Wednesday's Journal Entry

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Mmmm. Yesterday, we found a great little, hidden away restaurant for breakfast. We got to have frijoles for the first time on our whole trip (the hotel we’re at serves mostly American and Italian style foods). The women there were very nice to us, but didn’t speak any English, so we had to fumble through our ordering carefully.

We had plans to make some stops for snorkel gear and such, but everywhere we went was either closed or non-existent. So, we wondered away from the Malecon, toward the center of town. The sidewalks here are unbelievable. You have to watch your step or you risk not making the 2 foot drop from one brick to another in some places or falling into a gaping whole in others. I guess they figure that humans should be capable of looking out for themselves, something that is not common in the US. I can only imagine the lawsuits that would happen!

I took tons of pictures (from the outside) of the local mission. I wanted to be able to show it to my students, as we just finished learning about CA missions. Since it is still being used as a church and I was clothed in shorts and a tank top, we didn’t go inside, but I may venture in sometime later. We also saw the Governor’s house, which was located on the other side of a garden square. The old buildings are really something to look at. I thought it was interesting that the mission was located at the corner of Independencia and Revolucion streets. Irony, no?

Walking in the sun made us hot, hot, hot, so we stopped in an ice cream shop for goodies. Mikey got yummy Fresa Crema (Strawberry Cream) ice cream in a cone-cup and I had a pina (pineapple) popsicle. There were Popsicles with Mango con Chile and Tuna (which, it turns out, means Prickly Pear). The wonders of the internet tell us that La Paz is known for its wacky ice cream flavors.

We once again napped and lounged on the sun terrace through the hottest part of the day, venturing out around 6 to find our dinner. We were hoping to find an authentic Mexican restaurant (something that is proving dificil), but it was closed, so we had pizza instead. Our waitress was very patient and understanding with our limited Spanish and we completely enjoyed the experience. They were even having a 2 for 1 discount!

Today, we are planning to hit the beach (via bus, since we are still afraid of renting a car) at Tecolote for some non-walking sun and snorkeling. I’ll let you know if we see anything exciting.