Trip to Tijuana....and more

Last Monday, July 14 I was down on the beach dancing for an hour like I do every Mon-Fri morning. It started out as a walking thing, but with my Ipod on and the zumba music I brought with me from Penasco...it has become a dance hour. At first I would sorta dance walk my way far down the beach, well for half an hour one way and then back, now sometimes I don't go more than a couple of houses worth of distance, unless there's a red tide. Even though I know the red tide won't hurt the dogs, sometimes it stinks, or there's just so much crap in the water...so I look up & down the beach to see at which end the red stops, and head that way. A few times it seems to have covered the entire length, or at least as far as I can see, so I'm stuck, and on those days, doggys get hosed off when we get home. It's funny, they run and jump into the surf and into the estuary, but get out the hose and they both try to slink away.  Hazel I have to hold onto as I spray her off, Sam knows to stay still.

I heard last year the red tide was there all summer, the whole length of the beach, so I guess we're lucky that this year it comes and goes, and even when it's here, it's almost always short so I can get past it, dance my heart out while Hazel & Sam go swimming.

Ok, so last Monday I was almost done dancing, and had made my way back almost to our path, and Everardo came down. He waited until I stopped, then asked if I wanted to shoot up to Tijuana to see Anna, his cousin. Hmmm uh, sure I said. It's about 2.5 hours from our place, and one of those hours is getting to & thru Ensenada. So I got ready as quick as I could, sucked down my protein shake as fast as I could and we were off. We called our neighbor Tim and asked him to feed the dogs when he came by like he did every afternoon. Everardo said we were going to spend the nite but get up at 6am and come back so he could go to work at the Bufadora in the morning- ok with me cause I can sleep really good in the car ha ha (and he always wants to drive). Anna is his cousin but I think I have written about these cousins before- they are more like sisters to him. Orphaned at age 6, he spent his childhood with these 5 girls who were close to his age (his brother Pablo is close to his age, but his sister and older brother were older). Anna is a crazy nut (in a good way) and her husband loves her so much he indulges her anything, so they often drive down to Tijuana from just below San Francisco for the weekend to eat and shop, then back in time to go to work on Monday.

I remember when Everardo told me a story about when he was about 7 or 8 yrs old and with Anna or Becky outside hunting with a bb gun (I think) and shooting squirrels. He was telling me because we have these scrawny squirrels around here who I swear are playing chicken running across the road in front of cars..So I said how horrible to be killing little squirrels...and he said "we were eating them because we were hungry!" I forget sometimes how he grew up, I mean eating squirrels as a little kid? I need to go hug him right now. So you see he is so close with them as well as Pablo and Nieves his sister, who both still live down in Michocan, and we will visit in a few months when we do our road trip.

I haven't been to Tijuana, except when I walked across the border when I came back from northern Calif and Poppi picked me up- I was sick and fell asleep almost the minute I got into the car- so last time I was in Tijuana was about 30+ years ago. I flew to all my Mexico destinations over the years and Penasco is near the Arizona border so just never went. Not sure what I expected, but I had a nice time, a great time! I did not see one American the whole time. Well it was only Monday afternoon and evening and then Tuesday until early afternoon. Yeah we didn't leave at 6am. Anna and Carlos were staying in a really nice hotel and got us the room next to theirs. We were sort of near the big arch, and behind the hotel was a huge white building where it looked like live shows; maybe plays or concerts took place. Oh and there was also this massively big church with a huge clock tower....

They took us to this place for dinner where there was this live music, and it was 10 guys and a singer- but 9 or the 10 were playing horns and one drummer. One had a tuba, trumpets, all kinds of horns, and they play a song chosen by a patron and you would tip them. IT WAS SO LOUD! They loved it and although I had a good time, I ripped up my paper napkin and stuffed little paper balls in my ears or my drums would have been burst for sure- we were right up in front! It was a seafood place, and I had crab burritos and they were fantastic! Both of them had a whole fish, and Everardo had some kind of fish soup- he always orders a soup full of something. Then they pushed around this cart with alcohol on it, and they had this huge glass decanter of some special kind of tequila, and it had a rattlesnake in it! What?? The guy held up the snake for me to see, but we all passed ha ha. After dinner, and yes I was deaf, we walked along the street and into these little squares with nite markets  and had an ice cream cone.

I forgot to say that when we got up there it was raining! In July! I was wearing shorts, a tank top and flip flops, Poppi levis and a tshirt, but luckily we both brought something else; me a long sleeved farmer plaid shirt and he a sweater....and when we first got there it poured until sometime during dinner because we went outside and it had stopped- so we walked for awhile. My Spanish was better than I thought and I was able to follow alot of the conversations; Carlos speaks English, but not great and was much more comfortable in Spanish, and everyone around us was speaking Spanish- did I say I never saw any English speakers the whole time? The next morning we checked out and put our stuff in their room. Oh I forgot to say, Anna had 4 days off so they were there after the weekend. So Tuesday morning we put oir stuff in their room and went out and walked in a different direction for about 45 min or so and ended up in another square, near that church, and found an inside alley of eateries- all yelling to us to eat there! It was crazy! So we picked one and had breakfast...beans and eggs for me...menudo for you know who...and then we took a taxi to a place called Mercado Hildago. It was a big square around a parking lot lined with booths and vendors selling everything from cheeses to pinatas to kitchen accessories to pottery to every kind of food you can think of. Anna bought some of everything!! She shopped for her sisters, her mom, her dad, her kids, her grandson...pretty soon Carlos and Everardo were both carrying lots of bags ha ha. We bought a wedge of cheese from Guerrero, a dry tart cheese-really good. And I also got this thing- I forget the name in English or Spanish, but it's a stone bowl and you use it to crush up things like nuts. This one had 4 little legs so it sits up and a little pig  head carved in the side so I like it- and I've been wanting one to crush almonds to add them to my protein shakes. Anna says you have to crush uncooked rice in it a few times to "seal it" so I don't get rocks in my food.

We walked and talked and laughed and hugged and had such a nice time. Then Tuesday afternoon we drove back home and they stayed another nite in Tijuana before heading home. They both work so hard! She's been at the same job for something like 23 years and has NEVER taken a vacation- this 4 days was only 2 days off work and the other was the weekend! They told me they have a timeshare, the kind where you can go almost anywhere in the world, 4 weeks a year- and they've NEVER gone!! I went crazy over that...telling her she was nuts that no job or no money is worth never taking time off, and she must have known that at some point....(and they can afford it)....and he said he's trying to get her to change...they are both in their late 40's and their kids are grown....so??? Anyway I told them as soon as we sell our house in Guerrero I want to have Everardo choose a place he'd like to see and we want to go- with them! I told Anna all the places in the world I've been to and some of the stuff I've seen, and things I'd like to see. But I know Poppi has only been in Mexico and the U.S., so I want him to choose. The 3 of them (Anna, Carlos & my husband) all talked like something in the future in that way when you are just dreaming....and I kept insisting....Now that I know I am gonna keep on them about going somewhere...for themselves! And yeah, when we sell that damn beach house, and we will because it is a wonderful place, I do want to spend a little on a trip somewhere, I was already thinking that- but if we had a free place to stay....yeah even better, right?

The rest of the week was uneventful, Eveardo working and me working out ha ha. Oh I did make it to the meditation group and enjoyed it very much. That was the afternoon group and I believe I'll stick with that one, the morning group not sure, gonna go back tomorrow morning and try it once more. The afternoon group has a meditation, then discusses a spiritual book they are all reading, then a closing meditation and I came at the right time because they're starting a new book, "Essential Spirituality" in the next  week or 2, so I ordered it. Then on the weekend there was a mini AA convention with a group from the San Diego who came down and camped down the road. There were meetings and a potluck and I spent most of my weekend with them- it was a nice change.

