.+All++stalls+selling+cooked+food++Feb.+18,+2010+005.jpg)
Thursday Feb 18;
We are alive and well. Got lazy and the days seem to fly by now. Have been doing the usual, pool, sun, beach, pool, cerveza, blah blah blah. We went into a small town called Villa Union to do some shopping a couple of days ago. It was interesting during the daylight hours as we have been there at night time to Cuchupetas restaurant.
We had a thunderstorm last night with pretty bizarre lightning, thunder and rain. It was overcast and cool today so it was a dumb fuck day until the clouds finally disappeared around 4pm and the sun came out in full force.
We are off to Mazatlan tomorrow to do some shopping and get our last kick at the big city, we think. We are catching a ride with Linda Kennedy who lives here and works for Estrella (pronounced Estrya) Del Mar as a sales rep. She has shown us some condos (new, used, and private sale fully furnished in BEAUTIFUL style) and is hoping we will want to buy here. They are rather expensive - although compared to other parts of the sunshine world, not expensive at all - but we still have travelling we want to do and so not a good time to be looking at settling down in any one spot. Most owners here seem to have bought with partners - some have up to 10 partners which certainly makes the investment reasonable and they seem to be able to work out the sharing time. Not sure what to think about investing, although the place is totally awesome ... there is little to do other than golf on the world reknown course. There is much more they have planned for the resort, but it's Mexico and that means it all takes time.
We thought we had great sunsets in Sask. but ones here are 'gooders' as we all know when watchi8ng them in the south.
We are now on the count down as one week tomorrow we head back to Canada. There is just so much more we could write, but we're tired!! How pitiful is that?
We will do all the sunning we can and get another golf game in and then will be back into reality, snow & cold. I plan on not going outside until April.
Love ya all,
Al & Pat
jueves, 18 de febrero de 2010
viernes, 12 de febrero de 2010
Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 29C and windy
Been a couple strange days - lots and lots of clouds, with only small amounts of big sky sunshine. This is totally different than what we're used to, and everyone here assures it is almost totally unheard of. it never got below 24C so can't complain too much.
Anyway, today the sun is back in full force, but now (which is very late afternoon) the Saskatchewan winds have arrived - they followed us? This makes the surf pound like freight trains and there are even some white caps out in the ocean. Still, the sun shines, cocktail hour has begun right on schedule, Van Morrison is singing to us from the CD we purchased when we were at his concert in Northern Ireland 3 years ago, I've got laundry started, the chopping for dinner taco's has started, and life is just fine.
We went into Mazatlan again yesterday, but it was sort of in error. We went downtown to the OLD part of Mazatlan which is totally, totally different from the tourist or Golden zone ... and were greeted by hoards and hoards of cruise ship passengers in town for the day. We knew, but forgot, they arrive every Tues, Wed, Thurs and it's really best to avoid those days as the crowds are horrible, and the shops raise their prices and will not dicker much. Lesson learned. BUT we spent probably 30 mintues in the old Catholic cathedral which was indescribably beautiful - pretty comparable to cathedrals in old East Germany.
Then we were invited to join a bunch of people from EDM at a neighbouring town for dinner last night. The town is named Villa Union, pop about 20,000, and 14 kms. from here ... and is in another world from EDM. Typical Mexican town, but this restaurant is amazing! Al and I would NEVER have taken the necessary turn down a dark, narrow, scrungy little back alley, never mind ventured outside to get inside ... and at night it was even scarier. There were Mexicans all over the alley - hanging out, selling stuff (including some of the best 'cookies' that I've ever tasted of cinnamon and brown sugar), and men wanting to wash your vehicle ... BUT, people we were with go there all the time and it's almost everyone's favorite place to dine! It's called Cuchapeta's and started out as one house, that has now grown to two houses which they've joined by making steps down, steps up, steps down, steps up ... turn right, turn left, stairs down .... you get the idea. It is VERY old (1500's), super thick walls like Europe, all white with low ceilings, and packed with people - oh, and the smells!! Their specialities are seafood - shrimp, crab, oysters, octypus and fresh fish of all sorts. Only Tequila and beer are served. Kelly tried to choke mearound Christmas 2009 forcing me to eat a raw oyster that was much too large to fit my throat ... BUT those oysters were not nearly as large as what is served here. I had some - only because the ones I tried here were cooked .......... and delicious!! The restaurant now includes a 3rd house when necessary, so more stairs etc. I'm sure. It is quite famous, and all walls are literally covered with framed pictures of their famous guests over the centuries of photography. Al kept seeing pictures of himself at various times in his life in the photos!! Yup ... he could pass for a Mexican at any given time of the day or night now. The town, like EDM, is about 10n minutes from an International airport which explains how easy it is to get famous people there.
