In Mazatlan

The night we arrived we ate dinner at the restaurant on the grounds of the resort. It's a four star restaurant and it's a blast to eat there-the wait staff bend over backwards to make our meal a good time. I had cheesy bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp. Oh my! After dinner, I walked a short way on the beach just to say I had.

After breakfast the next day, we took the bus to Mega-a huge supermarket. What fun to shop there! Armed with a "Daily Spanish for Dummies" booklet, I proceeded to read labels and try to find something that wouldn't make my allergies flare up. I didn't do too badly, we bought chicken, eggs, yogurt, chips, mangoes of course, and a whole lot of other fresh, tree-ripened things only available near the equator.

We laid low the rest of the day, taking naps, walking on the grounds and photographing anything that caught my eye. We decided to eat at the restaurant again that night-wonderful barbecue. Before dinner, we did the happy hour thing-Gram had three Pina Coladas and ended up dissolving in giggles at dinner.

Stan walking with his mom, while I photographed flowers (and Gram).

Getting giggly after the second pina colada.

Irene had a question about the money she had exchanged that morning, so while we went back to the condo, she popped over to the front desk. Coming back, she ran for the elevator, tripped on the step, and fell flat on her face. And I mean FLAT! By the time we got down there, blood was everywhere. A doctor was called, and when he got there, he announced he was taking her to the hospital for x-rays. I was elected to go with her, so we piled into the doctor's van and off we went to a tiny spotless hospital near the resort. Cab drivers in Mexico have a reputation for being wild drivers, but this doctor drove just as wildly. By the time we got there, Irene was alert and the bleeding had stopped. Doctor Arturo wheeled her into ER himself. He also wheeled her to x-ray and back, and assisted the radiologist. The results-she had broken her nose, and needed some stitches over the bridge of her nose.

After about an hour in ER (yes, only an hour), the Doctor announced that Irene was to spend the night in the hospital. He wanted to give her several doses of antibiotic because the broken bone pierced the skin. He wheeled her to her room (really!) and got her settled. I took a cab back to the resort, telling her I would come back early in the morning.

I was glad I could give good news to Stan and Gram-they were quite worried, and trying to telephone someone in a foreign country when you aren't fluent in their language can be iffy. I spent a few minutes on the balcony looking at the ocean to unwind and contemplate on my adventure, and turned in.