for today,,,

First topic message reminder :

from facebook:
The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional in Mexico is forecasting a slightly above average hurricane season with 17 named storms, 9 of those becoming hurricanes, and 4 of those hurricanes becoming major storms of Category 3 or higher.

talked to a phone lineman today, he said no plans for hooking up the fiberoptic in LV.

missing dog...    Shawnda a brown white boxer, very friendly, shows no aggression to people.  If found or seen see Sol at the El Teso coffee shop.   Or contact me.

http://www.bcsnoticias.mx/fiturca-en-los-cabos-proyecta-cerrar-el-2017-con-2-5-millones-de-turistas/

cabo touurism up from 2016 from 2.1 million to be 2.5 million 2017 projected

http://defiendelasierra.org/fotos/?wppa-occur=1&wppa-photos-only=1&wppa-cover=0&wppa-album=26

whoa is it humid today this evening.... so humid I can barely see the mountains in san antonio... I vote it for the most humid day for all summer.

November 25 | December 2: BIRDWATCHING & LUNCH. Baja California Sur is a known migratory bird haven and Rancho Cacachilas is a host to many. 102 species of birds have been observed by researchers over the past four years. Environmentally unique, the mixed elevations and characteristics of the ranch provide a variety of habitats for birds. Join Daniel Galindo or Maria Elena Muriel for an early morning of birdwatching followed by a delicious farm and garden produced meal with beverages. Pick up at 6 am at the Rancho Cacachilas Mountain & Bike Hub in El Sargento. Return at 1 pm. $85 US per person per day. Two-day advance reservation required.

Abundant Desert Workshop Series. Dedicated to land restoration and conservation in the Sierra Cacachilas, Rancho Cacachilas will hold a series of one-day workshops this fall through spring that focus on ecological themes:

Water Harvesting - Sat, Dec 2, 2017
Composting and Organic Waste Management - Sat, Jan 6, 2018
Organic Gardening - TBA
Regional Cheesemaking and Food Preservation - TBA
Seed Saving - TBA

Includes an organic, garden lunch and transportation to and from the Rancho Cacachilas Mountain & Bike Hub in El Sargento.

Speciality Weekend Science Hike — Geology & Botany — 2018 Dates To Be Announced. Would you like to know about the medicinal and edible plants of the Sierra Cacachilas and the Baja California Sur region? If so, Professor J. Fernando Pio Leon is the one to inform you. Fernando has published a number of scientific research papers on native plants and their uses by the rancheros in this region. He has also studied and published scientific papers on many of their actual medicinal benefits. Like geology? Geophysicist John Reynolds has spent the past six years studying the geological formation of the Sierra Cacachilas and has led the extensive mineral exploration of our holdings. John can educate you on the how, what, and why of this exceptionally diverse geological region. Daily 5 K moderate hikes in varied terrain. Mula Bar trail service, meals and beverages are included. Pick Up: 2 pm, Friday Rancho Cacachilas Mountain & Bike Hub in El Sargento. 3 nights | 4 days, furnished cabin tents, Los Pisos, Rancho Cacachilas. Return: 2 pm, Monday, Rancho Cacachilas Mountain & Bike Hub. $950 US per person. Three-day advance reservations required.

For more details and reservations for these events and more:
+52 (612) 114 0472
https://www.ranchocacachilas.com

Ireland getting its first hurricane... Is this ever?

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/1015/912467-ophelia/

the road over the mountain to LaPaz has been band-aided... not a single pothole on Saturday...

nice day but hot..

boo-boos bad today, humid again too.

good news the internet is back to 11 meg download i am usually at 10. i was at about 7 for a bit from the hurricane till now. .

weather really nice and boo-boos not a significant problem anymore.    I can walk in the evening and enjoy it.

The dog walked me yesterday and checked on the splice job by telmex. they removed the damaged section and put in two junction boxes.

My internet speed has not increaded and it is actually lower still from the days after the storm. dropped by 30% to 7 meg download.

Someone commented they heard the internet down was part of an upgrade.     Well, that could certainly be true, but after the internet was out I was doing dishes an hour or so later and saw 3 telmex trucks enter the town. After nothing for an hour or so and it was starting to get dark I took a ride towards the tower to be nosy as usual. I saw two linemen I did not recognize with ladders on the two adjacent poles, they were across from Richards property before Sols coffee shop.