Where EDM now sits was originally the holiday home of Art Linklater who hosted guests such as John Wayne, and other long gone people who's names we've forgotten at this moment. This is out of context I know, but I just thought of it.
Anyway, the main reason for the dinner last night was to celebrate Lance's birthday. We had/have no clue who Lance was, but who are we to turn down a dinner invite? So this group of 15 or so ordered all Lance's favorite dishes and downed buckets of Pacifico and Tequila as they waited. It was REALLY funny as each dish that was delivered to our table was received with comments such as "OK, dig in and "Happy Birthday Lance ... wherever the Hell you are", followed by peals of laughter!!
Chuchapeta opens at 11am, and closes at 7pm ... no exceptions!! Lance and his friend took a bus from EDM, to Villa Union only to discover the bus they were on was actually going to Mazatlan (opposite direction), so in Mazatlan they got off the bus and hailed a taxi to take them to Chuchapeta's - now about 1 hour away! They arrived about 6:20pm!! Anyway, in the meantime we had devoured some of the best seafood appetizers/dinners I've ever had as each dish was sent around the table for all present to sample. YUMMY! The person we went with had to leave early, so we were home by 7pm ... and happy for it. We were full of awesome food, and Tequila, and Pacifico's. As soon as you got close to finishing your beer or Tequila, the waiters swept away the empty and replaced it with a fresh one. Dangerous indeed, but great fun if you're not driving AND on holidays.
That's about it for now I guess. Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Family Day, happy long weekend, and Happy Valentine's Day!! Chat with you later and please keep the emails coming! They're fun!! Best of holidays to the Pearts, Zotsmans, and Pringles who are on the east coast of Mexico as of today - hope you get better weather than the Ortman's did - although it's always better than Feb. in Canada!.
Cheers all,
Al & Pat
Anyway, today the sun is back in full force, but now (which is very late afternoon) the Saskatchewan winds have arrived - they followed us? This makes the surf pound like freight trains and there are even some white caps out in the ocean. Still, the sun shines, cocktail hour has begun right on schedule, Van Morrison is singing to us from the CD we purchased when we were at his concert in Northern Ireland 3 years ago, I've got laundry started, the chopping for dinner taco's has started, and life is just fine.
We went into Mazatlan again yesterday, but it was sort of in error. We went downtown to the OLD part of Mazatlan which is totally, totally different from the tourist or Golden zone ... and were greeted by hoards and hoards of cruise ship passengers in town for the day.
Then we were invited to join a bunch of people from EDM at a neighbouring town for dinner last night. The town is named Villa Union, pop about 20,000, and 14 kms. from here ... and is in another world from EDM. Typical Mexican town, but this restaurant is amazing! Al and I would NEVER have taken the necessary turn down a dark, narrow, scrungy little back alley, never mind ventured outside to get inside ... and at night it was even scarier. There were Mexicans all over the alley - hanging out, selling stuff (including some of the best 'cookies' that I've ever tasted of cinnamon and brown sugar), and men wanting to wash your vehicle ... BUT, people we were with go there all the time and it's almost everyone's favorite place to dine! It's called Cuchapeta's and started out as one house, that has now grown to two houses which they've joined by making steps down, steps up, steps down, steps up ... turn right, turn left, stairs down .... you get the idea. It is VERY old (1500's), super thick walls like Europe, all white with low ceilings, and packed with people - oh, and the smells!! Their specialities are seafood - shrimp, crab, oysters, octypus and fresh fish of all sorts. Only Tequila and beer are served. Kelly tried to choke me
Where EDM now sits was originally the holiday home of Art Linklater who hosted guests such as John Wayne, and other long gone people who's names we've forgotten at this moment. This is out of context I know, but I just thought of it.
Anyway, the main reason for the dinner last night was to celebrate Lance's birthday. We had/have no clue who Lance was, but who are we to turn down a dinner invite?
