May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

We woke in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador and its major port. Ecuador is a particularly easy country for Americans to visit. They no longer have their own currency but use the American Dollar. Humorously they actually use the dollar coins that most Americans shun. Also electricity is 110V with the same outlet. No adapters needed.

After breakfast we joined a guided city tour. Our first stop is at the Historic Park. It is well done and seems analogous to Tucson’s Desert Museum. It shows the flora and fauna of the equatorial mangrove jungle in natural habitats. We see all the endemic animal species. The blue, green, and scarlet-colored Macaws and Parrots are beautiful and the Harpy Eagle is huge. Ecuador has lots of rodents from small to the cow-sized Tapir. There are also lots of beautiful tropical flowers including Hibiscus and Bird of Paradise and many we haven’t seen before.

Another section illustrates the plantation crops vital to the economy of Ecuador. The country is one of the biggest exporters of bananas and cocoa beans. We saw how they are grown commercially.

Our next stop was a small city green space called Seminary Park. Besides being next to the Cathedral, it is has a nickname of Iguana Park. Visitors feed these large lizards of Tropical America so they are very tame. There are hundreds of them in all sizes and colors. They look very prehistoric. Maybe this place should be renamed Jurassic Park.

We then headed to the nearby riverside boardwalk, stopping at the La Rotonda or Memorial to the Liberators. This monument continues the history that we learned on our South American trip last Fall. After Jose San Martin liberated Argentina and Chile, he came north in 1822 to Guayaquil to strategize with Simon Bolivar who had recently liberated Venezuela and Colombia.

We stopped for lunch at a bistro. Aimee and I ate a trendy Ecuadorian pizza of shrimp, beans, cheese, and guacamole on a Plantain crust.

After lunch we walked along the river exploring Barrio Penas, the hilly historic center of Guayaquil. We tried to shop for local Panama Hats, but the very humid weather of the equator is draining. We are both happy to return to the refreshing A/C of our hotel.

May 1, 2019

May 1, 2019

This morning we made the long drive back from Key West to Miami. The drive is not as interesting as it could be because most of the road follows the interior of the islands. The most scenic stretch is Seven-Mile bridge that spans a gap in the almost contiguous Keys. The Overseas Highway was built atop Flagler's original train line and was famously featured in the climactic scenes of the action movie True Lies. A new bridge replaced it in 1982; but it looks like Florida is working to restore the original for pedestrian use.

In Miami we turned in our rental car, and hung out in American's Admiral Club until boarding our flight to South America. We flew right over the Panama Canal, but cloud cover obscured my view. We landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We had to turn our clocks back because Ecuador doesn't follow Daylight Savings time. Being on the equator, sunrise and sunset are the same all year round!

April 30, 2019

April 30, 2019

We got up early this morning and took Uber to the port of Key West. There we boarded the Yankee Freedom. This high speed Catamaran sailed due west to Dry Tortugas National Park. For us, this finishes our goal of seeing all the National Parks in the lower 48 states. Currently the number is 49, but it is a moving target as more states petition Congress to have one to promote tourism. Surprisingly we are not alone. There are an astounding 175 passengers on this ferry and it is usually sold out months in advance.

It takes 2.5 hours to make the 70 mile journey. Dry Tortugas is an archipelago of several islands and submerged reefs with dozens of shipwrecks. The US built Fort Jefferson on the main island to protect this deepwater port situated on the west end of the strategic Florida Straits.

Fort Jefferson is huge and covers almost the entire islet. We started our exploration by walking the perimeter of the fort along the seawall. The setting against the shallow turquoise ocean is stunning.

Afterwards we took a guided tour of the interior. Like yesterday’s Fort Zachary Taylor, it’s mostly brick built before the Civil War. Because the Tortugas are dry (no fresh water) and far from civilization, construction of this huge fort took decades; duty here was very difficult. It was also used as a prison, infamously holding those convicted of collaborating in the assassination of Lincoln. Being so formidable, it was never really attacked.

