Well, I’m here! After a number of delays (as usual), some car problems (as expected), and some technical difficulties, I finally made it down to La Paz. The drive down wasn’t very eventful. The cats and the dog were all pretty well-behaved and surprisingly quiet. Of course, I may only think that because their kennels were buried in my clothes and books and other stuff and I couldn’t hear them! The guys at the military check points didn’t quite know what to make of my little traveling zoo and I got waved through at every post. I would love to have three or four days to do this trip without rushing and enjoy all the stops along the way. One day…J

I hit Guerrero Negro (about halfway down the peninsula) just as the sun was setting. We found a hotel and hit the hay pretty early. I still overslept the next morning and we got out of town a little later than I would have hoped. That meant two hours of driving in the dark before getting in to La Paz. Not ideal!! But I didn’t hit any cows so that worked out. I was greeted with hugs and kisses by Alba and her mom and dad, and taken out to my new home, El Terreno.

I love El Terreno!! It’s about a ten minute drive from the nearest Pemex gas station (and civilization in general). It’s in a neighborhood that’s slated for development, although that hasn’t really happened yet. Way more empty lots than houses out here. Lots of dust and dirt roads and goat herds. Alba’s dad, Eleazar, is cultivating a shady fruit orchard on the lot, with oranges, pomegranates, and other big leafy trees just hitting maturity. That makes for lots of shade and a pretty view. Eleazar and the nearest neighbor both come out two or three times a week to water the plants, so for as isolated as it is out here, it seems like there’s always someone around.

It’s a lovely little house, you can see from the photos. There’s no hot water, which is mostly fine, but I forgot that it’s actually quite a bit cooler this time of year! I have to time my showers so that the water in the holding tank on top of the house is somewhat warm. In the summer it really doesn’t matter- it’s so damn hot here all you want is a cold shower, but right now it’s a little different. I’m living in the downstairs area right now. The upstairs has a bedroom and a bathroom but it’s not finished yet. I’m going to help Alba and her family tile the floors and bathroom and get it ready for living in.

The cats are in heaven! Aside from all the mice and gophers they can hunt, there are trees to climb and a roof for sunbathing. Cali has plenty of space to run around and of course has charmed Eleazar and the neighbors into throwing the ball for her. I’m so grateful I’m able to live in a place where I can have all the animals!

Cali and I took an afternoon to go swim in the bay....

Since I arrived I’ve been settling in and trying to get this project up and running.I finally met up with my official Mexican faculty sponsor, and she’s been a great help. She already has some projects going near my field sites, so I’ll be able to tag along on some of those trips. In fact, this last week I accompanied her team up to the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve. They were doing some plant surveys as well as placing some camera traps for a project on the feral pigs there. More on that in the next post….