Yesterday, Monday again...we went to Ensenada to immigration to check on my permanent residency papers since I never got the email and the website status never changed from "in process". I was worried they wanted some other "I" dotted or "T" crossed but when we got there the papers were ready and all I needed to do was pay and get fingerprinted. Well ha ha we were not prepared for such efficiency and so had to drive all the way back home, and transfer some money to our Mexican account to pay for it, then go to the bank to pay, then bring the receipt back to immigration. Yeah so weird- you don't give payments to government institutions, you pay at the bank and then present receipts. The bank, for the first time since we got to Baja, was packed...a ton of people in line and we didn't know what was going on, but needed to get back to immigration before 1pm....well we made it, but then had to return to the bank afterwords because it turned out the transfer hadn't arrived and Everardo had done this complicated thing between our 2 Mexico accounts. And! You can't give the bank the paperwork from the institution and have them wire the money. You have to withdraw the cash, get it in your hand, and then hand it back to the banker to wire! Oh and the banker cannot tell you your bank balance, you have to go to the atm and look it up. So over complicated. Anyway when we went back we found out why it was so busy. It was all students paying for their next semester at college. Another gov't institution so you don't pay for school at the school, you pay at the bank! The gov't keeps a tight fist around their money, right? So our transfer was there by then, and it's all good. When we go down south we'll close that second account, but for now we have to keep a certain balance in it...in the end, as always, it took all day ha ha. We also did a little grocery shopping which is cheaper in Ensenada than here, especially dog food...

The good news for me is, immigration says come back in 2 weeks and they will have my card. When it is in my hand I will celebrate. Because like I say: in Mexico, if you don't have it in your hand, you don't have anything. But once I get my permanent residence card, it's good forever.

Well the weather is beautiful, I did my full workout today after skipping yesterday and look forward to whatever's next. Viva

BUT NOT TODAY!

Just a short post tonite. But it was such a beautiful ocean today that I need to share it! The red tide was gone from in front of our place. It was however way down at the furthest south back of the bay...I could see the red crests - well I could see they were not white- without the binoculars...really I simply happy that it was gone from our place today after having it for at least 4 or 5 days. Now yesterday it only went about 5 houses up- across from our gym house...so it took less than 2 minutes to dance up there to exercise and let the dogs go in swimming at the same time. And the day before not alot further than that. But man.....for those 2 days it stunk! It stunk like dead fish and algae. I mean there's no dead fish, the red tide doesn't affect the fish, but I think it just clogs the water. I've never seen dolphins or seals swim in it, but they do swim just beyond it.

That's the weird thing; it's close to shore and comes up on the shore, and this red sort of fuzzy looking gross red fade to pink gunk is left on the beach when the tide goes out. Hmmm lovely summer thoughts, eh? It's this red algae..and there's these bulbs and when they pop this red stream of liquid comes out. Yeah gross. BUT NOT TODAY!! It does not even stretch back as far as the wave break, you know where they first start forming...it's in a little closer than that. I will be happy when it's gone, which I hear different things, like Sept or Oct...it has something to do with water temp, and apparently the last couple of years that hasn't been alot of rain or cold, and the water is warmer longer....BUT NOT TODAY!

I got up lazy this morning, knowing I didn't have to exercise or really do anything at all. Everardo left before 9am to go out to the Bufadora, so I drank coffee and watched tv. I finished my book. I sent a couple of emails. I talked to my daughter for more than an hour (gotta love magic jack for those free calls), I practiced Spanish for an hour. Oh wait, Spanish was after the beach. I took Sam & Hazel down to the water about noon to throw the ball and give them a good workout so I could come back and be lazy again in the afternoon. I didn't come back inside until about 2pm. I spent a few minutes chatting with a neighbor- who I don't care for- but Tim & Iggy had shown up on the beach and iggy joined the ball playing, so when we walked back up, the neighbor guy saw Tim and came to talk. He and I talk if he has walked over for something like seeing Tim, but we normally just do a little hand wave when we see each other. He is a jackass...and I just don't need one more jackass in my life. Not today.

So I came in and worked on Spanish for an hour, and then made myself a perfect lunch. Saltine crackers, some with sharp cheddar (Tillamok) on them, and some with fresh (mushy) goat cheese. A big fistful of almonds and a cut up sour green apple. And a hard boiled egg with salt. Funny that's the only food I put salt on- hard boiled eggs. I love putting different tastes together...I like putting almonds and apple in my mouth at the same time, or apple and cheddar cheese. But the goat cheese was very strong and really on tasted perfect with the saltine cracker. I wrote a little bit by hand in my other journal, the one I'm doing for my exercise and eating change. Making it my habit. I am on schedule with my goals and almost halfway thru month 4. I may share more details about it when I am closer to a year, but it's too new right now I am writing to affirm for myself. My feelings about it, reminding myself of things. Then I got back on my laptop and went to facebook, looked at my kid's pages....ha ha some of it is not really for my consumption and I refrain from commenting- even when I have an opinion. A perfect lazy day.

I saw a pelican this afternoon; they haven't been around- I guess they follow the fish? I miss them because they are so beautiful to watch. We also have a couple of egrets of live in a huge tree on the other side of us, (towards the estuary)...well not sure if they live there, but I believe they have a nest there; they are always bringing little sticks to that tree. But the pelicans remain my favorite. The water was warm according to m friend Tim, I only went in ankle deep while throwing the ball for the doggies; there were some people down the beach playing a game of what looked like baseball. Funny because I am used to seeing people play soccer (yeah I heard a newscaster say only the Americans call it soccer- the name is football) and playing volleyball, but this was the first time I saw a baseball game. There were a few people up the beach near the game and a couple of guys standing in the surf fishing. Although we started with a gray foggy morning, it had burned off by afternoon and the sky was so blue, with stringy wispy white clouds here and there.

Tim heard "they" are catching yellow fin tuna and he wants Everardo to go fishing with him in his boat on Monday. Poppi is gonna have to get a fishing license to fish from a boat- it's strictly enforced and they take your boat! Tim just gave Everardo a spear gun and the "Hawaiian sling" thing and Everado is very happy about that! 

The guy I don't care for was talking about problems with the tuna rings and the companies that run them. Tim commented they were not sustainable and I chipped in with- but I thought they grow the tunas in those rings so they are not wiping them out...Well the answer to that was- yes..BUT...and I never considered this: They are using all the available bait, the food all the rest of the fish eat- to feed the tuna in these rings. Oh-I've seen the fishing boats that cross the bay and back, side to side, at nite. Well they have huge nets and are scooping up all the small bait fish, then they take them to this place north of Ensenada and freeze them into these huge blocks. The the blocks are taken out as needed to this boat that is always sitting next to the rings, the blocks broken into chunks and dropped into the rings. Oh again. There are about 5 rings at the southern side of the mouth of this bay, and I found out there are 30 more a little south of us, I guess maybe in little bays or inlets(?) because it seems like the ocean itself would be too choppy but I don't know. And there are more both north and south. These companies go unchecked and over the past few years they have gone from- for example one of them has gone from about an $8 million a year to an $80 million a year enterprise, and growing. They have done this in other areas (3rd world so little or no restrictions) and they deplete the bait fish, then sport fishing and commercial fishing gets wiped out as well. Then they simply pack up and move to another place, another coast line and start again. Sad isn't it? Now I have written this very vaguely because I although I read a little bit about it, a lot of this is stuff I've only heard word of mouth- even though it rings true to me. I will google it more, and if I am way off base, I'll write that, but I suspect I am not wrong about this. Oh and all the tuna being harvested here currently, gets shipped immediately to Japan.