So I stopped at one spot and the guy was standing there waiting for something??? , very friendly guy and I could see a wire sheath with several hundred colored wires hanging out striped about 3 feet. He also did not speak English, but I got him to show me the problem was that cable was brushing against a concrete electrical pole and it via abrasion cut it and hence about 30 pair were exposed and possibly shorting out which could have damaged the tower equipment, obviously I could not ask that question. But they had already put in a jumper section and were tying them in. Not many were done.

The lineman indicated to me that he had 300 to jumper on his end, that would be 150 twisted pairs or phone/internet services.. I was kind of hoping they would not do that as the ones that were not damaged were better off not being jumped. It causes signal degradation and more over time especially in our salt air. He was so nice and did even show me he was using the proper connectors which certainly helps but still. He said they would finish the next day, and I rode my bike by it at 9am and they were not working on it and it was same stage. did the same around noon so by 2 I gave up and decided to try LosPlanes and then went to LaPaz and spent the night at a friends.

I have not gone and looked today as I got back late. And my little doggy had to get some minor surgery and had to put under as it turned out this morning in LaPaz. Our local vet was closed yesterday so figured I would get it done. Being curious I will check tomorrow when the dog takes me for a walk in the evening. She is doing great.

i am in lapaz to get internet.

Since internet is out in LV because of a cut in the major cable I went to see if there was an internet place in LosPlanes, nope...

Anyway, I saw two telmex trucks down the road from the gas station in LP. So on the way back stopped and investigated. Amazingly they were working on the fiber optic line. There is really no reason to do that other than preparation for LV getting a fiber feed as the cable is not heading anywhere else. These two workers had some very high-tech gear. They did not speak english and were the most unfriendly telmex linemen I have run into, most, actually, all i have run into have been so friendly. My conclusion they were from the mainland and want to get their work done and go home.

Also, a friend told me last week that he is adding another line and his employee was told at the telmex office that we will be getting high speed from the fiber due to the damage that was done from the hurricane. so this would be the second indication that it is a real potential.

wow 73 degrees this morning... boo-boos still nasty.

Sols coffee shop just opened today.

wow another really nice morning, 78 feels cold to me. boo-boos are really horrible. Weeds too, but I sprayed mine so there are no essentially none alive as of 2 days ago.

what a nice day.... normally I turn on ac right now. But no need.

second nice morning not high humidity and 78 degrees at 6 am.  

I have a natural mosquito repellent that works on the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that we have here.     Santi was allergic to deet so I purchased about 10 natural ones and only one worked.      Anyway, the boo-boos are so bad right now I decided to see if it had any effect on boo-boos.    As last evening i could not do my walk or cut it in half because I was being attacked.    I got home and put that mosquito repellant on my ears which they were really attacking and sure enough, i was not being attacked in the ears where I was now comfortable.   they were going after my eyes a bit but that was manageable but distracting.   this morning went to go laundry and it was miserable.     So went to the mosquito repellent and put it on my ears, nose, and forehead and sure enough, I was not being massively attacked anymore.   Ya a few would come but nothing that required me the continuous swat.     You do need to wear sunglasses to keep then away from your eyes still. And not 100 percent but it makes it manageable to be outside.

so I give a hands up to this natural mosquito spray.   It is cheap too. I recommend people bringing it down big time...       I have it listed on my website under mosquitos somewhere, sold on amazon.  

I will try it on a few more people to see if they have the same results.   Feel free to contact me and come up in the evening and be a test patient so you know it works for you.     To me it does not smell bad either.  

If it works for you,-you owe me a bottle... If it doesn't I will buy yours.  


also remember to buy a bottle of high strength Benadryl down, it stops reactions very quickly to bee stings, man-o-war stings, jellyfish stings, ant bites, scorpion stings, stingray stings, unknown bites causing a reaction (those are just the things I have tested it with)   and have even read part of the treatment to a rattlesnake bite is using Benadryl.   If you ever use it and I know it works pay it forward and donate a bottle to the health clinic.

nice morning not high humidity...

next potential storm is about 8 days.

not a drop of rain, nice day with light wind...

http://yucatanexpatlife.com/sleep-is-better-in-a-hammock-scientific-study-confirms/

Sleep is better in a hammock, scientific study confirms

not a drop of rain as of 3:300pm, just very humid from Norma and overcast.