Chuchapeta opens at 11am, and closes at 7pm ... no exceptions!! Lance and his friend took a bus from EDM, to Villa Union only to discover the bus they were on was actually going to Mazatlan (opposite direction), so in Mazatlan they got off the bus and hailed a taxi to take them to Chuchapeta's - now about 1 hour away! They arrived about 6:20pm!! Anyway, in the meantime we had devoured some of the best seafood appetizers/dinners I've ever had as each dish was sent around the table for all present to sample. YUMMY! The person we went with had to leave early, so we were home by 7pm ... and happy for it. We were full of awesome food, and Tequila, and Pacifico's. As soon as you got close to finishing your beer or Tequila, the waiters swept away the empty and replaced it with a fresh one. Dangerous indeed, but great fun if you're not driving AND on holidays.
That's about it for now I guess. Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Family Day, happy long weekend, and Happy Valentine's Day!! Chat with you later and please keep the emails coming! They're fun!! Best of holidays to the Pearts, Zotsmans, and Pringles who are on the east coast of Mexico as of today - hope you get better weather than the Ortman's did - although it's always better than Feb. in Canada!.
Cheers all,
Al & Pat
martes, 9 de febrero de 2010
Carnivale!!
Mazatlan’s Carnival - EDR has a bus that will take those who signed-up (there are 22 of us) into Mazatlan around 5pm this Sat. Feb. 13th. We are then on our own to eat, drink, and be merry until the fireworks start at 11pm. Then we need to make our way back to our bus for the ride home. We have the option of watching the fireworks from the roof of a 13 storey hotel [apparently the fireworks burst right in front of you!], or from the Malecon [everyone pays 20 peso to enter the Malecon after being searched for guns and alcohol]. We've not decided which we'll do ... yet. This carnavale is the 3rd largest in the world, next only to the ones in Rio and New Orleans. We were in Mazatlan about 20 years ago during Carnivale and it was nuts, but tons of fun. This also means WE are 20 years older!! We'll try to take pictures, but it's dark here at 6pm so not sure how that will work ... or not work.
The following is a blurp taken from the web site explaining Carnivale.
The second-largest city in Sinaloa state (after the capital, Culiacan), Mazatlan boasts one of the largest carnival celebrations in Mexico. It’s also one of the oldest, and has been celebrated in more or less its present form for more than a hundred years. Less wanton than Rio’s and more sedate than that of New Orleans or Veracruz, it is nonetheless a spectacular affair that captures the seaside city and holds it hostage for five days and nights each late winter or early spring. It’s a commingling of culture and carousing.
The tourism board touts Mazatlan’s carnival as family-oriented, and it’s true that there are poetry contents, literary awards, and ballet in the baseball stadium. Kids compete for prizes at school, and a couple is elected as diminutive king and queen to reign over the annual awards presentations. Extended families attend rock and ska concerts at venues throughout the city; they dance the tambora, the traditional oompah band music of northern Mexico.
For many families the highlight of the week is the grand parade. Long before dark, crowds start to fill downtown’s main street, which parallels the ocean and malecon, downtown Mazatlan’s famous seaside sidewalk. They stand four deep on the sidewalk; young men climb available statues and pillars and posts. Those lucky enough to have scored a room in the Olas Altas neighborhood pack onto the tiny balconies of their hotels. (The rest of the year these hotels play second fiddle to hotels at the Zona Dorada, but during carnaval they are in huge demand.)
Clowns stomp down the street atop peg-egged stilts. Adorable kids wearing grease paint and animal costumes snake down the avenue in conga lines. Marching bands rattle and hum.
Along with their court, the carnival king and queen ride in an impressive float of flowers, colored paper, and anything that glistens or glitters. Dressed to kill in tulle, organdy, velveteen, and other sweat-producing fabrics despite the heat, they herald the parade as representatives of cultural and community pride.
The king and queen are chosen from among Mazatlan’s young elite. The queen especially is chosen not just for her beauty, but for her connections. The king, originally dubbed El Rey Feo (“the Ugly King”), is now called El Rey de la Alegria, or “the King of Happiness.” Both preside over the parade and other carnival events wearing sequined, shiny outfits, but it is the queen who really sparkles.
By late evening the parade sambas to its finale. Youngsters crack their last confetti-filled eggs on the heads of their friends, adding to the litter on the streets. As the hot dog, popcorn, and corn-on-the-cob vendors mentally tally up their profits, the roadies kick into gear, erecting multiple music stages up and down the street.