Hmmm more commentary than I planned tonite. When I started I was just thinking about what a beautiful day it was. How much I love Mexico, and how the lessons I get here are not what I expected at all. I become more and more content with this simple life. And the days when I can really let go of expectations are the best. I cannot control ANYTHING. Only my attitude. Some days that's hard to hang onto- I get overwhelmed with how awful people can be to each other. Kidnapped girls in Nigeria, who fade from our minds, Palestine and the ongoing genocide of these people and how the United States condones it. Harsh words? YES! Because we give Israel billions of dollars yes BILLIONS every year and support them. Why? ha ha oil of course and a foothold in the middle east. It's not that simple you say? YES IT IS. In 1948 when the United Nations decided to "give" the Jewish people their own country...yeah fine- except they gave them houses people already lived in! My ex inlaws were thrown out of their house with their clothes on their backs and walked across the bridge to Jordan. Ok ok I will not go on about this right here. But what is happening today is not new news and it is always so sad that so many Americans choose to be so ignorant. Fox news! ha ha ha ha. But these were only 2 areas in crisis....slave trade in China, Korea....wars in the Congo and other African countries....yeah sometimes it overwhelms me......which is why I am trying to get back into meditation.

Yes, meditation and physical exercise both relieve me. Sitting and looking at the ocean and talking to the universe does the same thing. For mediation right now I am only listening to cds, I've been listening to one as I go to sleep and it's helping me to get to sleep much faster. I get all sleepy, go to bed, and then my mind clicks on and I struggle getting to sleep. With this guided meditation I fall asleep much quicker. This coming Wednesday hopefully I'll get to the bigger meditation group I think I want to join..I think there's discussion then mediation. I heard the guy does Buddhist so I'm looking forward to it. And I always feel great body and mind after my dancing. I might even dance tomorrow even thought I keep saying no dancing on the weekend because my knees get sore.

But for today. No red tide. No regrets. Our doggys are both fast asleep on the rug in front of me. Poppi just gave me half of a golden delicious apple (sweeter than the other) and a few almonds. The full moon is supposed to be huge tonite- the moon is it's closest to the earth, but it's foggy out so not sure we'll see it....that's ok. I can hear the ocean and the window are open, the sea breeze smells salty, that's all, no red tide, it might be back tomorrow. BUT NOT TODAY!

Tuna, aceite, aceituna....and what I thought that meant...

As it turns out, "tuna" is the cactus pear- the fruit on a cactus. I knew "aceite" was oil, and did not know that "aceituna" was olives. I often see roadside stands in this area that say "tuna" and "aceituna"..never having stopped I thought they sold tuna (tunafish in English), and tuna in oil.....As it turn out they are selling cactus pears and olives! ha ha I know words with the same spelling are not always the same word, yet  I never even thought about it, but I did wonder why they didn't sell tuna packaged in water ha ha.

It's like when I was asking for "jamon" instead of "jabon" for my bathroom in a house I stayed in when I was in San Miguel Allende. Ha ha the man's face when I asked for ham for my shower!! And it's funny, I am always hesitant to ask where the soup is in the grocery store- it happened today, because "sopa" sounds like soap....and in my pea brain I think of jamon & jabon, and so usually just look up and down every aisle to find soup rather than ask where it is...

So this evening a woman and her daughter and another friend showed up here to talk about the daughter- her name is Estefanie- teaching me Spanish. I had asked the woman, who works in the camp getting houses ready for the short term rentals, if she knew of anyone teaching or taking Sapnish lessons and she told me about her daughter- but that was over a month ago and did not expect to hear anything else about it. In fact I was with my friend Meena when we were taking care of Bob the Sea Lion, we saw this woman (Fanny) and her friend walking on the beach, and that's how this all started. Ok so....Meena and I are interested in taking conversational Spanish, and I think my friend Jan is also interested. The price is right (muy barato = cheap) since none of us can afford much, just the schedule to be worked out. Estefanie said start in Sept, but she has to figure out a schedule because she first said 7 to 9 AM! Ha ha that does not work for me and I know not for Meena either....but Estefanie has school in the evening, and I think maybe she also has a job...but I was not clear on that point. I think she might have felt a little overwhelmed, like maybe her mom pushed her into the whole thing....She is only 20 years old and is currently teaching 2 Korean kids Spanish via Skype (these kids are in Chicago & here for vacations), and then in Sept she starts teaching another woman somewhere in this area..so she has to figure out what works for her. When I started to sense that maybe she felt pressured, I tried to tell her in Spanish that it was ok if she's too busy. All 3 of them were saying that my Spanish was really good, but I explained it was understanding what was being said to me that was my struggle....it's so fast, there are so many words for one thing, different words for the same thing depending on where you are in Mexico and we all laughed about that.

I would like very much to be in a class setting and speaking Spanish in a group; I think it will boost my confidence for speaking. I started Rosetta Stone about a year ago but dropped if after about 7 or 8 months...but just restarted it and am about to finish it. I don't like it very much but I have this thing about finishing things. Like books ha ha. I would slog thru a book even if I hated it because I felt driven to finish it. I have finally in the last couple of years started to modify that behavior a little bit...I scan and skip thru to close to the end and then finish.....My problem with Rosetta Stone is twofold; the first is mechanics: when I speak, half the the time it beeps me (you know- says wrong!) when I pronouce something, even if it's perfect. It always beeps me when I say "gracias" or "si", the easy stuff, or "registra"...makes me crazy. Before I quit the program it mad me so mad, and so learning became a big drag, I was always pissed off. The other parts I always did very well with; usually 100% and always above 90%. (oh and I skipped most of the writing lessons).  So the second issue is that Rosetta Stone does all the teaching with pictures, so you can always figure out the right answer..and that's not helping me. I think subconsciously I always looked at the pictures and didn't have to understand exactly what was being said- maybe that's why comprehension remains my problem, since most other people I talk to say they can understand but not talk....So I quit doing it.

I found Duolingo a few months ago and started that and I really like it- I think I wrote that here before when I first discovered it. No pictures, but it does show you the translation in English after you complete something, and you can always click on any word to get the translation, which helps alot, since Rosetta Stone does not, and I might go thru a whole lesson not sure of some part of it. Ok well a couple of weeks ago I was looking at the icon on my desktop for Rosetta Stone and decided to finish it. I did get alot out of it, but I will be glad to say I finished it. (yeah that's just a personal thing)

Ok weather report for northern Baja. We are still having the red tide here in our bay, and right in front of our place- yuck. But in the morning I walk down the beach a ways, and it ends & then Sam & Hazel can run in. And it doesn't stretch the entire length of the beach in either direction, so I'm hopeful it is not here every single day...although it has been every day since the stingray incident. And this morning it stunk! Like dead fish, and the sand right next to the water has this gunky red stuff on it. I heard it was here all last summer. Ah well, the price of paradise, right? The early morning is cool, but still tshirt weather and I wear shorts and tanks every day. The evening cools off so sleeping is ok, too. SOOOO different than my last 2 summers and I am very happy about that. Many mornings have summer fog, and tonite it also got foggy, but not over us. Out at the mouth of the bay, and then off to the south along the mountain ridge that goes across from the ocean back inland. It is really such a pretty place. The weather has not gotten really hot or really cold since we arrived in November. We did have one hot spell for about 8-10 days and we did have a couple of rainy days, but even those were not really cold.

Everardo has been making enough to pay for our gas and our food for the last month and wow what a difference to not worry so much all the time. As always I feel like life is pretty darn good.
Viva

Stingrays sting!

Tuesday was a beautiful day, and when Everardo got home from the Bufadora around 5pm we decided to take the dogs for a swim. There was no red tide like there is today (maybe it's for the 4th of July...blue water, red stripe, white foam..ok maybe not), anyway the water was crystal clear and so refreshing! We waded out farther than even Sam would follow us, and he usually comes out pretty far....not quite to the last wave break, but it was still only about waist deep. But it was fun; we were diving into the waves, or jumping up as the swells came past us- stand sideways so you don't get knocked over.