Back on board, we had lunch and then started our return journey. Unfortunately the winds kicked up and the first hour was pretty rough. Back in Key West we had congratulatory cocktails and then dinner of the local favorites, conch fritters and crab cakes. For dessert, we couldn’t pass up the Key Lime Pie.

April 29, 2019

April 29, 2019

We slept in this morning getting acclimated to the Eastern time zone. Our hotel sits on the eastern end of Key West, on land that was used in olden times for the production of salt from sea water. We caught the 10am shuttle bus that takes us across the island to the historic section. And Key West has a surprisingly long history. Originally called Bone Key or Cayo Hueso, it was mispronounced Key West by us Anglophiles. With a good port and the westernmost key with reliable water it was valuable property. It became easy to access when Standard Oil founder and Florida pioneer Henry Flagler extended his rail line down the keys to here. When it was damaged in the 1935 hurricane, it was converted into the Oversea Highway US 1 we drove yesterday.

We did a little shopping and then started our walking tour at Truman's Little White House. While he spent almost six months here on eleven visits, many other presidents also visited. This large house is just one of many that used to be part of the large Key West Naval Station. Most of the buildings in this nice historic pedestrian-only palm-lined district are now privately owned. Some like the marine hospital look like they could be movie sets.

From the naval station we walked further into Key West’s past by visiting Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. This pre-Civil War era brick fort, with the nickname Gibraltar of the West, was built to protect the vital Florida Strait that links the Atlantic with the Gulf of Mexico. Despite being in slave Florida, it remained in Union hands and helped in the blockade of southern ports. Interestingly Truman’s Little White House used to be waterfront and this Fort was offshore. Significant infill has made both landlocked now.

Before stopping for a lunch of fish tacos we walked by the home of Key West’s most renowned resident, the enigmatic author Ernest Hemingway. After lunch we passed the bars he frequented and made famous.

Our feet are tired and the heat and humidity are draining, so in the late afternoon, we take the shuttle back for a nap under the A/C and Happy Hour at the pool.

April 28, 2019

April 28, 2019

This morning, we rose early and drove west from Miami. An hour later we reached Big Cypress National Preserve. This swamp is part of the Everglades ecosystem; instead of being added to the Everglades National Park, it was made a Preserve to allow hunting, fishing, and some limited private activities. After watching the park movie, we strolled the boardwalk, seeing dozens of alligators basking in the sun. We also were amused by these male Brown Anoles who would extend their bright red dewlap to mark their territory and attract females.

On the way back east, we stopped at Everglades National Park’s Shark Valley Visitor Center to buy a National Park annual pass. We continued south of Miami reaching Biscayne National Park after lunch. Biscayne is mostly a marine park enclosed by a mangrove wilderness. A Ranger recommended kayaking the bay. He said we might encounter some marine creatures. Aimee only heard Alligators and said no way. I only heard Manatees and said yes!

After a little cajoling Aimee and I paddled a two-person kayak across the bay to a fresh water canal. There we were pleased to see a bunch of Manatees or Sea Cows cavorting all around us. These fat blubbery sea grass-eating mammals have a whiskered face with a broad fan-like tail. Aimee figured out that she could attract them by gently splashing her hand in the water.

After an hour, we paddled back to shore. Biscayne is the start of the long chain of Florida Keys. These islands are the exposed fossil remains of a barrier reef that formed thousands of years ago when the sea level was much higher. We thought the Keys would be fun to explore so we drove nearly four hours along US 1 to roads-end at Key West. After this long driving day, we were more than ready for a welcome drink and then fish tacos and Happy Hour at the pool bar. This is Aimee’s favorite, a vacation from our vacation.