I am shocked that we have another hurricane coming...

http://la-ventana.forumotion.com/t524-weather-maps#4545

they are the tiny flying bug that is attracted to heat of the body , so they fly into your ears, eyes, nostrils, or fresh cuts on your body. maybe spelt boo boos. They do not bite and generally only out morning and evening when you are trying to get yard work done making you wear a mosquito net head scarf if you want to get anything done.

dean wrote:bobos starting to come out.  

Pardon my ignorance, dean! Please tell me what the "bobos" are?
Thanks,
Ron

bobos starting to come out.

Mexico City Airport Unveils Capsule Hotel
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/08/31/mexico-city-airport-unveils-capsule-hotel/


http://izzzleep.com/

$35.00 a night...

humid as can be still but a slight drop today.    

The moths have diminished.

Now the weeds are taking over.

toll road to airport is reported open,

Santiago had a lot of issues but I am guessing there is a bypass cleared away for HWY 1.

remember the san ysidro crossing is closed I believe sunday...
"Border carmageddon" to bring 57-hour closure to southbound border vehicle traffic

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-san-ysidro-southbound-20170907-story.html

http://www.itravel-cabo.com/news/cabo-news/airlines-to-collect-cabo-tourist-tax?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Airlines to collect Cabo tourist tax
Date Published: 9/7/2017
New tourist tax to be collected via airlines from December. Cruise passengers will be exempt...

The announcement came just days after a December extension was given to finalise all the details.
Baja California Sur is the first state in Mexico to introduce a tourist tax. But Governor Carlos Mendoza believes states with a similar tourist profile may follow suit.

Around 95% of the monies collected will be earmarked for infrastructure projects. And if this promise is kept, a huge amount of good work could be done. (Los Cabos alone could bring in almost $40 million US dollars at current exchange rates).

The tax has been controversial from the beginning and a lot of people are against it. Some service providers believe that tourists already contribute enough to the economy. And fear that the imposition of this tax will discourage visitors.

Cruise passengers will be exempt - as they are in Cabo less than 24 hours. And it's not clear if the tax will be levied on national, as well as international tourists.

Whatever your view, it’s starting in December. And at 350 pesos, approximately 20 dollars, it's hardly going to affect your vacation. Especially if it is put to a good use.

Ready to book your next vacation?

humid is the word...


Drove up to the mountain to take a bunch of local kids for morning hike in the canyon to see all the water and there is a new heavy duty locked gate there.    

anyone know if we can get access to this?    I drove over to the arroyo part that was not fenced in but with kids in tow and never driven it I could not risk driving the arroyo and getting stuck.  My truck is heavy diesel 4x4 so not ideal and my tires are road ones so just could not risk it.   Anyone know if you can get to it that way, there was no fence in the arroyo section as that is a federal arroyo i guess.    The other sections had visible new fences.   Some were destroyed by the recent storm.


6:20 pm, so took kids to lapaz movie time. the road on the lapaz side has some major pot hole areas again.

a few more campers in the campground.

moths out in force.   weeds coming up in volume.  still no bo-bos.   dragonflies out in force.

we had a little rain from one cloud that went by, maybe 1/16th of an inch yesterday.  

I am heading out to the hot springs area today as someone posted on facebook a huge opening in the ground of a super hot pool, looked to be over 50 meters long by 1 meter wide.   not deep but does not need to be.

there appears to be the first camper in the campground.

afternoon, there are now 4 campers here.    morning weather is not bad right now as long as you have shade.   Still humid.

measured the hot springs exposed water is 135 degrees.

all it needs is a cover that is a good fit. Or it can be an incredible source for breeding mosquitos.

We only have one kind of mosquito in this area currently. That is the one that can carry dengue. Recently there was a team with an Entomologist from Australia, from Monash University | Institute of Vector-Borne Disease evaluating our situation to determine if we were a good candidate for Wolbachia mosquito treatment. They stopped by my place to gather samples and reported back to me what I had already determined they were all Aedes Aegypti in my traps. I knew this because of the flying and biting patterns they have. and common sense that there are only two mosquito species that carry dengue and we get dengue here.

This mosquito is also known for being able to breed in a soda bottle capful of water.

My neighbour's son now waters my trees and he has put an open rotoplas into my yard. Mostly it's refilled either by rain water or by the line. Is this dangerous for dengue? It's very usefull to me, right now.

