Some photos I took and other stuff

This is a picture of my third eye....which made my mom laugh really hard. And here is what a jelly fish sting looks like. It doesnt hurt that bad, but once I was stung in the face, and that hurt! The other pictures I took when I was snorkeling at Isla Coronados. My underwater camera can not go that deep, so I can not take any pictures when I am diving, only when I am snorkeling. But I see really cool things at 78 feet. The fish are all much bigger, and there is more life. Well that is all for now.

My Mission Report on Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto

This mission is located in Loreto Mexico. It is the first mission which makes it special. It was founded by father Juan Maria de Salvatierra on October 25, 1697. It has survived hurricanes and earthquakes that have many times almost destroyed it. This settlement was a success and Loreto became the center for government and the military. This mission also became the center for building other missions throughout Baja and California. Without this mission, there would be no others, and that is why it is so important. 23 other missions were built, and this mission served as the leader. All in all, I think this is a cool mission because it is the very first one.

Getting Certified to Dive

Today I got certified to dive. It took 6 days. It started with me and my dad reading the dive book, then going to the classroom. Next we watched a few videos and answered questions. Then we had to take a test. We both passed it. After we passed the final test, we were ready for the pool dive. We had to wait for two days since the pool was not available for us on weekends. On Monday we finally got to go to the pool. We practiced taking the regulator out of our mouths then pressing the purg button. We also practiced taking off our BC in the water at 20 feet. My dive instructer also turned off my air at 20 feet. I had to keep exhaling to the surface . Then we were ready for the open water dives. My first open water dive was interesting. We went in the panga with our dive instructer Gabriel. He is also they owner of the dive shop. We went out in the bay at La Paz and we dove to 40 feet and our bottom time, also known as BT, was 30 minutes . we practiced every thing that we did in the pool except for him turing off our air and talking off our BC . Then red tide came and we were diving in red tide. That was gross. We came up to the surface . Then we moved but there was still a lot of red tide . When we were decending, my dad nearly landed on a huge sea urchent. This one had white spikes and a brown inside. We saw lots of cool huge fish. After that we came back to the surface then went back to the boat. My final dive to become certified was cool. We went in a panga to a sea lion colony. When we decended the first thing we saw was a wall of millions of tiny flashy fish. Then after they past we went to 48 feet and more. There were huge puffer fish 3 feet long and tons of coral, sea cucumbers, lots of different kids of fish, and star fish. Then we came up for one hour so the nitrogen could dissolve in the tissue of our body. Then we dove again and swam right under sea lions. It was so cool! After that we headed back to the boat. I had now completed everything I needed to do to be a certified diver. The next day, just for fun, me and my dad went on a dive trip to a ship wreck. I dove to 60 feet. It was so cool. I love to dive and plan to do a lot more in the Sea of Cortez and when we go to Bali this summer.

Huichol report

The Huichol people have been around for 1000's of years. ( pronounced witch-ol) They live in the Sierra Madre Mountains. They live in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Duranjo. They are one of the few remaining indigenous tribes in Mexico. There are about 7000 remaining and they are direct desendants of the Aztecs.

They are a tribe of farmers, shamans and artisits. Their art gives you hints of what it is like to be a Huichol. When the Spanish Missionaries came they wanted them to be Catholic but they refused and kept their religion. Their religon has 4 deitys which are Grandfather Sun, Grandmother Earth, Brother Deer, and Mother Maize. They understand that everything in nature is connected and have a great respect for nature. We can all learn a lot from them, because they are living just like they did many many years ago. They have kept their ancient beliefs and traditions alive for many centuries. Here is a Huichol Mask I colored, and also a picture of where a Huitchol tribe held a ceremony that I hiked to. All in all, I think the Huichol tribe are really cool people.

My Amigos and the big fish I ate

Here is a picture of me and a fish I ate. In Mexico when you order a whole fish, it is a whole fish and it is really really good. Here are also pictures of me and my friends, Christian and Harrison. They are really really good friends. All of us like to play nurf guns together. All in all I like my friends.

Surfing and friends

My cool trip to Oaxaca Mexico

I just got back from my trip to Oaxaca. I went to a knife maker. He made Arnold Swachenegers sword for a movie he was in. I bought a knife and he engraved it. All his knifes are made out of recycled materials. We also went to a wood carver and he has pieces in museums all over the world. He invited me to come live with them and learn how to carve. I really want to do this, but my mom said I have to wait until I am 12. He let me carve an Iguana out of a tree branch. We also went to Monte Alban, and I have to do a report about this. All in all I had fun in Oaxaca.

Acapulco

Instead of Calvert school we went to Fuerte De San Diego today. This was built in 1616. They use this fort to protect the treasure galleons in the bay. I also studied about Frieda this week. I see her picture every where, like on the 500 peso I found on the ground, and was wondering who she was. So my mom made me do a report about her. Frieda was a famous painter who had a very sad life. I also cooked dinner one night.