April 27, 2019

April 27, 2019

We took Uber to the airport for the first time. Our driver turned out to be a very enterprising man. He lives nearby and works by the airport. So to profit off his long commute, he drives a traveller to the airport every morning and an arrival home every evening. As a bonus, he even charges his electric car at work. These kind of go-getters are what makes capitalism and America such a great place to live.

Aimee and I decided to splurge a little this trip. We booked First Class flights. Instead of leg-crimping seats we had nice comfy chairs, and meals served on china with real cutlery. No plastic for us. Unfortunately I might find it difficult to get Aimee back in economy on our next excursion.

Our two flights east were uneventful and went by too quickly. Our path over Louisiana followed the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge until it finally petered out in the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the night in a hotel near the Miami Airport.

February 17, 2019

February 17, 2019

We awake in Ensenada, Mexico. Our hotel room faces the ocean. Too bad we are leaving early. Ensenada is a popular stop for American cruise ships. By stopping here for a few hours before docking in LA, these ships can dodge the Jones Act, and hire inexpensive foreign labor. The hotel front desk has a huge whale tail photo behind it. I just might do something similar in our Living Room.

We drive the seventy-five miles along the beautiful coastline to the border where we disembark and walk with our luggage through the checkpoint. It takes more than an hour. Back on the bus we make the short drive to San Diego where we say good by to our travel companions. After dropping off my sister and brother-in-law at the airport we drive the six hours back to Tucson. We are exhausted from the journey.

February 16, 2019

February 16, 2019

Today was mostly a long driving day back up the Baja peninsula. In a few weeks the Gray Whales will also be making this trek north to the Bering Sea to feed. This annual 10,000-mile roundtrip migration is the longest of any mammal. In the shallow Arctic seas, they scoop up a mouthful of ocean sediment and then filter out crustaceans through their baleen plates. They will need to eat and fatten a lot to make the journey. They don’t feed at all during the migration. To prepare for a long day of sitting we take an early morning walk in the desert.

For breakfast I had Divorced Eggs, two fried eggs, one topped with red salsa, the other green. For lunch we have two appetizers. The first was a Nopal prickly pear cactus salad. The second was Ceviche, made from raw fish cured in lime juice. Both were delicious.

Our 500-mile Baja drive along the narrow two-lane road is a test of endurance. On the way we discuss the difficulty getting to the whale breeding sites. In some ways that challenge is a blessing. If the whales were easy to visit, the lagoons would likely be mobbed with boats. With worldwide travel so intense now, a site with few tourists is almost unimaginable.

We made it all the way to Ensenada just 75 miles short of the border. Before checking into our hotel we make a brief stop in the shopping area to look for last minute souvenirs. Aimee buys some Mexican Vanilla.

February 15, 2019

February 15, 2019

This morning we woke in San Ignacio. We started our day by walking to the river that flows past the village. It is more of a lake than a river and both sides are filled with date palm trees. Not native to the Americas they were imported and propagated by the early Spanish colonialists.

Since Scammon's Lagoon has more whales than San Ignacio, we drove the ninety minutes back north. Unfortunately the weather seems to have turned on us and it is breezy and overcast. We even got a few drops of rain. We explore Scammon's Lagoon again but the waves bounce our little Panga boat around. The whales must not like the conditions either as none are interested in greeting us. They mostly just cruise right past. One highlight is capturing a half-dozen flukes or whale tails on camera. They make for dramatic photos. Interestingly the fluke is also used to identify individual whales. Each one is uniquely speckled with barnacles.

Like yesterday just before heading back to shore, a mom and baby approach our boat. They cavort with each other around our boat. They stay just outside our reach while they turn and roll. Aimee and I are wondering if this is how they nurse or maybe they are just playing keep-away around the boat. The adults are massive, the size of a bus and covered with barnacles. Around the boat they surface slowly like a submarine. The young are not only smaller but are almost devoid of these parasitic barnacles.

After this third whale cruise we are ready to retrace the long drive back north. While eating two burritos for lunch we make it as far as Catavina for the night. It is dark by the time we pull into this only source of light in the desert.  