I do not expect any dengue outbreak at the moment.    Till this storm LaPaz had zero days of rain over the majority, plus LaPaz really did not get that much rain..     I now have a MD friend in LaPaz who during the week is a brain surgeon and weekends is an ER doctor at the big hospital in LaPaz.       He is doing independent testing of my mosquito traps for me.    

He has said that in the bad dengue years when he is working as a ER doctor 70% of the patients he sees are dengue related.   He still has not had one case of dengue he said this year.    Right now because he is doing my testing he even goes to the department in charge of monitoring it.    There have been no cases and this is late in the year for anything to go epidemic easily.      I put our chances at less than 5%.   Where last year with the storm rains we could have gone epidemic because there were many cases in lapaz, and dengue made it to the mountain ranches near us last year.  

So go ahead and make plans for early arrival to LaVentana.  If things change I will report them.

the flying bugs are out in force where you leave a light on.

a few small tarantulas about the size of a half dollar on the sidewalks that I have never seen before. saw 3 in a mile walk one way. Never seen them before.

Still no bobos.

just read that they are allowing people to drive on the newer unfinished parts of the hwy 5- hwy1. That may change once they do their final pave, it saved the driver about 1 hour.

AUG. 13, 2017 NEWS

bajanomad wrote:
NEW ROADBED OPEN!
In the 2 weeks since I was last on this route, barriers blocking the new highway elevated roadbed (south of the original road) were removed and other cars were on it. During construction, these detours could very well change back.

Mile 0.0 Hwy. 1 & Hwy. 5 Junction, 1:58 pm.
Mile 0.9 Fork right onto new roadbed.
Mile 3.5 original and new roads rejoin.
Mile 5.2 off of new roadbed.
Mile 8.0 Construction camp, leave new road alignment and head for Coco's Corner.
Mile 12.9 Coco's Corner 2:36 pm
Mile 16.8 Las Arrastras 2:45 pm Rejoin new road route.
Mile 22.3 On pavement and new bridges.
Mile 23.2 Km. 167 (just north of previous pavement start.
Mile 35.5 Gonzaga Bay Pemex, 3:12 pm

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=86807

They just cleared the entire sidewalk today. Nicer shape than it has been in for 10 years.

next everyone have your properties inspected for containers with water and have them emptied, we do not want a bad mosquito season.     Do not be a part of the problem.     The present likelihood of a dengue outbreak is low because LaPaz did not get a lot of rain so tough for it to become an epidemic but because cabo did get massive rain and flooding it can become an epidemic there and spread out this way.    

Make sure you bring down mineral oil it is sold on Amazon even in bulk gallons.     Just a little in an outdoor toilet or other fixed location that would gather water.   Even for a pool.  Just a tablespoon in a pool stops the larvae from breeding.    and mineral oil does not harm humans, they use it in facial lotions.  



And anyone who wants to make their own mosquito traps all you need is containers, I find the 5 gallon water jugs with the screw on tops work best.     We can set a date to put them together as I need assistance in making them.    And any donations for the materials can be made on my website mosquito traps  under donations I take paypal visa and so on.    I have all the materials except bottles for us to make these.    An update is I have a MD in LaPaz that has tested the trap and has found larvae and he has also tested traps with mosquitos and witnessed that the mosquito can not escape to the 95% plus.  So independent testing is complete, next to find funds to pay a lab to do the same.     I am still looking for funding to take it to a larger scale.  

Here is a flyer I made after the dengue breakout about 15 years ago.    It is in spanish and english.

Your generators should be ready for this...oh but it will be a wet one. Lots of interest in your rain assessment...
Feels a bit like a anniversary of Newton! Almost exactly a year
Floyd

well the storm is hitting, we have gusting winds and rain.    power is still on but has cut out a few tims.  3:30 am is this report.

I will post pictures and updates on

http://la-ventana.forumotion.com/t998-hurricanes-2017

San Jose had some flooding from the storm approaching. random blotches. We had no clouds and no rain.

The road to Lapaz on the LaPaz side is in bad shape. Some nice big pot holes. If we get major rain it will really be in bad shape. Once you get to the new section at the top all is good, they have even done some edge work to help keep it in good shape from the rains.

Same in this town they are still working on some edge areas that need shoring up. They have been doing this with one crew for several months now.

last evening was also horrible humidity wise.... This morning hunidity has moved to the ok level. Temp is back to normal for morning 83.

