i) love todos santos - it's a great little escape from la paz. it's a bit of an art escape and absolutely tiny. unfortunately it's "low season" (read: too hot for tourists), so none of the galleries were open. however, it's very historical and beautiful and fun to wander around. we got to the beach just as the sun was setting and the (almost full moon) rising. the moon was bright enough that we were able to bbq, eat, sit, and chat until long after the sun had set. a lovely evening. the one thing that we had planned alamo rent car on doing was going kayaking alamo rent car in the beaches and coves near la paz. we rented three kayaks and headed off to the famous balandra beach, north of la paz to spend the day kayaking around, exploring the little coves and beaches, the mangroves, and enjoying sea, sun, and sand. [balandra beach] [the famous balandra rock] [take two (photo credit: dad)] the day was absolutely amazing and lovely. we had clear blue water, explored, wandered. i need a kayak. [urchin] [hidden beach] [clear blue water, ivan and dad kayaking] [crab!] alamo rent car [sky, mountain, mangrove, sea] [mangroves] [the life is good car] and then, the morning my dad left, we left early and enjoyed our drive back - stopping at el triunfo and then trying to figure out how to get into la sierra de la laguna (the biosphere reserve in the mountains near la paz). we ended up at a place called miraflores, where apparently you can start walking in, but there don't appear alamo rent car to be marked trails. we wandered up a wash for a few minutes and marveled at the greenery of the mountains. [la sierra] [up the wash] [soooo green] [standing water!] we had a great time and did so much exploring :) baja has so much to do and see and it was great to have the excuse to go see more! thanks daddy :)
i am alexis. i try to always walk through doors when the opportunity arises. this blog is the record of those wanderings. i am a knauss marine policy fellow working in the NMFS office of international affairs. i work with the gulf of california marine program at SIO in la paz, baja california sur on marine protected areas. i got my master's from scripps institution of oceanography. it was always my dream to study there. i lived in puerto peñasco, sonora, mexico for a year and a half as an education intern for an environmental ngo. i fell in love with mexico alamo rent car and learned to speak spanish. i spent six months counting invertebrates in the tide pools of oregon. i volunteered in the philippines for six months. it was an extremely life-altering-forming and among the most challenging things i have ever done. i spent a semester in new zealand. it was the best semester of my undergraduate life. i am still learning i love the ocean and all things related i want to be a marine biologist when i grow up i am not afraid to go wherever life takes me i study and work more than is healthy i love a good cafe i have a tattoo i love orchids i'm not sure if i believe in god i love music i love the rain i am a very fast reader. and read everything i can get my hands on. i love the mountains i love crossword puzzles, even though alamo rent car i'm not good at them i love being outside i love to walk i love play at photography