Our group meets in the Cantina for a pre-dinner celebration of Mexican culture. We have a margarita with chips and a spicy green salsa. We then have a couple shots of Tequila, an alcohol fermented from the core of the Blue Agave that grows widely here and in our own yard in Tucson. Having trimmed them (with great difficulty) I can’t imagine having to harvest them by the thousands on a Tequila farm.

We have a couple birthdays to celebrate so somebody pulls out a Pinata and we have a good laugh watching them try to bust it open while blindfolded. We finish with a dinner of tacos, tiny Chimichangas, Quesadilla, refried beans and guacamole.

February 14, 2019

February 14, 2019

San Ignacio, Mexico is a very small town in the central Baja surrounded by the World Heritage El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve. The village is a palm oasis in the desert. Probably a low point where water collects. We made the short walk to the main town square and had a tour of the old Mission built in the 18th century. While similar to the missions of Arizona it has some interesting statues. One of Jesus with a walking stick, and another of a saint holding a broom.

From the town square we loaded onto a van shuttle that drove us to the nearby lagoon of San Ignacio. This Pacific inlet is also famous as a Gray Whale breeding ground. It took 1.5 hours to go the 30 miles, mostly because the last few miles over the tidal plains were not paved and extremely washboarded.

At the lagoon we loaded onto small Panga boats and motored out towards the mouth. We saw some occasional whales, but far fewer than yesterday and none were interested in approaching the boat. They just swam past oblivious to our presence. Very disappointing compared to yesterday. Personally I can’t blame them. Gray Whales reacted violently to being slaughtered en masse in this bay, attacking and smashing the whaling boats. They earned the nickname of Devilfish.


About a half hour before we needed to return to shore, a mother and calf approached our boat looking for attention. They stayed and let everybody get a chance to interact. It was awesome, especially because the boats here ride lower in the water making it easier to pet the baby. Every day this one-ton infant guzzles 50-gallons of rich milk, containing 53% fat, with the consistency of toothpaste.

I have to wonder why mother and calf would approach the boat. Most moms with newborns are very protective. One explanation is the mom is so proud she just wants to show her off. The other maybe is she is taking her newborn to the zoo to visit some odd mammals without fins locked in a wooden cage floating on the sea. We may be as fascinating to them as they are to us.

Back on the beach I had a lunch of locally caught Scallops. They were enormous but tough as shoe leather. My first poor meal of the trip. I should have gone for the fish as Aimee did. We then made the bumpy drive back to San Ignacio. After showering, we walked into town. Since it is Valentines Day I took Aimee to a class on making tortillas. The dough is manually worked into a disk and slapped between your hands to thin it out. The tortillas are then pan-fried. We taste tested Aimee’s work as tacos with refried beans, Mexican cheese and hot salsa. Afterwards we walked to a nearby restaurant for oversize margaritas, chips and salsa.

February 13, 2019

February 13, 2019

The town of Guerrero Negro is near a large inlet off the Pacific Ocean. Because of the shallow bay, low rainfall, and plentiful sunshine, this lagoon called Eye of the Jackrabbit contains the largest salt works in the world. Here seawater ponds are allowed to evaporate producing ten million tons of sea salt annually.

We drive for miles across the salt pans until we come to an arm of the inlet called Scammon’s Lagoon. It has that name because in 1857 a whaler named Charles Melville Scammon discovered Gray Whales congregating in the hundreds here to breed and give birth. His discovery almost lead to their extinction in just a few years. Now the Mexican government protects them. We set out on a small Panga boat to the middle of the lagoon. We see water spouts from Gray Whales in every direction. Soon we get curious whales coming right up to the boat. So close we can touch their barnacle laden skin. It feels like a rubber inner tube that needs air.

