| Finally... the Mexico Post! |
[Aug. 10th, 2005|09:59 pm] |
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Ok, it's time for that huuuuuuuge update I promised. The events in this entry date back more than a complete month!
Finals ended on June 10th. Ended up with the following:
Math 244 (Differential Equations and Linear Analysis): A
Physics 133 (Electronics and Magnetics): A
English 134 (Writing Composition): B *grumble*
Term GPA: 3.67
1st Year GPA: 3.89
That week and weekend, the moving began--everything from my dorm into the apartment I'm in now--in another month, I will be moving again into my own apartment instead of a sublease.
Being in my own apartment is awesome. There no longer is a roommate for me to bend around and conform to--I can do what I want when I want how I want. The first week in my apartment as well as up to now, I am ecstatic. I am happy again. I am in control over myself for the better. Besides, I now have a kitchen I am using to its full extent! I put things away and went home Monday.
The following week was full of visiting family and doctors appointments for the dentist and optometrist. I now have Acuvue Advanced contacts, which are great.
My trip to the dentist though was more... fun. In a nutshell, I passed out. I went in since I hadn't seen a dentist in around a year, and I had a depression on one of my molars I was concerned about. By the end of the appointment, the dentist found a cavity between two teeth, but the depression was nothing. Around a minute and a half after the local anesthetic into my mouth, I began to get lightheaded, and the room closed in on me. I passed out for maybe 2 seconds. After the blazing heat subsided, I was fine, although we didn't go ahead with the procedure. Instead, I had a few teeth sandblasted and sealed only to return the following morning with Valium! I was fun on that. Things went through without any problems. I don't know why I passed out; I wasn't excessively nervous at a conscious level, but if I was subconsciously, I should have passed out way earlier… weird.
That Thursday, my family went out to Lake Havasu for a nice weekend. On the way up, we encountered the largest assortment of cops I've ever seen with a wrecked car and a guy handcuffed in the middle of the freeway with a shotgun pointed right at him. Once up there, we found a scorpion in the shower, which is the second one we've had in the house. One of the days, we went up to Big Bend, north of the city in Laughlin to meet with some friends. All I have to say is the river sucks up there. The last mentionable event up there was a trip to Walmart. Walmart is awesome. My dad, brother, and I have more fun in the HUUUUUGE (as in, see the curvature of the earth inside) Walmart creating chaos! Only the little footballs weren't there to play with this time. :(
I also now have 3 hissing cockroaches thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) xianjaguar. They are awesome and doing very well!
The night I got back to my apartment, I finally received a bed (after only 3 weeks of asking and begging and pleading for one), no desk, and no keys. Over my trip, the locks were switched out back to the standard locks—the previous renter changed the locks, which is against the lease. I had to track down the night security and get a key from the office, and all I have to say is the night watchman is freaking whacked! But I did get 12 Pacifico and a bottle of Patron Silver (usually $68 a bottle) tequila from the parents. :D
Other than that, felesaerius visited for a few days, work began, and I watched a Nascar race at Sonoma. Larry the Cable Guy said, "Gentlemen, Git-r-done and start your engines!" So true! {/redneck}
Then, it was off to Mexico!
My family journeyed down to Loreto in Baja California Sur. The town was once the capital of all of Mexican California, which ranged from the southern tip of Baja all the way up to Canada and is the home of the first Mission (you know, those churches that converted Native Americans all along the West Coast). The city only has three main, paved roads: two are in town and the third follows along the shoreline past the small harbor. All the other streets are dirt along with half the sidewalks. The dog population in the city is rather large, but in general, the feral dogs are friendly and quit cool.
The town itself is rather rundown. However, the people are incredible. Although the people may not have much as far as property or money, they take very good care of what they have and the town itself. For example, the morning a few of us went fishing, store owners swept off the meager, worn-down sidewalks in front of their stores even if it was dirt. More stories later in the post.
Food determines quite a bit with any vacation. The food in Loreto is amazing. Everything is fresh, so to speak; there aren't any pre-cooked meals. Even the one fast-food place in town doesn't cook anything until after you order! The food also cuts back on complexity. Dishes are simple compared to most of the food in the US. The fish at local restraints usually is caught the same day, cooked in garlic and butter, and served with rice, soup, and bread. Expensive? Nope. Most of the food was cheap in price and really, really good.
As far as drinks, you have a choice between Fanta Naranja, margaritas (which are so damned good), good Mexican beer, and limonada (limeade). I think all in all, I drank 6 Negra Modelos, 36 bottles of Pacifico, and 8 margaritas, which were made with honey, limes, and tequila. But whatever you do, don't drink the water!!! Well, unless you want a serious case of Montezumas Revenge!
6/30
Up eaaarly to catch the Fly Away bus to LAX from Burbank. In the international terminal, we had breakfast, which was surprisingly really good. Our plane didn't leave until 12:15, which was almost an hour late. AeroCalifornia was interesting to say the least. We were flying in a DC-9 with pilots who don't fool around. When we taxied to the end of the runway to turn around, the pilot's throttled up about half-way into the 180-degree turn. I was watching out the window (as I was being sucked against it) the wing get closer and closer to the ground. We probably rounded the corner at 40 mph. Then during the flight, there was no ease--when the pilots sped up, they just blasted the throttle and I was sucked into the seat while in the air! The scenery of Baja was cool. You could see rivers, washes, and the beautiful blue Sea of Cortez water. Upon landing in Mexico, we hit the runway damn hard, but overall, so fun!
Once we met my Aunt and Step-uncle at the airport, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon drinking margaritas and beer at the hotel. I however did learn something valuable. I am generally very private around my personal life when talking with my family because I'm afraid of ridicule (and in my mind, rejection) by my dad and brother.
We went into town for dinner and had ice cream at a little shop down town. The ice cream is to die for--it's made fresh every day right there! Minto is <3 (mint chip).
7/1
The entire family went out to Puerto Escondito, which is the number one port to be at during a storm because it's so protected. We took a little boat with a big-ass 175 outboard to some nearby islands to freedive. Within the first five seconds in the cold-for-the-season water, I received a nice jellyfish sting (there were strands of jelly sticking down into the water) on my paw. Soon after, a set of bad ones on my ankle, which chased me back to the boat. The snorkeling however was almost worth the stings.
After abandoning the boating and diving from the jellies, we went to a nearby beach named Nopolo. Unlike four years ago, the reef was dead. Before, it was teeming with life--fish and crabs and clams and colorful and… alive! But this time, the reef and beach seemed depleted, which seems to be what happens in Mexico. The clams were out beyond reach of the common diver. The reef was devoid of rock crabs. The shoreline lacked the number of crabs of years ago. The one difference is the construction there. Now, a resort dominates the beach and there's more construction going on. Simply stated, everything consumable on the beach is gone (unless a creature is inedible or uncatchable). The only great life we found this day were a few very large crabs. After we chased one around enough, it extended its claws to reveal bright blue colorations. It started charging us! We had tons of fun chasing the crabs for a while until it started to get dangerous with a pissed off crab!
7/2
We returned to Nopolo. Freediving, we found stingrays with purple circles, chocolate (pronounced in Spanish) clams a.k.a. Pismo clams, fiddler crabs roaming the beach waving their claws before scurrying into their holes, and puffers, which we puffed readily! When one would puff, it would float with its tail sticking out of the water. Unfortunately for the fish, its tail just fluttered about uselessly until it deflated. During dinner in Loreto, we got eaten alive by mosquitoes. I received eight bites on my left ankle, one on the right ankle, one on my face, one on my right shin, and one on my right arm. I don't think I got West Nile or Malaria.
7/3
I said before the trip that because my aunt and uncle were on the trip, it would be a disaster. This day just proved it.
