Our Family's Mexico Adventure: Trip to the Country...Casa de Aves

Today we decided we needed to get out of the city and into the country. Yes, we miss VT a bit and needed a hit of country to keep us going. We had heard from friends of ours about a hotel/restaurant that you could go to that had some kayaking, a zipline, and a trampoline as well as a decent lunch. I called the hotel and managed to get us all picked up at noon in their free hotel shuttle bus...my Spanish must have been passable since the shuttle bus arrived on time.

Casa de Aves is about 20 minutes outside of San Miguel and has a very nice location. There is a small duck pond which you can kayak around and a zipline that goes right over the duck pond. I hadn't mentioned the zipline to the kids since I didn't know if a)it would be working, and b)it would be safe enough for the kids to be on. "Safe" is a relative term here in Mexico. While it had no harnesses or buckle, it did look pretty safe. You sat on this swing and held your hands on the handle bars....yikes, I guess I'm getting to be a little Mexican as this doesn't really sound safe at all!

Alex went first and had a blast. The hardest part is climbing up this tall ladder and getting yourself in the seat. After that, it is easy. I went next and I think startled another large Mexican family that was there. Apparently, Moms just don't do that kind of thing! Ha, well, you know me, I have to try everything. It was fun and Charles then Hannah went. Poor Owen was too small to reach the handle bars but he took it pretty well.

Owen took to the kayaking and he paddled himself all around the duck pond. There were no life jackets of course, but the pond was small and we were always on the water with him. Actually, he handled the boat quite well all by himself. At one point, Alex took the kayak out and just read under the dock in the shade.

There was also a small trampoline and a swing that the boys enjoyed. Hannah still can't enjoy these kinds of activities since her knees are still swollen. It is hard to grow so fast!

We all had a nice lunch by the quite murky duck pond too. They had classical music playing and it was blissfully quiet. We returned home around 5:00 just as some raindrops were beginning to fall. The rainy season hasn't begun and the ground is parched around here. Probably right when Lindsay and Joerg arrive the rains will come!

A lovely Sunday was had by all!

Hannah has a go at it.

Charles poses before his zipline.

Away he goes!

The end of the zipline. You are on your own to get off the zipline and make it to the other side. We had to throw Alex a rope a few times to get him down!