Here is an interesting one, says you can receive and pay bills from telmex and CFE.

http://simplepay.com.mx/?utm_medium=SLH%20To%20SP%20Article&utm_source=SLH&utm_campaign=6%20Apps%20Life%20Easier

A great tool that we came across is SimplePay. If you also think paying Mexico bills is inconvenient, you're not alone! Frequently, the bills in Mexico arrive late (or they never do); then you need to go across town to pay your electric or water bill before they shut-you-off.

For all of us that have experienced this hassle, SimplePay offers the perfect solution. SimplePay centralizes all of your Mexico bills in one place (electricity, water, phone, internet, property taxes, HOA fees, etc) - then, when your bill is due, SimplePay sends you a notification to your email with an easy Pay-Now button.

We surveyed thousands of foreigners who own or rent a home in Mexico, and most of them spend 6+ months out of Mexico. This is why SimplePay is so convenient. You can finally keep on top of your Mexico bills, without having to pre-pay the whole year in advance or ask friends for favors. Click here to view

https://www.internationaltravellerhacks.com/single-post/2014/06/01/Demonstrations-throughout-Europe-get-more-violent?utm_medium=SP

Eclipse 2024 book now for mainland...

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8

wow again such a nice morning...     78 degrees and hot super humid...

evening nasty humid.....

I have someone who tried to pay CFE online with a US or Canadian credit card, My bill is paid so I can not try.

But you probably need to have an internet account, so create one. I recently created a second one for a second meter I have. I had a huge problem, it would not allow it.

I will post how I did it on the CFE section...

http://la-ventana.forumotion.com/f20-energy-electric-issues-cfe-propane

well it was a humid night and humid morning, but morning temp low vs norm of 84 to 86, we were 80 degrees this morning 7am.


For the solar eclipse Monday for our area....






*Here is a great discussion of UT.
The quick and dirty of it is that whenever you see "UT" or "UTC" in any times you see, take that UT time, and:

· subtract 4 hours for Eastern Daylight Time
· subtract 5 hours for Central Daylight Time
· subtract 6 hours for Mountain Daylight Time
· subtract 7 hours for Pacific Daylight Time


https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/projection

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/interactive_map/index.html

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-ballooning-project

I just read that we can use a usa credit card now for CFE and pay online.....

another beautiful day not humid, last night with low humidity it was nice to walk without breaking a sweat.


now at 11:30 it is humid, a storm is pushing up the mainland and just gave us a 10 minute or so period of 10-20 mph gusts. temp 86 but humid and overcast.  No rain here yet but the mountains are looking like they are getting rain.

hot day but not humid.... 93 degrees which at noon is hot for here. But as I mention not humid. So very pleasant day so far.

Went to the cabo water park yesterday with the kids. They opened late because of some issue with the government, but only 6 cars entering so the kids virtually had the park to themselves, and even late in the day never had to wait in a line for a slide. Roads all on good condition took the Barriles way down and todos way on the back. Definitely, take the toll road around cabo the main area lights. Near and past the Sorrienas mall in Cabo in a few trafic lights had to wait 3-4 light changes. So even in cabo itself after coming from COSTCO it is worth getting on the toll road IMHO, I think the toll is 16 pesos to do that short distance, but it was 20-30 minutes of time which would have been maybe 5-10.

after I posted no rains in the mountains the next day there was the rains in the mountains... and every three days there after.

http://newatlas.com/reacha-hand-bike-trailer/50865/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=31d8d24f42-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-31d8d24f42-90245106

Collapsible Bavarian trailer hauls gear by bicycle or foot power

bpe wrote:This plan is the real deal. Unlimited talk, text and data to/from anywhere in North America for two phones for $60 per month. I had the rep dig deep into customer service to find out who they partner with in Mexico and it is TelCel. If you sign up at Costco there is no activation fee and the SIM card is free. We switched to T-Mobile today.

the nest was barriles... and they went to cabo to use the credit cards.

bpe wrote:Ladies, watch your purse! Yesterday while having lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, my friend’s purse was removed from the back of her chair, taken over to another table, wallet removed and then the purse was gently replaced on the back of her chair while a second man engaged us in a nonsense conversation in Spanish. Very slick and professional. All was caught on video but no one recognized the three men. I am not going to name the restaurant, so please don’t ask. Within a couple of hours thousands of dollars was charged at various stores in Cabo area.