Mexico Again (And Again)

Stan and I spent ten days in Mazatlan in the middle of October, we flew home, and now I am back in Mexico. I'm in Ajijic, a town on Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. A friend moved there a year ago and has been wanting folks from her hometown to come see her and her new home. I'm always game for a trip so here I am.

I have to make room for more pictures on my blogger server, so words will have to do for now.

It was beastly hot in Mazatlan, the locals even complained. El Nino had warmed the ocean and created super high humidity. We still had fun and went to the places we like the best. Last year I was so very sick when we left I forgot my Kindle. Took a long time to get well, but that's another story. Our friend Steve from the resort took it home and one year later I got it back! I bought another one in the meantime, now I have a spare so the grandkids don't hog the new one. We got home before the hurricane hit, but it missed Mazatlan anyway.

The weather here in Ajijic is perfect, high 70s during the day and around 60 at night. The altitude is high and the humidity is low, similar to Montana only without the snow, lol! Carol is taking me to lots of places, today we rode the bus to Chapala and some of the outlying towns. We walked the malecon in Chapala and had lunch there. The rest of the week will be filled with social events, more food, and a little volunteering.

I am slightly homesick, two trips back to back kinda do that to you. But this has been a great adventure, traveling all by myself, and I'm missing a couple of big snowstorms back home.

Second Home

We consider Mazatlan our second home and we are very happy to be here this week. Especially since the temps in Montana are -25°F all week!  We have a son house sitting so we can enjoy without worrying about our house or the dogs. They are having a balmy winter down here-low 80s every day. We'll take it. Not planning anything too exciting, made it to the supermarket yesterday, maybe el Centro tomorrow and dinner in town on the weekend. Mostly lots of relaxing, beach walking, eating and knitting.

The view from out patio. We prefer to be up a few floors  to see the ocean, but this was all that was left. This is very convenient anyway, a short jog to the bar, pool, and the beach. And no stairs!

Quiet Days

We didn't get too carried away with excursions, etc., this time.  We've done them all and have progressed to being quite familiar with the area and just go where we want to.

Tuesday was a pretty easy day, got some groceries and hung out at the resort.  Tuesday night was the Fiesta the resort holds weekly.  A buffet with lots of good food and great singers and dancers.  Could have won some tequila if I memorized a Spanish phrase and stood up in front and said it.  Didn't need the tequila so I memorized the phrase and stayed sitting! 

Wednesday we went down to Olas Altas, which is in Old Town to meet some friends for lunch.  Irene had a tummy bug (not something she ate, lol!), so it was just the two of us.  We left a little early and got a nice guided trip from our taxi driver.  I had wondered about the Machado family that Plazuela Machado was named after, since I have a friend by that name.  Found out they are very wealthy and at one time lived in a mansion on the Plaza.  The mansion is now a museum and the Machados live in El Cid, one of the most exclusive areas in Mazatlan.

Colin and Contessa, a couple I first met through their blog.  We get together at least once while we are in Mazatlan.  The Jewells winter in Mazatlan and summer in Canada.  The restaurant we ate at was La Cueva Del Leon, The Cave of the Lion, and is a place we will return to a lot!

Al Jolson was in Machado Square, the rest of the statues were along the Malecon, or public beach.

The theme of Carnaval this year is "La Linterna Magica," or The Magic Lantern, referring to the old-time projectors used in the early movie theaters.  Here is Marlon Brando.

Marlena Deitrich

Pedro Infante, a very famous Mexican singer who was born in Mazatlan.

Marilyn, complete with flying skirt!

Back for happy hour and Italian Night at La Palapa, the four star restaurant at our resort.  And of course a sunset.  This night we saw the green flash, but it's just about impossible to photograph, at least with my little carry-along camera.

