Finally, some pictures from my trip to China!

I've been home for two months today, and I'm finally getting some pictures from my trip to China posted. Long story...my camera chip was damaged, and so far, I have recovered some, but not all, of the hundreds of pictures I took. I wil keep trying, but I have posted about 300 pictures on our flickr site at

http://flickr.com/photos/casabucerias/sets/72157600772229111/

If you take a look, you will see LOTS of pictures of the terra cotta warriors from Xian. Aside from seeing my family, this was without doubt the high point of the journey. Two farmers outside Xian, digging for a well in 1974, had no idea they were beginning excavation of the most astonishing tomb in the world's history. There are more than 6,000 warriors (all of them different) guarding the tomb of China's first emporer. It is an astonishing sight.

And of course, there is a Wal-Mart in Xian.

Summer pleasures

Summer in the tropics - very warm and very humid. Having spent one summer here already, we know what to expect: it is hot now, but it will get hotter. Soon, we'll cut our activities back during the heat of the day and take a daily siesta. Because we have chosen not to live with air conditioning, we rely on fans to keep us comfortable. We have ceiling fans in every room, and they run 24 hours a day. We also have fans placed strategically to draw in cool air and flush out warm air. All in all, not too bad.

Even though it is very warm, there are summer pleasures to be had: mangoes are in season, sweet and delicious. Limes are also in season - only 5 pesos (50 cents) a kilo! Melons, papayas, pineapples as sweet as honey. New critters are showing up, like the lizard above, showing off for us. Look carefully at the picture and you'll see another lizard on the opposite side of the pole! And the bottom picture? Another summer refreshment - cool and creamy iced coffee, made with wonderful Compostela coffee beans in our espresso machine. Mmmmmm.

As we get ready to celebrate this Fourth of July with fried chicken, spare ribs, watermelon, carrot cake and potato salad, we are grateful to have new friends to share the day with us. Sue, Harold, Alejandro, Susan, Barry and Jeanne will be joining us...much better than last year!

Happy Independence Day to everyone!