Merry Christmas

Went to Exshaw to spend Christmas with our daughters. Had a great time playing board games, and visiting the sights of Canmore.
Don’t know where I seen this but, figured it was great for the holiday season.
Quote from Buda.
"A family is a collection of minds. If they respect, love and honor each other then the family will be like the most beautiful flower.”

A Winters Night

Back from Mexico on the sixteenth of December left Huatulco at a temperature of thirty-four degrees. The plane was late getting into Huatulco, we left a hour late landed in Calgary to let off passengers, it was so cold the ramp to unload the plane was froze up. That took forty-five minuets to fix, flew to Edmonton the ramp there was froze up so another thirty minuets to get it to move. Because we were late and another plane was late, there were three planes of people trying to get through customs. So instead of landing at eleven-thirty it was one-thirty AM. Into the shuttle to Park and Fly to our frozen car, the doors and trunk were froze it was only minus twenty-five. Out onto the icy roads first time this year, haven’t driven in two weeks and home at seventy kilometers an hour. That put us home at three AM. That is humorous.

Week Two Mexico

Week Two Mexico
Week two Mexico I am amazed at how the staff keeps the grounds so clean. The staff is Mexican and most don’t speak very good English and they would tell you. I saw this as a great opportunity to try to learn some Spanish. After being there for a week the staff got to know us fairly well, we would try our Spanish they would try their English. It didn’t matter who it was the gardener, maids or servers they would all correct my Spanish and we would laugh. One day I was passing one of the gardeners I said Buenos Dias (good morning) he stopped me and proceeded to give me a five minute lesson on the difference of saying good morning to one person or many. I thanked him and proceeded on my way. Every time I seen him I would greet him using the right term for the time of day, he would say perfect or another lesson would start, which was fine with me.
We spent a morning fishing didn’t catch much for fish but did see a spectacular performance by a pod of about twenty five dolphins. They followed the boat popping up here and there sometimes coming clear out of the water and doing a mega splash before disappearing again. Also seeing a flock of pink Flamingos flying in formation. That made the fishing excursion all worth it.
An eight-hour snorkel tour was on our agenda absolutely crystal clear water and lots of reef to adventure in, millions and millions of fish schools to actually swim among.
We took all day tour into the mountains to an old coffee plantation, through the jungle to a forty-foot waterfall. Where we swung like Tarzan into the bottom of the waterfall.
Also happened to find a shop making cloth on a loom by hand, the Mexican patterns are unique and remarkably beautiful, this was not a shop for tourism it is a full operational family business.
Thanks to all the wonderful people we met in Mexico

Oceans Alive

Week one in Mexico at Las Brisas resort, by the city of Huatulco (wa-tool-co) in the state of Oaxoca (wa-ha-ka). The beauty of the beaches, rock formations, ocean and sea life is absolutely stunning. The resort was originally built by Club Med, it is well known that they have built, resorts at all the best beaches. The resort has four beaches one of which has its own coral reef, fifty feet off shore. This was my first attempt at snorkeling, amazing what beauty. I would snorkel for hours overlooking the constant movement of sea life, what a great way to meditate empty your mind and watch the world beneath you. From small fish to colorful fish two feet long, Sand Rays two feet in diameter. Crabs walking sideways leaving their tracks in the sand, now that is a weird animal I think someone put his legs on in the wrong direction. You can here crackling like a fire and popcorn popping as you watch the Parrot Fish eating the coral. Small, bottom feeder fish guarding their territory chasing anything that comes near. Eels slithering over the coral reef searching for another meal. Starfish, sea cucumber and eurchins doing their thing.
Watching all this activity makes you wonder how our society could keep poisoning our oceans. Using the ocean as a sewage lagoon and garbage dump.
The ocean really is alive.