Araiza Palmira Hotel La Paz

... towards Cabo Pulmo, where lies the only coral reef on the peninsular. It was such a relief to escape from the heat, strip off our dirt ridden clothes, jump in the sea with mask and flippers on, swim out a few metres and take a butchers at the sea life. Not so much variety in terms of coral, but a fair amount of colourful fish.<br> <br>We had a meal at a nearby restaurant and drove back to La Paz on dirt tracks in the dark, feeling beat after the days off road action.

... on seeking out A/C to restabilise our unclimatized bodies, and then sampling the vast array of tequilas. This led to an unfortunate incident late on in the evening where I somehow found myself enthusiastically attempting a rendition of Hey Jude in front of Kerry and about three worried looking Mexicans in a karaoke bar. Err, embarrassing and dreadful.<br><br>Walter is some sort of uber tourist guide but you can tell he's not got any ulterior motives, he properly gets a buzz ...

... was better so we were able to speak in Spanish with his help at translating when necessary. We ate at Super Burro near our home and Marcos treated us all. He also gave Paul and I a DVD about the program he works with in D.F. a brochure and a CD of Latin tango and jazz! If we ever get to D.F. we will definitely look up Marcos. <br><br>Got home and Abraham and several other guys were sitting outside, drinking beer and finishing up the move ...

... the Dollar Store and grocery store. Almost home, we saw Las Parillas Nortena and picked up the BEST burro de pastor ever. Took an evening walk, and returned for tacos and a bucket of mini-beers later that evening. I kept a bottle for flowers.

... researched the heck out of it probably to the point of being an annoyance to anyone who would listen! I was really on the fence due to several negative reviews that I found. Ultimately, I was swayed by the resort's reply to Jill and Dan, our trip organizers, that if only all those with positive reviews would take the time to post to the internet. That definitely struck me as likely being very true so I thought; why not give it a shot. I'd ...

... who's name I can't recall right now. Have to get that from Chucho. The reef was very protected inside a large bay and was a very easy dive. There were sights to be seen down to 50 feet deep, or divers could stay shallow the whole time. Lots of hard coral, tropical fishes, stone fish, and a very nice nudibranch and also the first flatworm I've seen. The flatworm was really beautiful looking. Marylou and I probably only made it about 100 feet down the ...

... After a long, cold, wet, snowy Seattle winter, a trip to Mexico feels just great. The sun, the heat (fortunately not too hot), and the warmer waters (have I mentioned that Seattle water temps have been hovering in the very low 40's all winter?) are all a very welcomed change. We arrived yesterday, 3/18 (my wife Pam's birthday!), after only about four short hours in the air. First stop was LA with a 1-hour layover, and then off ...

... floating&#8220; lunch. We arrived at Los Isolottes in early afternoon and the crew proceed to enter the water for an afternoon swim with our mammal brethren. I volunteered to chronicle the event with Lisa&#8217;s digital camera. The afternoon swim turned out to be even better than the morning swim from two days before, as there were more sea lions in the water and fewer snorkelers. Some of the ...

... how they're going to be put to use. As we climb a few hills, an amazing view down to the azure coastal waters appears. The wind blowing our hair, hills dotted with bright green cacti and the blue of the ocean, there's a contentedness to be found and as we reach El Burro I'm a little disappointed to be ending the journey. Recently flooded El Burro has a field of very slimy, muddy sand for us to lose our flip flops in before we make it to the beach. The ...

... Mochis. The beach resort was a little disappointing and didn't quite live up to the website but we still enjoyed our stay. On our last day we rented a car so we could explore the beaches, Playas de Tecolote &amp; Balendra Bay. We preferred Balendra Bay so parked up and settled there for the day under a palapas. The bay is like an advert for the Caribbean where you have people lounging in perfectly clear shallow water on white sands, I could think of worse ways to spend a day.