Dolphin Valley Academy: Our trip to Mexico

We'd had quite enough of this:

So bright and early the next morning we hopped on a plane and headed to Mazatlan! Well, we didn't actually leave because of the weather, but it was a nice coincidence that we'd quite fortuitously planned the trip to begin on the weekend of the latest snowfall on record since 1972.

Almost two years ago, my dad and stepmom decided to retire to Mazatlan, and this was our first trip down to see their new digs since the move. We spent 8 days with them, and they were wonderful hosts and tour guides during our stay. Below are a few photos from our trip...

Our first night in town, we went down to the machado and had dinner at Pedro y Lola's. The kids were happy to see chicken fingers and fries on the menu! Although, our typically non-soda drinking kids were a little distressed that lemondade is generally served made with sparkling mineral water in Mexico - they didn't like the bubbles. We learned to order limonade natural by the end of our trip. Many vendors strolled past our table - little girls selling roses, a little boy selling chiclet, musicians, and this balloon sculpting clown.

We also visited the small town of El Quelite, about an hour drive outside of Mazatlan. We had a fantastic lunch at a nice restaurant, again dining in an outdoor courtyard, surrounded by tropical trees, plants, and wildlife.

We also walked over to the catholic church (in the background)

Stopped by the ranch where fighting cocks are raised

We also went into a little bakery where they were pulling fresh mexican pastries out of the oven. We picked out a variety to take enjoy back at Dad and Sharon's the next day. They were all delicious, but the pina, and cinnamon rolls were our favorites.

We visited the orphanage where Dad and Sharon volunteer their time. Sharon, Natalie and I helped hang laundry on the clothesline, and then our kids went to play on the teeter totters where they were joined by a couple of the girls from the orphanage. Most of the girls were in class that morning.

In the middle of the photo below, you can see a covered area. That's the washbasin where they wash all of the children's laundry by hand each day, and then they hang them to the right to dry. Never again will I complain about the piles of laundry I have to do in my washing machine. The orphanage actually owns a washing machine, but the cost of electricity is so prohibitive that they can't afford to use it.

We drove up to Playa Bruja, hoping to see some surfers, but taking in the tidepools instead. We were delighted to see beautiful fish swimming in the shallow pools - creatures we're used to seeing in tanks at the petstore, or at the aquarium; the kind that you just don't find in the cold, coastal waters of the western United States. It's amazing how a little warm water brings out a more dazzling array of colors in the residents of the pools. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the yellow-tailed damsals, or the stripey fish we saw (lol - I have no idea what it was, but it was cool). We also found sea slugs, and all different varieties of crabs, including baby hermit crabs.

We also had the opportunity to help feed some baby parrots who had been rescued after being stolen from their nests by a couple of guys who were trying to smuggle them to the US to sell them up here. To learn more, you can go to Dad and Sharon's blog, or to this other one where they have photos and video of these gawky squawking birds.

While in Mexico, we also saw a lot of brown pelicans and iguanas...

...and here's a banana tree - I've never seen one of these before!

One morning we went to the Aquario de Mazatlan, where we saw all kinds of interesting flora and fauna, and took in a sea lion show. The kids sat in the splash zone, and here they're about to get a lapful of water...