In the morning, we all (aunt, uncle, mom, dad, brother, and I) went to go inland a few miles to a waterfall south of the town of Ligui. First of all, the van we were in was a 1993 Ford van. It luckily had a V-8, but didn't even have a Positraction rear end (in other words, only one of the rear wheels drove the van, not both). A few miles inland, my dad didn't want to continue from fear of getting stuck, so my uncle took over driving. We ended up getting stuck in the middle of nowhere miles away from the road in Mexico.
It took us a few hours to try to get the van out ourselves, with no avail. We finally jacked up the van six inches at a time using the jack we had. When we went to lower the jack, we couldn't get it out. I suggested correctly that the jack had to be out, but it was stuck in place on the trailer hitch. My step-uncle grabbed a rock and started to bang until the jack came out and the van came down on his finger. Blood flew.
My dad and I were both telling him to stop, but he kept going. In hindsight, we should have used a towel and pulled it out. Worse, it could have been my brother's hand, who was pounding it before we told him to stop.
When we determined we couldn't get the van out, my dad, step-uncle, and I were going to walk to Ligui, about 8 miles away. We were looking for someone there named Raul who should have been able to help us. My uncle, with heart problems and a smashed finger made it maybe a quarter mile before stopping and turning back. My dad and I continued with a meager supply of water, confident we could make it to the main road and make it to Ligui in sandals.
The walk took a while. My dad and I got lost a few times before we got our bearings and headed in the right direction. We were walking. We were in swimsuits. It was over 100 degrees. It was humid. The result? Chaffage... OUCH!!!
When we finally got to Ligui, we ended up asking the only people in the town we could find if they knew Raul. We found Raul, climbed into the truck with Raul and his son, and headed back. We stopped about half a mile short of where we were so Raul's truck didn't get stuck. We brought everyone back to the truck to get them out, Raul assessed the situation, and I stayed with Raul's son, Raul to wait for Raul 1 to get back with help (Raul's family).
I spoke with Raul 2 for a while. Between the Spanish I knew and the English he knew, we talked for a while until the group arrived with a shovel and a jack. We got the truck out without much difficulty with the help of the shovel, jack, and many local rocks. We went back to Ligui and dropped everyone off and thanked them immensely with praise and cash.
My uncle's finger was flapped in two opposing locations. He soon was drugged up with Morphene and Vicodin and bandaged by my aunt, a medical nurse. He refused to go to the hospital, which he should have.
At the end of the day, my dad came up to me, shook my hand, and said, "Good job today."
Throughout the ordeal, I never panicked; I stayed level-headed and knowledgeable. Judging by the events of the day, things could have been a lot worse if we had someone else panic like my aunt, mom, and brother. Strength when the shit hits the fan. It's the only way to survive through anything…
7/4
In comparison to the previous day, today was a cakewalk. We went into town to do some shopping and what-not. In the afternoon, we headed to Nopolo again. There, a fishing boat came in with a beautiful striped marlin and some cabrilla. Still, no word on any dorado anywhere to be found! According to local fishermen, this has never happened in July! Went snorkeling again, only to shiver from the cold water and stung by more jellies on hand and bad on the ankle--a piece wrapped around my ankle. For dinner, I had some cilantro shrimp and lime sherbet for dessert. Foodgasm.
7/5
My uncle, dad, brother, and I went out to Isla Carmen, which is the largest of the many islands offshore to go fishing. I saw two huge jacks or tuna, a roosterfish, and many other smaller fishes. I also caught the only fish of the day: a blunt-head triggerfish. We eventually gave up on fishing to stop in a protected cove for a break. There, we found tons of shells and crabs. Unlike the crabs at Nopolo, the ones on the island were rock crabs. They were a unique red, orange, and blue. Interestingly, they didn't like being in the water; they would jump from rock to rock to stay out of the water!
