We had the typical holidays that were both happy and horrible.
The Honeymoon
Sean came for a visit and we were on a honeymoon. We showed him our favorite places and the magic that fills our days.
Sean got to ford our river that is now low in the dry season… but still fun.
We took him to the sea turtle reserve where mama turtles were laying eggs and nearby babies were hatching
I love the squinting expression on Leo's face as he studies her plopping an egg out one at a time
We let Maya hold one that was dying from the vultures eating off his front arm
All done and the long struggle back to the ocean before the vultures peck her to death.
More mama turtles are coming in with the waves.
The kids have sticks to shoo away the vultures, who peck the sea turtle mamas to death and scoop up the babies who just made their way to the ocean. It's a brutal lesson in the cycle of life and the odds against surviving.
Nice! Diesel fuel in water bottles
Sean's victory
Sean took up surfing and so did the kids
Our Xmas tree
And although we celebrated Christmas more than Hanukkah, we really understood the Hanukkah lesson of making a little go far. With few resources, we made our own interpretation of finding what is available and making it work. The kids got Santa letters recognizing their special personalities, iTunes downloads and paper airplanes and they couldn't have been happier.
We found an island:
It's not as deep as it looks
Some La Luna smoothies
So after these few wonderful days, we endeavored to leave our small village to the "big city" for the day and we got in a car wreck. Everybody is fine but the damage is costly. 2 days later our truck broke down. In a true lesson of life in this remote area, it will take a month to receive the parts. When we tried to get a rent-a-car, the cost was obscene because it is high tourist season, and anyway none of the companies had a car available in the area. We've been walking for a couple of weeks which poses its challenges in 90 degree weather with 3 young kids. The dust is suffocating and trucks speed past us.
It is hitting us that this area is prone to mishaps and solutions are few and far between, not to mention costly.
This holiday has given new perspective on our ability to stay here long term. We are lucky that now our only problem is car trouble but if it were more serious, I'm not sure how I could manage alone. I think this is a beautiful place but it poses extreme and perhaps unnecessary challenges to be here alone with 3 kids who are still so young. We also had a revelation that this is supposed to be the simple life but some things are far more complicated. It makes me appreciate the simple life we had in Germany. It was not extravagant, just simple (and cold).
Well, it might just be our 4 month homesick blues...
