Juan & Shari's Asuncion Updates

wedding planning & beach days

shari bondy — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:41:09 +0000

The countdown is on for sirena & adrian’s wedding on Dec.29th! Thank goodness many amigos are helping get things organized for the grand event. Here are Nancy & Zoe helping out with decorating the wine glasses! Family and friends have already started arriving for the celebration making these holidays even more special this year.

Sirena & Izaak visited for a week to get some of the plans finalized…Izaak is talking more every day and it’s so fun to hear his new words…we had some great beach days too…winter in baja is pretty darn great!

Izaak had his 1st surf lesson with some help from tia Nancy!

WINDOWS IN & FINALLY GETTING A REAL SIGN!

shari bondy — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:23:03 +0000

We will finally have a sign which local artist Nancy will paint….as soon as we decide what to paint on it!!!

But the big news this week is that the windows are finally in on our new room overlooking the blowhole. Now we can start to finish the room and have it done for Xmas! The ceiling is next, then paint and tile.

November is the sweetest month!

shari bondy — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:11:00 +0000

I love November in central baja…perfect air and water temps, calmer seas and winds perfect for fishing, beach days or hunting for the lucious pithaya cactus fruit. Pithaya is a marvel to behold….how such a sweet, juicy fruit can come from a dry desert cactus! the flavour is like a strawberry/kiwi/watermelon cross and we love late afternoon strolls through the desert to look for them.

Pithaya hunging is like an easter egg hunt except in the desert! Picking this magical fruit can be tricky…first you cut off all the thorns with a pocket knife, then you cut it off the cactus arm and drop it into your gathering bucket. The ones that have split open are the juciest and best to eat right there in the desert to give you energy to look for more! I slice them into fruit salads and they make a colourful margarita or daquiri. This is a unique baja activity that people of all ages love to participate in…especially the eating part!

Izaak turns the big 1!!!!

shari bondy — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:08:14 +0000

How time flies when you are having fun eh! Hard to believe our grandson Izaak is starting his second trip around the sun! He is already walking, fishing and loves playing in the tide pools here. Sirena and Izaak were in Asuncion for a week and our wonderful amigos Nancy & David hosted a great birthday party. We combined it with Canadian Thanksgiving with a turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, salads etc. and a huge cake.

Here is a little slide show of the party!

http://s385.photobucket.com/albums/oo295/blowhole1/Izaaks%20First%20Birthday/?albumview=slideshow

“LAURA’S” New Food Stand a Hit!!

shari bondy — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:45:38 +0000

Two Laura’s opened a new food stand on the main street beside the cooperativa where they serve the best tortas (big bun sandwiches) filled with beef, lettuce, tomoato and avacado with homemade salsas and most excellent french fries!

They open before dawn to serve the fishermen coffee and breakfast and will make your lunches to take out on the pangas too. They are open all day till around 9 at night for great good and service with a huge smile!

BATHING BEAUTIES!!!

shari bondy — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:42:26 +0000

The ocean temps are delicious these days…up to the mid 70′s which is perfect for cooling off in the afternoons after doing laundry! How we ladies enjoy frolicking in the waves together and getting some exercise while having fun. Maria, Michelle & Zoe all have places here in Asuncion and it is wonderful to have them here to play with!

VanGurp family ….newest Asuncion settlers!

shari bondy — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:23:58 +0000

We extend a hearty welcome to Lionel, who is a firefighter from Pinetop Arizona, and his wife Michelle, who is very active in children’s development and the cloth diaper movement, Erin…or Alicia as she is known in Baja, who is a talented artist and performer extraordinaire and Tristan, the mexicano of the family who was born in San Quentin.

They brought down their vintage motorhome to park on their lot while they build their home poco a poco and are loving thier new digs at Ensenadita…the little cove.They had a fun BBQ lot warming party…what a great place to catch the sunset as well as launch a kayak.

Lionel took some time out to catch some yellowtail….the bite was wide open and they easily got their limit in a couple hours.

Flying Doctors hold free clinics in Bahia Asuncion

shari bondy — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:51:18 +0000

Mil gracias to the Flying Doctors of the south Bay area for coming to do a free clinic in Asuncion over the weekend. Two planes brought 8 volunteers who worked their tails off for 2 days pulling and filling teeth and giving out reading glasses.

We were really happy that many of the ladies in the village also volunteered to help at the clinics. This time, our mayor opted to try something different for feeding the gang. Instead of having to go to a restaurant, we arranged for the ladies of DIF ( a community organization) to make and deliver their meals to the beach houses we donated to the cause. The team loved relaxing and socializing there and having the food brought to them! They got to try abalone sausage for breakfast, nopales, chicharonnes, fish tacos, tamales de caracol and the last night we BBQ’d a big yellowtail.

After the clinics were over, we had caracol tamales at the Blowole and a great meeting to discuss the possibility of building a permanent Flying Doctors clinic here. This turned out to be a huge success as the ladies had a wonderful time serving and chatting with the visitors. It is always better when more of the locals are directly involved with these clinics…more fun for everyone! The ladies of DIF are very dedicated to a new project for our village…they want to build a senior citizens center….a place where the elders can go and eat, play dominos, take classes, dance, socialize as well as receive needed physical therapy and psycological care. We came up with the idea of having a permanent room in this center where the flying doctors can have a clinic. This way they can bring and leave much of their needed equipment here like compressor, dental chairs, sterilizers etc. The organization has promised to help us build this center and made a donation to the cause. It is a win win partnership for sure and we will be assisting the group in fund raising and getting donations. The ladies will be selling food to tourists this season like tamales and enchiladas and will also provide meals delivered to your rental….all the money going toward the senior center.

Thanks to the coops and delegado for providing the food and making this visit a memorable one for the flying docs.

Here is a little slideshow of the visit. http://s385.photobucket.com/albums/oo295/blowhole1/Flying%20Doctors%20Asuncion%20Visit%20Jan%20%202011/Flying%20Doctors%20visit%20Ju ly%202011/?albumview=slideshow

BABY IZAAK GROWING FAST

shari bondy — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:13:01 +0000

My darling grandson Izaak is growing so fast….now 7 months old and well on his way to walking!! He is a fun, strong boy who already loves books and driving a panga!

Sirena, Adrian and Izaak now live in a house in Ensenada where Adrian is the manager of the fantastic restaurant Ofelias in Sauzal but luckily they have been here to visit lots…

Here are some albums of my pride & joy!

https://picasaweb.google.com/sharibondy/IzaakSirenaAprilVisitToAsuncion#slideshow/5593620280776936226

http://s385.photobucket.com/albums/oo295/blowhole1/amigos%20y%20familia/Izaak%20Baby%20Showers/Birth%20of%20Izaak/Izaak%20%20little%20big%20man/izaak%205%20months%20asuncion/

Tio Javier’s Birthday Fiesta!

shari bondy — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 20:04:01 +0000

Many of you who spend time in Asuncion know Juan’s tio Javier. He is a sweet & gentle man who plays music at the church and around town. They have adopted many of the expats who live here and it was a pleasure to all get together to help him celebrate his birthday which as usual was a surprise. They sent him out to collect firewood that afternoon so we could get ready for the party and surprise him…which always brings tears to his eyes.

As always, there was great food, music, kids racing around, a pinata and good fun not to mention a big cake! Here are some pics of the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYLmDreOljY