Hot Springs Daze - Bonita!

Tracy and Murray with their adopted doggie daughter at the Tropic of Cancer.

A scene around Santiago.

One of the many stream crossings on our way up the canyon.

A little bit of bouldering was involved but with our trusty guide dog we didn't lose the way.

The only hearty soul of our party that dove into the pool at the top of the canyon.

What style...what grace...what a suntan!

A man with his daughter. They do everything together.

The reward at the end of the trail. Hotsprings in Mexico.

The day dawned clear and hot, 28 C by 9:30, so what else was there to do but head to the Hotsprings at Santiago. We picked up Murray and Tracy Smith at their condo in San Jose and set out through the mayhem towards Santiago.

The hotsprings bubble out of the rocks at the side of a stream that comes down a real cool canyon at the base of the Sierra La Laguna mountains. The best part of this trip though is not the hotsprings but the hike up the canyon to the falls and big pools which is a perfect spot for diving and swimming. The water this year was cooler than last time we were here. So only the hearty swam this time. The pictures just can't do real justice to the cool factor of this place. We discovered Skeena is part mountain goat as she gamely scaled the rocks and swam the pools to haul herself up and down the canyon. She's game for anything just as long as she's with her people. She enjoyed Susie's gentle rub down that evening and the next morning.

After we hiked back down the canyon we rewarded ourselves by a soak in the hot springs pools. The first pool proved the hottests but had to be abandoned as the small fish in it were constantly nibbling on you. A passing tourist said they were just nibbling the dead skin off of you but we're pretty sure they were pirana's! Thank God no one had a cut or we might all have died. The second pool was good though as it was a cooler temp and only had one of the little nibblers. None of that pack mentality common to dogs and bikers to gang up on us like his buddies in the first pool.

Susie was unable to wear her new leopard skin bikini today as she burnt her tummy on the first day she wore the 2 piecer. Seems 30 years without sun can make skin rather light sensitive. Another of the advantages of being in your 50's is you can go back to wearing the same types of clothes as you did in your teens. Who knew...

Anyways, our trip to Santiago was a great experience yet again. It is awesome to be able to share such a unique place with friends. Santiago is a beautiful old Mexican town as yet unspoiled by us Gringos. We only hope it can hang on to it's identity.

Note to Bob: The fishing license saga continues. I figured that I really should get a yearly fishing license. So, off to the malecon in Cabo we went. The table is there, the man is there, a book of licenses is there, what can go wrong? Well it turns out this is a junior license vendor and can only sell 1 day fishing licenses. The yearly license man is there manana. I swear to God before we leave Mexico I'm going to get a yearly fishing license. We laughed, thought of you and walked away.