Mondulkiri, Cambodia: Part 2.5 The Coffee Plantation and Pizza

While we were in Mondulkiri, Cambodia at Nature Lodge, we went exploring nearby places. One that wasn't a waterfall was this coffee plantation (video here.) We didn't even find it on purpose, but Ezra had to stop to use the restroom and Elias was carsick so I took them both with me and we went exploring (as the bathroom was hidden down a windy trail around beautiful trees.

Some of the large plants had green berries on them that I thought might be coffee...

Down one trail, hidden in the trees, we came across a two story water slide. We didn't know what it was until we got to the top and saw...

that the slide went all the way down to the lake!

 There were also banana trees:

And what I think is jackfruit now, but I called durian, trees:

Elias thought their horizontal branches that went all the way to the top looked like a great bench!

The lake didn't look very big, but it had been channeled under the road, and into sluices to irrigate the coffee plantation.

This tree with the red leaves was one the boys found interesting, but I don't know what it is called:

And this hosta-looking plant that got super tall was cool:

It was nice to be surrounded by nature and hiking through trees rather than concrete buildings and whirring traffic.

We even found a cabin on our hike back up to the van.

The day after this we met our new friends and had more fun playing around Nature Lodge than going on more explorations. However, we did find an awesome pizza place out on a dirt road called Mondulkiri Pizza. The guy who owned it had previously worked in Phnom Penh making pizza. The restaurant went under new management and they changed all of the recipes to inferior ones in his opinion. He moved up to Mondulkiri and opened his own restaurant, got married and started his family there. He liked the more natural environment and pace of the place. We didn't blame him, and his pizza was incredible. I highly recommend you check out Mondulkiri Pizza if you ever go that way.

The pizza place had a spacious lawn and a lazy river flowing through the back yard. After lunch the kids went exploring the grounds and the owner mixed a little flour and water to make a simple dough bait and made a bamboo fishing rod from scratch. The kids loved it!

Mondulkiri, Cambodia; Part 2: Monorom Waterfall

After visiting the beautiful Busra waterfalls, where we didn't see the places safe for kids to swim and the options to zip line over and see the views were too expensive, we found another waterfall closer to home the next day. Many roads are packed red clay once you get off of the highway. The road to Monorom Falls was one of those:

It was a relatively smooth ride. We passed banana trees, which the kids liked to see.

This waterfall was called the Monorom waterfall, (video here) and it had a sign saying it was used to make hydroelectricity. Someone had set up fallen tree branches into a booth/tented area and there were some logs to sit on at the top of the falls. The log in the picture, by the way, was not one of those...

We saw butterflies here.

The path down to the bottom of the waterfall was way too steep for me to go down with a baby, or for Ezra to go down without significant help, so Ben took Talia and Elias to play in the water at the bottom.

Ezra and I went exploring the nearby bridge and banana grove. This beautiful place re-emphasized to me how some of the best experiences are beyond paved roads.

Back at Nature Lodge, we took the next day to rest and play around the camp site. We try not to give our kids electronics whenever possible, so it was nice to see them using their imaginations and playing with sticks. (video here)

Teacher's Day Celebrations

May tenth in Mexico is always Mother's Day. We had a huge 80's themed program at school to celebrate the mothers and then, the following weekend was...... Teacher's Day!

It was amazing! Our school took us out on a camel adventure with Cabo Adventures. We hiked through the desert, went camel back riding on the beach, and ate delicious typical food like chicken in mole and beans and fresh-off-the-'comal' tortillas and quesadillas.

The guide said the dress they modeled for the excursion was after North African camel herders. Our safety helmets had head coverings sewn on just for fun.

The next day we were all invited to a fellow teacher's family vacation house near a beautiful dam between mountains. The view of the water and cactus covered mountains was really pretty.

Of course, the kid's favorite part was the pool!

Talia stayed in as looooooong as she possibly could. She loves jumping in the water!

All of us had a lot of fun spending time with fellow teachers who are also close friends. I'm always so thankful for the wonderful people I work with! 

Desert Plants and Flowers in San José del Cabo

Talia and I like to run and hike together when we get a chance. Sometimes we go to the estuary and sometimes we visit the camels and the dolphins, or visit the horses at the beach, and other times just walk around the historic district of San José. 

One of our favorite things to see, besides the animals, are the interesting flowers and plants that exist in this dry environment.

Mangos are Talia's favorite fruit and it is almost mango season!!! They are just starting to change from green to red and yellow.

Of course there are cactus fruits.

And this cactus was budding.

This little bush looked like it had apples but they weren't as hard or big as an apple.

There are lots of interesting seed pods.

Some are really weird kiwi-looking things.

Others are bright orange....

With red circular seeds inside when they burst open.

Guamuchil fruit that gives you dry mouth.

Talia loves the flowers!

We saw hummingbirds around these yellow trumpet-shaped flowers.

This looked like a tree at the bottom and a cactus at the top!

Come hiking with us!

Boca de la Sierra, Hiking in Beautiful Cabo

This weekend I got to explore a new part of Cabo with some friends. We crammed 11 people into an Expedition and drove to Boca de la Sierra. On the way you can see the mountain Picacho, the highest point here. My friends were upset that it looks like there have been miners changing the shape of the mountain. Mining is a hot controversial topic here because it introduces pollution and messes up this beautiful place.

We arrived and hiked down a dirt then rocky trail, crossed a slippery river, then found a sandy beach area to make a "fogata" campfire.

The beautiful, deep pools were clean and clear. It was a wonderful compromise between a pool and the ocean: clean but no wild animals and still in gorgeous nature.

We cooked beef for tacos, roasted marshmallows for s'mores, swam in the cool water, hiked the giant rocks and laid on a sheet in the sand talking to friends. Every once in a while someone would wander off to "cut flowers" but we knew that really meant they were watering them... 😄

On the way home we were blessed with some of the most vivid colors splashed across the sky in a magnificent sunset.

This day was filled with friends, blessings and nature. I'm so grateful to be alive!

 

Hiking Pacaya

Last Saturday, August 21, I met a goal I've been working towards since moving to Guatemala; I hiked the volcano Pacaya.

We woke up at 5:30ish to get going. We arrived and bought the tickets.
They kept asking if we wanted to take a "horse taxi" the 3.something (steep) kilometers up the mountain.

The guide took time to explain the medicinal value of some of the plants we passed, and to describe what kind of animals lived there- though mostly before the latest eruption. He also explained how the eruption affected the community.

When we got to the top it was a little bit foggy so the picture isnt as great as it would be with better visibility.

At the top we poked a stick into one of the lava pores to catch it on fire to roast volcano marshmellows!

This makes three goals I have met: 1)losing weight 2) learning to swim and 3) Pacaya.
Disclaimer: Pacaya is probably a fairly simple hike for most people, I've just never done anything like that before.