Parties are held for four consecutive nights up and down the malecon. These all-night parties leave waiters sleeping on their feet and visitors snoring in their hotel rooms until high noon. Local talent boogies each night until near dawn, as do better-known national and even international groups. Barricades keep out the freeloaders; there’s a nominal fee, and a long wait in line) to gain entrance to this street party, although surrounding streets, bars, and restaurants are packed as well with mariachis, tambora bands and other live music.
Mazatlan is a navy town, and on the Saturday preceding Lent big ships lurking offshore conduct la batalla naval. Using fireworks instead of ammo, they engage in a mock maritime battle that lights up the night with alegria.
The following is a blurp taken from the web site explaining Carnivale.
The second-largest city in Sinaloa state (after the capital, Culiacan), Mazatlan boasts one of the largest carnival celebrations in Mexico. It’s also one of the oldest, and has been celebrated in more or less its present form for more than a hundred years. Less wanton than Rio’s and more sedate than that of New Orleans or Veracruz, it is nonetheless a spectacular affair that captures the seaside city and holds it hostage for five days and nights each late winter or early spring. It’s a commingling of culture and carousing.
The tourism board touts Mazatlan’s carnival as family-oriented, and it’s true that there are poetry contents, literary awards, and ballet in the baseball stadium. Kids compete for prizes at school, and a couple is elected as diminutive king and queen to reign over the annual awards presentations. Extended families attend rock and ska concerts at venues throughout the city; they dance the tambora, the traditional oompah band music of northern Mexico.
For many families the highlight of the week is the grand parade. Long before dark, crowds start to fill downtown’s main street, which parallels the ocean and malecon, downtown Mazatlan’s famous seaside sidewalk. They stand four deep on the sidewalk; young men climb available statues and pillars and posts. Those lucky enough to have scored a room in the Olas Altas neighborhood pack onto the tiny balconies of their hotels. (The rest of the year these hotels play second fiddle to hotels at the Zona Dorada, but during carnaval they are in huge demand.)
Clowns stomp down the street atop peg-egged stilts. Adorable kids wearing grease paint and animal costumes snake down the avenue in conga lines. Marching bands rattle and hum.
Along with their court, the carnival king and queen ride in an impressive float of flowers, colored paper, and anything that glistens or glitters. Dressed to kill in tulle, organdy, velveteen, and other sweat-producing fabrics despite the heat, they herald the parade as representatives of cultural and community pride.
The king and queen are chosen from among Mazatlan’s young elite. The queen especially is chosen not just for her beauty, but for her connections. The king, originally dubbed El Rey Feo (“the Ugly King”), is now called El Rey de la Alegria, or “the King of Happiness.” Both preside over the parade and other carnival events wearing sequined, shiny outfits, but it is the queen who really sparkles.
By late evening the parade sambas to its finale. Youngsters crack their last confetti-filled eggs on the heads of their friends, adding to the litter on the streets. As the hot dog, popcorn, and corn-on-the-cob vendors mentally tally up their profits, the roadies kick into gear, erecting multiple music stages up and down the street.
Parties are held for four consecutive nights up and down the malecon. These all-night parties leave waiters sleeping on their feet and visitors snoring in their hotel rooms until high noon. Local talent boogies each night until near dawn, as do better-known national and even international groups. Barricades keep out the freeloaders; there’s a nominal fee, and a long wait in line) to gain entrance to this street party, although surrounding streets, bars, and restaurants are packed as well with mariachis, tambora bands and other live music.
Mazatlan is a navy town, and on the Saturday preceding Lent big ships lurking offshore conduct la batalla naval. Using fireworks instead of ammo, they engage in a mock maritime battle that lights up the night with alegria.
domingo, 7 de febrero de 2010
Sunday Feb. 7, 2010 SuperBowl 25C (downright chilly!)
28 and sunny
In town on Tuesday for groceries. That night we had a tropical storm blow through and it rained. The locals said that they have not seen rain like that in many years. Mazatlan was flooded with 2 to 3 foot deep water and [probably] sewage. Great. It is such an old city they have no modern sewers to carry water away. We were lucky and were almost back to EDM before the rain began in earnest. I'm afraid the golfers from the cruise ships were not considering themselves lucky at all.
We were to play golf on Wednesday but we figured the course would be quite wet, plus the humidity was incredible, so we just sat around the pool and stayed cool.
On Thursday we managed to go golfing with some really nice people from the centre of the universe, not. They drove us crazy and we finally got rid of them on the 14th green. They have stayed away from us so far and we have avoided them.
