Sueñito

When our new neighbors joined us for dinner after a hot Tuesday out fishing, we picked El Mar , a restaurant with air conditioning. No regrets. We followed our friend's recommendation and ordered the tortilla soup, which my husband and I shared as an appetizer. It was served with a whole plateful of toppings -- cheese, avocado, bacon, onion, a chipotle chile, and a drizzle of sour cream, plus lovely tortilla strips. I definitely recommend it and will be trying that again! We're a shrimp-loving family, and each of us ordered something with shrimp. The coconut shrimp are huge here -- highly recommend! The shrimp mignon are served sort of like a bacon-wrapped filet mignon -- they made a circle of shrimp, wrapped it in bacon, and topped it with a white cream sauce. Boston shrimp are bacon-wrapped and topped with cheese. All tasty. Also tasty was my special-of-the-day: chiles rellenos stuffed with shrimp. Now, I am definitely one who prefers my chiles rellenos blistered, battered, f...

On a Friday morning in June, we put on our hats and sunscreen, loaded up on water, and headed out with plans to hike halfway up the Tetakawi trail . I was in no shape to hike to the top. But like so many of our family adventures, I decided to keep going while I felt good, and then we had gone so far that we might as well go all the way to the top! What sealed the deal was passing another group on their way down. They told us it was only another 20 or 30 minutes, so up we went! The walk back down was rough on this old mama, but I made it! The trail opens at 6:00 a.m., and for a summer hike, I recommend starting early. Bring more water than you think, and protect yourself from the sun. We had some cloud cover, and if we hadn't, it might have been too hot for me. The hike starts out as a walking path, but quickly you will find yourself stepping up a rocky trail. A quarter-mile in, there's a rocky peak with lovely views that makes a good turnaround point for a family with young kid...

Great blue herons can be found year-round in San Carlos. We’ve seen one nesting in a cactus on the Isla Chaperona bird sanctuary, which is on Isla de la Raza, or Honeymoon Island. If you kayak or paddleboard out to the island, please be mindful that spring is nesting season , so please don't go on shore between February and June. You might see herons standing very still on a rock or pier near the water’s edge, hunting for fish, which they spear with their beaks. They can be 3 to over 4 feet tall (97-137 cm). When they fly, they tuck their necks into an S-shape, and their long legs trail behind them. Check out this blog of the many other birds you might see in San Carlos .  

Osprey can be found year-round in San Carlos. A brown and white hawk with a brown stripe on their head, you might see this hawk hunting for fish in San Carlos, Guaymas, Mexico. They can have a wingspan of 5-6 feet (150-180 cm), and when they're flying, their wings have a bit of a crook in them. Here's a really great guide to how birders identify ospreys . From our house with a view of Honeymoon Island , we've often seen the osprey hunting for its breakfast and its supper over the Sea of Cortez, then carrying its prey back over land somewhere. We've also seen osprey over the Bahía not far from the Marina San Carlos , landing on sailboat masts and cacti.