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| The Malecon in La Paz is important to Mexicans who enjoy various activities, including walking, skateboarding, roller blading, and biking. The weather these next few days is incredible! The high tomorrow will be 80 F (26 C). There isn't a cloud in the sky this morning. Reading through my posts, I've been reminded how much I enjoy walking when traveling. So what better thing to do today than to enjoy the sunshine, walking, and the Malecon? I walk a little over 1.8 mi (3 km) to Super Burro, a local restaurant on the outskirts of the Malecon. Eric, who manages the hostel, said, "You can find good tripa tacos there." After sitting at a table, something else catches my eye on the menu.  "Tienes Menudo hoy? (Do you have menudo today?)," I ask the waitress. She smiles and says, "Si (Yes)" Menudo is one of my favorite Mexican soup and I frequently make it. I enjoy it more than pozole, though the two are similar. Menudo is made with beef tripe and, in my experience, has a broth derived from chili powder. When my bowl arrives, I am surprised to see a pale instead of a red broth, but all the ingredients are there tripe and hominy. I dip my spoon and sample the broth. Mmmm. That is tasty. In the aluminum foil is a stack of corn tortillas.  I prepare my bowl of Menudo. I add onions, cilantro, and a few spoonfuls of spicy chili oil. The waitress looks at my red orange broth and says, "Picante." Yes, I enjoy a spicy Menudo broth.  The Menudo is outstanding! It is so incredibly tender and seasoned just right. I am glad I made the trip here and saw this on the menu. Do you what the secret is to having great tasting Menudo? Cook the crap out of it! 😂 Jokes aside, this is a wonderful and tasty Mexican traditional meal! The Malecon has several bronze sculptures dispersed along the boardwalk. This Whale Shark is the largest of the sculpture. In visiting with other travelers in the hostel, I have learned that the Whale Sharks have left La Paz. All excursions to swim with them have been canceled, pending a return by the Whale Sharks. Today, the sculpture reminds me of my incredible experience a few weeks ago. Moreover, it reminds me to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. Had I decided to wait until later, I would have missed out on this experience entirely.  Doce Cuarenta is a great little coffee and the place I have spent a great deal of time recently. The outdoor patio outback is a great place to enjoy the sunshine and continue my journey through my blog. On my way back, I pass this plaque on the Malecon. It draws my attention, and take a moment to read it.  The old man and the sea? I have a paper boat It is made of a page in which I write my dreams It has no anchors only love I want to navigate in the boat, on the Seven Seas On the 8th, I will run aground in the port I long for Has someone seen my lighthouse shine? I've said frequently in my travels that we seek experiences that we need in life. As I read through my posts, I am reminded that there has been an abundance of moments that support this conclusion. Sometimes these experiences are conscious. Frequently they are unconscious. I believe that "coincidence" is a word The Mind has created to help us dismiss our experiences when the experience is primarily unconscious. Coincidence is a word that allows The Mind to automate our experiences to save us time. The Mind does not do this maliciously. Instead, it is trying to save us time by automating and dismissing moments it feels are unimportant. Are they, in fact, unimportant? Who is The Mind to decide what is essential? I don't believe in coincidences these days. When "coincidences" present themselves, I take a moment to become present with the moment. My Mind is not allowed to dismiss my experiences. What is it about this particular moment? Why did it present itself at this point in time? I will share with you that me choosing Baja, Mexico, as my next destination was not a coincidence. Did I fully understand how deeply I would ground here? Nope. Nevertheless, this was an intentional move, and I am embracing all it offers. Take the plaque I encountered today. Is it a coincidence that it resonated with me before I read it? After all, isn't that why I stopped right? There is no way I could understand what it had to share with me before stopping, yet I honored my Heart's desire to stop. After I read the plaque and translated it, I now know why it resonated with me. This was a message for me. I was supposed to find it today. I had no intention of searching my myself or life's meaning when I started to travel. Though with each passing day, my desire to return to the United States after my travels wanes. I now understand why this is. This plaque reminds me to follow my heart, and my ship will eventually run aground. I have noticed through the years that there are places in life that make a person feel safe and have a strong grounding effect on them. This provides a person with the ability to become intentionally reflective. Is it energy lines? 😂 I don't know. I've said many times there are things in our experiences that need no explanation. This is one of those things. There are places in this world that exist for this purpose and simply are. I encountered many people before starting my travels that knew exactly where these important places were for them. Many circled back to these locations periodically in their life. Until I started my travels, I did not fully understand how a place could illicit such a feeling in a person. I now understand what this feels like. For me, La Paz, Baja will always a special place and a place I know I can return to in the future. It is not a coincidence that this is my 3rd time visiting La Paz over the past month. Later, I pass a tiny boat loaded with pelicans. I stop and capture the moment, and the pelicans casually enjoy simply BEING. I love this photo!  |
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