The golf course is spectacular. After the game we decided to have a few beers and some nachos in the clubhouse. We were approached by a very tall and well tanned man. He made chit chat with us and then invited us to his house for a party on Saturday night. His house is located right behind our condo and backs onto the 4th fairway. We said we would attend but we were a little suspect about this guy. We put it on our schedule but had not decided on whether to attend or not.
Friday another hot day by the pool and out for supper to the clubhouse which was also having live music. A guy with a fancy piano and a female singer. They were surprisingly good. The meal was just so so. Their breakfast and lunches are great but they're really not set up for fancy dinners.
Saturday we hung around the pool deciding if we would attend the party. Our neighbours who own a condo here also got invited to the party so we decided to go as a group. We found out he is a criminal lawyer out of Santa Barbara and is loaded. He has another house in Hawaii. We were told to just appear and bring nothing. His house is huge and very very nice, marble everywhere. It was his 52nd birthday. He welcomed us with a kiss to Pat's check and a hand shake and a kiss to my cheek. I think he wants me. He is a bit of a strange duck. There was an open bar with about 20 bottles of wine, endless beers and hard liqour. Food was served with cake later on. We had a very good time and we were one of the last people to leave. Pat made a lot of contacts and when they found out she was a geneologist they were all over her. She has been invited to have a small seminar with some of the ladies who live down here.
We went down to the clubhouse for superbowl. Just watched SuperBowl half time show - Oh my GOD .... put the Who out of their misery .......... quick!!!!!!!!!! Was this show as bad in Canada as it sounded here? Monday is a new day. We're pretty tired tonight, but how could one complain as we sit on our deck in shorts etc. and it's now 10pm. Life is pretty darned good.
Love to all,
Al and Pat
In town on Tuesday for groceries. That night we had a tropical storm blow through and it rained. The locals said that they have not seen rain like that in many years. Mazatlan was flooded with 2 to 3 foot deep water and [probably] sewage. Great. It is such an old city they have no modern sewers to carry water away. We were lucky and were almost back to EDM before the rain began in earnest. I'm afraid the golfers from the cruise ships were not considering themselves lucky at all.
We were to play golf on Wednesday but we figured the course would be quite wet, plus the humidity was incredible, so we just sat around the pool and stayed cool.
On Thursday we managed to go golfing with some really nice people from the centre of the universe, not. They drove us crazy and we finally got rid of them on the 14th green. They have stayed away from us so far and we have avoided them.
The golf course is spectacular. After the game we decided to have a few beers and some nachos in the clubhouse. We were approached by a very tall and well tanned man. He made chit chat with us and then invited us to his house for a party on Saturday night. His house is located right behind our condo and backs onto the 4th fairway. We said we would attend but we were a little suspect about this guy. We put it on our schedule but had not decided on whether to attend or not.
Friday another hot day by the pool and out for supper to the clubhouse which was also having live music. A guy with a fancy piano and a female singer. They were surprisingly good. The meal was just so so. Their breakfast and lunches are great but they're really not set up for fancy dinners.
Saturday we hung around the pool deciding if we would attend the party. Our neighbours who own a condo here also got invited to the party so we decided to go as a group. We found out he is a criminal lawyer out of Santa Barbara and is loaded. He has another house in Hawaii. We were told to just appear and bring nothing. His house is huge and very very nice, marble everywhere. It was his 52nd birthday. He welcomed us with a kiss to Pat's check and a hand shake and a kiss to my cheek. I think he wants me. He is a bit of a strange duck. There was an open bar with about 20 bottles of wine, endless beers and hard liqour. Food was served with cake later on. We had a very good time and we were one of the last people to leave. Pat made a lot of contacts and when they found out she was a geneologist they were all over her. She has been invited to have a small seminar with some of the ladies who live down here.
We went down to the clubhouse for superbowl. Just watched SuperBowl half time show - Oh my GOD .... put the Who out of their misery .......... quick!!!!!!!!!! Was this show as bad in Canada as it sounded here? Monday is a new day. We're pretty tired tonight, but how could one complain as we sit on our deck in shorts etc. and it's now 10pm. Life is pretty darned good.
Love to all,
Al and Pat
martes, 2 de febrero de 2010
Translations are iffy at best
OK, just proof read the next posting and noticed strange things happening which we cannot control. As I mentioned in the past, our computer knows we're in Mexico so everything is coming up in Spanish. So, we thought we'd outsmarted it. Now it decides certain words we've typed need to be translated and it's doing it at random and we can't stop it! Ah weel, just go with the flow.
