Harkness

The Harkness Institue - check out their website .... http://harknessinstitute.org/Welcome.html

Betty, Susan and Robert went for a walk on the Bucerias beach this morning around 10 a.m.  The sky was clear and the ocean calm.  The temperature was perfect at around 25 degrees C.  This is some kind of holiday weekend in Bucerias so there were more Mexicans on the beach than usual.  We noticed a group of teenagers with garbage bags picking up garbage on the beach.  We stopped to talk with them and discovered that they attend a private high school in Nuevo Vallarta called, "Harkness Institute".  Their mission statement says, "to help students truly develop a love of learning and acquire a mastery of skills. We are committed to developing in our students a lifelong intellectual curiosity, a genuine desire for excellence and expanding their creative and leadership capabilities."  We congratulated them on their great idea and great efforts to help save our world!

We continued on down the beach and this is what we saw ...

You can rent a Stand Up Paddle board (SUP) and try out your core strength on beautiful Banderas Bay in Bucerias.  A certified SUP instructor and his faithful dog, "Blackie", will save you if you get into trouble.

The paddle boarders, not only have to keeping standing, but they have to watch out for things in the water such as ...

swimmers

Bat rays (Eagle rays)

The eagle ray swims by moving its two wings vertically - sometimes they break the surface of the sea and give the impression of two sharks traveling together. The eagle ray can also jump out and across the surface of the water. They eat crustaceans and mollusks and bony fish.

Watch our clip called, "Ray".

The Hickeys (Kathy, Bill, Jack, Fleur, Charlie) invited us over for a pot luck tonight.  The food was great and here are some clips of the conversations ...

Mexican Spider lily

Sweet potatoes are native to the tropical areas of Mexico and parts of America. They were a large part of the Mayan diet and are now widley used in Mexican Cuisine, especially in the state of Puebla.  We met this vendor on Kathy's street around 8:30 p.m.  He was selling hot, freshly baked sweet potatoes for a couple of bucks.  He used "carnation milk" for his topping.  You might want to try this recipe which received a 5 ***** rating ...

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1-2 dashes cinnamon (optional)

PREPARATION

Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into approx. 1 inch cubes. Place them in a buttered oven-safe dish, cover and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Then remove and top with the remaining butter, honey and cinnamon. Bake uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Note:   Sweet Potatoes are different than yams. Yams have an orange flesh and a thin, somewhat waxy skin.

Jack has been nominated at his school to be "King for a Day".  Stay tuned for complete coverage of this event.  Jack was probably nominated because of his work promoting the rights of animals i.e.

P.S. Good luck to M+C