Friday August 7th

 We loaded up the bikes and were on our way home by about 10:30

We stopped in Red Deer at Serge and Veronica's for a couple of hours (Vero made a great lunch for us) and were home by 5:15

We had a wonderful time on this trip. We enjoyed Canmore quite a bit. The hotel restaurant was really top notch and while expensive (by our standards) it was worth it.

My bike has finally worn out. The back bearings are loose now and this has made the decision to get a new bike easy. My (now) old bike was a Father's Day gift about 20 years ago so it has served me well

Thursday Aug 6

 We knew we needed an easier day than yesterday so we decided to head to Lake Louise.

We got to the town at 11:10 AM and drove up to the lake. Once at the parking lot we (and many other cars in the line) were directed into the parking lot, through it, and then redirected right back down the mountain! I think every Albertan has decided to visit the National Parks this year thinking that without the tourist buses there would be no problem seeing things in prime time. No such luck! It was a zoo.

Hmmm. What to do? We decided to head to Yoho National Park to see Takakkaw Falls. It was raining when we got there so we just stayed in the car and looked at the falls.

We then headed back towards Banff and once near there we detoured up to Lake Minnewanka. Wow! What a surprise! It was gorgeous. We drove across the dam to Two Jacks Lake, seeing quite a few mountain sheep. Both lakes were beautiful. We got out of the vehicle at Minnewanka and walked a bit, enjoying the view.

I had initially thought that the day was not going to turn out good but the lakes were wonderful (and the rain held off) so all's well that ends well.

Supper was at the hotel restaurant again. We ordered too much (should have have just a starter and split a main course, rather than a starter and each having a main course).

The evening was spent quietly in our room).

Legacy Trail

 The purpose of our mini vacation was to celebrate of our 37th wedding anniversay and 40th year since we met in Europe. We had decided to bicycle the Canmore-Banff Legacy Trail so had brought our bikes down with us.

Our hiking yesterday had taken more out of us than anticipated and I knew soon after starting biking from our hotel that this ride was going to be much harder than last time we had done it.

The ride to Banff was wonderful with blue skies and a nice temperature

Once in Banff (11 kms ride from Canmore) we walked the downtown area. The town has closed off the main street to vehicles and it was great to move around. We noticed that without the tourists buses dropping off hundreds of tourists at a time (due to the pandemic) the area was much more enjoyable. 

Everybody was wearing masks as it was manditory to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

We walked up to the end of the main street, crossed the river to the Banff National Park Administration building and then toured around the lovely gardens there. Absolutely stunning

We ate lunch at a popular bistro just off main street and walked around town for a while before hopping on our bikes and starting back. 

We had gone about 2 kms when Caro realized she had lost an earring. We followed the same route back to where we had initally locked the bikes up thinking that the logical location to find the earring was where Caro would have either put on her helmet or removed her mask but unfortunately we were unlucky.

The ride back was very hard. We were tired from yesterday to begin with and really didn't bring enough water. The temperature was 29 degrees and I definitely was much slower than normal, struggling to get up some of the (normally) easy inclines. Caro started cramping up in her right leg. At the look-out location (where the photo of the two of us was taken earlier) I asked a lady if she had any spare drinking water. Fortunately she did and so we drank about a litre each before carrying on.

We dragged ourselves into town about 4 PM after completing 55 kms biking and 5.5 km walking around town. I can't remember a time I have felt this wiped out.

The evening was spent relaxing in our room with some fast food purchased across the street from our hotel.

Aug 4/2020 Canmore

 We left home about mid morning for our drive to Canmore.

After a stop in Red Deer for Starbucks coffee (the line-up at Time Horton's was huge because of social distancing due to the pandemic so we went across the street) ; later a stop at Olds for gas and we headed down highway 22 thinking it would be faster than QE2 but this was a mistake. We got stuck behind semi's and later by the traffic lights in Cochrane. Lesson learned!

Arrival at the Coast hotel in Canmore went smoothly and by 2:45 PM we were up at the Nordic Centre for some hiking.

We completed about 7 kms of the numerous trails used in the Calgary Olympics for cross country skiing and biathalon.

Supper was at the hotel restaurant  and was wonderful.

The evening was spent walking around the town center and a boardwalk going along a creek.

Another 4 kms walked for a total of 11 kms today.

Our return home

The morning was spent cleaning up and having a final walk.

We said our "good byes"to Roy and Dalaina at 1 PM as the taxi came to pick us up.

Our trip to the airport went smoothly and a few hours later we were homeward bound.

Our flight took us over Barra de Navidad where we had taken a day trip to earlier in our 32 night trip.

In the photo above you can clearly see the entrance to the marina. We had taken some photos at that location..

No problems with our connection in Calgary and we were home just before midnight. Vanessa picked us up and we were sleeping in our own bed by 1:30 AM.

Wednesday Feb 19th. Last night in Manzanillo

The final full day of this awesome experiment, where we see if we could be in one place for a good length of time and not go nuts, has come to an end. We really enjoyed our time here and at this point we anticipate being back for longer next year. Unfortunately our new friends Roy and Dalaina are going back next year to the Baja where they have spent many winters in the past. Nice folks and we enjoyed our time with them.

Speaking of people, Caro spent most of the day out on the beach under the umbrella chatting with all her friends.

LOL!!!

Caro saw the whales again and they were closer into shore. One did a complete breach out of the water. I didn't get to see them as I was up in the apartment.

Tonight we walked to a restaurant called Pata Salada which has had great reviews. It did not disappoint. The food was just the right amount and at about $30 total it was good value. There was a singer there as well, singing well known oldies in a sort of jazzy style. Quite nice to listen to as we watched day turn to night.

The photo above was taken from our seats overlooking the ocean and rather than showing another  AMAZING sunset I pointed the camera a little to the left towards the city center.

We walked the 15 minutes back to our place but before we got here we stopped at a pastry bakery for some dessert. MMM mmm good pastry!

It is a typical 24 degree night time temperature right now and is the perfect finish to our time.

We anticipate being here until about 1 P.M. tomorrow when we get a cab to the airport.

I am just working on the last of the rum and Caro is out on the veranda watching the waves break onto the shore. Paradise!!

Monday and Tuesday

Monday was a quiet day. Caro did the usual swimming in the ocean and I didn't!!

In the afternoon the Sunday rain delayed Daytona 500 was broadcast live on TV.  I watched the Mexican version of ESPN with the sound muted and instead listened on-line to a radio station from Arizona broadcasting it. The only drawback was the radio was a good 30 seconds behind the TV.

Horrible wreck at the end of the race however the driver, Ryan Newman , survived. Whew!

Looking left from our place towards the central part of the city (where the cruise ships dock)

Today, Tuesday was fantastic. Caro went for a walk on the beach and after a bit came running  back to our place saying she needed her camera and that there were whales! I am glad she was close enough to come back as I would have missed them!

A bit tough to see in this photo but there is a mom and baby in center of the photo. They haven't been this close all month, and they swam parallel to the beach right past us (but by then my cell phone was out of battery).

About 4  P.M. in the afternoon we started a 5 km. walk up to Walmart with a stop for supper in a restaurant near there. We had queso fundido,  skewers of chicken,shrimp and steak, and Corona beer. Tasty but pricey.

After supper we headed up to the beach behind Walmart for the nightly release of freshly hatched turtles. It is late in season so we got lucky to see the dozen that were released.

I took this photo shortly before the university volunteers brought them out of the safety enclosure for release. We were able to touch the back of one of the little guys. Cool!

Once the sun had gone down and the birds had left the area (they LOVE eating little turtles) the volunteers overturned the tub at the edge of the beach where the waves came up to and shortly there after a big wave washed up and the turtles were flushed into the ocean.

We were not that far from Las Hades resort and I took ANOTHER awesome sunset photo. (Las Hades resort is just beneath the sun).

We completed some final shopping at Walmart and Soriano's before getting a cab ride home. Tomorrow is our last full day here so we bought things Caro and I are taking home with us on Thursday.