A & P
A & P
Tuesday Feb. 02, 2010 25C
Decided to go to Mazatlan ... again as *someone* was out of vino ... again! Darn Al!! and we needed to fill in some our groceries. We wrote ourselves this wonderful groc list ... and guess what? Yup, it stayed here and we went ... there.
It was a fun day - the EDM (Estrella del Mar) shuttle picked us up at 7:30am - you'd have loved that eh Ron Coutts? That shuttle takes us the golf clubhouse where the next shuttle picks us up for the 45 min. ride into town. You quickly learn to hang on when you see any kind of curve/bend/slight movement of the road is coming up! AND to Mexican drivers ALTO [STOP]means they just *might* consider *thinking* about slowing down ... slightly ... and sometimes they *almost* check to see if anything is coming!! Jimmy Dewar, our Scottish cop friend, will appreciate that. You sort of just close your eyes and hope!
We have a new friend at the EDM office in Mazatlan and what a big help she is. She told us about this cool little hole in the wall restaurant where everything is totally home made. She gave us an English menu which we stored safely in our cooler bag and off we went to do some shopping. This little restaurante opens at noon and only serves until the food is gone ... lucky to last till 2pm ... so were there at noon. It was a buffet with clearly marked dishes ... in Spanish! So, we took some of whatever we wanted - you pay by weight - and it was DELICIOUS (even the stuff Al called mystery meat) and both our meals plus a can of Sprite was just under 6 bucks. On Wed. they make Chinese food and ribs and we'll be there next Wednesday for sure!! As we waited for the buffet to be filled, we met people from Dauphin, Winnipeg, Alberta and lots of locals.
Things have changed here so much from 20 years ago. Imagine that eh? Everyone in stores speak English and there are just buckets of guys/girls trolling the streets outside of the new condos that are right on the beach trying to convince people to view one condo. If you agree, it takes about 1 1/2 hours and you get a free breakfast and green fees ... we even found one guy who gives green fees for EDM ... so if we have time next week we just might take him up on it. Green fees here are about $102.00 each so we're intersted in 'free' when we can find it! There are 2 days people staying here can golf for $52.00 so we'll do just fine. We actually have a tee time booked tomorrow morning, but the weather is looking kind of nasty so we'll just wait and see. That's one big difference we've noticed this time. Staying for this long means we aren't upset if we hit a day now and then that's less than perfect.
I actually managed to work in a golf lesson yesterday morning. This pro is absolutely awesome. I learned sooooooooooooo much. Had lunch after the lesson and then went back and spent 3 hours on the driving range. Now just to remember and be able to put into practise all he showed me. Wish you were here Sheila!! I'll definately take more lessons if I can.
Friday night is a big deal here as there is a live band at the club restaurant and drinks are 2 for 1 until 6pm so we have reservations. Looking forward to it. We've met so many nice people and will probably see lots of them there. We also rode home today with a couple from TO - surprisingly nice people!! Oh yeah, the driver from Mazatlan was playing the most awesome music, so I asked him what the CD was called. Turns out it's Cuban music!! now I have the name but who knows if I'll ever find it.
That's it for now. As I type this I'm watching the ocean surf coming in the opposite direction and the sky is cloudy. Also some white caps out there. A good evening to be staying inside I think. It might be fun to see a good storm here ... long as it's just rain! And the very best thing about tonight is the first LOST TV show of it's final season!! I'm a LOST finatic and I was so afraid we wouldn't get it here. YIPPEE!! Life is good.
Trust all is well there! Write when you have a moment?
Love to all,
Al & Pat
LA is right now making some salsa with all his fresh veggies and it smells wonderful!
It was a fun day - the EDM (Estrella del Mar) shuttle picked us up at 7:30am - you'd have loved that eh Ron Coutts? That shuttle takes us the golf clubhouse where the next shuttle picks us up for the 45 min. ride into town. You quickly learn to hang on when you see any kind of curve/bend/slight movement of the road is coming up! AND to Mexican drivers ALTO [STOP]means they just *might* consider *thinking* about slowing down ... slightly ... and sometimes they *almost* check to see if anything is coming!! Jimmy Dewar, our Scottish cop friend, will appreciate that.