It's funny, I had just commented that my velcro strap on one of my sandals kept coming off and Poppi told me- you don't need to wear your sandals at this beach, the sand is perfect. See I always wear shoes in the water (lakes, rivers or ocean), water shoes or sandals- I mean you never know, sharp rocks, glass, hooks, who knows....I just always have. But the sand here is so nice; it has these tiny tiny shiny gold flecks in it- my new friend Jan recently told me she thinks it's from the abalone shells. Anyway it's pretty, and soft, hardly any rocks. Now some days when the tide is high all kinds of crap comes up on the beach, sea weed, kelp with these long tubes with these fat bulbs on them, empty crab shells, and then the yucky stuff; dead birds, garbage...lots of garbage I guess gets thrown off of fishing boats...plastic bottles, empty cups, baseball caps, socks, basically crap. But some days the beach is clear and beautiful, and this was one of those days. So I thought, yeah he's right, next time I'm gonna leave my sandals on the beach.

You know I just heard about this thing: "grounding" and it has to do with walking barefoot and - ok well here's a short article about it:

Do you notice you feel better when you walk barefoot on the Earth? Recent research has explained why this happens.
Your immune system functions optimally when your body has an adequate supply of electrons, which are easily and naturally obtained by barefoot contact with the Earth.
Research indicates that electrons from the Earth have antioxidant effects that can protect your body from inflammation and its many well-documented health consequences. For most of our evolutionary history, humans have had continuous contact with the Earth.
It is only recently that substances such as asphalt, wood, rugs, and plastics have separated us from this contact.
It is known that the Earth maintains a negative electrical potential on its surface. When you are in direct contact with the ground (walking, sitting, or laying down on the earth's surface) the earth's electrons are conducted to your body, bringing it to the same electrical potential as the earth. Living in direct contact with the earth grounds your body, inducing favorable physiological and electrophysiological changes that promote optimum health.
There is an emerging science documenting how conductive contact with the Earth, which has is also known as Earthing or grounding, is highly beneficial to your health and completely safe. Earthing appears to minimize the consequences of exposure to potentially disruptive fields like "electromagnetic pollution" or "dirty electricity."
Some of the recent evidence supporting this approach involves multiple studies documenting Earthing's improvement in blood viscosity, heart rate variability, inflammation, cortisol dynamics, sleep, autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance, and reduced effects of stress.

The Ultimate Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory

Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one's bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs.
The Earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant.
Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations. By Dr. Mercola

Ok anyway the truth is I have been wearing shoes of some type more in Mexico than I ever have before- in the house flip flops or slippers because of scorpions....outside because I have lived on dirt roads for the past 2 years and unfortunately besides scorpions there's always rocks and or broken glass or trash or something....so I just wear shoes. Almost never covered shoes tho'....gotta love the weather, eh? So.....I had already decided that when I'm just walking on the beach or playing ball with the dogs that I'd go barefoot, and now was considering barefoot when swimming.....and then.....

Suddenly Everardo starts heading for shore, looking back over his shoulder at me and c'mon let's go in. At first I just followed; ok, I was thinking it was almost time to get out anyway....but I noticed he was moving really fast. I said he what's wrong but didn't hear the answer but as we got to the really shallow, ankle deep water I saw the blood. I said hey! What happened!! Stingray he said- I didn't want to tell you out there and have you freak out...ha ha which I woulda...I woulda started hopping around...but his foot was bleeding alot. It got him right on the back of his foot, right in the middle of the back of the heel, and the hole looked almost the size of a dime! We grabbed the fins and mask off the beach (he had used earlier) and shot up to the house, him telling me to run the shower water as hot as I could. I was "sure" there was some other treatment, like peeing on it or something, but he yelled- no just run the hot water. Well that takes at least 5 minutes to warm up so I took a quick lukewarm shower waiting for it to heat up while he held a towel on it. Then he yelled- wait- turn off the shower and turn on the tub water (other bathroom) so I ran and did that. He put his foot in really hot (almost scalding) water and just kept it there. What should I do??? He said nothing so I grabbed my laptop and googled it. Well....he was exactly right. Hot water, as hot as you can stand it. for up to 2 hours- which is how long the pain usually lasts.

I read about 10 articles, and the first one used the word "excruciating" pain...I ran in and looked at him. He said yeah it hurts....bad. The fact that he was not making a bad face, somehow I knew it was much worse than I thought. I scanned the rest of the articles and they all had the same treatment, and then most said, see a doctor, or watch for symptoms of an allergic reactions: swelling, nausea, trouble breathing....but he had none of those, and told me he had been stung twice before, so I stopped trying to convince him to go to the doctor. He only stayed in the hot water for about 20 minutes and then came out and sat in a chair. His face was drawn- he was in pain. He told me later he didn't want to scare me. Yeah? I told him if I get stung- TAKE ME STRAIGHT TO THE DOCTOR! We have some pain pills so he took one- well they are not really pain pills- it's those pills I wrote about before that I am only supposed to take 1/4 of one at a time if I think I'm starting to have a panic attack or a migraine starts to come on. It's called Rivotril and it's very strong. Well I think if you take a whole one it's probly like the time I was rushed to the hospital with a gall bladder attack; they gave me morphine, and what happened was it still hurt but I didn't care...I sort of floated above my body and watched the pain with interest. Well, I have him half a pill, but a few minutes later (not long enough for it to take full effect) he said get me the other half...so I did. About 45 min later he said he was grateful for the pain....hmmm ya think he was a little stoned out of his gourd??? He said it hurt but he was grateful to be able to feel. About 10 minutes after that he said maybe he's lay down...ha ha he slept for about 12 or 14 hours! When he woke up the pain was gone.

Truth is, scared the crap out of me. It scared me that he was in so much pain. Then I needed to watch him breathe while he was sleeping to be sure there was no allergic reaction to the sting OR the drug....but he was fine, snoring like a bear. It was like when my daughter's were babies and I'd watch them breathe. We laughed the next day when he said he was so glad it was him and not me. That I would have died from the pain...but I would have gone to the doctor and they give you a local anesthetic and that usually takes care of the pain (at least according to google).

So I have now decided that if I'm going to go out in the waves I'll wear an old pair of tennis shoes, because my sandals would not have helped having almost no back. They say you need to shuffle your feet going out, and we had the same issue in Puerto Penasco, but never saw anyone get stung. Our buddy Tim has been here 4.5 years and he said he's never heard of anyone getting stung since he's been here- on this side, the Pacific side. He has seen it on the Sea of Cortez side, though. But I am not going to stay out of the water....so tennis shoes it is ha ha. And we have seen alot of dead stingrays on the beach, Sam has carried 2 or 3 home and I've stopped both Sam and Hazel from munching on them when they come upon them washed up on the beach.

Anyway....the red tide comes and goes, today it was back in full force, and seemed to stretch further along the beach than other days. Tim said last summer it ran the length of the beach all summer and stunk...so we're better off than that. He also said the year before it was not here at all, so....I guess it may come and go until Sept, but we can always swim in the estuary, which doesn't get the red tide gunk, even though the water comes in and out twice a day.

It's almost 11pm and seems that the loud bangs of the fireworks that have no color, just loud noise have stopped, which is good because Sam really hates the noise. But tonite when it started Everardo took both dogs outside so they could see there was nothing to be scared of. Actually that's how we ended up seeing the fireworks show. I'm relieved the noise has already stopped because this morning I was sure we'd be up late after watching all the idiots driving atvs up and down the beach like maniacs...yeah and they are not supposed to (it's illegal but I bet since it's people bringing money is  the reason nobody comes to tell them to knock it off...the all mighty dollar wins again). There were more people on the beach today than I've seen since we've been here, lot of traffic as well, but it's all quiet by our house...so yippee.