We watch lots of activities of the whales. Often they rise vertically out of the water and rotate, looking like a periscope getting the lay of the land. We see groups of three cavorting, most likely trying to produce a new generation. Once impregnated, the whales spend the summer feeding in the Arctic. The females again return the following year to this same lagoon to give birth to their young.

We are lucky with beautiful sunny warm weather. The water is a sheet of glass allowing us to interact easily with these magnificent creatures. Several whales, some mothers with babies, approach the boat. They are either curious, or maybe just want to rub up against us and the boat to remove a particularly irritating barnacle. We even get a few dolphins swimming alongside.

After several hours we return to shore and walk along some of the tidal waters looking at the many shore birds. It is hard to get excited about bird watching after an up close and personal experience with a leviathan of the sea.

In the afternoon we have a late lunch of delicious homemade tamales and drive farther south to the town of San Ignacio where we spend the night. Before dinner we are entertained by some local children in traditional costume who sing and dance for us.

After dinner we are offered a shot of Damiana liqueur. This concoction made from a local Baja herb is supposed to be an aphrodisiac. I am not sure what they are trying to tell me.

February 12, 2019

February 12, 2019

We woke to chilly weather in San Quintin, Baja Mexico. For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with Chorizo sausage. It was delicious. Aimee ate healthy ordering oatmeal.

Back on the road we continued further south down the long narrow Baja California peninsula. We quickly changed terrain, entering the Valle de los Cirios Nature Reserve. Although it is part of the Sonoran Desert, like Tucson, it is distinctive. The coast of California has been sliding north along the San Andreas fault. Many millions of years ago this opened the Gulf of California (aka Sea of Cortez). This separation has caused the vegetation on either side to diverge. The Saguaro cousins here, called Cardons, are larger with more branching and fewer thorns.

The Cirio, a cousin of our Ocotillo is even more strikingly different. Also called the Boojum Tree, it has the same branches of the Ocotillo but they come off a tapered candle-like spine. Maybe we don’t need to go to the Galapagos Islands to see Darwinian evolution in action! We stopped for a nature walk among these distinctive Baja natives. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom adding color. Living and hiking in the desert, we appreciate the differences more than most tourists. It makes the marathon drive down the Baja spine worth the pain.

Later the terrain turns into the boulder Pluton fields we saw as we approached San Diego a few days ago and that we have also seen in Joshua Tree National Park. In the village of Catavina, we stopped and hiked out to some petroglyphs hidden in an overhang of a boulder. They are brightly colored and were drawn by the Cochimi Indians who inhabited the area before the Spanish arrival.

For lunch we had a delicious chicken broth soup flavored with Tortilla chips, lime, avocado, onion and Chipotle (roasted dried Jalapenos). I washed it down with a dark Bohemia beer. We had Mexican candy for dessert. It was Coconut flavored candy in the colors of the Mexican flag: red, white and green.

After lunch we continued the arduous trek south. This region is real desert with no villages, no houses, no cell service, and no indication of humanity. Only our semi-paved road. Surprisingly the desert continues to change the farther we drive. We see less cacti and now more Yucca Trees and stunted Elephant Trees, both endemic to this part of the Sonoran Desert.

After two days and 500 miles of driving we finish in the small town of Guerrero Negro. We have a delicious buffet dinner. This time the beer of choice was a Dos Equis. So far the food in Mexico has been great.

February 11, 2019

February 11, 2019

The Gray Whales are ahead of us so we need to get moving to intercept them. From San Diego we drive south hitting the border with Mexico. Despite this being the busiest border in the world with an astounding 30 million crossings per year, our passage is uneventful. Our first stop in Tijuana is Mercado Hidalgo, a large open air market. There are fruits and vegetables of all types; most we would never see in the US. Popular is a Beavertail cactus that is de-spined by a couple speedy machete workmen. We try a small slice. Tastes a little like asparagus. Also popular are peppers, fresh and dried. I steer clear of the very hot Habaneros. Many of the more exotic fruits come from the southern areas of Mexico that are more tropical. Interestingly one stall also sold a dozen different kinds of brown Mole sauces. Our guide bought us a couple of the exotic fruits to try.