We have a new friend at the EDM office in Mazatlan and what a big help she is. She told us about this cool little hole in the wall restaurant where everything is totally home made. She gave us an English menu which we stored safely in our cooler bag and off we went to do some shopping. This little restaurante opens at noon and only serves until the food is gone ... lucky to last till 2pm ... so were there at noon. It was a buffet with clearly marked dishes ... in Spanish! So, we took some of whatever we wanted - you pay by weight - and it was DELICIOUS (even the stuff Al called mystery meat) and both our meals plus a can of Sprite was just under 6 bucks. On Wed. they make Chinese food and ribs and we'll be there next Wednesday for sure!! As we waited for the buffet to be filled, we met people from Dauphin, Winnipeg, Alberta and lots of locals.
Things have changed here so much from 20 years ago. Imagine that eh?
I actually managed to work in a golf lesson yesterday morning. This pro is absolutely awesome. I learned sooooooooooooo much. Had lunch after the lesson and then went back and spent 3 hours on the driving range. Now just to remember and be able to put into practise all he showed me.
Friday night is a big deal here as there is a live band at the club restaurant and drinks are 2 for 1 until 6pm so we have reservations. Looking forward to it. We've met so many nice people and will probably see lots of them there. We also rode home today with a couple from TO - surprisingly nice people!! Oh yeah, the driver from Mazatlan was playing the most awesome music, so I asked him what the CD was called. Turns out it's Cuban music!! now I have the name but who knows if I'll ever find it.
That's it for now. As I type this I'm watching the ocean surf coming in the opposite direction and the sky is cloudy. Also some white caps out there. A good evening to be staying inside I think. It might be fun to see a good storm here ... long as it's just rain!
Trust all is well there! Write when you have a moment?
Love to all,
Al & Pat
LA is right now making some salsa with all his fresh veggies and it smells wonderful!
domingo, 31 de enero de 2010
Sunday Jan. 31
One week ago today we were at Kelly's worried that we would NEVER get out of Regina! What a storm eh?
So today we did our usual stroll on the beach, but still hard walking as the bloody tide is still in. It makes the shoreline wet, and is like walking through quick sand ... we had a full moon last night so the tides will soon change and walking will be more like it was when we arrived ... almost one whole week ago!
Today there was a major golf tournament here. After walking, sitting around pool, reading etc, we came back to our condo around 1:30pm ... sat on our back deck and cheered on the golfers! It was so much better than on TV as we were REALLY watching it all live! The funniest part was when we were playing "The Roof is on Fire" (all those who have been to the Caribbean know the song) when the guy shooting hit a GREAT shot [which we saw land on the green right in front of us] and he shouted [at the same time as our CD was playing it - The Roof is on Fire!! THAT was a great moment, but made us wish our 'Cuban' friends were with us!
At 5:30pm we got to see and talk live to Kelly, Shelley and Macy on Skype. Anyone who has not signed up for Skype is really missing out! It's totally free and sooooooo easy. If anyone wants to chat through Skype, just let us know. If you're not hooked up, just do a Skype search. We are (I think) PRyan507 but it's easy to figure out. TRY it!!
That's it for today. Lots more happened, but I'm tired of typing. I'm reading a REALLY good book and want to get back to it.
Love to all,
Pat and Al
So today we did our usual stroll on the beach, but still hard walking as the bloody tide is still in. It makes the shoreline wet, and is like walking through quick sand ... we had a full moon last night so the tides will soon change and walking will be more like it was when we arrived ... almost one whole week ago!
Today there was a major golf tournament here. After walking, sitting around pool, reading etc, we came back to our condo around 1:30pm ... sat on our back deck and cheered on the golfers! It was so much better than on TV as we were REALLY watching it all live! The funniest part was when we were playing "The Roof is on Fire" (all those who have been to the Caribbean know the song) when the guy shooting hit a GREAT shot [which we saw land on the green right in front of us] and he shouted [at the same time as our CD was playing it - The Roof is on Fire!! THAT was a great moment, but made us wish our 'Cuban' friends were with us!
At 5:30pm we got to see and talk live to Kelly, Shelley and Macy on Skype. Anyone who has not signed up for Skype is really missing out! It's totally free and sooooooo easy. If anyone wants to chat through Skype, just let us know. If you're not hooked up, just do a Skype search. We are (I think) PRyan507 but it's easy to figure out. TRY it!!
That's it for today. Lots more happened, but I'm tired of typing. I'm reading a REALLY good book and want to get back to it.
Love to all,
Pat and Al
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