Tomorrow I have no plans. Everardo has to work, and I have nothing. Maybe start a new book. I have stayed true to my exercise commitment but my knees need a day off on the weekend, and since my commitment was 5 days a week and I did that this week...well tomorrow I will be lazy....dog beach walking of course and evening estuary walk...but besides that...just be home. Yesterday we spent about 3 hours driving around Ensenada going to pharmacies and grocery stores looking for this stuff called Autan. It's a lotion, but kinda oily, for mosquitoes and the only thing that worked down in Playa Ventura- down there I went thru a bottle of it every 2 weeks because I had to use it all the time, so after every shower, every swim, I reapplied. I used in Penasco, and went thru alot during the summer, and then here, well we bought 2 in November and just ran out. Been using it every nite since the heat wave in April, but for some reason neither of us seem to get bit during the day. (Ok knock wood) So we stopped to get some Monday, and ooops...none at the grocery store, then none at the next store either, but Everardo remembered getting near here so we came home to buy it, and ooops nope. Everyone is changing to "OFF"...so yesterday went to Ensenda to buy some, then go to the movies and then I was getting a massage (yippee- first one here since my birthday in Dec and only 400 pesos...about $32 USD for over an hour)....well we never made the movies.

Everardo is now calling it my 1500 peso bug juice! We used soooo much gas driving around for almost 3 hours. We had given up and were heading home when he suddenly turned toward the touristy area down by the cruise ships. He walks into this pharmacy and the guy has one left (yep switching to OFF) so he buys it. There's another pharmacy right next door so he goes in and finds 2 on the shelf, then the sales lady says her inventory says they have 5 and he tells her he'll take them all. She looks surprised and he says if you have a case- I'll buy them! Ha ha So 2 of her turn out to be a spray that is different but we take what she has so I have 4. She charges him 75 pesos but he says next door it's only 50 so she charges him 50P. So 4 bottles should last awhile, and now we will always be on the lookout for it. He's testing the one bottle of OFF lotion we bought in defeat...so we'll see ha ha. So now he has stopped teasing me for the 100 peso goat cheese I accidentally bought because the 1500 peso bug juice is now funnier.....Simple pleasures are the best, right??
Viva

6 dolphins in 2 days... or 3 on two occasions?

It's Saturday and we are watching a silly movie on tv (Hancock). Everardo now only has Monday & Thursday off so our weekends are changing a little bit. I went today to Ensenada and took our friend Tim with me to the AA meeting. (Tim is Iggy the dog's poppa) Before his job, Saturday was our "go to town" day- ha ha we sound like farmers! But I wanted to go to the meeting to see a couple of friends and hit a grocery store that doesn't have gringo prices ha ha.

Anyway I came back and it was such a beautiful day I decided to do my full workout (weights and dancing on the beach), and the dogs were very happy about that. It was 3pm- yeah it's about 45 min each way to the meeting, then the store...so I left at 11am and got home at 3pm. Takes a big chunk, but then I was afraid I'd lay on the couch, watch a movie...and start snacking....and did I say it was beautiful outside? This morning I took the dogs down to the water and threw the ball in the waves for about 40 minutes so got them pooped out early (yes guilt cause I was leaving them all day). So I just changed and headed for the gym, then the beach. They were happy and ran right back into the water. The red tide was not there today-even though yesterday it was here in full force and the water looks so dark and yucky when it's here. I'm hearing last summer it all summer, every day- so I guess this is good. The other good thing is that even when it is here, like yesterday, I simply walked way down the beach and it ended- so it's not the whole length of the beach.

And it's only in the waves; beyond where the waves develop, the water seems even more aquamarine, like a lighter green for just a band, not too wide, and then back to normal blue or blue green. And the dolphins still come. I am hearing we shouldn't eat and shellfish right now...but that's ok because we don't eat much shellfish. We have started eating more fresh fish however...but I don't think the red tide affects the fish.

On Thursday I saw 3 dolphins playing in the surf, just beyond the wave break. They come in so close, and I don't think I've seen 3 together before, usually just 1 or 2. I can just sit and watch them forever- even though I just see a fin, or a back....sometimes a jump. Then last nite, Friday, just before dark Everardo yelled for me to come out with the binoculars. Again it was 3...but this time they were zooming around in circles, jumping almost all the way out of the water! It was so totally cool!!

Yeah, I look at this little mobile home, this little trailer, all beat up under new paint, floor sagging in places, in 2 places bad enough that we don't walk there...rusty faucets in the bathrooms, but then moments later I walk outside. To my left is the beach and to my right is the estuary and it's winding paths, some more sandy than others. Cactus and spiny bushes...where Hazel runs and jumps, scaring lizards and the occasional rabbit. The squirrels that play this dare devil game and dash across the street in front of cars (I swear they're making bets). The coyotes that howl sometimes at nite, that we see once in a while trotting along the side of the road. Back to the beach side, with the long long stretches of beach in either direction from our place, not too many people; maybe a few more on the weekends, renting one of the houses or another in one of the camps here. Dolphins, seals, sea lions, whales- I have seen them all, up close and personal since we moved to this tiny trailer. I can sit in my chair overlooking the beach and feel such serenity, such peace. I can talk to my higher power, the universe, talk thru anything, and maybe I won't figure it out that minute, but I always feel better. I remember to ask for guidance, for support, and then I simply try to keep my mind open for...for...for inspiration, for intuition. And later, maybe sooner maybe longer, I start to find the answer, the resolution...or at least a baby step. I get all that here. So my tiny beat up house is paradise.

I'll probly see a dolphin tomorrow morning with my coffee. The whales are gone for until maybe November...and maybe the sea lions as well...no- some live here, but many were just here for the "season". I just read an article about Pier 39 in San Francisco where tons of sea lions hang out and bark and beg from the tourists- it's a big thing for people who visit SF to see all the sea lions down at Pier 39. So the article was saying 'where are all the sea lions?' Well the answer was they went south, as far as Mexico to breed. Then the males go back up and are all gone by early July. So I'm thinking maybe Bob the sea lion was from San Francisco. Maybe that's why we had a connection! I'm from that area.....just a few miles north...

So maybe I'll see a seal or a sea lion. Oh and the pelicans are much scarcer now as well. They must migrate down for the winter- there were so many and I fell in love with them. Now just one or two, and sometimes I don't see any for days at a time. Maybe I'll find a really cool shell. We have some that I want to figure out what lived in them. They are a round triangle, some are pretty large, tall, and some are shiny, almost translucent.....

Or maybe I'll just see sailboats, or fishing boats. There are 2 or 3 tankers way out there and have been there going on 2 weeks. 2 are empty..and one is full up with containers. I don't know what they are waiting for. Are they picking up containers? Or fuel? I don't know. Oh and the fishing boat that washed ashore this past weekend finally left yesterday. The guy told us he was drunk and somehow it got loose.....ha ha. He kept waiting for high tides- all week! The yesterday I saw a tractor down there, digging a trench from the boat to the water's edge. I thought- well that is dumb- when the tide comes in that trench will fill up with water....it won't float out. But it wasn't for that- someone brought in a trailer and backed up in that trench and slid the boat onto it. The guy was so laid back, it was kinda funny that he simply sat out there every day....people would come by and chat, of course everyone had advice- nature of the beast....altho not us- at least not until we were out of earshot ha ha.

