Hymns of Zion #201

"...I want my friends to pray for me, to hold me up on wings of faith, that I may walk the narrow way, kept by our Father's glorious grace...I need the prayers of those I love." Hymns of Zion #201

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

And Then There Was Sun

Well, hello there. Laura just made the major mistake of letting me do a guest post before I leave. Ugh, that makes me sad just to think about. It's moments like these when I still can’t believe how blessed I am to have gotten to spend the last two summers in one of the best places on Earth. The moment I’m talking about is the fact that I’m sitting here, in Cafe Sed, with Laura, drinking a mocha frappe (yes, I have a slight obsession), just casually typing out a blog post. 

Anyways, she’s given me a strict topic to cover, so I suppose I’ll just have to avoid the familiarities, jokes and sarcasm (hopefully she would understand most of it :P) and actually type about my moments to cover. 

When I left last year, I made a bucket list of things I wanted to do on my next trip ...well, my next trip was for her wedding and it was only, like, 3 days long, so I guess it was for my next SUMMER trip. 

My list went, in no particular order:
  • Climb ‘The Big Mountain’
    • Apparently, I have to come back “when it’s cold out” and so that we won’t literally “burn up from the heat."
  • Go to Cafe Sed...and order something other than a mocha frappe.
    • And that failed spectacularly, as you can see from above, I’m stuck on my frappe.
  • Visit the Plaza 
    • I even bought souvenirs for my friends ...and yes, it surprises me that I have friends as well.
  • Go riding 
    • So, that hasn’t happened yet, but I’m planning to as soon as I get approval.
  • Actually, attend all of EXPO...and cause somebody to land in the dunk tank 
    • For those of you that know me, the dunk tank ...well, did you really doubt me?
  • Play softball...and make it to first base
    • Yes, I actually did make it to first base. Did I swing, hit a ball, and run? Of course not. It’s called strategy…and the fact that four balls give you a walk.
  • Eat a literal ton of Mexican food...okay, maybe not a literal ton
    • You have never lived until you've tried all of Laura’s concoctions that normally actually end up ridiculously delicious.
And last, but definitely not least:
  • Visit the beach, for the first time since I was 5 

And, that is my topic to cover. Our spectacular, whimsical, extraordinary trip to Bahia de Kino last Saturday. Which, yes, caused us to miss one day of the EXPO, but it was sooo worth it.

Now, let me set the scene:

It was a blissful morning. 
The sun was shining. 
The breeze was blowing. 

And then, the alarm clock rang, and I was jerked from sleep to reality.
Yes, it was a blissful morning…that was BEFORE I woke up.
Yes, the sun was shining...but that was blocked by clouds.
And yes, the breeze was blowing...but it felt more like a chilling wind.

Now, I’m going to have you forget everything you just read. Yes, you heard me right...or... read me right. Forget it all!!!!


See, I don’t actually remember the morning very well, because, well, it was morning! And I was trying to sleep. However, I do remember curling up in the backseat - after the most delicious burrito (papas con chorizo) with the most delicious salsa - and sleeping for the majority of the ride to the beach.

We did see some enormous cacti and some beautiful groves, but that was mostly remembered from the ride home. 
We got to the beach shortly before noon and after some long debates and much walking, decided to eat lunch in the car before carrying our towels down to the water’s edge. Once again, lunch was delicious - meat, cheese, mayo…and bread for those of us that could eat it. And also, some leftover cinnamon rolls from EXPO. 
Then it was a race to the water and much splashing to get out towards the deep. Now let me just say, I will never forget the first wave to hit my face, and I mean that in the worst way possible. See, nobody had considered informing me that the ocean was salt water and I had to rely on myself to learn that, in the quickest way possible. (Now, Laura, would that be an avoider or a pleaser?) Okay, I did actually know that the ocean is saltwater, that knowledge had just chosen an opportune moment to not come to the surface of my brain (#seewhatididthere). 
We danced out in the waves for quite a while before moving down the beach to a less occupied area and proceeded to build a sand…. fortress? It definitely wasn’t pretty enough to be a castle, but it did have a little tower on it, so yeah, a fortress. 
We also went shell-hunting. Like, I just found them with my feet and picked them up and they were pretty!!!! It was so cool. At one point, an ice-cream man came past and we got ice-cream. Laura and I got mango…like you could eat chunks of mango out of the ice-cream. Miguel got lime, which brought back a lot of memories of living here.  
After walking back to the car and leaving Miguel behind…mwahahaha…. Laura and I walked down the beach trying to find some bigger shells and waded in the water some.
On the way back up to the car we stopped at one of vendors and bought a Coco-Mango. They opened the coconut and cleaned it out and added mango, rellelitos (Tamarindo candy), lime and Japanese peanuts and we got to eat it.
Before heading back to Magdalena, we stopped at the pier, looked through the shops, walked down to the end of the pier and then ate at one of the restaurants along the streets.

I had deep-fried shrimp wrapped in cream cheese, ham and then breaded Laura had a taco, and Miguel had this soup that had octopus in it. Yeah, I didn’t try that one.  
With our trip completed, we traveled home, some of us just sleeping the whole way…. *cue innocent smile*
After arriving at the house, Laura and I realized just how intense our sunburns were. Yes, there had to be sun. To be fair, it was such a beautiful day that it was perfect to spend at the beach, but there just had to be sun. However, much to Laura’s chagrin, hers has remained painful and red until the time I’m writing this, but mine was no longer painful or red by Monday night. Well, I did get sunburnt again today (Tuesday) but that will be gone by morning as well. 

Yes, Laura, I’m laughing at you, but it is with much respect and also some pity. Like, I know how much it has to hurt, but like, mine is gone already. 

Well, I guess this concludes my ‘strict topic to cover’ and I must bid you all adieu. I will see you again someday soon and hopefully regale some more of my incredibly ridiculously hilarious adventures for your highly anticipated and enjoyable entertainment. 

This is Megan Ricketts, signing off.