Before we left, we found a very peculiar puffer-type fish hanging around the large rocks on the bottom near the boat. As we were walking out, it took a vested interest in one of my uncle's toes. The first time, it just nibbled. The second time, it nibbled a little harder and swam away. The third time, it bit. The fourth, it drew blood, all on the same toe! My dad, brother, and I about drowned from laughing so hard!
That night, I don't know why, but I began to really miss all my online friends, and regret some past things. I missed something so soft and delicate, I could put it to sleep by just petting.
7/6
We went back to Ligui. Again, the beach here was the same as most of Mexico; the beach was dead and depleted. Shells littered the beach. We only found one hermit crab roaming around along with some desert iguanas. On the beach there, we ended up finding the Raul we were looking for two days prior. Apparently, there was a flash-flood through the town. It destroyed his home and drowned two people. Raul gave us a bit of chocolate clams for lunch, which were prepared back at the hotel. They were foodgasm.
For dinner, I had those even-more foodgasm cilantro shrimp with a dessert of locally-made ice cream. At dinner, we met an artist named John -------. He was refurbishing a century-old home for himself right in the middle of downtown Loreto. The walls of the house were maybe a meter thick! Despite the heat outside, the interior of the house was quite cool, which explains the wall thickness. After dinner, we all stared up at the stars and watched satellites roam across the night sky.
7/7
My dad,uncle, brother, and I woke up at 6:00 AM to go fishing. We caught fish! We got about 12 mackrel and a squid. As far as using the bait went, we caught nothing. There wasn't any dorado. We couldn't hook any marlin (despite seeing a few), sailfish, pargo, roosterfish, or cabrilla. My brother hooked a torro (kind of jack), but we never got it in. It seemed like the seagulls and dolphins laughed at us the entire way back in.
Afterwards, I helped tarp up my uncle's boat for the trip back. Using duct tape, I made a tarp aerodynamic! Dinner consisted of fresh lobster with ice cream dessert.
7/8
My aunt and uncle left in the early morning for home. We ended up taking a taxi into town to go shopping. We bought Herradura Anejo and Tequila Corralejo Anejo among other items, mostly jewelry for certain individuals who have not yet been informed. For lunch, I ended up eating my food with two Negra Modelos. Afterward, I could tell you Negra Modelo has a higher alcohol content than other Mexican beers. I was pretty buzzed, borderline drunk. That was fun!
When we got back to the hotel, my dad, brother, and I went out in some kayaks. As usual, my brother was being nasty to me. Unlike how I usually am, he acts and bothers and annoys with malicious intent; he means to piss me off and be a little asshole about it.
For dinner, we had yellowtail and pargo from Ron and Terry from Boise, Idaho. There, we met a few very awesome people.
Richard is setting up an indoor surfing place in Glendale, Arizona (roughly Phoenix) called Waverider. It's going to be opening up in a few months if all goes well. Max owns a big winery in Napa Valley. Craig was just there.
Off all the margaritas and wine, my parents ended up pretty toasted. I always fear bringing people to meet my parents because they are a little different. They are very open and liberal in that sense. My mom being toasted tonight ended up saying, "Your dad has a very nice dick," in response to comments from my brother and I during a card game.
That night (the night before we were flying home) Montezuma had his revenge. Some of the fish we ate was bad. My mom, dad, and I all got sick. One bathroom with 3 Mexico-sick people bites.
7/9
We went last-minute shopping for my brother. At the hotel, we watched a few orioles and their chicks that couldn't yet fly well.
Our flight was really fun. The plane flew up the middle of the Sea of Cortez, so I got to see the Colorado River Delta. From there, we flew over the Temecula area to LAX. For dinner, we had good BBQ beef! Two weeks without proper American food, a salad and big hunk of red tri-tip was incredible.
Upcoming posts:
Book Reviews: "Breaking the Ice" and "Shadows in the Snow"
Research: What I'm Doing and Why.
Religion Camp at Cal Poly Rant.
Good Quotes
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