The weather is so so so much like Petaluma! That's about 40 miles north of San Francisco, where we lived before here. Summer mornings with fog, overcast, then it burns off, or not....But here it is warmer. It was overcast in the morning, burned off, and then started cooling off about 6pm and I found I was cold. However, by cold I mean I put my slippers on- I'm still wearing a tank top. I am certainly the tannest (is that a word or is it "the most tan"?) I have ever been and I'm not trying. In fact I am using sunscreen number 50! I usually walk pretty early in the morning before it's very hot, but still....ok I was thinking something funny about the sunscreen- and I'm sure it's not true: I can just see the store with a huge vat of "cream" and then plastic tubes and bottle of body lotion, lotion for extra dry skin, lotion with "aloe" or "vitamin E" or something, and sunscreen for numbers 5, 10, 15, 25, 30, 40, 50.....and they just fill everything up from the same vat...slap different prices on different items....Remember that stuff your mom put on your nose that was bright white and didn't wash off when you went in the pool? I guess sunscreen has come a long way. I will say this- the only day I got any sunburn was the first day I stayed outside all day with Bob the sea lion and had no sunscreen on- hmmm ok so I guess maybe it is what it says it is. And I didn't mean that funny thing because it's Mexico- I mean that anywhere.   

ok enough for now. Bastante.

Week in review

It's only Thursday nite, but it's been a nice few days -altho' started out kinda hinky....Monday morning we went first thing into Ensenada to finish off my application for permanent residence. It went so smoothly! I kinda hopped out in glee....the other people waiting looked at me with a little bit of envy I think. Everardo said all the women were wishing they had married Mexicans ha ha. We had gone down there the first week of June and found out everything I needed; we had to get an apostille in Spanish for our wedding certificate (in Acapulco they simply let Everardo sit down and copy the one we have in English, but here it had to be official). We went to breakfast while they processed it and I had chilaquilles...yum. The other letters I had to write I copied what I had from Puerto Penasco and just changed relevant info like address and dates....

When we took it all to her she read it all and looked at Everardo and asked him if he helped me write the letters! Ha ha! He laughed and told her I copied them (in Penasco they wrote them for me and had me sign them, so I was pretty sure they were what I needed). Everything else was in order, but you can not apply for the next thing until it's almost your expiration date, so we had to wait until this week. Did I say it takes an hour to get there? That will matter in a few minutes.

Everardo started working out at the Bufadora last week. He started on Tuesday, while I was beginning my adventure with Bob the sea lion. He's a "seller". He works at someone's booth, and then gets commission on whatever he sells (based on sell price). I think he also gets paid if he goes early to help set up or stays late to break it down- which they must do every single day. I know I have written about the Bufadora before; it's a huge blowhole in some rocks at the ocean. So this place is just past the bay we live on, sitting along the Pacific. You walk down this narrow street to get there, and it is lines with booths, vendors selling everything you can think of. Tiny margaritas are given away free, and I believe other drinks as well. Lots of other food, candies, nuts, and these amazing breads- my favorite is the one that is a round loaf the size of a pizza but thicker, with sugar sprinkled on top and stuffed with a gooey cheese. There are lots of other types to choose from but I remain loyal... Anyway the place is noisy and chaotic on busy days- which are any days the cruise ships are in port in Ensenada, which is every day except Monday & Thursday. Hence, our trip was on Monday this week.

So we got down there and I felt lucky- only two names ahead of mine, and one did not respond when called, so our turn came up quickly. Everything was in order, so we walked out ten minutes later, a paper stating my application was in process in my hand; I had to turn in my temp visa (FM2 or 3 or whatever it was...) so this paper would keep me out of hot water if need be. Like I said, I think I skipped a little on the way out. She had told us to check in two weeks, that by then it should be all processed, so I would return and give my fingerprints....then in about another two weeks the card would show up. I signed so many pieces of paper I commented it was like buying a house, and she replied that yeah- but after this I would never have to do it again- the permanent residence had no expiration- it was good for forever! Did I say I skipped? Happily?

Silly silly me. In Mexico (and I know know know this)- In Mexico if it is not in your hand- you have nothing. We went and did our weekly grocery shopping and errands that used to be a Saturday thing, and went home. About 3pm the phone rings and it is immigration.They want me to come back and show a picture id with my name before I married my husband. WHAT?? I have no such document. I didn't bring old driver licenses or old passports with me....they are in my safety deposit box, and only because I am a bit of a hoarder ha ha. I like my old passport because it has so many stamps in it from all the places I've been. Africa, China, Thailand, France, Russia, Jordan, Egypt, Japan, Hong Kong, oh and Mexico...anyway I liked to look at it- maybe them, this may be over 2 passports. Regardless...I don't have them here. I gave the phone to Everardo, who repeated my question- what if we'd been married for 10 years, would you be asking. So the lady was very nice and said, just come back tomorrow morning and I'll help you write a little letter and you can sign it. Oh. Ok

So Tuesday morning we went first out to the Bufadora to tell Everardo's new boss he was gonna be late. She asked him to hurry because her other helper, her son, wasn't there that day, either. Ok ok. So back to Ensenada, an hour each way, and we didn't have to wait in line because we asked for Anna, the woman who had called and she came right out. I brought with me a couple of old business cards and a gas card I found that had my old name, but no picture. She said it was fine and said she'd write the letter for me and be right back. Ten minutes and she was back, letter in hand. We both read it....same words as my other letters, except for the specifics...I signed, we all shook hands again, and we went home- well I did, and Poppi went to work. Ok I changed and walked down to the gym house and started my workout, using my phone as a weights timer, and it rang. Immigration who wants me to come down right away, hoy. It's all in Spanish but I understand and reply in Spanish I was already there, I signed a letter with my name prior to my marriage to my Mexican husband. She puts me on hold.....comes back. Ok have a nice day. I finish and go to the beach to dance, take a shower...etc. I notice I have missed a call. Guess who? Immigration ha ha. I am unable to explain sufficiently and ask if I can call right back. I call Everardo who calls the wrong number (ha ha) and calls me to say I gave him the number of a bakery! I call again....blah blah blah...and they insist to him I provide picture id of who I was before I married him. Now the freakin' apostille is for EXACTLY that....but not good enough. Finally (as I think well someone will have to send me something and I am praying I put someone on my safety deposit box so they can go get something (the driver license might be somewhere in my stuff in the attic of the house up there....but where?). And then the woman asks if I have a birth certificate. YES!! But a copy only. That's ok bring it. However it does not have the name I had when I married Everardo...because I was using my ex husband's name......aaarrgghh. Ok so Everardo left work and...we drove the hour back up there.  And.....they accepted it! And they must have stamped it with that "yes we saw the original, made a copy and gave the applicant back their original" stamp.....

Wow long story and probly boring, right? So the moral of the story is: (remember??) In Mexico, if you don't have it in your hand, you have nothing. Well- they haven't called again so I think it was all submitted...fingers crossed.

Ha ha I said this was a nice week. But it was nice. After we left there we went to the movies and ate buttered popcorn -well and he ate nachos. Then yesterday morning, Wednesday I went to my first meeting of a meditation group, liked it, and next week I'll go to the afternoon group (they alternate and the morning group is just 5 or 6 people but the afternoon is closer to 15-20). I had just started reading and trying to listen to the cds for "The Eight Steps to Happiness" which is a ThaiBuddhist meditation, and apparently the guy who leads the afternoon group also practices the Thai Buddhist way, so I am very excited about that. I had started going to a Buddhist meditation center a few months before we left for Mexico and like it very much; I asked in there what I could do to continue on my own and they showed me the 8 Steps book. ha ha Only took me 2 years to get back to it. But very cool that right when I did start going back, a new friend of mine mentioned that she attended!
I came home from that, did my exercise routine, took the dogs to the beach to throw the ball into the waves for them, then Poppi came home, we had a nice dinner and I topped it off with an AA meeting. I am sooooo loving my life right now.

