http://vanamos.net/vanamos daily 0.75 2018-05-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476276021402-U2IOE1A8U79200BPX6VE/NICARAGUA+flag+website.jpg How to nicaragua   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525220461652-RAKXLYRX2IMGC1SDOX9N/Mexico+flag+for+travel+guide.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475804436792-SYGRMWU1T4FJPM1Y7IW9/NICARAGUA+STICKER.png How to NICARAGUA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475804641288-U1FWUZ2PZ26N3QK9NFJ1/image-asset.jpeg How to El SALVADOR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467785917172-LR7RYFRWUFMUQ6594COK/image-asset.jpeg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475639095116-PDYXUP57MYKJXLXXAAP6/Plasti+Dip How to Per advice from the internet, we painted the repaired box with white Plasti-Dip, a multi-purpose rubber coating. White was a good choice because it reduced the temperatures inside the box drastically. An overlander we met in Costa Rica told us he used his black colored roof box to bake his clothes dry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475639059453-QSAX21Q202HGUOB3V2D1/Repaired+Thule+Box How to The repaired box. It's not pretty but it was free, which is right up our alley. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475639196484-QTMGE37IO0S06WQ2T55K/image-asset.jpeg How to While we were painting, we made stencils out of contact paper. We found the Westfalia font on The Samba and personalized the box with our name. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475699658069-J63T6LIT63HMR27E8OHS/Cocnut-teaching-J-math-compressor.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467774745258-4V31F3L8QBS38Q0NNLAI/Atitlan.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467783029095-2CLQR60AXJ5SMEO01AAJ/Goal-Zero-Yeti-compressor.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467785623813-W4XMI3EZFMH6S4K5LY3X/Welcome+to+Nicaragua.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475640274675-DRSRN40QQ2NUDU1C4OCR/IMG_5948-compressor.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475715744345-I9Y3X3CXPCS3NQU52MN6/GOPR7019-compressor.jpg How to https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476117369274-O1T1UW48Y5IVYSTSURC3/money+compressor.jpg How to http://vanamos.net/about daily 0.75 2016-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475682960406-JJWCXHS2JO9A27DU9QVN/image-asset.jpeg About PAUL https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475683127117-EKT9ENZ032VFT3J9FHIF/R-profile-compressor.jpg About R https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1468186206650-0RHQL352471E5D4HYP7U/Coconut-profile-compressor.jpg About COCONUT https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1468186095836-ABQCG29IHGDU9PUEQX9Q/J+profile.jpg About J https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474512067771-SDF646EN6459AWLT2DJY/Wesley+floor+1.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474512111273-51KR6B78VYPBCVEBW2A7/Wesley+floor+2.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475637782930-FHG31X25MJ45KBWWTLST/Repaired+Thule+Box About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474511543297-7XUHLU03V094OAY8FQJ2/IMG_6557-%282%29-compressor.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474511561041-WES7U3NXR279T9KRCYAG/IMG_6580-%282%29-compressor.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474506591264-1IGW3PG1MT09MR1TBWSW/image-asset.jpeg About Adding pestañas and a three-window tent are two recommended modifications. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1468187544901-ZDS7E867PO18XSAELTGV/Wesley-profile-compressor.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474516981761-ODFBXJD51ZTMTD6O01YV/image-asset.jpeg About The Edgestar 43 quart portable fridge sits on a stand custom-made for it. By raising it off the floor we created room to store our shoes (in the plastic bin) and our Goal Zero Yeti 400, portable battery. This also created extra counter space, useful when cooking inside. Also visible is a USB and 12-volt charging station, located to the left under the table. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1474509492870-CVM7HP9SEM70TC4WFMTO/image-asset.jpeg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467788559397-K1HAHKJF202L3PWY220K/Wesley-SMA-colonial-view-compressor.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467788882933-8KWOC4MJLXM5LCDFNGZ0/Wesley-SMA-colonial-view-compressor.jpg About http://vanamos.net/blog daily 0.75 2022-07-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475587919252-HL8C9YKGVO9LKC25J1OS/IMG_2881-compressor.jpg Blog http://vanamos.net/blog/2022/7/20/reading-is-fun monthly 0.5 2022-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1664303082416-ZZA9J1EH48DLLPR2MZSK/A+real+page+turner-min.jpg Blog - Reading is Fun! - Make it stand out This one was a real page turner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1664302756807-2805J84W6MDDCZ98W4OA/Dad+can+read%21-min.JPG Blog - Reading is Fun! - Make it stand out My Dad holds up a book (my book, actually), suggesting that he too, can read! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1664405373746-WWWUUHN39ICVGRIIW0PO/Maya+and+Jonah+Reading-min.jpg Blog - Reading is Fun! - Make it stand out Both my children loved to have me read to them before bedtime. A stall tactic? Perhaps. But how great that I got to read Dr. Seuss’ Hop on Pop more than one hundred times? Here they are reading to themselves before bedtime during our year-long overland trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1664649793723-07L8CV0NG0R72HLRTG6F/Little+Free+Library-min.jpg Blog - Reading is Fun! - Make it stand out Little Free Library, San Miguel de Allende, Colonia Guadalupe, Mexico. http://vanamos.net/blog/2022/6/22/morocco monthly 0.5 2022-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655926723795-RH3C9DQPSUH3PVA84D6I/Tannery+in+Fes.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out Fes tannery. The light colored vats are where the cow and camel skins are cured and the darker vats at the top and right are where the hides are colored. You can see hides drying on the roofs and from the rails. We were given a sprig of mint leaves as we entered because the place smelled like pigeon poop, or cow urine, I couldn’t tell the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655926998860-CE756A0XJAYPK1MK67LE/fish+vendor+and+cats.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out The fish vendor; the most popular man in Mohammedia amongst the street cats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655926472933-6MH0JD8ANG7Z52YJQQGB/Hassan+tower.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out The minaret of the Hassan Tower mosque in Rabat would have been really tall. But it was never finished. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655941639098-6XJM5A0FNXYN26NZSMGB/IMG-0648%281%29.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out If you like olives, you might like Morocco. It’s the number three producer of olives in the world, behind Spain and Italy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655926071581-NW5PPJBR2KX133XF3KR1/watermelon+manger.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out After seeing animals treated so callously, I enjoyed this peaceful manger scene with watermelons. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655941447438-V3BECLAI69BJSHE9XRKW/IMG-0569%281%29.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out Even though it was Ramadan, we found this delicious meal waiting for us when we arrived. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655926591540-XU29J471UVO6G1JNBKJN/Rabat+estuary.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out A nice view of the estuary in Rabat, Morocco. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1655926195842-DLBF1YJ1X3V6Z496FPE4/Hassan+II+mosque.jpg Blog - Morocco - Make it stand out The minaret of the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca reaches 210 meters (690 feet) into the sky. This is 180 feet shorter than the minaret of the Great Mosque of Algiers. But the Hassan II minaret also has a laser beam fitted at the top. http://vanamos.net/blog/2022/5/12/for-the-birds monthly 0.5 2022-06-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1652650823633-CKXKGY42I706H5SHER1X/Maya+and+Jonah+and+Giant+Flamingos.JPG Blog - For The Birds - Make it stand out The film that is yet to be made, “Attack of the Giant Flamingos”. Cause after all, if flamingos were giant, humans would look like shrimp to them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1652650165271-19P2S02XIX9WFU0135JG/On+the+Boat.JPG Blog - For The Birds - Make it stand out On the boat, headed in the direction of the flamingos. http://vanamos.net/blog/2022/1/27/viva-mexico monthly 0.5 2022-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1644614647606-8U3SOAJAMIEXCKXNI795/Yogurt+of+the+Day.jpg Blog - The Bean Counter - Make it stand out Yogurt with strawberries, yogurt with nuts, yogurt with raisins, yogurt with fruits of the forest. Any flavor will set you back $2.50. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1643765843202-AJJ01SY5A2URG4T470AD/Neptune-min.JPG Blog - The Bean Counter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1644519517640-QPIIXZHW5RT0BHPO91PM/Daisy+ski+patrol+sled.JPG Blog - The Bean Counter - Make it stand out R couldn’t keep up with the young pups at the ski park and got her first ride down the mountain in the ski patrol sled. http://vanamos.net/blog/2021/12/30/the-end-of-an-era monthly 0.5 2022-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1641498956681-2E3LYE6AA2BJ2QYBZLWM/Residency+cards.jpg Blog - The End of An Era - Make it stand out Our permanent residency cards. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1640975998924-CH5AJP26BUWHT1SWFZSQ/Bocho+Flora.JPG Blog - The End of An Era - Make it stand out You’ve heard of weeds growing around the tires of a wreck? How about flowers growing out of the windows? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1640906909438-EDL9QAR8SCVEVDEVDFLT/road+Guatemala+impassable+road.JPG Blog - The End of An Era - Make it stand out There were few thoroughfares that Wesley couldn’t navigate during our year-long overland trip in Mexico and Central America. This “road” near Semuc Champey in Guatemala was one of them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1640906820392-O46XHT9E20CZK3IWR0TM/scenic+Wesley+and+the+Mexican+desert.jpg Blog - The End of An Era - Make it stand out In the Mexican desert. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1641328726296-S6SEETX5ZYG5NH7Y8LR7/Hibernating+Wesley.JPG Blog - The End of An Era - Make it stand out Wesley’s first brush with snow. January 2022. http://vanamos.net/blog/2021/11/17/stagefright monthly 0.5 2021-11-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610851436931-VN9MB36QHE1GGVURI13X/Mariachi%252BWesley.jpg Blog - Stagefright - Make it stand out Not The Band, but just a couple of friends trying hard to make something good. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1637382565523-EKN2SM5G4SN2HNB7KQS1/Cover_Amazon_bookshelf.jpg Blog - Stagefright - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1637383369372-R3AWJ72NI4TC7IINT2FW/Author+at+work.jpg Blog - Stagefright - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://vanamos.net/blog/2021/4/12/vaccination-day monthly 0.5 2021-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1618507122903-0UM2DJER1DAAF0OGR4WG/Paul%2527s%2Bshot-min.jpg Blog - Vaccination Day https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1618506735583-I04U4NG2WVPKJ9DZU124/Gun+Show-min.JPG Blog - Vaccination Day Texas gun show https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1618510671614-79E6SPEPCZNPGR4RUC08/unsplash-image-T2CJ4ZI7-hg.jpg Blog - Vaccination Day We saw a lot these on the drive - but they aren’t great landmarks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1618510742040-7YMSPC8MRDHF51RU8MUX/US+border+Laredo-min.jpg Blog - Vaccination Day Waiting at the border to get into the US https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1618516154135-OBS2LU0R5B3Q1CRRZDWK/Vaccination%2Brecord-min.jpg Blog - Vaccination Day The new part of my permanent immunization record - my COVID-19 vaccination record card http://vanamos.net/blog/2021/1/14/three-years-in-mexico monthly 0.5 2021-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610839437056-JS0V07REY8WGC5RO3H2A/Rebecca+and+friends.JPG Blog - Three Years in Mexico R has made the kind of friends who laugh when someone farts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610838064317-M771UZMUPA99343OFYRZ/IMG_8043%281%29.jpg Blog - Three Years in Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610840410192-E0SWV1ZN4X8KX4SPYT0I/Balloons+in+Street.jpg Blog - Three Years in Mexico There’s never a bad time to buy a balloon in Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610838478141-ZU6O4W83MNM623I4QSAS/Author%2Bat%2Bwork.jpg Blog - Three Years in Mexico I work from home with or without the threat of COVID. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610838343530-33D5ITGTM3HR534F7VX8/Kids%2Bin%2Bschool.jpg Blog - Three Years in Mexico Class is in session in the courtyard of our house in San Miguel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1610835287781-133QWK1MHZP6O76JEBAZ/IMG_7428%281%29.jpg Blog - Three Years in Mexico Charley prowls the streets of San Miguel de Allende looking for chicken bones. http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/12/7/the-texas-bullfrog-strangler-and-other-campfire-tales monthly 0.5 2020-12-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1608507299408-P9I612AR3PHQL0RJCL14/palenque.jpg Blog - The Texas Bullfrog Strangler and Other Campfire Tales https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1607657776505-6A5RX8OEQI94P6CR0T39/Pat%2BMayse-1.jpg Blog - The Texas Bullfrog Strangler and Other Campfire Tales R and me swimming at Pat Mayse State Park in Spookyville, Texas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1607743963217-MACTARPIEH5WU1ZZ46FF/Where+we+stayed+in+iceland+compressor.jpeg Blog - The Texas Bullfrog Strangler and Other Campfire Tales The cozy two-bedroom cabin where we stayed in Iceland. The week after we were there Jay-Z and Beyonce were scheduled to stay nearby, as close to their presence as we may ever get. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1607636856828-1ZHO0ECVEWX3VB7IO61Q/Iceland%2BBig%2BCar%2B-%2B2014%2Bcompressed.jpg Blog - The Texas Bullfrog Strangler and Other Campfire Tales We didn’t go to Reykjavik, Iceland expecting to see a big truck parked next to our mid-size rental car. We just got lucky. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1607640048204-BIKVYKOY6D4FGS1JZ421/Italy+fishing+compressed.JPG Blog - The Texas Bullfrog Strangler and Other Campfire Tales The fishing pier at the Marina Grande in Sorrento, Italy wasn’t pretty. But the view was. http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/11/9/churches-of-san-miguel monthly 0.5 2021-01-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605386358505-C7N2FXV3R9NQNQ4R8UTR/IMG-2405%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Entrance to the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Salud. Note the two wooden doors about halfway up the façade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605387781783-BA3M879W2MTTWZCIVQMP/IMG-2385%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel The front of La Iglesia de San Juan de Dios. I couldn’t gain entry, but assume there are plenty of fire extinguishers inside this church of the Patron Saint of firefighters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605385964573-GM2HQCRCZLKHLK0ABJKA/IMG-2396+%281%29.JPG Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Art in the Iglesia de San Rafael blends two forms. Here, two soldiers painted onto the wall stand guard over a carved wooden Jesus (in the shadows behind the cell door) and a doll size figure of his younger self. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605389596718-W9PDDS6A2BJ8NQJ2JWFP/IMG-2395%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel One of the many depictions of the crucifixion in San Miguel’s churches. This one in La Iglesia de San Rafael has the distinction of blending carved figures with a painted background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605386057365-FCFCGLN9WRWVHSFEXT5O/IMG-2400%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Saint Patrick proudly holds up a three leaf clover. It was the best he could do. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605388596003-WFNA7M5TU7CSAJIYHMKA/IMG-2392%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Las Monjas, despite what it may have cost to build, doesn’t do it for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605387506136-PQUIHL2KFYBVNT8XX3W5/IMG-2394+%281%29.JPG Blog - The Churches of San Miguel La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel with its lesser known neighbor La Iglesia de San Rafael to the left. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605470507270-HP80UHYBQ43ZXD7DWCW2/IMG_7703%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel This cement, rectangular church is in a working class Mexican neighborhood. The phrase on the left side door says - Come to me all of those who are worked and burdened and I will give you rest. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605388789368-EX575Q1NHJA82ABS2YDL/IMG-2424%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Hernando Cortes, circa 1520. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605385716415-X4N1YLA3IT31CGUX98WS/IMG-2402%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Fray San Juan de San Miguel, the first Spanish settler in San Miguel, demonstrating to one of his devoted followers how to properly wear a mask. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605386503011-O380YFPUC3GM7XBSBGKZ/IMG-2413%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel View of the bell tower of the Oratorio San Felipe Neri from an interior courtyard. Notice the two lines strung from the bell that run outside of the stone tower and over the roof and side of the yellow building at bottom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605459426647-1NMKQXJU73EH5XPWW696/IMG-2428%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel Future site of El Templo de Nuestra Senora Del Rosario. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1605386229522-0XPXW4EGKSKVGAWPCTNC/IMG-2403%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - The Churches of San Miguel The intricately carved pillars at the entrance to the Templo de San Francisco. The church is a favorite for wedding ceremonies and pigeons. http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/9/18/observations-on-the-state-of-the-union monthly 0.5 2020-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1600528695522-PNPPO4UGW7GTKVNO29S1/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Observations on the State of the Union I didn’t see a lot of these on the road, but everyone acts like they are driving a race car. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1600529010117-K9B0I6SBDUBWJHOOLL09/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Observations on the State of the Union Even George Washington, the so-called ‘Father of our Country’ and a seemingly universally beloved figure, has come under fire for his slave ownership. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1600529264931-WDDHDN7CBXMB9TU7V4ZZ/State-Line-on-the-Trace-compressor%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - Observations on the State of the Union Lots of people I met wanted to talk about the van. Few people wanted to talk about Mexico. http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/5/29/and-life-goes-on- monthly 0.5 2020-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594321532197-CNOJE4NAERQ295T7BVK3/Texas-camp-compressor+%281%29.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation The children enjoy their mac-n-cheesy beanie weenies at our camp in Village Creek State Park, Texas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594321421404-SFVE42C8HDNDKDYYYL4G/Chilling-at-the-truck-stop-compressor+%281%29.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Father and son spending quality time at a truck stop near San Pedro, Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594324189681-TYYE0PVO4C78OFYKWU9M/Welcome-to-Nuevo-Leon-compressor.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Mexican toll roads are in better repair than the free roads. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594321611773-8UA7LTKL1QPZNHYIOCM7/Enjoying-the-brisket-compressor+%281%29.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation A friend recommended that we stop at a particular BBQ place in Texas for lunch. We stopped long enough to pick up some sandwiches and ate on the fly. My brisket sandwich didn’t last long. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594324495356-QSQRVCC5YRZ5VOXB09SH/State-Line-on-the-Trace-compressor+%281%29.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Wesley straddling the Alabama-Tennessee state line. We traveled through nine Mexican and US states on our way to Virginia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594323369488-14YWQQW2YVVOGJ4SB96R/cleaning-the-road-grime-compressor.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Cleaning the road grime off Wesley was a way to spend 30 minutes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594321975578-KQP9XZ2YQ43YX4G6SHLI/The-Trace-compressor.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Entering the Natchez Trace Parkway in Natchez, Mississippi was a highlight of the trip for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594321784315-QECLLUIY8K6HBWJCNS6M/rain-on-the-trace-compressor.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation This is what the Natchez Trace Parkway looks like in a downpour when the wiper won’t work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594322527027-BH2SVN4842JA0316VMA4/Natural-Tunnel-camp-compressor.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Wesley sitting patiently at camp in Natural Tunnel State Park, Virginia, while we explore the campground during a brief pause in the rainstorm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1594322637558-AB15AK2EUOQAVV29MSCH/Wesley-and-the-River-compressor.jpg Blog - Road Trip to Summer Vacation Glamor shot of Wesley lounging by the Tennessee River. http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/4/22/working-title monthly 0.5 2020-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1587767406768-JMK0F6MF6FUNM2Q68473/Parroquia-locked-compressor.jpg Blog - The Coming Storm The gates to heaven are locked for everyone now, not just us sinners. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1587850795565-WQ26PKHX9XMGQDMRKZ7Z/Yellow-Tape-compressor.jpg Blog - The Coming Storm The main plaza in San Miguel, the jardin, is not accepting visitors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1587767123159-6EG84XYS7E9BCTB7EAN3/Restaurant-in-the-time-of-Covid-compressor.jpg Blog - The Coming Storm #quedateencasa #stayhome Someone forgot to tell these guys sitting at a restaurant on the main plaza about the third rule of minimizing transmission. Stay home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1587934313162-RGKPIPVVFUH6FUNY4OIP/cambodia-evacuation-compressor.jpg Blog - The Coming Storm R evacuates from Phnom Penh in 1997 after holing up for days to the soundtrack of gunfire and bombs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1587767228872-31T92X9OFQMEMJHMG090/one-two-three-steps-compressor.jpg Blog - The Coming Storm Mexico’s three step solution for minimizing the risk of transmission - 1) wash your hands, 2) keep your distance, 3) stay home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1587840182991-T0Y4NVHGTYUL56N00IY5/lettuce-please-compressor.jpg Blog - The Coming Storm Fortunately, we can still get lettuce. This sign taped to the garage door where we used to just walk up and purchase our lettuce says, “Please knock if you need lettuce.” We knock a few times a week. http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/3/22/r5bs2hrfgi54g4t80uz06o6ust3wsh monthly 0.5 2020-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1585265800132-CCMBEVO667FKLKUPQ97Z/disinfecting+sma+2.jpg Blog - Coronavirus in San Miguel de Allende A team from the city’s disinfecting team taking a break from the work & ignoring all the rules of social distancing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1585231734095-6ND4K9Z3H02RRS7DQCXM/soccer-closed-compressor.jpg Blog - Coronavirus in San Miguel de Allende To discourage organized soccer games, the municipality even removed the grass from the fields. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1585231898110-O78TZK1SZAGT56UO0O0G/no-more-phones-compressor.jpg Blog - Coronavirus in San Miguel de Allende Pay phones are off limits while San Miguel grapples with covid-19. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1585232038700-U6773NWCVAQYAATD93LQ/PB-makes-me-Happy-compressor.jpg Blog - Coronavirus in San Miguel de Allende Pickleball makes me happy http://vanamos.net/blog/2020/1/15/road-to-nowhere monthly 0.5 2020-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1579375765508-QJOOT7WZ4SPF7OY72OUF/Optimized-Rosa%2BMaria%2Band%2BGuadalupea.jpg Blog - Guadalupe - Where the Streets Have Names The Virgin of Guadalupe in tile on the wall of this building in Colonia Guadalupe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1579375935505-LKVUMTBS78V2HGQMAS0S/Carrillo.jpg Blog - Guadalupe - Where the Streets Have Names Gil’s Store, on Calle Julian Carrillo is our favorite grocery. Walking distance to our home and with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables at good prices. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1579375584588-YSS37H6ZEHWJ8OSVLUB1/Ledezma.jpg Blog - Guadalupe - Where the Streets Have Names Many of the buildings in Guadalupe are painted with colorful murals, like this one on Calle Margarito Ledezma, and the one in the background on Julian Carrillo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1579375501675-F973UQ4QUUXI9XX0TVTD/Oteo.jpg Blog - Guadalupe - Where the Streets Have Names https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1579376462543-3DK103U3W1ZB26DR0N2S/Optimized-Road%2Bto%2BNowhere%2B.jpg Blog - Guadalupe - Where the Streets Have Names Dry Gulch Trail in San Miguel de Allende. You won’t find it on any map. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1579376134626-Z1U0X1RPCS2TEI6V4AZE/Optimized-Tata%2BNacho.jpg Blog - Guadalupe - Where the Streets Have Names Typical street view in Colonia Guadalupe in San Miguel de Allende. Quite different than the streets where I grew up in Paramus, New Jersey. http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/10/22/the-other-side-of-paradise monthly 0.5 2019-11-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1572813107946-VSZ41BXRU6SXGVCQ9KM2/mom-compressor.jpg Blog - The Other Side of Paradise My mom being attentive https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1572812599306-2LYLPB2TO00AS2M9KO1N/do-not-enter-compressor.jpg Blog - The Other Side of Paradise https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1572812360437-100U0M4HVS23XBEAY27C/police-compressor.jpg Blog - The Other Side of Paradise The police are cute, but not very effective in a law enforcement way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1572812145358-UBPIYGV9NDU07Q36IOXF/sunset-compressor.jpg Blog - The Other Side of Paradise Sun sets on paradise https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1572812738157-RSH81J4XX5ID3E0AYUQM/wires-compressor.jpg Blog - The Other Side of Paradise Crime in Mexico, like electricity, is complicated. http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/10/3/friday-night-fights monthly 0.5 2019-10-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570207432821-9NIFDRGSY8FJ8XGBC5MD/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Friday Night Fights A photo of a bull (perhaps Tata Nacho?) taken near “the place of the skull” on the morning of Jesus’ crucifixion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570207016524-BQBALFH3RGVVWQCG4QWT/concessions.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at the bullfight. Especially this guy who was charging almost $5 US for a cup filled with pretzels, chips, doritos, and cheese curls and covered in hot sauce. This is a popular snack in Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570208592592-ZURNXR6XZLDXWJKCLDP6/bullfight-sequence-1-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights Then the bull charges . . . (the things hanging out of the bull that look like gym socks are swords) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570207858914-PJ9L3OEY68RQ7LUTTT0O/matador-with-short-swords-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights The bull is just hanging out waiting for his bus, but the matador won’t leave him alone. He’s like, bull, look what I got (what he has is swords.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570208857096-HTCH3H6HHOIXO03QC006/rodeo-clown-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights Here, a bandillero gets the bull’s attention and prepares for a charge. If things get too scary he will hide behind the white rectangle (a reinforced wall) to the right. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570208644344-PWWXLZTU3DU7RFBX68BA/bullfight-sequence-2-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights The matador deftly moves the cape and himself out of the way of the charging bull . . . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570208005738-AACQRD2FN5M077RQF4A4/opening-pageantry-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights In the earliest days of bullfighting, a single fighter on horseback armed with a lance was the sole opponent of the bull. It wasn’t until the 1700’s that the matador fought the bull on foot. The man on the white horse revived the early tradition. His horsemanship was pretty spectacular. At one point he reached behind him and placed his hat on the bull’s head while the bull was in full pursuit of fleeing man and horse. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570208534488-LDOEX609MQYBC2J7SBNC/taunting-matador-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights First, the matador has to get the bull’s attention by shaking his cape a few times . . . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570209292529-TQ03XVBP7C29AMXNFYY5/poor-Don-Pablo-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights Goodbye, Don Pablo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1570208702255-H7NY7GLXLEZNJPJY8S0Y/bullfight-sequence-3-compressor.jpg Blog - Friday Night Fights And runs the bull in a few circles to tire him out. Wash, rinse, and repeat twenty or thirty times. http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/9/10/oh-canada monthly 0.5 2019-09-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1568661708906-IFMWEZKFSPYHBXLD2TEE/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Oh, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1568661823135-K3K44ZM81PM4TBRGTBKB/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Oh, Canada This is what I daydream about while driving in Canada. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1568663096634-9N4GP69GHZ50S1WRF4PL/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Oh, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1568662148041-CS5YILJKO0FJN16XSA2T/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Oh, Canada A few hundred more of these babies will buy you a year of education at the University of Toronto . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1568662289485-NPUL6AYO0K4BJC4SUATA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Oh, Canada Here, young people gather around an electronic device to plan how to remove old people from Canada. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1568661552832-EUV5UJIV16XKLUDRCVHD/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Oh, Canada http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/2/27/how-to-stop-thinking-like-an-american monthly 0.5 2019-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1562877619645-8V1BMXWUZSJJTBH1CZV3/Sewers-compressor.jpg Blog - Stop Thinking Like an American https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1562877465747-DV2FK4WJ48HYTSX15JRB/Park-rules-compressor.jpg Blog - Stop Thinking Like an American Park Rules in US County Park - mere suggestions in Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1562877115012-HDCSRL867353A91TQTSD/Fantasy--Boutique-compressor.jpg Blog - Stop Thinking Like an American http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/4/26/nicaragua-dust-n-bones monthly 0.5 2019-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556760834824-PL2UN2L6C5NZU0JRELFG/cow-cart-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust A cow-drawn cart being overtaken by a motorcycle on a dusty road is not an uncommon sight in Nicaragua or any country in Central America. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556761118772-4T8LH6XKJSA23E6URODP/shacks-in-limon-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust . . . but the reality is that it is dusty and poor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556761317399-YGKXCUQ6H8HXZW90LG9B/Our-lote-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust Our beautiful, natural Bosques del Mar lot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556822183628-C95F5NTVNDBXKUVC5IC6/IMG_1927.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust Celebrating the Other Paul’s birthday in June 2016. R was invited but she graciously accepted the role of photographer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556760664552-02Y9QN8H1GA0LO1JDAHP/alligator-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust It seemed like a nice spot for camping . . . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556762997561-7YTWJ4Q5QGFL1DVVKAJO/Se-Vende-Gasolina-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust Everybody in Nicaragua is doing the hustle trying to make a Cordoba. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556761398191-YUZ36CLXAHFHF3VNQXDS/Dale%27s-house-compressor.jpeg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust Our neighbor’s house. Tastefully done, but not as pretty as the trees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556763292265-G7RE5GDXTWY5MAWP89X5/Shack-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust No air conditionings, but we’ve got satellite TV. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556760550000-71OWPE4NAHCUMYJDY5TE/taco-lab-scorpion-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust We don’t tolerate scorpions who try to steal our matches. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556761485618-Y1KJHV7HJQ57H6IESUY8/Marsella-Pacific-sunset-April-2019-compressor.jpeg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust This is not the most fantastic Playa Marsella sunset shot, but are there any bad sunset pics? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556761026764-G032YQTSDBS8WUS6HCC5/Nica-Map-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust We remembered Nicarragua as shiny and happy, like this wall art hanging in a fancy gringo resort . . . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1556763362125-JH4G237FTE9LWIFVIHP9/Dust-compressor.jpg Blog - Nicaragua - Land of Dust Can’t even see the car in front of us through the dust http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/3/13/la-vida-del-perro monthly 0.5 2019-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554087831615-KQP7TEPVIP6998BZLN1G/J-and-Charley-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro J with a 3-month old Charley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554084578173-4J96HMSWSRKSBNFS1KS6/huarache-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Huarache leads and interesting life https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554088338472-QY1XDGFDRN73XZLXEKR6/Charley-puppy-5-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Ready for a nap https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554088797580-50XN17ET95LBKWZDLELU/Nose-dog-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Sad or scary? This dog has enough space under the garage door to peak out and see who it is barking at. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554089277012-XD4SKPRT0PQM556X1LMV/charley-afternoon-walk-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro It’s a nice view from the lot where we walk Charley. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554085965005-UK3N6KCD75CCNNDRDJM6/charley-in-bed-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Charley making herself comfortable in J’s bed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554084321745-JZCUE9CR9OVIWA1O66IX/roof%2Bdog.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Roof dog walking its territory https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554084885868-1PHJZOWTILAXCLB3K99S/Bill-in-prison-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro We walk past this poor dog - whom the kids have nicknamed Bill - hanging his sad head out the window each morning. He never gets all the way outside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554084743350-07HQAX6MU487TGCB6URP/Charley-on-the-bed-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Charley at home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1554085134190-9AW3ZYZJM51V9PSRD2ZS/Maya-and-more-dogs-compressor.jpg Blog - La Vida del Perro Coconut likes dogs. Here she is playing with a dog during her Friday afternoon community service school project at the local animal shelter. http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/2/7/three-days-in-the-life-of-an-expat monthly 0.5 2019-02-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550356943895-1XB5PMMEAIWFU2SEN5SE/Pickleball-workout-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat The best part of my pickle ball game is the beer drinking that comes after. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550442432278-ZVD7GH2HAI07MFK9347N/laundry-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1549853774528-Y4VKA79074MOX7WJ3SII/J+soccer.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat We had high hopes for our flying soccer player. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550445383312-Y2S8ATJXR96F5U9L9STP/eric-and-carl-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat R and I got to spend time getting to know Eric and Carl - one good thing that resulted from their tragedy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550445599740-YGEID34HCMUFBM0AJS9M/balloon-flight-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat The view from bed each morning. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1549854487181-75QGALAUTHV2J50JOS2K/3+Days+sportsball+group+pic+compressed.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat Part of our Sunday morning “sportsball” crew. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550445160084-KZARM7S4XVV661GE7177/Paul-head-shot-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat I learned how to say “way cool” in Spanish. Padrissimo! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550444027461-WJWWSATJ04Y1MF2P4E85/J-at-play-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat J wants to sound proof his room, but R and I like hearing him talking to his friends while they are playing video games - even the curse words. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550444897905-L762X2S3OT5F1GGXHNNF/javelin-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat Because javelins cost nearly $200 USD, I ordered a practice javelin (hence the rubber tip) for a lot less. It looked a lot cooler in the pictures online. We had fun throwing it in class anyway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550694836476-1U1TB7UY2Q1KYY6HV97F/Chicken-Hearts-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat Our dog Charley thinks chicken hearts are “padrissimo.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550442334033-8DWFS6L8QQ7Q0EPC8X4N/wake-up-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat Wake me up in Dreamland https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1550694633217-GZJO1FUTTFGFFA8W98W2/2-kilos-of-broccoli-compressor.jpg Blog - Three Days in the Life of an Expat This is what 2 kilos of broccoli looks like. http://vanamos.net/blog/2019/1/15/money-talks monthly 0.5 2019-01-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1548636111150-5XO9DSPS7BCPOQZRN5MO/More-money-compressor.jpg Blog - Money Talks Pesos are pretty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1548176311037-CEXG3OTVXZG8U05X57SH/map-SMA-compressor.jpg Blog - Money Talks We live on the red dot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1548636196130-BXSLV2FQRCDJCDDJDG5F/Charley-compressor.jpg Blog - Money Talks What Charley lacks in earning capacity she makes up for with cuteness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1548635829779-XC9HSHVIKBWOVWWXFXK8/pickleball-compressor.jpg Blog - Money Talks Pickleball is fun, but you have to look sharp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1548635979210-A2Y8J1FTWVCR7ENGD84P/Money-compressor.jpg Blog - Money Talks Five hundred pesos is about $25 US Dollars. It can buy 33.33 street tacos. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/12/27/the-year-in-review monthly 0.5 2019-01-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1546363169515-IL3YZK80N2U8KV73MFIZ/R%2Bon%2BWesley.jpg Blog - Here Comes the Reckoning My badass lawyer wife R, shown here in grunge relief, turned our van Wesley into a mobile legal aid office and hauled bedding and blankets for the migrants when she and 3 other immigration lawyers spent the night with them in Celaya, Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1546439482537-7XC5YMZW55IAOD0QI0J0/Stumped-by-Spanish-compressor.jpg Blog - Here Comes the Reckoning Studying Spanish is like studying a foreign language https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1546361241949-AUC6D2O01XFB4Q1EMIF0/Happy+R+and+Wesley.jpeg Blog - Here Comes the Reckoning If you haven’t yet heard enough about our travels in Wesley, our VW Westy camper van, you are in luck. I’m writing a book about it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1546364107819-38F2OPFI5XYDA9D0BNXV/Thanksgiving-2018-compressor.jpg Blog - Here Comes the Reckoning I call this one “Family moment with turkey leg”. Thanksgiving 2018 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1546362956126-KLTE8ZDBEFKBGOII6C90/Rebecca%2Band%2Bgafete.jpg Blog - Here Comes the Reckoning Having a lanyard strung around your neck makes one look very official and can grant you access to almost anyplace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1546363406641-M5UQPYR5I6DT2H3579QL/Departure-compressor.jpg Blog - Here Comes the Reckoning We brought a lot of luggage with us to Mexico in January 2018, but left our baggage in the U.S. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/10/15/getting-a-mexican-drivers-license monthly 0.5 2019-12-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1544296982910-GFAZRPFZEKEHOBY8YA6U/signatures-compressor.jpg Blog - Getting a Mexican Drivers License Signatures are very important in Mexico. They often have to match identically from document to document. If you sign with your middle name on one document, don’t sign with your middle initial on the second. It can set the entire process back to start. Before putting my signature on anything I ask how it should be signed. It seems silly, but it can save much teeth gnashing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1544297364652-GUCZ4A53O7FIZ11WM0B3/waiting-compressor.jpg Blog - Getting a Mexican Drivers License The hardest question I had to answer when getting my Mexican Driver’s license was whether I wanted a 3-year or 5-year license. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1544406749536-YL00KHQAMJ6YO8KTK5VO/Wesley-skidding-in-the-sky-compressor.jpeg Blog - Getting a Mexican Drivers License The VW Westphalia is a flashy - if not practical - car for climbing the hills and navigating the alleys of San Miguel de Allende. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1544296773313-8CXIXPLI73VZ1BR5DJX3/Medical-Report-compressor.jpg Blog - Getting a Mexican Drivers License Here I am moments after receiving my medical report. If you can read the small print, it says I am healthy enough to drive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1544406390119-UR9NO08NVY3EJEIURV68/Honda-Fit-compressor.jpg Blog - Getting a Mexican Drivers License The Honda Fit is a practical - if not flashy - car for climbing the hills and navigating the alleys of San Miguel de Allende. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1539655495176-06IHSQ51NSJ8BTW3DD9C/Pothole-1-compressor.jpg Blog - Getting a Mexican Drivers License Unfortunately, Mexico public works are not as efficient as the DMV. We called the local water company about a leaky pipe in the street outside our house. It took two days before a group of four guys with shovels and pick axes showed up and dug this hole in the street. They repaired the leak with tape and wire. After securing the site with an official “waterwork’ umbrella” and some “caution” tape, the group went to get lunch. They came back a few hours later and threw dirt in the hole but left a pile of rocks on our sidewalk. When the late afternoon rains came, much of the dirt washed away leaving a nice crater. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/9/30/the-ramones-are-dead monthly 0.5 2018-10-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1538629691212-CTSGVO28KDBUOL8HQATB/Ramones+grandma.jpg Blog - The Ramones Are Dead https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1538630190835-C0B5VJBXFHSFO0AEBQ6M/ramones+Kim.jpg Blog - The Ramones Are Dead Early in our parenting days, R had a weekly date with these wonderful women. Kim, the first on the left, died September 23, 2018, two months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, two days after her 51st birthday. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/8/19/important-dates-in-mexican-history monthly 0.5 2018-09-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1537132140646-S3CHIVCSJ8LABSWVCY1W/Trinkets-for-Sale-compressor.jpg Blog - Important Dates in Mexican History Many stands selling Mexican-flag themed trinkets pop-up around town on dates important to Mexican independence https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1537131948236-HMJQG7H4FETA9URAPCPC/Girls-in-Capes-compressor.jpg Blog - Important Dates in Mexican History I bet you didn’t know, flags make good capes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1537134081925-058CFTA3ON1ELDW50K6U/Mexican-Revolution-compressor.jpg Blog - Important Dates in Mexican History Unfortunately, this is not a flyer for a play, though, Mexican history is certainly entertaining. This particular revolution spawned such Mexican folk heroes as Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, and saw the presidency change hands 4 times in ten years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1537131682321-TXV0EXLBCE6Q94UGZC2F/28-de-Abril-compressor.jpg Blog - Important Dates in Mexican History Street sign for April 28th Street in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1537134399309-U5DJCGGK8LMD27D3T5SB/Carranza+2+-compressor.jpg Blog - Important Dates in Mexican History Venustiano Carranza. He looks like a nice guy. Who would think that he had a coup in him? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1537132022286-ZJPV24T1U31ALTR4Y3EO/Mexican-Independence-compressor.jpg Blog - Important Dates in Mexican History Town Hall in San Miguel de Allende got dressed up in anticipation of Mexican Independence Day on September 16. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/8/16/border-run monthly 0.5 2018-08-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534633091299-LURTI6LBW80V2RMAS19Z/Trash-dump-at-Mexico-Aduana-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run This pile of trash is the first thing you see as you leave the parking lot of the Customs building in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534688520357-JE61IU9D88T9DSZS18KP/Lincoln-Log-Cabin-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run Wesley parked outside Abe Lincoln's boyhood home on Knob Creek in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The style was called a one man cabin - so named because it would take one man about 2 weeks to build one. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534631904200-PLE802AMKOY77H6CIKVM/Leadfoot-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run With R at the wheel we raced across the country. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534688380738-N1YBZLXKUPTUXSEB48AQ/Picture-of-prosperity-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run A homestead along the toll road in Northern Mexico. Prosperous or desperate? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534719605229-5BCTFFS0JAAAAB4C6PAK/Road+trip+map.PNG Blog - Border Run Mapping out the next day's drive using my preferred method - 20th century paper maps. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534719866904-51IIPBCN5GPSHZ202R8C/happy-campers-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run 2500 miles to go! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534722211853-1DXTHNU3OTENWFDOKJJC/Passports-and-TIP-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run Our "Fancy Papers" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534633173575-EN3KNUG2RP17QERCOWSK/Lunch-on-the-road-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run There's something more fun and tasty about eating a lunch that looks like this when it's prepared at 45mph. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1534688625453-BX5BDPYJJ8PXKPCAY29M/Lincoln-signs-compressor.jpg Blog - Border Run Many states have a connection to Abe Lincoln but only Kentucky can say he was born there. We took a short detour to visit his birthplace and boyhood home - both remarkably similar one room cabins. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/6/23/mexicans-love-to-party-we-dont-always-know-why monthly 0.5 2018-07-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1531071497378-ABM73X0PC4I6A167DY3G/Buen-Camino-prayers-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why Parade participants kneel at a makeshift shrine erected outside the church while the priest broadcasts mass through a sound system for everyone - and I mean everyone - to hear.. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1531071417689-YVCUZT3W82K9Z32ZP9A8/Los-Cocos-crazy-clowns-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1530843714787-J3I44Y1UR05JN9GZC499/These-Three-Kings-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why These costumes seemed to be a cross between the three wise men, representing the Catholic faith, and the feathered gods favored by the Aztec. Or it could have just been totally random. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1531071049955-QX540LA0ZVHU0L5BKWD4/Los-Cocos-crowds-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why From humble beginnings in an orchard - today, thousands of people turn out into the streets in San Miguel de Allende to watch the Los Locos parade https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1531071177570-TLM3LZRC324QYODQACID/Los-Cocos---Big-Mice-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why Giant mouse or cook with large head? It doesn't really matter at the Los Locos parade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1530903635937-WCWPJJ2BKLGUAGMCIK28/Dueling-Machetes-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why Many parades feature duels between natives and colonials. Hoping that history can be reversed, I always root for the natives. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1530843228355-UHASCBG7DW21QO27NTAI/Beating-Drums-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why This is not just a man walking up our street pounding on a drum. It is the beginnings of a parade. R waits anxiously in the background for the dancers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1530843895457-MQBM1B8UH2WICC1HO8S8/Cross-Dressing-compressor.jpg Blog - Mexicans Love to Party, We Don't Always Know Why I don't think words are necessary to describe this scene. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/5/30/give-the-people-what-they-want monthly 0.5 2018-06-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1528136052275-OKW4OHQY8XW39QC42HPA/Wilted-Lettuce-Heads-compressor.jpg Blog - Give the People What They Want Not only are these heads of tasteless Iceberg lettuce, they look like hell. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1528135080665-UFI2EBK9X597LSLDNH74/Twin-juices-compressor.jpg Blog - Give the People What They Want Our big, beautiful goblets of juice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1528135226635-RWF00EC566WF4DD0X12G/narrow-sidewalk-compressor.jpg Blog - Give the People What They Want Walking down our street on the way to the gym. I can't afford to put on any weight. I wouldn't be able to squeeze past the light poles on the sidewalk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1528135533400-G5R6X3BPQXBPNVY66964/Litchis-compressor.jpg Blog - Give the People What They Want We know that Litchis are in season because we asked the vendors why they are currently for sale all over the place. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/5/12/living-the-dream monthly 0.5 2018-05-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1526242552363-U6ZE4CILWOLKISA490QC/Paul-and--Ben-compressor.jpg Blog - Living the Dream Me and my friend Ben, two college frat boys. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1526243152202-A79ZFO6FO5YLHSAU5EU3/R-and-her-paletta-compressor.jpg Blog - Living the Dream R, living the dream with a nut and chocolate covered ice cream bar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1526301675506-1C2F21HY5M9L097VDKJP/Living-hte-dream-compressor.jpg Blog - Living the Dream https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1526242736763-LWSM49QT1F6XVLYBSEPG/Pot-luck-dinner-compressor.jpg Blog - Living the Dream Pot luck dinner with friends on our patio. We were having so much fun we ate the other side of R's face. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1526242382423-MZJMO0QYQA61D7UANH16/Maya-and-Jonah-painting-compressor.jpg Blog - Living the Dream One Saturday morning, Coconut and J were excited to get out of bed and go with friends to paint a house in the campo. The task was organized by a local charity - Casita Linda. The paint job looked better than this by the time they were done. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/4/30/shake-down-in-mexico-city monthly 0.5 2018-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525283750004-NZ5PBRG4JUZFABZ4OWMF/Mexico-City-Police-officer-compressor.jpeg Blog - Shake Down in Mexico City This is what the English-speaking police officer looked like. Perhaps we should have tried harder to speak Spanish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525283807076-U3HPTVCRMX7D5O7DLHOP/Mex-City-Police-Station-compressor.png Blog - Shake Down in Mexico City Screen shot of Google Maps and the police station, located at Santa Maria la Rivera, # 37, in Colonia Santa Maria la Rivera. If I could write a review, it would be this - This place sucks. It is dirty and the staff is not very hospitable. Find another place to stay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525283453934-FUJ3HOPZ0H410NL9YTIA/Jim-and-Paul-and-the-Zocalo-in-Mex-City-compressor.jpeg Blog - Shake Down in Mexico City Jim, Paul, and the Catedral Metropolitana, in the Zocalo in Mexico City. Construction on the catedral was begun in 1573, just slightly before we were born. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525284115764-3I9BAOAKBVHPVY4IOGJ8/At-the-station-compressor.jpeg Blog - Shake Down in Mexico City Jim waiting in the lobby of the police station. We were all smiles once we knew he was not going to be prosecuted for having 2 ounces of beer in a cup. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/4/2/the-mexican-riviera monthly 0.5 2018-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524431900482-90MMLV7IPM3PUUG1H7SY/Escape-from-Playa-compressor.jpg Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya Escape from Playa del Carmen . . . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524432465779-EUACXX6E1T1YO8LO605I/Jonah+and+the+Crocodrilo.JPG Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya Doesn't that cocodrilo (to the right of the post) look hungry? Would you fool around like you were falling off the bridge and into the water? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524432225851-DR3OSEDWVAYTIAHLGQOZ/J-and-the-Barracuda-compressor.jpg Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya J and one of his two barracuda https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524433389637-WWX44TFOTWPJZHQ50ATT/The-sky%2C-the-sea%2C-and-the-sargassum-compressor.jpg Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya The sky, the sea, and the sargassum. And a lot of trash. This photo was taken on the Sian Ka'an Nature Reserve by an American Indian with a tear falling from his eye. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524432871716-PY0X2W7F71WQYAZ7OROD/Hippie-Tulum-compressor.jpg Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya 300 pesos for tacos, street signs like this one, and wheat grass smoothies. There was a lot to um . . . like . . . about Tulum. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524432364431-KYOANZFYGVU2BXNLJVO6/Tulum-selfie-compressor.jpg Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya Temple of the Wind. The only thing better about this picture than how I saw it as a kid is that I'm in it with my son and wife! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1524431722190-0Z0L8X71OZRCFXR1UT9I/Playa-Home-Swap-compressor.jpg Blog - Spring Break on the Riviera Maya If the House that Joyce Built came with a swimming pool like this one it would be perfect. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/3/28/our-mexican-revolution monthly 0.5 2020-04-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1522617179312-RNN05PGGQBGSQ4516IHR/revolution-Pipla-compressor.jpg Blog - Our Mexican Revolution Pípila, a miner from San Miguel de Allende, is famous for an act of heroism near the very beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. On 28 September 1810, in the neighboring town of Guanajuato, Spanish colonists had barricaded themselves and their riches in stone grain warehouse known as the Alhóndiga de Granaditas. With a long, flat stone tied to his back to protect him from the muskets of the Spanish troops, Pípila carried tar and a torch to the wooden door of the Alhóndiga and set it on fire. The Mexican freedom fighters – who far outnumbered the Spanish in the warehouse – stormed inside and killed all the occupants. Some accounts say that Pípila was not alone but went accompanied by other indigenous miners ready to fight for their freedom from the Spanish, but as the story is told today, Pípila stood alone to break through the door. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1522618489524-V79PB2RCBZE4A0ZTNH71/revolution-guanajuato-compressor.jpg Blog - Our Mexican Revolution The Vanamos crew celebrates their own revolution in front of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas in Guanajuato, site of one of the first confrontations of the Mexican revolution. (Also where the decapitated heads of the Revolution's instigators were later hung.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1522617000766-C2MYUF7NLIY0E7L0L6F5/revolution-R-compressor.jpg Blog - Our Mexican Revolution R celebrates not having to go back to the immigration office any time soon with a patriotic margarita. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/3/12/the-mystery-of-the-missing-car-battery monthly 0.5 2018-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521170941788-Q0CQFCMWBXMABXKGR9WP/Inkedfat-rabbit-battery-compressor_LI.jpg Blog - The Mystery of the Fat Rabbit After Sean and Mittie entrusted us with the keys to the Fat Rabbit, the battery went missing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521172918722-GNOEH9WSX6RCVF18VI7F/fat-rabbit-cabo-wabo-compressor.jpg Blog - The Mystery of the Fat Rabbit We really like this tequila. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521172537977-2BN4DY5EEGTBYE6QVQ6D/fat-rabbit-bacon-compressor.jpg Blog - The Mystery of the Fat Rabbit We really like this million dollar bacon. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/2/13/the-holy-trinity monthly 0.5 2018-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1519424536822-OHWC14D1GV6KCJB7CYQ8/trinity-school-outside-compressor.jpg Blog - The Holy Trinity The kids' school here has about 60 kids in six grades, which means they see a lot of each other during the day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1519426045917-6V9FKTENC6K2TV6MLTYX/trinity+walking+side+by+side.JPG Blog - The Holy Trinity One of the many reasons we moved to Mexico: to spend more time with our kids. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1519423872151-A28ZFPS91PURN587EFYZ/trinity+playing.JPG Blog - The Holy Trinity Coconut and J's friends range in age from 11 to 15 and certainly would never have overlapped back in Alexandria. This core group of kids gather several times a week and spend hours playing D&D. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1519426353689-MLC527NRYRZ1L4TT16B6/trinity+walking.JPG Blog - The Holy Trinity Coconut and J spend much more time together than they ever did in Virginia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1519424279331-1KQZL2UYFJD2WMH18Y5E/trinity-school-inside-compressor.jpg Blog - The Holy Trinity J and Coconut and their shared friend group in the common area of their intimate school. This was an unexpected benefit of our move. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1519423703374-FXTN561PPJ7DGLGOQVTZ/Trinity-Charley-street-compressor.jpg Blog - The Holy Trinity Charley our rescued street puppy acts like she still owns the streets. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/2/7/do-the-hustle monthly 0.5 2018-02-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1518631086007-MW0T80NN77EUEG4ML4VA/hustle-juice-compressor.jpg Blog - Do The Hustle Lots of people sell freshly-squeezed juice from their front door - our kids could be among them. Beet, orange, carrot, or a tasty green juice for about US$1. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1518631235233-5DIAO29NVTU1WJWDP07Y/Hustle-compressor.jpg Blog - Do The Hustle Someone needs to make money to keep these two in the manner to which they've become accustomed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1518630038891-7W8O66G2SI5Z4ECZXLBO/hustle-office-compressor.jpg Blog - Do The Hustle The fool, in his new office. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/1/30/who-are-the-people-in-our-neighborhood monthly 0.5 2018-02-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1518045097893-S6WNE5UU2R3IA2ABQ00N/gym-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood Our gym has a rooftop weight lifting area with a spectacular view of San Miguel's many church steeples. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517959204911-RFR4D8PVVH1P9ZI2TP1Y/lunch-with-Lori-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood We love Lori (hidden behind R in this shot) so we took her to lunch at one of the cheap places in the market - and she paid! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517957193179-MXSJX94040BJT5FB7FBX/6-fingered-man-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood The Six-Fingered Man knows what all the other fruit and veggie vendors have and will track it down for you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1518044931259-9TKFQXOMGODKEZA84TDG/bimbo-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood Bimbo is the Mexican equivalent of junk food purveyor Hostess. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517956830844-IX37M3O72N66V1XK8B1B/tienda-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood The tienda/cockfighting training camp next door to the House that Joyce Built sells beer in 1.2l returnable bottles for 27 pesos (US$1.45), eggs for 4 pesos (US$.21), tomatoes and avocados, and bags of chips and tortillas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517959333905-H7GL5MSU9KWNUEFRYZ8T/jugos-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood Buying fresh squeezed juice in the market also makes us feel good. R has gotten a taste for guayaba while I prefer betebel - beet juice. Yum! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517956594806-BOQNNYWJFYIWQW5D6CGN/D%26D-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood This quirky bunch of D&D adventurers - dragon-born, barbarian, druid, half-Orc, and halfling - meet several times a week and provide a social outlet for all of us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517956530024-YEGFNSTFYA300M04OQ2L/donkey-compressor.jpg Blog - Who are the People in Our Neighborhood http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/1/20/the-house-that-joyce-built monthly 0.5 2018-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517182530725-1OA8QFYMW74NX5NCTNN9/cuesta-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built Most streets in San Miguel de Allende are cobblestone. Cuesta de San Jose ("Saint Joseph's Slope") is no different. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517077302842-AR3CP5JGOMEEOL6B95BU/SMA+Joyce+door.compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built The door to the house that Joyce built. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517182892951-IU7V52W5459SY7HMC1NQ/bedroom-view-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built The view from the second floor master bedroom is through three arched glass doors into our plant filled interior courtyard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517185272579-UHC5ZQJCW866NZ419OSF/bathroom-maya-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built All the tiles in the house are hand painted. Joyce picked each one out from a neighboring town renown for its tile work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517077534988-XYUG6QVXVFFWO2RTVYAW/sunset-SMA-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built This is the rooftop terrace view. The sun sets every day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517180305289-LE8LL7Z0PCIAVMROUP54/R-courtyard-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built R going back into the kitchen from our interior courtyard. She probably just cleaned some of Charley's poo from the ground. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517077644573-XJF23O056BLCSG21BZXC/Maya-view-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built Coconut's room also comes with this view of the courtyard. It beats the view she had from her Alexandria room of the brick facade of our neighbor's house. In the background is the outside stairs leading to the second floor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517185777596-YKGOO8XA2QHAXSH9HDXI/maya-light-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1517180191899-OIUB2ULTJ66DO3T9ZPTY/parroquia-compressor.jpg Blog - The House That Joyce Built This window in our courtyard wall mirrors and lines up with the porthole window in J's bedroom for a keyhole view of the iconic Parroquia main church of San Miguel de Allende. http://vanamos.net/blog/2018/1/20/looking-back-and-moving-forward monthly 0.5 2018-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516487438651-0XINGLKROGOU53H3Y8A5/The+basement+two+weeks+before+departure+day. Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward The basement, two weeks before Departure Day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516494850750-RFWFMIO45X00Q2Z4QXIY/Charley Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward Charley is our 9 week-old former street dog. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516486918973-LI3NFGFU0MJUGS397FFJ/school+schedule Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward Everything you want to know about Coconut and J's school day. The subjects, teachers, classrooms (the five classrooms are named after constellations), and time. Coconut said she liked this school better than her prior one. We have a really good feeling about this school. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516649081817-07V4IMRLMRLZ6I71FBGP/south+facing+bedroom Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward Coconut and Charley enjoy some mid-afternoon sun in the bedroom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516487608406-B4AFIIXA5A27C39BVBXR/Departure Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward Starting a new life with eight check-ins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516650072792-5A5OBFU9BMT34GPA3GRG/D-and-Wesley-compressor.jpeg Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward We sorely missed our days on the road. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1516488036081-U2PWAQILXISWHGKNHFC0/living+room.jpg Blog - Looking Back and Moving Forward We clean up nicely. Available on AirBnB! http://vanamos.net/blog/2017/10/29/the-next-thing monthly 0.5 2018-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509377597808-IOSIICTAI2SS3IC35LUN/SMA.jpg Blog - The Next Thing Colorful houses, narrow streets, and friendly people add allure to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509382516045-RP7CB79M6SLT0SDB6ZRL/FOR+RENT.png Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509381900423-0M83F35NJEV6H6MTDI01/GOPR8621-compressor.jpg Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509381901761-3DG8NDXUUK0VMTSO35JO/GOPR8359-compressor.jpg Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509381929973-OK704KQTT234UQDRD9OZ/GOPR8246-compressor.jpg Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509381936087-PWDLPA5INVUO60U2TF0F/GOPR8481-compressor.jpg Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509383046828-RN4ZGQT6FJ98TH8V8A3C/Rent+our+house.png Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509337160560-0HG6M98SS1F51ISPWN2N/The+common+area+of+Victoria+Robbins+School%2C+the+60-student+school+where+the+kids+will+go. Blog - The Next Thing The inner courtyard/common area space of the kids' new school in San Miguel de Allende. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509377568341-0JGG6HAYM77XRNSBZERY/map+SMA.jpg Blog - The Next Thing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509364998707-HH11TWXG1UMG8RTF041I/house.jpg Blog - The Next Thing The inner courtyard of our new house is filled with huge tropical plants and hummingbirds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1509554427957-T481CRWHJGA0WS3IS1PY/SAR_4155-compressor.jpg Blog - The Next Thing We wouldn't be Vanamos without the Van. http://vanamos.net/blog/end-just-beginning monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177938-UI1CEBAKV5CPULFRQUHX/IMG_4455-1024x768.jpg Blog - This is the End - Or is it Just the Beginning? R clowning around with a big monkey at the mall in Panama City. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259211413-NDO0DG9B4IATRD825R1E/IMG_4287-1024x768.jpg Blog - This is the End - Or is it Just the Beginning? IMG_4287 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259211313-F63AIIZL4275187XVF0I/IMG_1202-1024x768.jpg Blog - This is the End - Or is it Just the Beginning? DCIM103GOPROGOPR6413. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259060812-QPSSIK7GV9EH2FAJZSH0/IMG_8288-Copy.jpg Blog - This is the End - Or is it Just the Beginning? When we reached the top of one of the mountains we'd climbed, we just had to stop and pee http://vanamos.net/blog/family-road-trip-usa monthly 0.5 2016-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259205564-N0TB4PX1HFKMH9RRSJB4/IMG_6207-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA Pouch making https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259204162-BMDNFMHOFSI585E91YN4/IMG_6186-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA Houston family https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259204793-JKYP2FB8XZJ3ZRZ8AW5C/IMG_6193-1-1024x576.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA J will be prepared for Basket Weaving 101 when he gets to college. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259205575-9P0XYOVGG9R7AU6FGMCM/IMG_6220-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA IMG_6220 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259206203-PBUTJP8PYWNOM8OLXIJN/IMG_6249-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA The Vanamos team poses with Wesley in Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, VA. Our final day on the road before returning to Alexandria. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259203733-21WF8LSD8JQ9NEA81O8M/IMG_6180-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA The hanging tree in Goliad, TX, where justice was delivered swiftly.interstate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259206170-HZ0EJMVIOCF333UD7FS7/IMG_6239-1024x576.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA Abandoned farmhouse in VA. Scenery along the country roads is more interesting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259205721-9V2L0K8MBOU4XKKTXVHC/IMG_6229-1024x576.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA I was okay to drive after leaving the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, TN, because there were no free samples. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259205729-UKV829ZURQ6VYWR10F9L/IMG_6238-1-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA J is amazed at the shelves full of fireworks at a store in Tennessee. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259206412-171QJW1YUHHBH2Y4BCVM/IMG_6250-1-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family Road Trip Through the USA This is the design on the town flag of Goliad, Texas. It dates from the Texas movement for independence from Mexico and represents determination. We will cut off our arm before we submit to your will. http://vanamos.net/blog/epic-border-crossing monthly 0.5 2016-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259202611-9GXHICNBV2UKZ03LLYAR/IMG_6152-1024x1024.jpg Blog - A Spectacular Border Crossing Being behind the wheel while crossing an international border was definitely not what Coconut thought she would be doing when she woke up Monday morning. But she stepped up at crunch time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259203011-5X23WCYV6O6FRTTTD38E/IMG_6159-1024x576.jpg Blog - A Spectacular Border Crossing Wesley, who crossed seven countries and wears their flags like badges of honor, needed to be coerced to return to the US. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259203728-FYGDR55VAFXL26UB447Y/IMG_6169-768x1024.jpg Blog - A Spectacular Border Crossing . . . the car towing us ran out of gas and became the tow-ee. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259203110-HN14S0ONR175M7BKREQB/IMG_6163-1024x768.jpg Blog - A Spectacular Border Crossing Wesley was towed across the bridge, until . . . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259202412-K82CUX9BZVV7TP3QBZIK/IMG_6121-1024x768.jpg Blog - A Spectacular Border Crossing You can buy anything while waiting in traffic to cross the border, even a large wooden carving of Jesus on the cross. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259202511-24P7OIRK5084EWSLWCIQ/IMG_6150-1024x768.jpg Blog - A Spectacular Border Crossing Wesley spilled its guts on the pavement in protest of our return to the States. http://vanamos.net/blog/hardest-part-overland-travel-going-home monthly 0.5 2016-10-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259199909-ZKKZT2ROY2NZFYP54K7V/IMG_1202-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part of Overland Travel – Going Home DCIM103GOPROGOPR6413. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259200411-8YTRWD22FIBVYVSG981S/IMG_3044-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part of Overland Travel – Going Home There is always a way out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259200811-6F7M8HDRM8V7B0VO2GJ0/IMG_3423-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part of Overland Travel – Going Home IMG_3423 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259199711-IPPUYIU0ONQ5GUVRFKV9/IMG_1187-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part of Overland Travel – Going Home Are you kidding me? You would choose elementary school over this? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259209010-UV3VC8GU2BQU19I9AGSC/Vanamos-family-1-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part of Overland Travel – Going Home Vanamos family 1 http://vanamos.net/blog/three-weeks-san-miguel monthly 0.5 2016-10-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259208512-MAC8F4O6VV6S5MQ8ARG4/Road-shot-1024x675.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende Road shot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259201511-8F1KSVK8OQEY46J1N4HN/IMG_4279.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende The main reason we needed to take out the cabinets is so that this rusty panel could be replaced. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259209213-XDOL1FZUJSAUP28X7O8C/delivering-the-bench.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende delivering the bench https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259208914-4JW1ED5WQG0GKSZCLG45/San-Miguel-Coconut.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende San Miguel Coconut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259209415-D59Q106XN0S2VORSG9OW/homeschool-coconut.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende homeschool coconut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259201612-9CBF1IVGBSLFYLOLL1SM/IMG_5829-1024x768.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende I was definitely not qualified to remove the cabinets, but managed to do it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259210215-6UR1UD6CLJP0APE4XP4X/mechanic-shop.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende mechanic shop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259209312-086YDAWRFONODRF0K0EE/gangster-of-thread.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende gangster of thread https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259199010-GX99QL754KYWBRP09X3J/Coconut-hair.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende Coconut hair https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259208613-WXCYAF9N0FMUW7CMCAK4/SMA-street.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende SMA street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259201010-P5VH5NH143M0F8ISRECZ/IMG_4277.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende Stripped and ready for paint. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259202212-YUFL36QM7V5N91I3TYFH/IMG_5834-1024x501.jpg Blog - A Short History of San Miguel de Allende Empty Wesley http://vanamos.net/blog/hardest-part-iii-exercise monthly 0.5 2016-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259200014-5AE0JBXOKXZP5MDFN6ZT/IMG_2852-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise Sunset football is a good way to have fun on the beach https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259206614-ZEFWC48PGDNTTMZJ7JU0/IMG_7581-Copy.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise R prefers alternative forms of exercise to sit-ups and push-ups. Here, she is rock climbing in El Potrero Chico in northern Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259208312-98URE4R3L7SFB0SOMQCX/P5830769-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise Unlike her father, Coconut is an adrenaline junkie and loves to zip line. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259207415-CJLWGIHP1BOUA7Q6FMNJ/IMG_8368.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise Coconut did some snorkeling with us early in the trip before announcing that she no longer liked the ocean. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259211015-WILCLNGZ7CTH8FS4W74O/scorpion.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise This is a scorpion (a dead one!) on R's belly. It serves as an illustration of all the creepy crawlies that might end up getting friendly with your privates if you are bold enough to sit in the grass in Central America. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259200511-T7PRJ326KES083J849M7/IMG_3114-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise J waits for his pitch on the beach on Ometepe Island. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259206514-H63CL4NGL9IOYRUIK3AM/IMG_7480-Copy.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise We were all disappointed to learn that sitting poolside doesn't count as exercise. We did it anyway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259208210-6S3N0VFIAWVIUCEMWQQ0/IMG_8371.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise I considered fish wrestling as a form of exercise but they kept ending up in my belly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259199613-B2F9NHI76PGOKQ6L2SU0/IMG_1140-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part III - Exercise Climbing a volcano to go ash boarding was fun, but not all hikes end in a sleigh ride down a mountain. http://vanamos.net/blog/hardest-part-ii monthly 0.5 2017-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259194807-LR6H03WDHYH1ZQS4YW90/IMG_5390-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Even seeming fun things like bouncing around in the back of a tuk-tuk in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, can be boring to a moody teenager. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185212-LYBU9JGA8N5X3F99C6X1/IMG_1197-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling On Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, we had a chance to stay with a local family and experience cooking outdoors on wood fire and living in a square, brick house with dirt floors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259197911-U00IIO4PA2HG3S5WVCCN/IMG_7662.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Coconut and J relax before bed time with their screens - the scourge of the 21st century parent. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259187809-509ULEAFI3MRN0T9U9SR/IMG_4221-1024x576.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Going through the Panama Canal gave us each a chance to get behind the wheel of a sailboat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259197410-DNQYKWHO3DBTY64Y4J8M/IMG_6001-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling We woke up before sunrise and were rewarded with witnessing thousands of sea turtles nesting and thousands more baby turtles hatching. The white objects in the photos are previously-lain eggs dug up by this nesting mama. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259187612-8AJ1ICPH5AR48SJ4JHID/IMG_3928-1024x576.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling We spent a week building this floating house in Costa Rica. We connected with Esteban and Tom via Workaway, an online community that connects volunteers with jobs in exchange for room and board. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185111-FPGB6T07MX4Z3NXL30DW/IMG_0820-1024x224.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling The most spectacular natural phenomenon that we witnessed: a mass nesting of the Olive Ridley sea turtles in Playa la Escobilla, Oaxaca, Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259183212-6CI5SXYIZOS62MQCRD1H/IMG_0438-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Coconut and J take a break from complaining to rest on the ruins at Palenque, Mexico. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259198388-KNULZT7AM3BI84VLET0G/Mother-out-babies-in.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Mother out, babies in https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259187910-F4J2QU4FQWVBRFB1QVOG/IMG_4365-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Understanding how the lock system works in the Panama Canal is more interesting when you are in the locks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259187511-Z7MDMXW1LZGVQARN7IUF/IMG_3638-1024x576.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling At our campsite in Costa Rica, J watches a rescued sloth eat the hibiscus flowers he gathered for it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259197812-HS7VB4R1MAWVM2XA6N9D/IMG_6933.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Early in the trip we taste tested junk food to find the best snacks (not the healthiest snacks!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259193812-MNJS0FVY1EG1S42KVLC6/IMG_5322-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Lessons happened everywhere, including the common area of our hostels. This hostel in Santa Rosa, El Salvador was one of the best we'd stayed in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259196413-6GDW6LEY194HIEZIT7ON/IMG_5588-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling The full moon rises over the Catedral in Cordoba, Mexico just as it has done every cycle since 1688. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185311-X8LR001EZC413IVNMMPX/IMG_1200-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Our 'classroom'. Homeschooling didn't always go as we planned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259198211-O31QV5IO95ENC7QTVLRR/J-at-Monte-Alban-improved.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling J at Monte Alban, Mexico, where the ancient Zapotecs ruled Oaxaca's central valleys. This archeological site is also featured in the Jack Black movie, Nacho Libre. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259183113-SDNOCEDS9N7TQLSU0OVB/Family-photo-at-the-Lorraine-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part II - Homeschooling Family photo at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN, site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968. http://vanamos.net/blog/one-week-one-thousand-miles monthly 0.5 2018-02-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259195309-BMDRUJDAQVZ4VCT09WZ3/IMG_5448-1024x768.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles So many colors to choose from! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259197211-0F1NFCR5EXTX5RUO6DX5/IMG_5703-768x1024.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles R is flanked by Coconut and J atop the Pyramid of the Moon with the massive Pyramid of the Sun poised in the background https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259197113-61WLPOWAYHKGF4N1E6E0/IMG_5691-1024x768.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles J poses with the mummified remains of Sebastian de Aparicio, the protector of conducirs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259197311-WAUOIAS3DBUQKIXASAI7/IMG_5745-768x1024.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles Coconut and Skull https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259195711-F5AZGSI29O37DHISNCZ4/IMG_5476-1024x768.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles Ever been driving down the road and have a hankering for a giant donut? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259196311-0JC4R8QV2JBR63YU4BY6/IMG_5551-1024x696.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles Old church at the zocalo in Cordoba, a surprisingly nice stop during our hurried trip through Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259195613-9TWVASTGREZZDVE4CU1B/IMG_5458-1024x768.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles Ever get the feeling that someone is watching? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259194713-2P0YFIL4GX233WO1E9UG/IMG_5368-1-1024x768.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles A gaggle of geese cross the field at our camp in the hills overlooking Guatemala City. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259195211-T8TWGIW1AR6N7KOXQEZ4/IMG_5426-1024x768.jpg Blog - One Week and One Thousand Miles J, Coconut and I soak up the atmosphere in the Chichi market. http://vanamos.net/blog/the-hardest-parts monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185411-24KNE9DCKK9HIC4NAD8O/IMG_1668-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part The roads in Honduras surprised us with their good condition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185011-1VQSIAS7K3JCTY5WM421/IMG_0694-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185808-IGTLFXQ5QHX9B33GOACC/IMG_2789-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part The border between Honduras and Nicaragua was even more informal than the ones further north. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259198929-ULOAKIU3S0E20VSFH21F/Nap-Time-in-Chiapas.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part Nap Time in Chiapas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259184811-AB9WPCINA24V32QIY2N4/IMG_0601-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259187212-D89V5CKVZAV8H0J4SRBI/IMG_2802-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part The Pan-American highway is the international network of roads that connects Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina and is often a simple two-lane road. Here, in Esteli, Nicaragua, villagers blocked the highway by burning tires. They were protesting the lack of public health services and mosquito control measures which led to the death of three children as a result of Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185512-9XS7H7UG4QSYWQSUKSWE/IMG_1945.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part Crossing the border from Mexico to Guatemala was our second land border and made the disorganization of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico look smooth and modern. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185711-9WVPLLVL38R3EXU3QR4Y/IMG_2743-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Hardest Part A collectivo is any shared conveyance and is one of the most common forms of public transportation. http://vanamos.net/blog/revolution-el-salvador monthly 0.5 2016-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192259-JQIB2UPS9QKUT93VRRLE/IMG_52031-1024x1024.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador Evidence of the revolution. In the 1980's revolutionaries roamed the hills around Somoto and their presence is still felt with murals like these. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192823-VZTSJWBXSJQZX5TY0ZXO/IMG_5301-1024x1024.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259194510-J0UQ8NCEJC7CYC2CBFX4/IMG_5324-1024x768.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador J and Coconut spend a few too many hours like this. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476819999211-Y79F2NZG4BG82OGAY3OK/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador Poster in protest of US sponsored bombing of El Salvador, on display at the Revolution Museum in Perquin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476190390486-HGQ6MS2DO51018VQHLLX/IMG_5312-768x1024.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador Not only was it fascinating to see dozens of men sitting at sewing machines, but they were manual machines with foot pedals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192820-A5UOW9YGPW89T7W1B3Y4/IMG_5300-1024x768.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador But sometimes they do things that make our hearts swell. Here, Coconut braids J's hair while he reads on his Kindle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192828-EZPEYYDPCBGPEUPTA1PD/IMG_5305-768x1024.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador The mangoes were big too. It was nice to see mangoes at market for a change, and not rotting under a tree somewhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259194615-1C22EBIG3J1813WD8QKY/IMG_5333.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador The mechanic, too cool in his shades, tires to set Wesley on fire https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259193720-DUS9BATY4QO2AV4U39LX/IMG_5320-768x1024.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador J juices some oranges in the kitchen at Casa Verde in Santa Ana, El Salvador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476817810284-2728F5BN8C46NHUUNCFC/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476820087076-TQU8K2LBRBCLYP3GJEGP/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador A hospital bed at the re-constructed guerilla camp in Perquin. Guerillas lived and fought in the jungle-covered mountains of northern El Salvador for 12 years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1476820665207-OSDXFRID8K6O6ZD1OAWF/El-Salvador-Perquin-guerilla-camp-2-compressor.jpg Blog - Revolution in El Salvador The rope bridge traversing the Perquin guerrilla camp has been reinforced since the days that it was in use during the Salvadoran Civil War, 1980-1992. http://vanamos.net/blog/road-less-traveled-leaving-nicaragua monthly 0.5 2019-05-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259190666-YAPVCBDQB9OYH1CLGQNY/IMG_50641-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua R poses in front of the small pool at our hotel in Granada. There were basil plants growing behind the lounge chairs and we cut a few leaves to have with tomatoes we got in the market. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259188112-YS8897XAYCNQG4VR0LQQ/IMG_4946-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Selling hippie products at the farmers market. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192259-JQIB2UPS9QKUT93VRRLE/IMG_52031-1024x1024.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Evidence of the revolution. In the 1980's revolutionaries roamed the hills around Somoto and their presence is still felt with murals like these. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259188512-2HDEB0GXFS7TW82AA309/IMG_5047-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Friends, goofy hats and poses and all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259188411-ATXK0O1HMRFKFMUFHUYC/IMG_5042-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Vanamos family with our gracious hosts moments prior to departure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259191333-6Z3RFLUXRYT48DKGCBO3/IMG_5099-1024x643.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Iglesia La Merced in Granada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259191680-LRX0JM06NTZ2344QPTA4/IMG_5105-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua The view from the main square in Granada from the clock tower of the main church. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259188008-N2MWYXCSXZT5658YZ4BD/IMG_4911-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Paul doing what he loves - getting ready to eat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259191213-BAKMB58B9XIKYVEMQHLN/IMG_5082-1024x388.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Gun powder storage facility called La Fortaleza. It's the closest I've come to seeing a Spanish fort on this trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259191678-MIY8E6R95PJ4CAAUXKOK/IMG_5113-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Cannon and monument near the Parque Colon commemorating the heroes of Granada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192336-50UAYR7PAHDUUS5XBYY6/IMG_52071-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Rather than rappel in the canyon, J and I did some work on Wesley. The 31-year old muffler bracket has rusted through so we had to rig a wire to hold the muffler in place until we can get to a repair shop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259188211-XMDVF72EF73ZXC516BQB/IMG_4994-1024x576.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua In Nicaragua, you too can be mauled by a bull. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259191034-E0PUS3A5G405THZ9EUYV/IMG_5073-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Colorful row houses in Granada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259185611-4FTRQHP8L4H8YGXE3NCN/IMG_20160530_121255609-576x1024.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Abi joins R and I as we stand outside our Nicaraguan lawyers office after having signing a purchase agreement for a lot in the Bosques del Mar development. purchase land https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192006-IQLSTWANAF724QL8854L/IMG_51931-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua Wesley, the golden treasure, lies at the end of this rainbow in Somoto, Nicaragua. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259192002-JJVRA5WQOILI81WWAAZ0/IMG_5156-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Road Less Traveled - Leaving Nicaragua J at the reins http://vanamos.net/blog/how-to-ruin-your-life monthly 0.5 2017-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182311-LFFH5ZR0AMDJA1YM7MF1/IMG_48591-1024x768.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life Paul, Charlie, and their oldest son, giving them a ride into town. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182212-QPE9RPTGDXML728X5SLD/IMG_4842-768x1024.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life Coconut poses with (from Left) Wesley, Ms. Fluffles, Spot, and Champ. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259180612-45SS2OOQSEJVRNX9EY1N/IMG_48191-1024x768.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life Lil' Aussie Hut, occupies a sweet spot on Playa Marsella. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182112-DJYCA7ACZKJZY4XK92NY/IMG_48221-1024x768.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life J and Owen clowning around on Playa Marsella. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182613-LZMRNIFULR987FVU1GNN/IMG_49071-1024x768.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life Marisa and Paul clown around in the kitchen of their rented home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259180512-YUIA9U5J253KGXVVS7JV/IMG_48061-1024x768.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life I contemplate life back in the office while waves crash behind me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182511-WWZTPZ6WNHSH6EK3ZHSV/IMG_49001-1024x768.jpg Blog - How to Ruin Your Life Game night with the kids. http://vanamos.net/blog/adventure-costa-rica monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259179617-WUAWB607SKHPGI2WD714/IMG_4605-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica R and J conquered tree #5, proving they are professional tree climbers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182711-LLXY65P062QSGF78PGJN/P1440310-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica R about to rappel to the ground as part of our multi-faceted adventure package at 100% Aventura https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259180317-IPGT4ZH89JOE63K1IWFL/IMG_4702-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Watching the sunset from the view point at Hummingbird View. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259178238-S39L7DS0QE9MFWTPUDBQ/IMG_4581-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Everyone is all smiles after we survived the Tarzan Swing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259178048-L5FEZ9XXCHAVCO6HQUZI/IMG_4566-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica R powers up before one of our recent adventures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259180215-BIQUK5TXMZ26C0QVBIM5/IMG_4698-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Checking the fluids in the foreground, cow pen and cow pies in the background https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259183010-CMZ83J60Z3Y5VWB3BJ1T/P5830769-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Coconut taking off on one of the nine zip lines at 100% Aventura https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259179309-9FH53HVA0Z2979KYDLCO/IMG_4588-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Coconut and J high in the trees of Monteverde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259179820-80GMTJT0YVT8TYPJJ8R9/IMG_4640-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica J and Coconut share a happy moment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259179918-TOMXVM7FZYBNPTDAMMIJ/IMG_4666-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Can you believe I didn't get a family photo of us wearing rock climbing harnesses?! This is as close as it gets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259180411-ID0RHKCY15IOC35VHS12/IMG_4710-1024x576.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Typical Costa Rican street in a typical Costa Rican town. Not a stray chicken or howler monkey in sight. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259182810-9S65UHADUWNP7AZZQJLL/P5830762-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica J zip lining into the cloud forest https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259180011-F2EC3GXLR14HVKTC9HKT/IMG_4669-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventure Costa Rica Wesley parked at Hummingbird View http://vanamos.net/blog/life-advice-steven-tyler-last-days-panama monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177932-9Q49L5D4PEFJL59QU541/IMG_4549-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama J, Emilia, Coconut, me, R, Matt, Michelle and Matty at the Waterfall Hostal in David, Panama. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177938-UI1CEBAKV5CPULFRQUHX/IMG_4455-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama R clowning around with a big monkey at the mall in Panama City. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259174712-URM962X47DL1W666IUQ5/IMG_1500-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama Imke and David engaged in a game of cards with J and Coconut while hitching a ride. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259174509-ZY3Q6CKGI89IMLBTX4H4/IMG_1495-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama The view from Surfer's Paradise in Santa Catalina, Panama https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259173604-PQ8U8DRRGKSTVBAEQTH0/IMG_1487-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama Me and the waterfall which gives the Waterfall Hostal it's name. J added it to his list of things jumped from. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259174811-KW79S4SISXL04PQIGBNG/IMG_1509-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama J and board, ready to hit the beach break https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259174912-VEJNWJRTH46LWHOTYDVD/IMG_1512-1024x768.jpg Blog - Life Advice from Steven Tyler - Our Last Days in Panama R poses with the board and ocean. http://vanamos.net/blog/the-panama-canal monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177645-HLXHYRZUQVACCDDTKNTW/IMG_4443-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal Nautili - the 38-foot catamaran that we transited across the Panama Canal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259175612-P9U4HZMINE7096J1825I/IMG_4199-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal Line handlers need to know how to tie certain knots. Here, Captain Sandro looks on as R practices. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259176619-8VS0Y06EO72Y7E4ITLHK/IMG_4219-1024x576.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal Captain Sandro directs Coconut towards the first set of locks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259175113-7579H2BFVX857PJ1GUQO/IMG_4145-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal Early morning view of the Panama City skyline from the Casco Viejo neighborhood located on the other side of the Bahia de Panama https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259175211-219FBANGAW1SI67TO851/IMG_4159-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal This arch - unique in architecture as being a flat arch rather than rounded - in the ruined Santo Domingo church was used as evidence that Panama had the seismic stability that Nicaragua did not. Thus, a canal should be built here, not there. Later, the church crumbled. The two piles of bricks below the arch are what remains of the original. The arch is actually a replica. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259175310-GM9RVJ4XJSCDOLS5H5F5/IMG_4162-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal View down a pretty Casco Viejo street. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259175411-HP071OJHX68PTXV6OAIS/IMG_4196-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal We camped at the Shelter Bay Marina in Fort Sherman, a former U.S. military base, while we arranged a line handling job. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177638-TG1HQHVQRFUS2O9TTQ0K/IMG_4402-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal As we approached the Miraflores Locks and visitor center, Coconut and J held up a sign asking onlookers to email their photos to us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177633-LKPKK9223N2D9ESHBMOR/IMG_4395-1024x576.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal A fish eye view of the Miraflores locks that open to the Pacific Ocean https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177630-02SC4MK9BWNMT8VUK8Q3/IMG_4307-1024x768.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal Everyone on our flotilla was awed by passage through the Canal. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259177623-GL38ABWC32JE920UV1I4/IMG_4298-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal There wasn't a lot for a line handler to do while motoring to the Miraflores Locks except roll around in the nets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259023411-OW4OE6QRYZ2JBQYOZQZ2/IMG_1059-768x10241-768x1024.jpg Blog - The Panama Canal Our hosts in Walkerton, North Carolina - Patti and Frank in W http://vanamos.net/blog/adventures-caribbean-coast-part-ii monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259169513-ACFI2IBN5F9R9FHLF8VM/IMG_4039-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II It looks like R, Ricardo, and Miguel are standing in line to order a plate of rice and beans, but this is actually the office where we got stamped out of Costa Rica. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172721-964DS8HGHTNZ4A1B2IH1/IMG_4137-Copy-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II We made it! Panama City skyline in the background and Vanamos adventure team front and center. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259170413-IZDADZYWVU338BX08LU1/IMG_4084-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II The view was nice too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172592-ERDDQON4BRVD7OB5AFF3/IMG_4091-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II For five hours of hiking, sore legs, and stinky armpits we get a beer and a soda? Awesome! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172670-82O494QT45OWWTB2JN88/IMG_4130-Copy.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II R poses with her sweet, sweet melons. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259169714-9BDT61XKZX4XA0B7WCWW/IMG_4047-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II Things may look more official on the Panama side, but don't let that fool you. It was just as inefficient as any crossing we have had. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259170212-T7V325M0S26GNPMC0DDL/IMG_4079-768x1024.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II Heading into the Cordillera Central which cuts through the middle of Panama. Yikes! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259169914-2TUPF9KKY695TL0SYGUE/IMG_4053-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II This was one of the nicer waterfront places in Almirante. The only reason to visit is to catch the ferry to Bocas del Toro. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259170113-3ED4GB1IUK47BIHKJD2N/IMG_4064-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part II We couldn't tell if this airplane part in the front yard was used for storage or as Grandpa's house. http://vanamos.net/blog/adventures-caribbean-coast-part monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259167619-G8YLVTZZ42ZB4EZI9CBC/IMG_3997-768x1024.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I I got this Star Fruit before it hit the ground. These fruit get their name because when cut, the pieces resemble stars. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162255-V5KSMM5TJCBD6J4G7ILR/IMG_1447-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I We survived our three-hour snorkeling tour unscathed. Coconut, noticeably absent from this photo, was the only casualty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159902-CDYC2ERGEJU0JR6WUZU5/IMG_1405-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I J and I prepare to plunge into the icy waters of the Caribbean in search of fish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259169312-7DCG61EII1U8LISB6LGN/IMG_4021-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Sunken barge or fishing pier? Or both? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259170012-AE63G71WEJRJ3BV3MVKH/IMG_4059-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Panama! Here we come. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162259-IRAVC2P5LZ4ERCH771T9/IMG_1449-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I After our three-hour tour, we ended up on this deserted island where we ate some watermelon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164613-GDYVU2MRDZ7V0TFMHT8E/IMG_3749-1024x576.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Baby sloths, even ones that have been electrocuted by hanging on wires, are cute! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259169210-SJ5XKBR1488ZAKR32ZV7/IMG_4018-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Locals try their hand at catching dinner at the end of a hot day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172622-8330MQ7N5ZHOZDHA2I1U/IMG_4115-1024x576.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Follow that truck! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164813-NOVMKQ4OOLY4N923UKJC/IMG_3758-1024x576.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I But monkeys are cuter! This fellow as a baby and had a crib to himself, but put them in a bunch and they were wrestling, and swinging, and having a blast. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172610-Z1ILID6ZEEF3EL66NGZY/IMG_4109-768x1024.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Mangoes are delicious and free mangoes are even better! Here, R gathers the sweet fruit from where it has fallen, unloved, along the road side. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259166613-QJZETPW0CWBS3GSZS9R4/IMG_3865-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I This wild toucan helped itself to the bananas that hung at the Buena Finca https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162077-WA6RTFXAKXMFI49OGSQ9/IMG_1410-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I J was very excited to be snorkeling. Here, he points to a major discovery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259169412-ZX6O9LIDMG4DU3AOX03Y/IMG_4032-1024x576.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I Rows and rows of banana trees for as far as the eye can see. At one point, this area of Costa Rica was all owned by the U.S. Corporation United Fruit Company. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259160528-4APS9NCFNE28PT879XFU/IMG_1408-1024x768.jpg Blog - Adventures on the Caribbean Coast - Part I R confirms it is nothing more dangerous than a reef shark http://vanamos.net/blog/la-buena-casa monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259167513-XVXZXP8K1T7I0B72WYJF/IMG_3989-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa IMG_3989 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259167411-2L4SYSQKLRW79DFVAU7G/IMG_3963-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa Coconut and J insisted we all watch The Princess Bride. Twice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159711-C4TAEE080HPIM14M29DO/IMG_1364-1024x768.png Blog - La Buena Casa Tales of my adventures with the rope swing have gone viral through R's facebook post. Nothing more needs to be said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259167313-CS8LKGUZE0V3LGCIZ9Z7/IMG_3947-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa Esteban paddled us to the middle of the lake and we didn't sink. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259166819-YO23DYL1M7LRM5TKIRWU/IMG_3924-1024x576.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa Getting ready to float the house. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259166758-L3OJACJB0P5ERXUT9GRA/IMG_3894-1024x576.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa Tom gives J a hand hammering nails as we work on the buena casa. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259166913-YGPCWQKEHCG6A5WTFPGT/IMG_39281-1024x576.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa No stopping it now! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259167821-YFQJS2IOVQI3AMMKSWPG/Ferreteria Blog - La Buena Casa The Ferreteria, where we spent most of our two weeks, building a floating house. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259167213-I9IG8384B2RQRPF2E70Z/IMG_39401-1024x576.jpg Blog - La Buena Casa It floats! http://vanamos.net/blog/five-star-toilet-rating-system monthly 0.5 2016-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259165111-T66XH0OTFEM387KV0TSL/IMG_3792.jpg Blog - Our Five-Star Toilet Rating System Our toilet rating system rates this a four. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259165313-8RO3DTTVBMZNE7PX10R1/IMG_3794-Copy.jpg Blog - Our Five-Star Toilet Rating System This toilet ranks 3 in our toilet ranking system http://vanamos.net/blog/day-costa-rican-history monthly 0.5 2018-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172727-2FS32BYFFGWBBRU4P0SB/IMG_6367-1024x683.jpg Blog - This Day in Costa Rican History And when the work got too tough, we went whitewater rafting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259165011-73ZVNI7CD1HQ6DVQWCFI/IMG_3782-Copy.jpg Blog - This Day in Costa Rican History Lunch break from work involves packing up the stove to bring to the river for a swim and food. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172751-G76HS15X2F2IKW8CF5JA/IMG_7287.jpg Blog - This Day in Costa Rican History Even Coconut and J contributed some labor to the task. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164913-D9GRR4N61C1UG06UL4HE/IMG_3779-Copy.jpg Blog - This Day in Costa Rican History Tom and Esteban's preferred swimming hole has an awesome rope swing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259172784-8TY9DWL2PLCSZ4S28T17/IMG_7278.jpg Blog - This Day in Costa Rican History We spent the morning building the roof frame for the Floating House. http://vanamos.net/blog/iguana-whats-dinner monthly 0.5 2018-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162391-RQVXHZ7JZXZ7O9GB9IBU/IMG_3119-1024x768.jpg Blog - Iguana - It's What's for Dinner Some sort of iguana reptile. http://vanamos.net/blog/costa-rica-burning monthly 0.5 2016-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164038-F6DLNDAGA7UQVPC9OPTH/IMG_3592-1-1024x576.jpg Blog - Costa Rica is Burning IMG_3592 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164413-JESGHNCJE8MGHLTLFR1W/IMG_3635-1024x576.jpg Blog - Costa Rica is Burning IMG_3635 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164316-6S3CP0ONLPM8IDFT9NEQ/IMG_3618-1-1024x768.jpg Blog - Costa Rica is Burning IMG_3618 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259164513-GIZ8T1V865HYP6IN0VXZ/IMG_3646-1-1024x576.jpg Blog - Costa Rica is Burning IMG_3646 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259173267-VOESZF5P4IOJ2WDOWNXS/Vanamos-breakdown-1024x768.jpg Blog - Costa Rica is Burning Vanamos breakdown http://vanamos.net/blog/spring-break monthly 0.5 2016-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162556-PZ8372BAQ8QRQMFZN6C9/IMG_3523-768x1024.jpg Blog - Spring Break Here we are clowning around while we wait for the bus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162537-HKXJANBF3SG4QI61MZPV/IMG_3508-1024x768.jpg Blog - Spring Break Costa Rican customs was one of the most illogical and time-consuming border crossings. We went from this window to that window and back. The van parked next to Wesely in this picture was a right hand drive and would not be allowed passage into Costa Rica. The owner was contemplating a hiring a flat bed to haul the truck to Panama. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162558-CZ3OODP5IXMT97L66BI6/IMG_3532-768x1024.jpg Blog - Spring Break Coconut holding one of her other cousins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162540-ZUJ6ACL45DE76QGHJOZI/IMG_3513-768x1024.jpg Blog - Spring Break This guy sprayed evil-smelling gas into and under Wesley in an attempt to kill every living thing, including us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162938-2IODTT2PXDM1KUOPDJHY/IMG_3561-768x1024.jpg Blog - Spring Break J holding his new cousin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259162754-N7LLOG05FOEG8QZYS18L/IMG_3535-1024x576.jpg Blog - Spring Break Coconut holding her new cousin. http://vanamos.net/blog/club-nicaragua monthly 0.5 2016-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259154634-GKVBMJ4CU24WJ29SVULD/HulaKai-sunset-1024x768.jpeg Blog - Club Nicaragua The sunset is pretty nice too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159613-82H7NYV0VKMWTLQLVI1B/Taco-Tuesday.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua People play with fire on Taco Tuesday. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159410-Q6B824Y52O6W112GG8XS/Near-Finca-Las-Nubes.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua Coconut is all smiles after learning we are staying at HulaKai. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159112-VJ3S54V5KBLS2Z09A29Z/IMG_6945.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua J and I are too busy on the putting green fronting the pool at HulaKai Hotel to bother with the view. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259158811-XENL7O5MG8ZL8HH6VBFV/IMG_3402-1024x444.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua Does anyone ever get tired of turning a corner and seeing a stretch of sand like this? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159011-FT968WMIID215RJ2P4MH/IMG_3404-1024x384.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua Or this? This beach is about 10 minutes walk north of Playa Maderas so if the crowds get to thick, you can escape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159313-53AD6MA37FKD1VPQA0ZC/IMG_7015.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua No, the giant tarantula would not share! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259159210-4LZLR4HEY6J3YVIZNLNV/IMG_6946.jpg Blog - Club Nicaragua After one night in the eco-pod, which was super cool, the owner of the hotel moved us to this house on the right because he thought we were super cool - and the rest of the hotel was booked. http://vanamos.net/blog/heaven-is-in-our-minds monthly 0.5 2019-04-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259157211-VJ5WOGE4U7TR4FBP2CT5/IMG_3300-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds Our Workaway crew on Ometepe Island. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259157312-T17QVJYY531MPQAB1ZED/IMG_3310-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds J and Angelo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259157012-5F0L9HT8D0G209JF1PXE/IMG_3225-1024x576.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds To provide some privacy in Maria’s open air shower, we helped build this wall of dried banana leaves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259156712-YT5WSVYM82YFEF2WHONA/IMG_3203-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds Maria and Coconut making breakfast pancakes on the open fire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259156211-KNZ4DEE1GJK0BJD2Z91D/IMG_1120-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds We love playing in the waves, even when it’s not so pretty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259156813-L6G4TEXP2D6LGK0M3E20/IMG_3220-1024x576.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259156610-HMFG155Y9ITYC0CB56IO/IMG_2833-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds Sunset at Pochomil, Nicaragua. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259157111-VK2GL9K27SZNXRHALHSP/IMG_3266-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds The pool at Ometepe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259156514-2HT8VDK5Z7TKM5B8ZO45/IMG_1197-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds Maria’s kitchen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259154713-J7WRXP5EH7SKY64RMCYH/IMG_1092-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259156313-YABUTV7FVKJZOHA2NKLU/IMG_1165-1-1024x768.jpg Blog - Heaven is in our Minds Our beautiful lakeside accommodation at Hostel Paradiso, Laguna de Apoyo. https://www.hostelparadiso.com/#! http://vanamos.net/blog/down-on-the-farm monthly 0.5 2019-04-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259153658-85RUJPZ3K0933ELIP2JT/IMG_3090-1024x576.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Farmers bring their livestock to drink and play in the fresh water of Lake Nicaragua. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259154409-U4T2MS1I5M0BHBROGBKF/IMG_3160-1024x768.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Lunch on the farm consists of rice and beans. Because it’s prepared over a wood fire in the outdoor kitchen, Maria makes a big pot of both that feeds us all day (and into the next). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259153912-0ZQQDRK669ZEU2D7MBE8/IMG_3147-768x1024.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Day 4: Cooking the ground cacao with hand-grated coconut and boiled cane sugar over the wood fire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259154140-PKUMF0XPOB0RCP2N6SIP/IMG_3155-1024x768.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua After an hour of cooking and stirring, the chocolate is spread out to cool and can finally be cut. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259154519-LQ9U6X3G1RV7TJOWJWGV/IMG_3162-1024x768.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Day 1: After taking buying the cacao on the other side of the island, the beans are roasted, peeled, and then ground in the hand mill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151612-U5LRD2QLRVGKBUEAQJ3J/IMG_3074-1024x576.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Chores include sorting dried beans. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259153717-TR7DIQSX3VGN1MVHUK4L/IMG_3114-1024x768.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Baseball is a favorite sport in Nicaragua. Shoes are home plate, a wooden stick is the bat, and we have the whole beach to play on. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259152010-6VXCYYL8A7LNTNAEQY96/IMG_3087-768x1024.jpg Blog - Down on the Farm in Nicaragua Screen addiction is real - even off the grid on an island in a lake in the middle of Nicaragua. http://vanamos.net/blog/ometepe-island-workaway monthly 0.5 2019-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259154210-VOST01SPACZ29AOY28LP/IMG_3158-1024x768.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway Maria, an American living in Nicaragua, and her son Angelo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259153852-0CH6IXU5ANLKL063RNDU/IMG_3132-1024x768.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway Concepcion Crater - the view was underwhelming. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151115-TAND6NIF06BOE0LBGNDX/IMG_3049-768x1024.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway Crossing Lake Nicaragua on the way to Isla de Ometepe with Vulcan Concepcion looming in the background. The people shadows that you see on the back of Wesley are Coconut and me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151412-CWX6L9GMR4KVVWOY5KR2/IMG_3069-768x1024.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway Concepcion volcano, the view from the nearby intentional community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151879-OGC3KJ1VZFPH1NGV9MOK/IMG_3083-768x1024.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway R and fellow Workaway volunteer, Imke, admire their work. They made a floor for the open-air shower stall by laying stones gathered from around the farm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151511-45QDSV3BL6TVR4B878YR/IMG_3070-1024x768.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway After sorting out stones and bad beans from a several bowls of dried beans, the reward was using Angelo as a target. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151908-GOACC4BZJ8WPST11791S/IMG_3085-1024x768.jpg Blog - Ometepe Island Workaway The good thing about piglets near the van is that they eat the bugs, which J loathes more than anything. http://vanamos.net/blog/the-history-of-rock-in-nicaragua monthly 0.5 2019-04-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148911-CEWKEHQV02GDC3U77G7X/IMG_2992-1-1024x768.jpg Blog - The History of Rock in Nicaragua The view down to the lake from our camp at Hostal Paradiso on Laguna de Apoyo, in Nicaragua https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151010-9OSS9O4AVCG2VZ8X6F54/IMG_3044-768x1024.jpg Blog - The History of Rock in Nicaragua Safety standards and public information is vastly different south of the US border so we were impressed to see this evacuation route sign for when the Masaya volcano blows. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259150810-RYR7AZ630LBFEXF8NRCX/IMG_3017-1024x768.jpg Blog - The History of Rock in Nicaragua The gang was still all smiles after several nights of hard partying. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259149112-2KTXEQGQYRFXBO6YEV8B/IMG_3006-768x1024.jpg Blog - The History of Rock in Nicaragua We were invited into the no clothes party for a picture, but it was awkward to be the only one dressed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259151212-G3AK9TAKI6YTA9TY82K0/IMG_3054-1024x768.jpg Blog - The History of Rock in Nicaragua Wesely on the Ferry to Ometepe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259149211-27ET3X1S773F0W6FC3G2/IMG_3013-768x1024.jpg Blog - The History of Rock in Nicaragua R made a new friend. http://vanamos.net/blog/in-the-land-of-plastic-bags monthly 0.5 2019-04-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259143314-276A1PJ0DYR8BWL7I0U5/IMG_1100-1024x768.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes R looking for some gnarly waves in the warm Nicaraguan waters off of Pochomil https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148021-Y382YHDYE6BCEDDZTPRN/IMG_2815-1024x768.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes This is the view from the back porch of Jamie and Ali's place. R and I walked up and down the beach hoping to find it based on R's recollection of a picture she saw months ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259147916-IBDD24DUMEH1YY3DS74N/IMG_2807-768x1024.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Masachapa doesn't have a lot of people, but it does have some really big papayas. This one cost 60 Cordoba - which is about $2. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148511-2RWAEYLAFLL4C1L1HCWU/IMG_2938-Copy.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Sigh. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148710-855MQFDNJRBB0K4CEHUE/IMG_2971.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Vanamos gets ready for its run down the volcano. That plume of smoke you see behind us is another daring soul making his run. The photo does not do justice to the vertical drop of the mountain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148308-05A070YATXPCOMK5U7QK/IMG_2895-1024x768.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Vanamos family with our generous Pochomil hosts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148611-5CLKQJNT142ZJ5O2NFJB/IMG_2956.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Hiking up a volcano to surf down it in celebration of R’s birthday. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259146410-QY0YO74N7HFXSW3KETUM/IMG_2786-768x1024.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes It was a long drive to Managua, and past it to the beach at Pochomil. But we made it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259148216-SATX6M4IVAFI7BO83LIC/IMG_2824-1024x768.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes The yard of our Air BnB place in Pochomil was nice, and had a great view of the ocean. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259143413-T0YOSNM5I4J7HWXC2UIS/IMG_1104-1024x768.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Surfer J https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259143115-FSTGMLNI0JJKO8ENOIDD/IMG_1097-1024x768.jpg Blog - In the land of plastic bags and volcanoes Surfer R http://vanamos.net/blog/rocking-and-rolling-honduras-to-the-tunes-of-lou-reed monthly 0.5 2019-02-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259145944-QFVA75LYFRFI5W6P574X/IMG_2770-768x1024.jpg Blog - Rocking and Rolling Honduras to the Tunes of Lou Reed Wesley waiting patiently at the El Salvador-Honduran border. Given what we've heard about Honduras, we quipped about the years on the sign - Honduras! A functioning democracy from 1946 to 1947! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259145711-G0T81MXUW0QS9MIJHBRH/IMG_2762-768x1024.jpg Blog - Rocking and Rolling Honduras to the Tunes of Lou Reed R and I pose at the El Salvador-Honduras border at 9 a.m. on another sweltering day while waiting for grilled meat on a stick. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259146211-YNGCO8EK5JFV5XYS60VO/IMG_2784-768x1024.jpg Blog - Rocking and Rolling Honduras to the Tunes of Lou Reed Wesley waiting patiently again after we put 90 kilometers of Honduras behind us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259146009-H9U15KPKNKIXO2J0VF2H/IMG_2777-768x1024.jpg Blog - Rocking and Rolling Honduras to the Tunes of Lou Reed Nothing but bush and hills and a big sky. It's how I will remember Honduras. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259146510-L3VCZ6G914IG167AHYX0/IMG_2794-1024x768.jpg Blog - Rocking and Rolling Honduras to the Tunes of Lou Reed Enjoying a dinner of grilled meat in Nicaragua- our third meal in our third different country for the day. We had breakfast in El Salvador and lunch in Honduras (and a morning snack of grilled meat in Honduras as well.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259146110-M6S09J2RTQWFRPRKR558/IMG_2778-1024x768.jpg Blog - Rocking and Rolling Honduras to the Tunes of Lou Reed I'll also remember Honduras this way. http://vanamos.net/blog/el-salvador-we-didnt-get-shot monthly 0.5 2016-02-04 http://vanamos.net/blog/a-hundred-dollars-in-water-bottles monthly 0.5 2016-02-03 http://vanamos.net/blog/the-battle-for-guatemala monthly 0.5 2016-01-25 http://vanamos.net/blog/the-times-of-our-lives monthly 0.5 2016-01-17 http://vanamos.net/blog/things-to-know-about-life-on-the-road monthly 0.5 2016-01-13 http://vanamos.net/blog/new-year-guatemala monthly 0.5 2016-01-05 http://vanamos.net/blog/san-andres monthly 0.5 2016-01-04 http://vanamos.net/blog/not-dead-yet monthly 0.5 2016-01-03 http://vanamos.net/blog/tikal-with-kids monthly 0.5 2015-12-30 http://vanamos.net/blog/welcome-to-guatemala monthly 0.5 2015-12-24 http://vanamos.net/blog/palenque-with-kids monthly 0.5 2015-12-19 http://vanamos.net/blog/the-long-and-winding-road monthly 0.5 2015-12-18 http://vanamos.net/blog/a-change-in-plans monthly 0.5 2015-12-14 http://vanamos.net/blog/crazy-town monthly 0.5 2015-12-11 http://vanamos.net/blog/indian-style-san-cristobal-de-las-casas monthly 0.5 2015-12-09 http://vanamos.net/blog/t monthly 0.5 2015-12-05 http://vanamos.net/blog/on-the-road-again-kind-of monthly 0.5 2019-12-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259135510-G72IUXY0ZRS35KBI7GC1/IMG_9789-1.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Enjoying a Mexican lunch of tlayudas and fresh squeezed juice on our way to Cuajimoloyas with Megan and Zoe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259121912-17SFJXRVH5BYEZYLOFUA/IMG_1431-1024x768.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Octavio at work getting the charcoal lit so we can grill dinner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259094913-6FZ75YGA20DVZBXICS37/IMG_0011-768x1024.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Our spread for Thanksgiving included two grilled chickens. Peppo, the director at CEI, and a CEI volunteer are to my right and Susan and Andre are to R's left. The kids must have been behind the camera. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259122411-RVNHQVFZ81N3XEQRISRI/IMG_1562-1024x768.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Wesley parked outside of our San Felipe rental house as we load up our things to leave. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259135410-ANFRVRHOTKCY3ZOI5HAC/IMG_9417.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of These cool advertisements are posted all over town. How could we not go? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259122223-YQEB5YPPTTOOYQG99WB1/IMG_1488-1024x576.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of The race was exciting in more ways than one - people were milling about on the track as the cars raced past and there was only a low berm separating the cars from the spectators. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259116912-YI2ENXWY7FDO51GVS1W7/IMG_0115-Copy.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of One of the reasons we ended up staying another night at Overlander's Oasis is because we didn't get to bed until 2 a.m. Blame it on these guys. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259122913-LY45XHJDX7NJWXJ69XYH/IMG_1576-1024x768.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Hate to give up this view of the mountains from our rooftop deck, but the time has come to ramble on. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259135710-OTH1DER19F2GWEL9AEWS/IMG_9814-Copy.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Zoe gives a thumbs up after surviving a zip line through the fog and rain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259135813-N0QDV61QEDFNO3H95G8S/IMG_9818.jpg Blog - On the road again - kind of Conditions for zip lining were not great, but the line was open and the kids were willing. http://vanamos.net/blog/street-dogs-mean-were-safe monthly 0.5 2015-12-01 http://vanamos.net/blog/spanish-homework monthly 0.5 2015-11-25 http://vanamos.net/blog/money-for-ping-pong monthly 0.5 2015-11-20 http://vanamos.net/blog/migrant-story monthly 0.5 2019-12-09 http://vanamos.net/blog/life-as-we-know-it monthly 0.5 2015-11-09 http://vanamos.net/blog/family-fun-on-the-day-of-the-dead monthly 0.5 2016-10-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259098256-WZVA8CC5BO153LUBWDDO/IMG_1118-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Tiny altar decorations, including a tiny altar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259102911-GHOGQRRQ3N9NHS6I983A/IMG_1189-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Mexican marigolds are the primary flower used to decorate graves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259113653-6YXUN9IYP4GVA42OUYN7/IMG_6108-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Soooooo booooorrrrring! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259105108-60NQU5ANRWHNMCVSECI6/IMG_1235-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259097353-986LW44G1KJR5YKLD3QH/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Colegio Teizcali in San Felipe del Agua, just outside Oaxaca City parades around the village for Dia de los Muertos. Notice 1980s Lego Space Guy, the school's mascot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259106110-GJHQJRUZ8C8M8GUZ4NAQ/IMG_12531-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Another elaborately decorated grave . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259106311-MD4HCEQJZ16YXZUE2L60/IMG_1266-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259114303-9AE9CD48SMGF3X6KO0Z3/IMG_6123-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Coconut about to get serious with a mechanical bull. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259099713-XRV9JYYLU6FZP0LVPTUD/IMG_1151-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259101611-IYFU3FLWGSU19PI4A2O9/IMG_1177-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Shopping for Day of Dead alter supplies in the market. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259103720-NRAHQ56OT77LGC0OSQIJ/IMG_1202-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Even the undead like to play Plants vs. Zombies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259105611-59Z33BWNAHLCAGLKD0GJ/IMG_1243-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Beautiful artwork created with flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259103210-9S0PWUT48IO9DKBWK578/IMG_12001-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Families spend hours cleaning and decorating graves, to honor and remember the dead. Here a woman decorates with colored sand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259098686-Z3Z5KBNYCJAPVMKPSUKT/IMG_1144-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259102411-ANLMR6YELT2CVVZD43DZ/IMG_1183-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead The cemetery at Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, a village outside of Oaxaca City, is a popular destination for tourists to visit for Day of the Dead. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259098255-C2QEQZ0YL3F10HHTBFCT/IMG_1101-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259101014-VAO0MYQZVV29N8HWPG25/IMG_1171-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Skulls and candy made of sugar, meant to entice the dead back for a visit on Day of the Dead. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259104510-8E32KCOVPHPHGA2X5359/IMG_1228-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead Our family Day of the Dead altar, constructed for Joanne Carlino, Paul's mom. The altar is supposed to be 3 levels with images and items dear to the deceased. (We ignorantly included photos of living people, which we later learned we weren't supposed to do.) Copal, an incense from the resin of the copal tree, is burned on the altar and special sweet foods are placed on the altar, along with marigold flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259100214-HZMGTC89WTGD7E22313F/IMG_1156-1024x768.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead An intricately decorated alijibre, a fantstical Oaxacan folk-art animal. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259114339-EF2U3HO000ELAXO1JLBQ/IMG_6127-e1446787232344-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead J strikes a vaquero pose. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259098300-I0WS33UWG9Q8B5Z2RKED/IMG_1136-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead This little girl's skirt is made of dried corn husks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259100614-PQ8OJBY6NCEJQYM6RMN9/IMG_1168-768x1024.jpg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead A tiny fishmonger figure for a Day of the Dead altar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259095413-NQ5QIABTTOLT679W5WJA/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Family fun on the Day of the Dead The staff and faculty of Colegio Teizcali, the local school where the kids spent a month. http://vanamos.net/blog/how-frank-zappa-educated-my-children monthly 0.5 2019-11-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259116610-CQNQT6C1EC87FO653AWW/more-marine-biology.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children We may not be marine biologists, but we've spent a lot of time in the water. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259116710-6QD2JN1HVZG1NBKSY5CR/physics-and-locomotion3.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children Here, Coconut learns about physics and locomotion by driving a quad on the streets of San Miguel de Allende. Is this happening in the streets of Alexandria? Not without a traffic ticket! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259114448-X30OFUTO08YUP14JQPJF/first-day-of-school1.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children Coconut and J walking to their first day of Mexican school in uniform - yellow shirts and long pants. There was not too much protest so we think they were both somewhat excited about it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259070710-7XH3S8HTDMI9ZNEZC9GF/IMG_8610.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children J loved spearfishing along Manzanillo Beach in hurricane like conditions - a hurricane warning had been issued for further up the coast and the swells at this Puerto beach were larger than usual. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259115007-WTQV94CE284EQW3CXHHO/mexican-culture1-1024x1024.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children There's always something going on in the Zocalo in Oaxaca - like teacher protests and women dancing with baskets balanced on their heads! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259116019-G2ODQI2DP8S6OPCIRN0Y/mexican-independence-and-ice-cream.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children In Dolores de Hidalgo, we learned that Mexico has a history and good ice cream. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259116810-ZSVK972UHO4MAWAXJOO2/sea-turtles.