The road south first follows the border fence west toward the coast. Surprisingly we don’t see any of the migrant groups that the media is touting. The road then hugs the coast for many miles. Like San Diego the shore is crowded with beach houses. In the major port of Ensenada we stop for a homemade lunch of meatball soup and spiced meat with rice.

From Ensenada the road turns inland following a valley. The terrain of Baja (Lower) California is surprisingly not much different than our state of California. I guess Mother Nature didn’t know about the border. Baja has the same rugged coastline and interior ranch land mountains. It even has the occasional vineyard.

Eventually the road veers back to the coast, although now very deserted. We stop for the night in San Quintin. We are just in time for sunset. For dinner we have fish with Margaritas and Pacifico beer.

February 10, 2019

February 10, 2019

Aimee and I and my brother-in-law rise early and take a walk through nearby Balboa Park. Set aside in 1835, it is one of the oldest parks in the US. Walking around the many museum buildings built for the 1915 Panama California Exposition is a joy. The weather is delightful, the trees are flowering and the architecture is Neo-Colonial. It is another reminder how beautiful San Diego is. Too bad it is packed to the gills with Californians.

Back at our hotel I take a hike up the hill behind our hotel to get a view of the area. There seems to be few flat spots in the entire city. After lunch at the hotel, we return to La Jolla, this time to visit the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. There we have a chance to listen to a lecture on the Gray Whale and their amazing long distance migration. Every year these baleen whales travel from the Arctic past here to mate and give birth in protected coves along the coast of Baja California. Aimee and I have always thought that our animal encounters have been the highlights of our vacations. So we decide to follow the gray whales south tomorrow.

We spend the next hour or so on a guided tour of Scripps impressive aquarium. The tanks have some very good collections of unusual sea creatures. I really like the variety of jellyfish while Aimee likes the seahorses and the venomous but well-camouflaged Stonefish. Both of us are entertained by a an unusually active giant Octopus that stretches out over the glass for us.

On the way out of La Jolla we stop at Seal Beach Cove. The coast is swarming with California Brown Pelicans. So much so the rocks are stained white with droppings and the air reeks. Despite that turnoff, the Pelican males have very colorful red pouches.

We finish with dinner at an Italian chain restaurant in downtown San Diego. We need to start cutting back or we will all be gaining weight on this vacation.

February 9, 2019

February 9, 2019

My sister has been in town for the last week. We spent the time visiting the annual Gem show and seeing a couple of good movies including Green Book and Free Solo.

We are running out of things to to with them so we decide to take a drive west to the coast along I-8. It is a drive of extremes. We alternate between Arizona desert and fertile well-irrigated farms. Looming water restrictions from the Colorado River don’t look good for these agricultural fields. Mother Nature is ready to reclaim them. Once past Yuma and the dried up Colorado we hit the Imperial Sand Dunes which could easily stand in for the Sahara. Eventually we reach and climb the coastal mountain range. The leading edge consists of millions of Jumbo boulders, like a giant piled his rocks here. At the summit we make a stop at the Desert View Tower overlook. It is quite breezy. No wonder there were dozens of windmills at the footstep of the mountain.

Eventually we hit the ocean at La Jolla. We stop at the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve to stretch our legs after the long drive. Like everything Californian it is pricey and crowded. This heavily eroded coastline is home to this rare namesake coastal pine.

Afterwards we drive by the downtown harbor front of San Diego where we spot the carrier USS Midway, for a long time the largest ship in the world. We are too late to tour this museum ship so we settle for a photo of Unconditional Surrender, an enormous colorful rendition of the iconic photograph celebrating the end of WWII. My relatives are hungry so we stop for seafood in Old Town San Diego.