Today was more of the same. Everardo was home (no cruise ships on Thursday) and while he was out I did my exercise, then later we took the dogs to the beach and walked way down to where a sailboat had torn loose from it's anchor the other nite and floated into shore. It's been stuck there for days, and yesterday I saw a line of people trying to push or pull it in some way...there were also a couple of trucks on the beach, but today it was still there. When we got there this guy in a beach chair cheerfully waved to us, and said maybe in tonite's high tide he would make his escape. He was so cheerful! He's been sitting with the boat for days; I think he is Philippine (his accent) and he told us he's just been here for a month, but loves the weather (yeah me too). Walked back, chatted with our friend who has Iggy the dog, had another nice dinner, took an after dinner walk by the estuary...I mean yeah, my life is so good. Poppi has started steaming huge pots of veges and then we usually eat beans- and I love the black beans- or a small amount of meat. Feels good.

I feel like I am being true to myself. I want to grow spiritually, and I want to work on me physically, mentally and spiritually and I want to be healthier. I am 5 years clear of cancer and I always complain if Everardo wants to use insecticide or I want organic veges....and yet I am overweight. I read in several articles that avoiding recurrence of cancer includes eating right, being healthy...and maintaining a healthy weight. I made a commitment to myself that I wrote out, attainable goals over a long period. I am about to finish 3 months (of 12 initially) and I am meeting my goals. That feels good. Of course I am anal about making little lists and schedules. So I broke a year down into a week. Did I already write about this? Well I'll tell it quick. I divided 365 days by 5 for Monday thru Friday. So each day of the week is 73 days. And the reason is: I can do anything for a week. Right now I am in Tuesday, Wednesday starts some time in August. But for me- it works. I was surprised to day when I realized I am on Tuesday already! In fact I took it a little further and broke the days into morning and afternoon (told you I was anal). So I am actually in Tuesday afternoon now. Like I said, I can do anything for a week.

The one thing I need to be better at is my Spanish study. I do know I am waaaaaay better....and I try to talk to people wherever we go...but I need to do my basic computer work as well. Writing here helps me affirm to myself, to recommit.

I will say this. I can always do better. I said some very mean things to someone, in facebook private msg. I lost my temper at someone for saying some mean things, some very wrongs things and I felt attacked. I felt my family was attacked, and so I went on the offensive. Ha ha justified anger. It cannot be for me. The fact is every single thing I said (wrote) was true, but it was in anger, meant to hurt, and it probly did. I was right....but I was wrong to do it. This was early this week...but no excuses. So yesterday, thankful for what I receive from meditation and from AA, I sent a msg and apologized for my unkind words. I didn't try to justify or anything. Just said regardless of the situation I was wrong to say mean things and I apologized. Then I said I would not contact them again so they would know I did  not expect (or want) a reply. I feel like I did the right thing, and I think it goes to my feeling of well being. Yeah I mess up, but I am getting so much better at stopping myself, or at least making an amends right away.

So tomorrow? Well my plan is to get up and exercise, work on Spanish, meditate, take my dogs to the beach, oooh start a new book, hit a meeting. Hmmm sounds like today....yesterday.....yeah.......

Spending my week with an injured sea lion "Bob"

This past week went by so fast and at the same time seems like it was so long and so long ago. But I will never again walk the beach without thinking about Bob the sea lion. On Tuesday morning Everardo came bursting in the door and yelled for me to grab the camera to take pictures of a sea lion on the beach who seemed content to sit and not be scared off. I had been about to go on my exercise morning dancing/walk down the beach with the dogs so I was almost ready to go. It was about 9:30 or 10am, and we went back to where Poppi saw it, and it was still sitting there. But he sagged, and decided to lay down. We thought maybe he was injured or sick and came to shore to die, but I had never seen that; always before they were dead when they hit the beach.

I took some shots of Everardo next to him, and he reached out and touched his back- the sea lion looked at him but didn't leave or lash out or anything like that. I felt kinda funny (funny wierd not funny ha ha) taking his picture if he was going to die, but I did it. Then Everardo took the camera and I walked further up the beach starting my exercise. I had planned to exercise way up the beach because in front of our place we were having red tide, and it was so yucky.Ok here's what I found on google:

Red tide is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color. Red tides are events in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, resulting in coloration of the surface water. It is usually found in coastal areas.

Some red tides can be toxic, but here apparently it is not. I say "apparently" because it was what I was told....but I get told lots of things here that do not turn out to be the case ha ha. However I seen birds in the water all week and people fishing both on the shore and from fishing boats, (oh and lots of digs) so I think it is probably true- that the red tide here is not toxic. It makes the both the water and the shore ugly, filled with so much yucky stuff, and it stunk as well. I really didn't want the dogs swimming in because it was stinky and then they'd need a shower after, so I walked way up the beach to do my exercise routine.

So- my hour was almost up and I was dancing my way back towards the sea lion. My intention was to stop and see him again, and then...what? I don't know. So I came up to him, and leaned in and talked to him softly. Asked him how he felt, talked about how pretty the sky was, whatever came into my tiny brain. And then...... a single tear fell from his eye and rolled down his face. I simply sat down next to him. I started crying as well. I told him how sorry I was. I could not leave him. As it turns out I stayed with him from about 11am until 6pm. A woman came down from her house right behind us, just a little while after I sat down; she had actually seen the sea lion the nite before, just before dark. Her name was Meena she told me, and she said she saw him in the very shallow water near the shore and had tried to get him to go back out in the ocean, but he didn't go. Then in the morning the tide had gone out so he was out of the water, sitting & laying in the sand. By then I had already reached out to him, and touched his head, which seemed to be ok. So I was stroking and petting him and talking to him. She began to do the same thing....and she and I began to talk.

Well as it turned out my husband had talked to a guy he saw working by another house near the sea lion and got that guy to call PROFETA, which is a federal group responsible for the shoreline and came to tell us they would be there soon. I knew I was not leaving this poor baby. (yeah we thought it was a she, and very young because she was not huge- at least not as huge as a sea lion can be. Later we found out he was a he, and about 8 years old). Both Meena and I waited for PROFETA, who showed up about 2:30...yeah so not all that "soon". Well by then the tide has started to come up, and that's when we saw the blood. Not a lot, just a thin stream that seemed to pool a little down by his "feet" and would wash away each time the waves came in. These were small waves, they didn't cover him, but he needed to keep raising his head. The PROFETA guy took alot of photos and they talked on the phone, and decided with our input that he had an injury under one of his front flippers. Then he said this other group was coming, marine mammals people or something, but they would wait for them. I said, ok well I am going to go home and change my clothes and come back, and Meena thought that was a good idea so she did it too. I told him to pet our baby and talk to her...he said of course- that they cared about him. So I went home and took a shower as fast as I could, and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since I hadn't eaten all day. I got back about the same time as Meena, and then, to my surprise...kinda....they told us they had to leave to another problem area, but don't worry, the people would be there soon. Luckily I got his phone number.

About 4:30 still nobody had come and we were worried the offices would close so we called them. They guy said oh yeah- let me call them so call me back in a minute. I called back and he said sorry, everyone is too busy, they will come tomorrow. I got mad and said maybe he won't make it! He hung up on me. Well the tide went back out, and then there was no more blood. My husband called me about 6pm and told me to come home. I told our baby I loved him and he would be ok, and I went home. Meena stayed with him until almost dark. The next morning Everardo went out around 8am and checked, came back and told me he was still alive so I went down to sit with him. Around 9:30 a truck drove up and a lady got out and took some more pictures. She was from the marine mammal people- so I tok a picture of her truck door that had a logo on it. She got on the phone, and then told me (all in Spanish) that a veterinarian was coming soon. Then she left. Well I sat back down to talk and pet my baby sea lion, knowing it might be hours. So I was very surprised when another truck showed up on the beach around 11:30. It was PROFETA again, but they had a woman with them who turned out to be the vet- her name was Alejandra. She spoke pretty good English and asked me to tell her everything I knew from the moment it started and to not leave out any details.