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children What we saw and learned about sea turtles at Playa Escobilla was unforgettable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259094212-GQD1XW45F4O0MTTMIXZ5/Cocnut-teaching-J-math.jpg Blog - How Frank Zappa educated my children Sometimes, road-school works out really well, like when Coconut helps out her brother with a tough math problem. http://vanamos.net/blog/these-places-of-water monthly 0.5 2019-11-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259090069-2NG1RDF81IR3NHONXBSA/cannonball.jpg Blog - These places of water J, Coconut, and I do cannonballs into the cupcake pool to hasten the trickle process https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259079210-OZ6KN4BLZ12J5DK06L58/IMG_3682.jpg Blog - These places of water Vanamos horseplay https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259078813-AG6K3H07RPYO65KYDQ8N/IMG_1062-1024x768.jpg Blog - These places of water The blue sky visible from our camp at Hierve el Agua https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259078335-U1UI3MQSDKBH9Z22A9XH/IMG_1054-1024x768.jpg Blog - These places of water Coming soon to a theater near you, be sure to catch R, in her superhero costume, save Opa from certain death in the "Zona de Abismos"! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259083613-T2D9IYJQD8O9OUS9ALOT/Jonah-and-Opa-1024x1024.jpg Blog - These places of water Life on the Edge https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259090073-F5I4RN4A1P9FBHXPDHBV/cliff-1024x768.jpg Blog - These places of water Looking down on the bathing pools and valley at Hierve el Agua, Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259076713-KB8A3XX4Q4UQ2XT3PFC5/IMG_1053-1024x768.jpg Blog - These places of water Mineral deposits dribbled down over the cliff face at Hierve el Agua over millions of years give the illusion of a frozen waterfall. There are bathing pools on top of the falls where one can frolic right up close to the edge. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259078612-WGS2X5HBUZ2R2CFY1KM8/IMG_1055-1024x768.jpg Blog - These places of water J, R, and Opa take a break from a strenuous hike to the valley floor to enjoy a few laughs and the views of the frozen cascada at Hierve el Agua. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259075816-PNQ125HHTJGD65FHFRC4/Family-photo.jpg Blog - These places of water Family photo http://vanamos.net/blog/food-in-oaxaca monthly 0.5 2015-10-21 http://vanamos.net/blog/our-october-home-oaxaca-city monthly 0.5 2015-10-17 http://vanamos.net/blog/our-final-days-on-the-beach-and-our-first-days-in-the-mountains monthly 0.5 2015-10-13 http://vanamos.net/blog/where-weve-been monthly 0.5 2015-10-08 http://vanamos.net/blog/wesley-our-asexual-van monthly 0.5 2018-09-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259081615-LXK0FV63WN5O09BZXVNT/IMG_8177.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van I'm reaching in for something here, without having to step into the van to get it. Love when I can do that! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259081113-NFZTC185HE7WKIM5HE1Q/IMG_6583-1024x768.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van We were excited by the new closet Rod made for us by cutting slider doors into the existing cabinet panel and then installing shelves. This modification is perhaps the best we've made. The shelves make the space much more useful and the sliders make it more accessible. This photo was taken about ten days before we left Alexandria. Crunch time! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259075914-B6Y7W5CU4QNOWAKOWIWR/IMG_0198-1024x768.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van The cork floor installation with some soundproofing material installed underneath it. The two white rectangular spots you see at the edge of the gray are tracks for a third seat which we removed for this trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259089208-FTQ386KHJ37JX9BE1E8Z/Wesley-living-room-690x1024.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van The kitchen, living room and bedroom. The large door is where the original refrigerator was housed. It's now the cabinet for pots and dishes and toiletry stuff. The small door to the left is the little guy has odds and ends that we don't use that much. The door to the right is the pantry - obvious what's in there. The drawer above the pantry has the stuff you would put in all the drawers in your house - matches, pens, forks, knives, screwdriver, etc. Above the little guy are two other storage areas - one is the library, the other is the community chest. Under the bench seat is the auxiliary battery, spare parts for Wesley, and tools. the white pockets in front of the bench are shoe pockets for knick knacks the kids might need as we drive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259089677-552BX8SO8PKW7TOZOLVX/Wesley-view-to-the-front-1024x716.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van You can see the refrigerator on the right, with cargo net to store things (cleaned up for the picture but usually full of stuff) and our shoe box underneath. This refrigerator stand was probably the best thing Corbin RV did for us. The orange strap is to keep the refrigerator in place if we tumble down a mountainside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259079413-ZMD9U6MPDGQ8FMSUSMPZ/IMG_6543-1024x768.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van R with some of the gals at our going away party after Wesley got its eyelashes. I was not consulted, but it has turned out to be something that people notice and comment on the most. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259084216-8HKGGKWP72MZ2SJ2JH9F/MountainSmith-packing-cubes-1024x746.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van We each get one of these packing cubes for our clothes. My cube contains a few pairs of socks and underwear, seven shirts, including two long sleeve, two long pants, three shorts, and all my bandanas, of which the ocean has claimed three. We have winter clothes in a bag in the Thule box on top of Wesley. The carrying bag for the four cubes fits perfectly under the bench when it is folded out into a bed - thanks to R's careful measurements in her shopping. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259081445-JE9E4PB3O1IFN9SUG34W/IMG_8176.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van We were getting breakfast ready in this busy morning scene. Everything has a place though, so things clean up quickly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259081718-668U21VA5QPSGR6PFJHU/IMG_8180.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van Morning scene. Table, chairs, awing, ball and J with a hatchet of course. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259076114-0LJ6F3EZQXTO9KM418AH/IMG_0255-1024x768.jpg Blog - Wesley - our asexual van R sandwiched by Wesley's mechanics, Wendell, on the left, and Larry, on the right. This is the day R and I picked up Wesley after it spent three months with these guys. Absent from picture - Alaric Hernandez. http://vanamos.net/blog/busting-our-budget-in-puerto-escondido monthly 0.5 2015-10-02 http://vanamos.net/blog/south-to-acapulco monthly 0.5 2019-10-08 http://vanamos.net/blog/one-friday-night-in-zihua monthly 0.5 2015-09-21 http://vanamos.net/blog/zihuatanejo-our-beach-vacation monthly 0.5 2019-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259050913-GUDE1R0NX7GQGJILLCHE/IMG_2575-225x300.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation J poses with one of our majestic sand castles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259063322-BKBGKCSOSYC77NVZUI7F/IMG_8361-300x225.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation Us hanging on the boat being easy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259065146-B6A3B9ZA64OAQUISW2OG/IMG_83632-300x225.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation Our mackerel was so big that I also needed to be photographed with it even though I didn't catch it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259064813-7A4CWTPAEOY0ZFSLAYWB/IMG_83621-300x225.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation J and the Mackerel that garnered much awe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714853030-90V6W6EVL8W36CHLKUSR/IMG_8341-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation Have you seen the view from our apartment? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259065612-ED7NW4HUDJ70AZOZMBHX/IMG_8381-300x225.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation Fishermen sell their catch at market each morning. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259065409-1X24OOQUJ48NAKFKEEAQ/IMG_8364-300x225.jpg Blog - Zihuatanejo - Our Beach Vacation Me with a bonito that I reeled in, and Jose in the background. We turned the fish into ceviche at the restaurant that Jose took us too. http://vanamos.net/blog/what-we-eat-and-other-musings monthly 0.5 2015-09-16 http://vanamos.net/blog/up-and-down-the-sierra-madre-and-the-butterfly-massacre monthly 0.5 2018-09-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259042910-9VLMV5WU5STVLVBMKK2V/IMG_0698-1024x541.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre Can you see the mountains extending forever into the background? We drove over those, and the ones behind them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714024234-ZGZOMWQPH4AGRI1AR139/IMG_8282-300x225.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre Too bad we couldn't take a picture of the sound as well - all of them were squealing and grunting - everything you expect from a pig https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714853030-90V6W6EVL8W36CHLKUSR/IMG_8341-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre Same view - different day https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714000738-GRS9CB55YM1037H5LDDG/IMG_8252-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre Oh, we also got stuck behind this stinky garbage truck and had to watch stuff fly out the back of it - notice also the guy sitting on top of the pile. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714091624-Z8CQMAT69TLIS4YD1PBB/IMG_8308-300x225.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre Boy, were we excited to finally get to the ocean https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714793159-C522RZETXUF193ZQ9ICT/IMG_0705-300x225.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre This vibrant market street was completely deserted at night and we wondered whether it was safe to be out - people we asked at the hotel where we stayed had different opinions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714049012-0GBDSM4MWZE323RU4NIU/IMG_7976-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre One of the thousands of butterflies I ran into during our epic fourteen-hour drive through Michoacan state and Guerrero state to the Pacific Coast https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714821642-SATPF1JFRKYGCJMA61Y6/IMG_8288-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre When we reached the top of one of the mountains we'd climbed, we just had to stop and pee https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1536714120348-QMAQN24K5NHHHFTWDIR2/IMG_8338-300x225.jpg Blog - Up and Down the Sierra Madre and the Butterfly Massacre The room from our two-bedroom apartment. We might stay here awhile. http://vanamos.net/blog/it-happened-at-los-azufres monthly 0.5 2015-09-11 http://vanamos.net/blog/san-miguel-de-allende-and-beyond monthly 0.5 2019-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521174041196-7L1YK36JOEPVYE4A39B8/IMG_8074-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Coconut and J sharing some Wifi time before lights out in the upstairs room at Sean and Mittie's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173581313-OINISJFKRZX3XUYWJ04H/IMG_0674-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Broken bridge https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173709397-BCO7KW2ECMXZ91XA6AJR/IMG_8173-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! J and I tried to get in a few casts at the trout farm https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173791754-KTUJLFSQJTOLJWD7PPEX/IMG_8198-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Coconut's rooftop campsite in Sean and Mittie's garden https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521392849675-HB0BR90AT7JYC22OEUPK/IMG_8110-Copy-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Vanamos family with Switters - the only dog I ever liked. No offense to my cousin Anthony's dog, Ricky Bobby (aka Reggie) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173870125-W7BAAHAPCZJ9K67996LA/IMG_7957-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Switters the dog, camped out at the feet of his new best friend J, who threw Switters his toy bone over a hundred times that day https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521393101697-N6Q24YMVJZZC77INJ7R9/IMG_8031-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Vanamos rules San Miguel de Allende https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521392814507-WICIFP59Q06BXLSG3F5O/IMG_8051-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Sean gets Wesley in focus for its photo shoot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173993987-YURG6OBVILHEBPIEQ4D4/IMG_8092-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Coconut gives Switters some bone action https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259040712-LEQX7FYDZQP7WOT20AUA/IMG_0631-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! J cracks a smile before getting back to the business of navigating noon time traffic in San Miguel de Allende https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521393070881-NQHFTGG5QSAIMFURZHG5/IMG_0629-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Coconut tries to catch up to J on our drive in the country around San Miguel de Allende https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173519476-CCK6J3E4MIVSL707PZCX/IMG_0672-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Trout farm https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173751862-RNUQAKEAW2WZX7HKDYNF/IMG_8117-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Me, J, R, Mittie and Sean in San Miguel de Allende. Coconut took the photo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173476374-T9JVET2UAKUDQUR6R4FD/Not-talking-on-the-way-to-Los-Azufres-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Here's what R and I look like when we are not talking. Things turned out okay after I spent the night in the doghouse. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521173667587-X31VC7GCVZY9PB0QZ3T1/IMG_7225-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! hike to trout farm https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1521392879915-UOC8IR38J6YR03X6RYDW/IMG_8072-Copy-225x300.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! Here I am carrying our laundry and water up the alley and to the house. I had two bottles of family size Corona's in my back pockets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259040911-M4WWF2MFH6ZZ2502EJMA/IMG_0633-300x225.jpg Blog - San Miguel de Allende . . . and beyond! R gives the thumbs up that J has things under control on the streets of San Miguel de Allende http://vanamos.net/blog/guanajuato-adventure monthly 0.5 2020-08-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259048942-61WB1GCVWDCNRF14NQNM/IMG_2183-225x300.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure The man with the churros balanced on his head stood like that for longer than it took R to drink her glass of red wine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259040013-5Y7S170U47CQLPFO1HSX/IMG_0626-Copy1-225x300.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure One of the tunnels that criss-cross under the city of Guanajuato - a former silver-mining center of the Spanish conquistadores. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259047297-GUDRO8ZQ26TCVB4FJFS3/IMG_2133-300x225.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure Coconut chose to visit the Mummy Museum but she and J both seem to enjoy the macabre. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259038635-93PWOUUGIK7WSJKDYMKD/IMG_0614-300x225.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure The view from our campsite in Guanajuato was interesting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259050415-ZUU27LH51H2HHSH2SJQG/IMG_22071-1024x264.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure J contemplates the vast Mexican highlands on our drive to Guanajuato. The white VW bug was last registered in 2006. We guess someone drove it down the hill and couldn't drive it back up so just left it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259048183-T82DVX40M8KCRWLA40QK/IMG_2092-225x300.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure Coconut enjoys a bag of strawberry juice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259048186-YEJMSTNORO61KA7L69X4/IMG_2166-225x300.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure A real live dead person. Creepy, and Coconut and J are enthralled! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259048964-AMTPKJFXOQI1S2Z3A33Q/IMG_2185-225x300.jpg Blog - Guanajuato Adventure Three-quarters of the Vanamos team poses for a sunny afternoon photo-op in the streets of Guanajuato. http://vanamos.net/blog/land-of-the-free monthly 0.5 2020-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259046052-YEF89GMW9YQ8A09093XH/IMG_2011-1024x768.jpg Blog - Land of the Free We needed to measure the height of the van to make sure we could get into the secured parking lot in Santa Maria del Rio. While sitting on my shoulders J could just reach the ceiling of the "parking garage" and as you can see here, that gave us plenty of clearance https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259036212-FWNMJFJVGA058NRVLHY9/IMG_0587-1024x768.jpg Blog - Land of the Free A typical Mexican strip mall on the road from Monterrey to Matehuala - a dirt parking lot fronting a vulka (tire repair shop), restaurant, and otherwise empty landscape https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259053710-WYF1GHT2Y127DYD137JW/IMG_7786-Copy.jpg Blog - Land of the Free Statute of Hidalgo with the church in the background and Vanamos family in the foreground https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259046952-F072TR9HNT8BOJUNOKGD/IMG_2013-1024x768.jpg Blog - Land of the Free https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259053612-IKOZ847U2D50GIR8S77X/IMG_7785.jpg Blog - Land of the Free Vanamos family enjoying the famous hand-churned ice cream in Dolores de Hidalgo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259043713-CEJCV1W1V9SXHP6YIA5I/IMG_1987-768x1024.jpg Blog - Land of the Free The view from the captain's seat https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259038030-QEWPXYND0RI4BHIN0H7W/IMG_0601-1024x768.jpg Blog - Land of the Free 80 kilometers an hour is slower than it sounds. Multiply by 6 and drop the last digit and you'll see even Wesley can maintain the pace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259045212-RDIT9QA8FMOX11UZR0TX/IMG_1994-1024x768.jpg Blog - Land of the Free J versus the sweet lizard bread https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259053325-JZ97SA1E68Q3N32S19F4/IMG_7772-Copy.jpg Blog - Land of the Free Some of the pageantry on the streets of Dolores de Hidalgo in anticipation of Mexican Independence Day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259053512-JQL7DEUY9N1BLKDNLWJ5/IMG_7774-Copy.jpg Blog - Land of the Free Here is J wearing the tail of the lizard as a war-trophy. He dubbed it Rudolph the bread-nosed reindeer. http://vanamos.net/blog/heading-out-to-the-highway monthly 0.5 2020-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030341-JAK0C3LULWB30FM9J0KZ/IMG_7581-Copy.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway R climbing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030885-W2RMBRS63ARH7ATHGH0N/IMG_7638.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway Here are Coconut and J sharing some quality time together and with a screen https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030172-EO1PQBKGG7EH6WTP6IK3/IMG_7536-Copy.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway Here I am with a map of Mexico and no clue which way to go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259053014-WHY11ZO1TLTCUPY35IYJ/IMG_7622.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway ground view https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030657-CNKIJ7QVZ57561M8XZYW/IMG_7583-Copy.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway Maya impressed our climbing guides with her rock know-how and belayed me as I climbed "snake hole". Most of these climbs are well clumb, so there is little danger that a snake actually still lives in the hole. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259052713-LKMNTY8QWRKCG3D77B7R/IMG_7594.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway J doing one of the many flips he performed during our week at La Posada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259052116-XC1OQAI8270B3XZEIYJL/IMG_7576-Copy.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway J climbing at Potrero Chico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030879-F7957HEYLUEFKX2APSBP/IMG_7623.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway Poppy climbing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030335-318JL3RZDMZNDQHEX4U5/IMG_7580-Copy.jpg Blog - Heading out to the Highway Here I am descending from one of the climbs at El Portrero Chico http://vanamos.net/blog/la-posada monthly 0.5 2020-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259020915-GWQ9AQGXOB4JX2ZORSHP/IMG_0536-Copy-1024x1024.jpg Blog - La Posada Art in the park. Someone painted this pretty cool face on a rock on the park, and yes, that is what you think it is on the ground in front of it. Not mine! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259022118-IGS8DGX82SMZ5PYPFXU9/IMG_0552-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Posada A closer look at whatever this guy is called https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259022516-JQTZDARNR6D112RUFNOY/IMG_0556-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Posada No one here at La Posada but us and giant, unidentified bugs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259021311-KT3THWBOVNUASZ6V8BCC/IMG_0540-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Posada Entrance to the dumpy Potrero Chico recreation area - home of world class rock climbing, empty buildings, and a public pool. Word is that the beer party in the parking lot on Sunday is not to be missed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259021810-D0WKF1DYMBLSTNIVQBHV/IMG_0546-Copy-768x1024.jpg Blog - La Posada I'm not usually very good at framing pictures, but I got this one good. The mural, the sign, the entire tree, and one of the mountains. Bienvenido a La Posada! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259028688-EIKNR01DOKEW2LRHSBLE/IMG_7480-Copy.jpg Blog - La Posada Hanging around at the pool http://vanamos.net/blog/crossing-the-border-into-mexico-there-and-back-again monthly 0.5 2020-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259024218-LUB06KCUMWKUO18J8MWV/IMG_1744-1024x768.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again It was hot in Laredo and Mexico on Tuesday! The reading on the left is inside Wesley. The reading on the right is the outside temperature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259020511-N4019B736DWR7LUCEGTG/IMG_0529-Copy-768x1024.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again We pitched our tent in the middle of the campground so we could have this view of the mountain. We made the right choice to leave Laredo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259028410-NWFCGPHXRI6E5YIZIIEQ/IMG_7465.