When I got back from spending a few days in Mexico, I learned that I was crazy for having gone. People rarely said anything ahead of time, but there was an audible sigh of relief when I talked to my mother after crossing the border. I also got a lot of, "You drove['s]?!"
So, yes, we drove. And it was amazing and beautiful and full other country satisfaction. My family, we are adventurers. We like to drive off the beaten path and find that little place that is interesting and experience something new. Especially when no one in Mexico will sell us a map. A lot of the road less traveled was because we were a little lost...
Also, I should mention that my children speak Spanish. If you talk to me for five seconds, I will tell you that my kids are in a dual language immersion program. Their day at school is 80% in Spanish with a little English thrown in for good measure. So this trip was a little bit like homework for the boys. Except that they don't teach Mexican military checkpoint in first grade.
After we got into Mexico, we passed through the border town and headed for farm country. That quickly gave way to desert, which was pretty much all we saw on our drive to Puerto Penasco.
For our first bathroom stop, we found this little place. We only had dollars at this point, so it was about $2 for five of us to use the rest room. When we walked in that building, there was a small shop with Mexcian coke in bottles and chips and candy. And a woman cooking potatoes behind the counter. In her kitchen. It wasn't like a restaurant. She was cooking breakfast for her son. In her kitchen.
We finally made it to Cholla Bay, at the top of the Sea of Cortez. The bay has one of the most extreme tides in the world. So in the morning, it's sand and shells and in the evening, it fills in with gorgeous turquoise waters. Here's our view. The structure on the left is a pop up cement yard used in the building of the house right behind it.
Here is Beckett's foot with a sponge he found that morning:
It was pretty amazing to see all the sea life up close.
A few days in, we visited a friend who lived across the bay from where we were staying. Very resort-ie over there with an infinity pool. A kind of hilarious infinity pool because of the extreme tides. It's only an infinity pool for a few hours a day. In the photo below, the tide was out, so it looks like a pool with a large beach nearby.
A few hours later, the tide came in and the blue water looked a little bit more infinite. And then it went right back out...
If you asked the boys about their favorite part of their vacation, you might think it was the candy cart or the pool or getting to drink soda. But, it was none of those things. It was this:
Riding through Cholla Bay in the back of a pick up truck. Hands down, the favorite.
Also, playing on the playground. Why even leave the country?!
Because mom and dad like the food and the culture and the beach, that's why!
We are already planning another trip back to Mexico. And planning on getting a trailer to make the trip even easier.