So I told her, and then Meena showed up. (we decided I was early shift and she was late shift).  Alejandra told us after looking carefully, that first, she was a he. Then that he was about 8 years old and we could tell that by his fur around his nose and mouth beginning to turn white, and that the tuft of hair/fur on the very top of his head was something a male developed after about 5 years of age. Females do not have it. Then she showed us some marks on his back and said she believed he was caught in a fishing net for an extended period and that was one reason he was so fatigued. But there was something else. We had told her that the nite before, when he was still in the surf, he had what we called convulsions, but she called seizures. We thought he was dying when that happened "death throes" Meena called it, and she and I hugged and cried as we thought it was the end. But then he had calmed down. Alejandra said that he was poisoned by fish who had eaten in a "yellow tide" further north, and that it wasn't toxic to the fish, but it was to mammals. (I think that's how she put it). That our red tide was ok, but yellow was not. That it could cause seizures, and death. So she gave him a shot, of an antibiotic called domoic acid to fight off the poison. (Meena later googled it and said the symptons fit our baby boy exactly). So in the end I think Alejandra saved him, but I believe our constant comfort made a big difference. Then Alejandra told us to go home and let Bob sleep. That he needed to heal.
Oh she also said the blood was from these tiny sea "creatures" that bite at the wounds on sea life...and yeah they were biting at our feet and ankles....and that why he stopped bleeding after the tide went down. She told us it would be better if he stayed on the shore. We did not go home right away; we stayed with him and chatted with each other. When the tide came back up...he went in it! We tried to push him towards shore but he wasn't having any. But he was so weak, he could barely hold his head up when the waves came, but he let us, carefully hold his head up. The tide finally started to go back out. It got late and I went home, but Meena stayed, and she made Bob a pillow out of kelp ha ha, but we think it helped.
I forgot to say when Alejandra first came she warned us about touching him; that if he was healthy he would never do that, that maybe he was carrying a disease, could we at least wear gloves since we would not stop petting him?? haha. I think the first lady told her- that woman was shocked when she saw me sitting so close, talking to him and stroking his head, scratching his neck and belly when he sat up and stretched toward me.He nuzzled my arm many times. I didn't put my face in close for a nuzzle, but my dog Hazel did, and they touched noses. Sam sniffed around Bob with concern, and Bob was ok with it. He knew we cared about him, Meena and I and the dogs. Both days people wandered by and sometimes stopped for a minute but never got as close as we did. Oh and I also forgot to say that the Mexican guys that worked nearby named him Bob so we thought that was cute and Bob he stayed- I had been calling him Baby Boy and Meena was calling him Hefalump...so Bob was a good choice.

So anyway we had no intention of leaving Bob or not touching him. He leaned into us, he looked in our eyes. Oh and I googled sea lions; they don't actually cry. The have tear ducts that let tears flow to keep salt out of their eyes. They can be out of the water for a couple of weeks, that they can go a week without eating, that they can hold their breath for at least 15 minutes and maybe twice that long according the the article you read. That they can close and seal their noses to keep water out. That they swim about 10-12 miles an hour but can do a short spurt at 25 miles an hour.

Ok- Thursday morning. I get there and Bob is sleeping. Like a deep sleep. Actaully the nite before when Meena made the pillow he was sleeping and snoring! So we think the medicine broke the fever- or the poison, and then he could sleep- like when you are really sick and you toss and turn, but when the fever finally breaks you fall into a deep sleep? So I sat there for a while, but decided to do my exercise and let him sleep. Later I returned and Meena was there, but she had done the same as me...watched him and then left. Then I had to go to Ensenada with Everardo but about 3pm Meena called me to tell me Bob was in the surf and rolling over and over, sitting up, but not leaving. When I got back it was almost 5pm, and we watched him do this until about 6:30. We found out it was how he cooled himself off. Meena had called Alejandra, whom i had spoken to early in the morning to report on Bob's condition. Alejandra couldn't come but said she's come back on Friday and give him another shot. She said she could only come with PROFETA- it is the Mexican law, that they have to document and "direct" her even though she is doing the analysis and the work. She is a volunteer, and told us how they really want a rehab center for the injured animals like Bob, but here in Mexico it is hard to get the funding. She was very happy that we were helping Bob, and after the first day didn't bother to lecture us that we needed gloves- she knew we loved Bob and that was that.

Well about 6:30 Bob finally stopped playing in the water and lay down. We decided to go home, so we both told him we loved him and see him later. Then Bob surprised us and made us each soooo happy. When we said goodbye, he turned around and took some silly sea lion steps towards us and stretched his neck out to us, and nuzzled each of our arms. Now that made me cry. Meena told me earlier when she came and he was asleep that she sat nearby and he opened his eyes and moved closer to her! Pretty cool eh? Then after he nuzzled us, he turned back so he was looking at the water, and laid down. We went home...and as I got a little further away I looked back and saw hin walk up the beach out of the water and throw himself down. Later a woman knocked on Meena's door to say she thought the sea lion was dead- Meena hurried out, but Bob was back in a deep sleep. She called me to tell me, but we decided he had recovered alot, had a good play, and was now exhausted and needed the sleep.

Friday morning I headed out- Bob was gone! I found out that meena had gotten up at 5:30 am to pee and looked out her window and he was still there, but by 8am he was gone, gone with tide.This was a good thing, a great thing!! But I was as sad as I was happy. Hmmm what had we done in our lives before Bob? Meena felt the same. But what a gift. What a gift to be able to be in service to another living thing. To comfort him. I know he knew we were there to help. I know he came to know us. I know he appreciated us being there. I know we helped to save his life. He certainly changed my life. How lucky I nothing else to do so I could spend 3 days with this beautiful animal, comfort him when he was hurting and probly scared. Cheer him on. How cool was all that..I am so lucky, I always think that!

Well- later we found out something that initially pissed me off, and Meena was so upset, but I have changed my mind about it now. She found out that a guy who works for this camp...like a maintenance guy, walked out early in the morning with this dog named Lucas. Well Bob knew Hazel and Sam and was very comfortable with them; I believe they communicated with each other thru looks and noses ha ha. But I guess Lucas scared Bob awake, and lunged at him, and Bob jumped up and ran into the ocean and was gone. I was so mad that it had ended that way. I wanted to wave goodbye to Bob as he disappeared in the surf, raising a flipped (yeah right?). But after thinking about it for awhile- Meena and I agreed it was a good thing- because around here the sea lion does not have alot of friends. I'm sorry to say that the fishermen shoot them! Yeah shoot them! Because they are in competition for the fish. It is illegal of course...but that doesn't mean too much. So Bob being comfortable around people would not be a good thing. So it is what it is. Funny I miss Bob. Meena and I have emailed each other a few times and will trade pictures that we both took as he got steadily better. Alejandra was sooo happy. She thanked us profusely and told us to keep her number. We thanked her for caring and helping Bob. I'm hoping Meena and I find some other common ground- maybe simply a cup of coffee, but you kinda get to know someone spending 3 straight days with them, you know- but sometimes it's like when you take a class and really get along with someone, and then it's over and you never talk to them again. It could be a Spanish class we found may end up being available to us right here in this camp neighborhood, so we'll see. Oh and the red tide is gone- for now anyway.....yipee.

So...this is the story of Bob the sea lion. I feel like I left out a million details, all my emotions, trying to get him to turn around in the surf, feeling protective, laughing at his antics, learning about sea lions, my initial sadness and feeling so helpless, wanting to punch the next person in the face who said...it's life....and walk away. And really? How many people get to have a relationship- however brief, with a sea lion. I like writing about here, because trying to tell people out loud felt weird somehow...like I was saying "look at me-look what I'm doing" when what I was trying to say was about how cool Bob was, what he looked like, what he felt like, how he moved, how he breathed, being able to be part of it. Does that make sense? I love you Bob. I hope you swim far from these damn fishing nets, catch tons of fish, roll and jump and play. Catch ya on the flip side!