The palapa! With one very large tent, two small tents, a kitchen, and still plenty of room!
The most important change to the place was that the palapa was built! We were very fortunate to be connected with a true craftsman, named Ignacio ~ "Nacho" for short, who did not just an excellent job, but an artistic job on this very important structure on our property. Every local person who has viewed it has marveled at its high quality. With this built, it is now possible to relax in comfort at Lumbini Gardens, sheltered from the extremely intense sun. We are so pleased. 
Mommy, Papi, and Anjali, and then Miles, and Meg all camped in tents under the palapa. The other member, named Carol, stayed at the nearby Hotel Buena Vista. Most of our time was spent around the property.
Captions for photos, below: Strolling with Uncle Miles. Playing with Felipe (or, rather, insisting that Felipe play with her! ;-) ). Honeybees in a nearby log = honey!! Sampling one of the abundant supply of Surinam Cherries. Bananas!
One day we drove to Buena Vista and enjoyed the pool and ocean.
Another evening we went to Cabo San Lucas to have dinner at a restaurant with Felipe and his family, Karen, Damien (8), and Paula (4). Anjali was quite taken with mama Karen, and enjoyed playing on the playground with the older kids. She especially enjoyed hanging with her hands from a ring on the swing set.
The last evening we made a point to spend sunset at the nearby beach in La Ribera.
The water was teeming with wildlife! Schools of small fish, and flying fish, kept rustling the surface ~ some flying fish covering 15 feet or so before going back down! And with the small fish come the big fish. Quite a few wakes and flourishes were happening just under the surface, and I just knew at any moment we would see a dolphin or seal. :-) Along with the predators swimming, was the largest gathering of pelicans I have ever seen! I say 30, Papi says 100 (haha!). Seeing these massive birds close in and dive, and then fold their lanky bodies into a sitting-floating position over and over again was spectacular.
We could barely take our eyes off the water. All the while Anjali had set her sights on something else: a group of local children, whom she desperately wanted to win over! Not speaking much Spanish, she set to work with a physical comedy routine, kicking the sand, making grand gestures and faces, and laughing really loudly. The children, all older, giggled sincerely with her.
We had the chance to visit the food forest across the road, named Buena Fortuna.
Gabriel, the owner and sole inhabitant of the place, is literally a world treasure of information about biodiversity and, specifically, seed-saving. He has close to 4,000 different species of plants growing on just six acres. It is a wondrous jungle oasis situated in the midst of the desert ~ a testament to what can be done there with some water and a lot of TLC.
Anjali's favorite part of Buena Fortuna was probably the cats. They were calm and approachable. Most importantly, a mama kitty had two young kittens under the fridge in the kitchen. Anjali got to hold a kitten for the first time! It held tight for a few minutes, and then mewed for its mommy. So sweet!
Anjali is growing quite comfortable being by herself with her adult friends. She felt confident running errands around the property with Miles, going on a walk with Carol and her friend, Hortensia ~ after which, she patted at their legs in emphasis, and told us proudly, "My friends." It is also not uncommon these days for Anjali to pick a man out of a group of our friends and shower him with attention. One morning at Lumbini, this was Felipe. She and I went to pick Surinam Cherries. She insisted that the cherries were all for Felipe. I told her I would stay at the bushes and pick some for the others, and she headed back to the palapa. When she got there, she would only give cherries to Felipe!
Things are moving along rapidly for us to move down to Lumbini Gardens and Papi and I are thrilled. Anjali seems to take it all in stride, and enjoy the ride, as she enjoys most everything. Her sunny attitude helps us to remember that the challenges are just another aspect of the fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment