Category: North America

We are interrupting travel talk to share the sad news that we lost our dear sweet old beagle, Hazel, this past weekend. As many of you know, she had cancer and went through surgery and chemo before we left. We were hopeful that this would buy us some more time with her but, unfortunately, the cancer returned and she was suffering. 

It was very hard to be so far away and not be able to say goodbye in person. We did send recordings so Hazel could hear our voices one last time, however, and we feel lucky that we got to see her when we stopped by stateside somewhat recently. We are deeply grateful that she was loved so much by Aunt Diane and her family, who cared for her while we are away and gave her a loving home and the best of care. 

We were just as surprised as anyone when we adopted Hazel two years ago as a rescue. Who could pass up those floppy ears? (See video below)

She was found in the woods of Pennsylvania with 250 ticks but after some medical treatments she made her way to us and our apartment in Brooklyn – luckily right by Prospect Park where she could explore the woods, chase rabbits, and ignore everyone else. She had a one track mind and it was anything she could find with her nose.

She was such a kind dog and brought all of us so much love and happiness. We are grateful to have had the time together. 

With a strong suggestion from the kids, we took a quick layover in the U.S. to see our sweet dog Hazel and they had a brief moment to see a few friends.  We were also able to visit the NJ relatives and gather some more gear.  And we continued our tradition of voting as a family, this year with our dear friend, Marla! It was a chaotic but worthwhile trip. 

The journey continued with a road trip to Boston and then a redeye from Boston to the Azores where we had a layover for less than 24 hours before flying to Paris. Whew! And what did we learn about the Azores? Well, not much since we were hardly there, but it was beautiful, the people we met were very friendly and welcoming, and the tiled sidewalks were amazing.

Next stop – Paris!

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After a great week in Merida we crossed the peninsula to Puerto Morelos on the Riviera Maya where we were lucky to stay right on the beach.  The water was calm, clear, and turquoise – and very warm!  

We took another daylong tour which started at an amazing – and sometimes terrifying – cave used by the mayans to hide from attackers and later during storms.  After crawling through some tight spaces, it opened up completely and it was just us, the bats, and some very large spiders in the dark.  We saw remains of Mayan pottery used for cooking as well as human bones.  Some stalactites were hollow and when you tapped on them they made beautiful sounds.

After the heat of the cave we went to another cenote that only had a small opening.  The plan had been to rappel but they didn’t have the gear so, instead, we had to climb down a 60 foot ladder that was was not exactly sturdy, it moved, and it was missing a few rungs. Did we mention that Johanna is afraid of heights? Check out the photos to see how small we are compared to the height of the ladder. But it was worth it as we again had the cenote basically to ourselves except for…. you guessed it – the bats and the huge spiders.  We then went to a dry cenote where Dennis and the kids finally got to rappel down to the bottom where they met a small crocodile.  Afterwards, we went to a Mayan village and had an incredible, homecooked meal cooked directly on a fire and were blessed by the local shaman.

One of reasons we went to Puerto Morelos is because Mira really, really wanted to go snorkeling.  Riviera Maya is home to the second largest reef in the world – the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef system.  It’s a protected park so you can only visit with a guide and they take you there on a short boat ride.  It was already pouring so we were soaked before we even got in the water!  That didn’t detract from how amazing it was.  We saw so many different fish and even got to see a turtle and, before long, the sun started to shine through the water.  

As if this wasn’t enough excitement, Dennis and the kids also went ziplining, starting above the Yucatan treeline.  Johanna “afraid-of-heights” Steinberg suddenly had to work that day… 

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Our trip to Mérida started with an “extra” airport security search. No stone was left unturned! We had a beautiful AirBnb reserved but it had lots of mosquitoes! After a night trying to make it work, we decided to switch to a place that was all indoors and we are so glad we did.  Our new place was so wonderful that we spent a lot of time there enjoying the pool, lounging in hammocks, and relaxing.

We did leave the house sometimes though, especially to explore the city and eat delicious food common in the Yucatan peninsula.  On one of our first nights at the Museo de la Gastronomio Yucateca, Mira got pretty confident about her growing tolerance to spice and ate a Habanero pepper, including seeds. The pepper is 100,000 to 350,000 on the Scoville scale. If you watch the show “Hot Ones” you will know this is very spicy!

A highlight of our time in Merida was a day trip to the surrounding area with a tour guide.  The first stop was Uxmal, one of the most important archaeological sites of Mayan culture. There were several enormous pyramids and one, in particular, that was rounded (very rare).  We got there nice and early so there were few tourists but it was very hot so we were excited that our next two stops were at beautiful cenotes.  Cenotes are essentially sinkholes filled with groundwater and there are about 10,000 all over the Yucatán peninsula.  They are either “open” to the sky or “closed” and cave-like.  The closed ones we visited were filled with stalactites and stalagmites (Mira taught us that stalactites hold “tight” to the ceilings and stalagmites “might” reach them.).  At one, we were the only ones there and it was amazing to swim from dark to lightness.  At the second one, there were just a few local tourists.  The water was beautiful and clear at both cenotes and Dev particularly enjoyed jumping off a platform 15 above the water. 

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Grandma Martha joined us for our final full week in Mexico City and our food intake increased in quantity and quality. Probably our most exciting meal was going to Botanico where they have a pond with real axolotls!  Wild axolotls are critically endangered and the kids are huge fans.  Originating from Mexico, axolotls can regrow limbs and never outgrow their “juvenile” stage. The kids spent most their time observing these amazing creatures and the staff even gave the kids food to feed them.  After that, who really cares about our meal?  

Besides lots of stops for foods and markets, we also went to the centro historico, the ballet, and a few museums. We even got to see many Rodin sculptures, including the Gates of Hell (inspired by Dante’s Inferno). Another incredible highlight was visiting Frida Kahlo’s house, as well as the house she lived in with Diego Rivera. 

We were also grateful to be together to celebrate the first yahrzeit for Grandpa Jerry.  We lit the traditional candle in his honor and spent the day sharing memories, looking at photos, and doing things we thought he would have enjoyed.  

We were sad to see Grandma Martha go and we look forward to reconnecting in Morocco when she’ll join us again.

We have a few more days in Mexico City before we fly to Mérida.

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Dennis and the kids took another week of intensive Spanish classes and everyone is making real progress.  Mira is volunteering to ask questions and order food for all of us.  Johanna has been working her actual job but also trying to plan our next steps.

We tried to find a round challah for Rosh Hashanah but didn’t plan far enough in advance. So, we made do with apples and honey, a round babka, and also pan de muerto (which means “bread of the dead”and is fittingly round to symbolize the cycle of life and death, not too different from the round challah which some say symbolizes the cycles of the year and continuity of life).  We also went to dinner at an Israeli restaurant with all the other people who weren’t at temple.

After Spanish classes ended we headed out of the city for a tour of Teotihuacan which was a city around 2000 years ago and includes the Sun and Moon pyramids. They were impressive! The kids were particularly excited by the incredible sound amplification that enabled us to speak in a regular voice at one spot and have someone hear it far on the other side. That and the many stray dogs which they loved.

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With bags packed to the brim we walked across the border to Tijuana and flew to Mexico City. The population of Ciudad de México is around 22 million! We settled into our nice apartment in the Condesa neighborhood. We will probably be here for about 3 weeks.

We are amazed with Mexico City. It is amazingly green with trees and plans and lovely places to walk. It is also filled with dogs which the kids love. In fact, they quickly learned how to ask if they can pet people’s dogs in Spanish. Our first Saturday here we went to El Bazar Sábado where we tasted some great food and saw some very nice crafts. And the kids got to sample many sweet treats.

The kids and Dennis are enrolled in intensive Spanish classes. They are not able to help Johanna too much with translations yet, but soon! We also took our first tour: a taco tour. Priorities, right? The meateaters all agreed at the end that al pastor was their favorite. It was also super interesting to learn that al pastor originated from Lebanese immigrants.

Last weekend we had a great tour of the National Museum of Anthropology and the Chapultepec Castle. We learned so much about the history of Mexico – the Mayans, Aztecs, wars with Spain, France, US, as well a revolution or two. The museum itself is really amazing and it is impossible to see everything in one visit.

Last night we went to a Luche Libre wrestling match. It has a long history here in Mexico Ciry. Think WWE but many of the wrestlers/performers wear masks. Even if a lot of it is a performance, the acrobatics and athleticism is still super impressive.

Grandma Martha will be visiting us here in a week or two. More from Ciudad de México soon!

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We hopped across the country to San Diego to see the west coast family and some friends. The kids had a bunch of fun-time and down-time while the parents crammed in as much prep work as we could. The kids had a few trips to the beach, a boat ride, an exciting day with dolphins, visited multiple cafes with different animals, roller coaster rides at Sea World, a visit to an alpaca farm, got lots of shots for traveling, and more. And we had a really wonderful visit from Bunmi!

We also celebrated Dev’s 10th birthday at Grandma’s house and at Dave & Buster’s arcade. We also went to a Padres game (thanks to Uncle Kurt for the great seats!). Sadly the Padres lost in the 9th; that did not sit well with Dev (see photo).

We are off to Mexico City soon!

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