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again The view from behind Wesley's windshield as we approached the bridge over the Rio Grande. Little did we know we would see this for a second time later in the day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259016125-F4OKCUXGX6P0QWQ2MZLK/Family-Garden-Inn-Suites-in-Laredo-150x150.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again Family Garden Inn Suites in Laredo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259028850-ID8BT2N30BBBCZ35DS9G/IMG_74891.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again Here's another photo of the pool and grounds at La Posada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259029878-KSCKOEVB0UBSJ6HKV19B/IMG_7492-Copy1.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again J relaxing in the hammock hung over the pool after taking a swim. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259014612-QRATXZ3TSTRN510N27FF/Coconut-at-the-Family-Garden-Inn-pool.jpg Blog - Crossing the Border into Mexico - There and Back Again Coconut at the Family Garden Inn pool http://vanamos.net/blog/remember-the-alamo monthly 0.5 2020-08-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259014716-K1GNEYMW3IMZWYV1X6JT/Comfort-Suites-in-San-Antonio.jpg Blog - Remember the Alamo hotel in San Antonio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259019815-AQFRAAGMXOXROL3CQALM/IMG_0507-1024x768.jpg Blog - Remember the Alamo The church at night - this church was part of the Alamo compound. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259020110-9821MQTHRPBRQ0PSZNQ9/IMG_0512-1024x768.jpg Blog - Remember the Alamo IMG_0512 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259018994-SQ93TYKXT3FKYTDGZMP3/IMG_0505-1024x768.jpg Blog - Remember the Alamo All our pictures of the Alamo during the day came out crummy. Notice the Crockett hotel in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259035514-GHW9YU8TDUULR0EXSGWX/pointing-to-Bowie-and-Bonhams-names.jpg Blog - Remember the Alamo pointing to Bowie and Bonham's names http://vanamos.net/blog/greetings-from-austin-texas monthly 0.5 2020-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259026415-MUM27G6YWW0R05C1TAC6/IMG_7334-Copy.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas IMG_7334 - Copy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259025912-OY2J0IVJWGB8C4JN6ON4/IMG_7307.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas Getting ready to attack the circled food trucks at Barton Springs Picnic near our RV park in Austin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259026279-M5M2BMTM7IZMMZT2RJ7B/IMG_7324-Copy.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas IMG_7324 - Copy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259028080-OJ4FTU7P6VXQ027PJ2MZ/IMG_7423-Copy.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas Vanamos family poses with our very cool and generous host family in Austin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259026814-633FR55LHXR5CY7Q4IVU/IMG_7368.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas Even the dogs were impressed by J's fearless contortions https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259028109-DU3YXKPECX209HI9CW26/IMG_7431.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas Temperature reading from inside Wesley and outside temperature at 6:34 p.m. on Sunday evening on our drive to San Antonio from Austin. Hot! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259026431-0S4NOG0ZM7KPG2SJQH38/IMG_7338-Copy.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas IMG_7338 - Copy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259027013-HF2LLYB3QHIM4POB009Q/IMG_7373.jpg Blog - Greetings from Austin, Texas Coconut lends J a helping hand at Barton Spring http://vanamos.net/blog/texas-aint-so-hot monthly 0.5 2020-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259033511-AGOQSIHQOP4F7BMU63C8/Texas-Toast-768x1024.jpg Blog - Texas ain't so hot R couldn't get enough of the Texas shaped waffles in Palestine https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259016316-907KIQNE8PM35WL474PY/Giant-Texas-Swans-1024x768.jpg Blog - Texas ain't so hot Everything is bigger in Texas, even the swans on the Colorado River in Austin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259034515-CO6B8GN65F6QBPGEVOBX/Texas-cotton-field-768x1024.jpg Blog - Texas ain't so hot Coconut took this shot of the cotton fields along Route 79 on our way into Austin http://vanamos.net/blog/week-in-review monthly 0.5 2015-08-18 http://vanamos.net/blog/slow-down-america monthly 0.5 2020-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259031014-Q8JLD4BBBFNUIO6AGO03/M-reading-at-sunset-in-Mississippi-225x300.jpg Blog - Slow down, America! Coconut reading a book after taking a swim in the lake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259032515-ON56P4VSQLIVJASEBNF7/Morning-Clear-Creek-camp-Alabama-768x1024.jpg Blog - Slow down, America! This is the view we woke to at our Clear Creek camp in Alabama on Tuesday https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259030887-74TFT39UIEJZIA3CPWTX/M-and-J-sleeping-in-loft-bunk-1024x768.jpg Blog - Slow down, America! J and Coconut sleeping on the top bunk of Wesley after an evening downpour washed out the tent Maya planned to sleep in https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259033321-92KWVK74OBR777VORP2W/Sunset-on-Tennessee-River-Tombigbee-Waterway-in-Mississippi-1024x768.jpg Blog - Slow down, America! Another highlight - sunset from our Mississippi camp https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259032813-4K99GR1I1TX5UXJ1HZN1/Natural-Bridge-Winston-County-Alabama-1024x562.jpg Blog - Slow down, America! Natural Bridge near the Mississippi - Alabama border. We stopped while driving along State Route 195 for a short hike and picnic lunch http://vanamos.net/blog/low-voltage monthly 0.5 2020-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259024613-AS8S3K0B349KX6FQXTDB/IMG_6516-1024x768.jpg Blog - Low Voltage Here I am pointing at the one guy in Fredericksburg that did any work. Unfortunately, he is not an electrician and the wiring he did failed https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259018316-MRRHZHJXLRFDTCHSXEOJ/IMG_0393-1024x768.jpg Blog - Low Voltage I took this picture of J at our camp on Norman Lake in North Carolina https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259023940-8YR9I8KSYDY18YS1M3RO/IMG_1062-768x1024.jpg Blog - Low Voltage The view from Wesley's master suite at our camp on Lake Norman, thirty miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259018713-BG2U3D6UMX6JD70T1UCP/IMG_0401-1024x768.jpg Blog - Low Voltage IMG_0401 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259023328-4LM97D5YS56SVP7TQBR6/IMG_1059-768x1024.jpg Blog - Low Voltage Me, Frank, R, and Patti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259018512-CB3YXJ0TPA463K47VCZE/IMG_0399-1024x768.jpg Blog - Low Voltage IMG_0399 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259025315-8CKJLZWX775YKNOM24EB/IMG_6736-1024x768.jpg Blog - Low Voltage J iin the loft bedroom getting a few more minutes of screen time before lights out http://vanamos.net/blog/on-the-road-kerr-lake monthly 0.5 2020-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259016710-OMG2IGVPY6VNAL855HH3/IMG_0378-1024x768.jpg Blog - On the Road - Kerr Lake Our view of Kerr Lake from camp https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259018012-H06622ZKJ4A67EEB2R0Y/IMG_0387-1024x768.jpg Blog - On the Road - Kerr Lake J built a fire at camp. Sweaty work and it was rewarded by a swim in the lake. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259017008-88I8SDJJI72GA0AJC6VH/IMG_0384-768x1024.jpg Blog - On the Road - Kerr Lake Coconut enjoying a book at our camp on Kerr Lake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259016512-F370O1NALUS367PE3QA1/IMG_0362-1024x768.jpg Blog - On the Road - Kerr Lake R and I outside the school in Williamsburg were we met. Photo courtesy of J. http://vanamos.net/blog/on-the-road monthly 0.5 2019-09-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259035325-33DTF76I2M6TVFWPUFY0/image.jpg Blog - On the Road Wesley pulls away from the curb on its way to South America https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259009973-BDXPO1EJNP23MNU4DJEA/11374070_1597083997230848_1559723388_n.jpg Blog - On the Road Our friiends and famly wore their party shirts to our going away party https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259022914-J440HH33D4TZGEE8BUEF/IMG_1049.jpg Blog - On the Road Coconut and J with their cousin Gabe just before they ride some metal contraption at Busch Gardens. http://vanamos.net/blog/la-libertadora-and-the-admirable-campaign monthly 0.5 2019-09-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259012315-EEEX46QDT6B1M1DZ2XHG/IMG_3661-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Libertadora and the Admirable Campaign Happy family! Though, sometimes Coconut is not a morning person https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259010832-VWZ2HPPI52EP6LXEPQE4/IMG_0988.jpg Blog - La Libertadora and the Admirable Campaign Shoelaces anyone? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259010785-ACEDRXUFNMPTAHFQAI10/IMG_4479-1024x7681-1024x768.jpg Blog - La Libertadora and the Admirable Campaign On your marks, get set . . . http://vanamos.net/blog/holes-in-our-sneakers monthly 0.5 2019-09-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259012699-2NANZGM6XBRGFVL82FPM/Stuffed-animals.jpg Blog - Holes in our Sneakers One last plaintive look before being stuffed into a bag and dumped in the Goodwill bin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259012792-DVRQMBKNDOBJB4H0VP5D/halloween-m-J-2.jpg Blog - Holes in our Sneakers We sent these first day of school outfits of Coconut and Rooster to the thrift store. http://vanamos.net/blog/our-dream-house monthly 0.5 2015-07-14 http://vanamos.net/blog/meet-the-cuy monthly 0.5 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259010909-N2LACU6ULMMET185MNEH/IMG_2749-300x225.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy J & Coconut in the jungle in Ecuador, summer 2008. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259010007-AIC43TEV13DHI349YXSB/IMG_3862-300x225.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy Vanamos daugher and family gap year https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259012264-BTGL4GNKXZTS18UCCWA5/IMG_3224-300x225.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy After 3 months in Quito, we explored the jungles and beaches of Ecuador. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259014216-2YU3KPQGMSM14WT9SIQW/maya-driving-300x225.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy Coconut practicing for her eventual overlanding trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259009910-4XWNLH1M0XH2YMBP8NJP/IMG_4427-300x225.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy Vanamos boy and family gap year https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259009911-UBNVR9MEHM9NAC54ZJZ4/Have-pen-will-write-225x300.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy Vanamos Dad and family gap year https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475259010812-UYZ70OKCBKAL3I3AO1S6/IMG_5251-225x300.jpg Blog - Meet the Cuy R is always reaching for the stars. http://vanamos.net/blog/the-happiness-project monthly 0.5 2015-06-22 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/South+America monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/North+Carolina monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Central+America monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Eating+and+Sleeping+on+the+Road monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Our+Blogs monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Family+Gap+Year monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Vanamos monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Beach+Vacations monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Chiapas monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Alabama monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/North+America monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Costa+Rica monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/El+Salvador monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Panama monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Guatemala monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Flamingos monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Featured+Articles monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/USA monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Oaxaca monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Guest+Posts monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Africa monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/snorkeling monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Panama+Canal monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Travel monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Nicaragua monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Palenque monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/San+Cristobal+de+las+Casas monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Volunteer+Vacations monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Mexico monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Honduras monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Georgia monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/category/Virginia monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/homeschooling monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/education monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/Marrakesh monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/roadschooling monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/Casablanca monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/campervan monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/Africa monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/learning monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/flamingo monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/long-term+travel monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/mexico monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/Morocco monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/Fes monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/vacation monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/family monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/moving monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/worldschooling monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/blog/tag/budget monthly 0.5 http://vanamos.net/slideshow daily 0.75 2016-10-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598238681-TU1SJ84B3717KFP9OECB/_SAR_3240.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598238681-TU1SJ84B3717KFP9OECB/_SAR_3240.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598279695-4NN8NKYUMXZG41NP28BE/GOPR5612-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598287622-H2V4B0CN2DP68VV7XNO7/GOPR6726-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598300422-SKQ3P995R50MRZSNXX65/Coconut-profile-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598305632-Y6SJDWBD1E4XPV0J2LKB/archeaology-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598322213-DRUXT9Z8LNHQ0UF1HD3U/GOPR6969-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598354917-JOX5R7DJME7BMMDED124/IMG_7465-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598376079-DB9AA6RJ2RWV0VAD4R9D/IMG_0027-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598403687-BYA5BGRO3QVRLKWFXBHQ/IMG_2238-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598434863-NT0X79DI1DN0217T273W/IMG_8414-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598452903-WM1HKAP7787YRIZHFCMG/Machete-work-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598459628-PMTINNQDJTO5OJYFXCOG/IMG_2743-compressor.jpg Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475679092893-RDGE8QRGY5XWX9ZMOFQT/abastos-compressor.jpg Slideshow - Abastos Market, Oaxaca City, Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475679444417-0E6OH765QNKZVPZR77YV/El+Salvador.jpg Slideshow - Milling Corn in Mahajual, El Salvador http://vanamos.net/journey-1 daily 0.75 2016-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598238681-TU1SJ84B3717KFP9OECB/_SAR_3240.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598279695-4NN8NKYUMXZG41NP28BE/GOPR5612-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598287622-H2V4B0CN2DP68VV7XNO7/GOPR6726-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598300422-SKQ3P995R50MRZSNXX65/Coconut-profile-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598305632-Y6SJDWBD1E4XPV0J2LKB/archeaology-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598322213-DRUXT9Z8LNHQ0UF1HD3U/GOPR6969-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598354917-JOX5R7DJME7BMMDED124/IMG_7465-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598376079-DB9AA6RJ2RWV0VAD4R9D/IMG_0027-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598403687-BYA5BGRO3QVRLKWFXBHQ/IMG_2238-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598434863-NT0X79DI1DN0217T273W/IMG_8414-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598452903-WM1HKAP7787YRIZHFCMG/Machete-work-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475598459628-PMTINNQDJTO5OJYFXCOG/IMG_2743-compressor.jpg Journey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475679092893-RDGE8QRGY5XWX9ZMOFQT/abastos-compressor.jpg Journey - Abastos Market, Oaxaca City, Mexico https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475679444417-0E6OH765QNKZVPZR77YV/El+Salvador.jpg Journey - Milling Corn in Mahajual, El Salvador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475774426477-V6NEQQULRWO9BNDFT9PX/SAR_4379.jpg Journey http://vanamos.net/vanamos-home-page daily 1.0 2018-02-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467773646763-EKP9FHGDRP99WNCN04DU/image-asset.jpeg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467773805339-KEELGD1FPRU0DXC37YYE/Lima01.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1475766846492-S9KHYC760YK8COT3ATFH/GOPR7024-compressor.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467814535498-CDAJWA93DWCRL7LMA0NV/image-asset.jpeg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467765677647-NY2HQR9ZWH6OERKXXBAN/Vanamos+Bridge+of+Friars+%28compressed%29.jpg Home http://vanamos.net/homeschooling daily 0.75 2016-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467786967006-1VBPE5G4UE2VXLHZZ7XQ/image-asset.jpeg Homeschooling https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1467786505691-66IHMGDPXM8584R1D2I9/camp+setup.jpg Homeschooling http://vanamos.net/budget daily 0.75 2016-10-05 http://vanamos.net/el-salvador-travel-guide daily 0.75 2016-10-12 http://vanamos.net/panama-travel-guide daily 0.75 2016-10-12 http://vanamos.net/blog-summary-block daily 0.75 2019-12-10 http://vanamos.net/nicaragua-travel-guide daily 0.75 2016-10-12 http://vanamos.net/mexico-travel-guide daily 0.75 2018-05-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525222442642-DH99FEXIB7LMWDJPQPRN/J-and-the-Barracuda-Brothers-compressor.jpg Mexico Travel Guide J's two 'cudas weren't record-breakers, but they did feed us and our friends for two nights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525222324086-JHH3O14XYF2K1PX8RSW2/Black-Moon-compressor.jpg Mexico Travel Guide The Black Moon was the newest vessel on the pier, equipped for trolling, bouts of Montezuma's revenge, and a fighting chair, for hauling in the huge deep sea monsters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525222198183-62KTC8BN8Q5BVHEURMCW/Lancha-compressor.jpg Mexico Travel Guide A lancha, a basic boat with hard wooden seats, no toilet, and basic fishing gear is the standard vessel offered by beachside fishing operations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1525222000867-GY6UF8SSXWYD5YZ947PH/Mexican-Receipt-compressor.jpg Mexico Travel Guide Because owner of our fishing boat had no receipts, we took this photo as proof that we had paid a deposit. http://vanamos.net/language-learning-adventure-1 daily 0.75 2018-10-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540437397899-ZMDSM0IAJQRS8QX0D5FP/language+learning+adventure+cover+page.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438455416-4JKZZXJXWG8KM1L7AYRN/language+learning+food+2.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438478337-1YO1I6OUYC9O4GIKW8KM/language+learning+food.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438506684-B198QPI955X86DOSZENP/language+learning+food+3.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438517757-L68R7BHRYSK48B4ZGLH0/language+learning+food+4.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438797659-8BE9003K09DCTPZMAPV4/language+learning+casa+1.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438810597-J6S6N09BG68O636TNPZE/language+learning+casa+2.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438821557-QF2KFE00HBLDA916Z0CK/language+learning+casa+3.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438841622-PFPKVHLQQO52JBTZF328/language+learning+casa+4.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540482876884-VN2QEBDRJ3R2BUBTVFIH/language+learning+ABBA+6.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540481063472-NV1L96W0HMYFT43A8UXW/language+learning+ABBA+3.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540481096932-XC2NMR5XU9XDF6Z621Y4/language+learning+ABBA+4.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540482906284-5307FYT8E9LPQSUGTXCO/language+learning+ABBA+8.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540440024164-FA3SK73MCD1VRAD467QM/language+learning+common+space+1.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540440035454-NHFSYLWFS5USOTFFUXEZ/language+learning+common+space+2.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540440048197-IKJ7MYXGR6B27UA86PTP/language+learning+common+space+3.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540440062102-WVZISSCNI2M73SI1CUP7/language+learning+common+space+4.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439470638-TXI4IO2G96GYZ3W7LEBJ/language+learning+bedroom+2.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439571012-DWEPMOJJV0JXODAC0TBM/language+learning+bedroom+3.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439608793-2QI6M8QH19G808YT6HM9/language+learning+bedroom+4.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439667826-ECUSE7SF0NAW31BQ6NH6/language+learning+bedroom+5.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439685839-UX6VV38POU2HVMIPPY32/language+learning+bedroom+6.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439706710-O3RVIRUHQRZFD3CRYFI6/language+learning+bedroom+7.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540439728949-6ECRO6Q2OAAPIQMAA97K/language+learning+bedroom+8.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540783802203-NOQ2USLHCRJRO9SHFZUS/language+learning+bio+ginger.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438040896-HXKRJJLE7DV158E3W9KY/language+learning+market+2.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438074206-YY9QKPFMK42ZJ033023Z/language+learning+market.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438085250-Q5CPNLRSPDD880DSYTHS/language+learning+market+3.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540438099860-9TGV7UMDYCOFRMW2NUB4/language+learning+market+4.jpg Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540496697655-JTAZPLEGZGF955JS2L3C/language+learning+bio.png Language Learning Adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5771ac0259cc68d56daf44ee/1540738697201-9FJ751AWCCQHFU4QVKYS/language+learning+adventure+cover+page.jpg Language Learning Adventure http://vanamos.net/language-learning-adventure-faqs daily 0.75 2018-10-29