Gone and Back

We're home from our week in Mazatlan.  Interesting trip, but we still had fun.  We did get plane tickets from Cal Jet and they fit very nicely in with the other connections I had set up.  We were due to arrive in Mazatlan just after 11:00 on Sunday night, but we got as close as below the streetlights when our pilot pulled up and circled for a while.  He came on the loudspeaker and said that it was too foggy to land so we flew to Puerto Vallerta to fuel up,  Then we flew to Guadalajara where we were informed that we would stay the night. By this time it was 3:00 in the morning.  They provided us with hotel rooms and meals and we flew out at 2:00 the next afternoon.  Crazy way to start a vacation but sort of an adventure, too.  I was impressed with the friendliness of Guadalajara, the same as the people in Mazatlan.

The fog had finally burned off, they got new air space, and the crew got their required rest so off we went, all 60 of us.  50 minutes later, 2:00 Mazatlan time, we touched down in Mazatlan.  The whole group clapped and cheered!

We were exhausted, but we managed happy hour and supper, but were in bed by 7:30.  We did get to see the first great sunset.

Hit the Ground Running

 I swear every time we go somewhere, when we get home our lives go insane!  I told you about the funerals, we had grandkids to watch, catching up on chores and now Millie has to have yet another surgery.  She has suffered from atrial fibrillation for quite a while and after her knee surgery it got way worse.  So Monday she and Jim are driving to Salt Lake City for a heart cath procedure.  Testing on Tuesday, procedure on Wednesday, out of the hospital on Thursday, and hopefully home on Friday.  Prayers are solicited for a safe surgery and a complete cure.  This condition was caused by a surgery gone bad ten years ago when she went septic aftewards.  She was in a fib for 2 1/2 weeks during that terrible time.  She squeaked through and survived, but has fought several problems that were caused by the sepsis.  I believe this is surgery number 11 to correct all the problems.

Gracie is going with them so she can see where she was born.  She is all excited, but also wants to be a nursemaid to her mommy.  Chris might go, Isaac is going to the other grandparents and Sam will be with us.  All this on their 20th wedding anniversary!

Oh yeah, and I caught a cold!

Here are a few more pictures from Mazatlan, I'll just think about that lovely place when I get too stressed.

On stilts with a hula hoop.  We met fun stuff like this on the way to the parade.

Tons and tons of confetti.  We paid for a buffet at the Hacienda and there were people on the balconies above us throwing bucketfuls of the stuff.

This year's queen-a very big deal.

Thousands of pretty ladies.

Not sure what this was supposed to mean, but it was neat.

Another gratuitous sunset picture.

The Carnaval parade lasted over three hours.  Was it worth it?  Yes.  Would I do it again?  Yes, but I wouldn't cram myself into that balcony, I would go out on the street with the people.  Although I met a lot of new friends that night.

Home and Catching Up

We're almost unpacked, and got a good night's sleep last night.  We got home about midnight, which wasn't too bad, my friend Carol picked us up and the plane was on time.  Came home to the news that Stan's last aunt passed away.  We dragged ourselves out of bed and went to the funeral, just lucky we got home in time.  Stan and his sisters got to catch up with the cousins.  Also a couple of elderly friends passed away, too.  Couldn't make one funeral, it overlapped with Aunt Bernie's, but I'm hoping to go to Doc's on Monday.

A lovely Mazatlan greeting!

The first couple of days were mostly resting, catching happy hour, hitting the grocery store and lounging around the resort.  Saturday we decided to get set up for Carnaval, so we went to Machado Square where we were supposed to be able to get tickets for the queen coronation.  They had closed that kiosk but we hung around the square and explored.  We visited the Angela Peralta Theatre, named after a famous Mexican opera singer who died of the plague in Mazatlan in the late 1800's.

It cost us 15 pesos but it was well worth it.  This theatre is very active-they had a Russian ballet just the other night.

A Carnaval sculpture in the Square.

Drinks and people watching.

We gave up on the coronation-would have had to go to the mall for the tickets, but we did stop and get tickets to a buffet at the Hacienda Hotel, which was right on the parade route, so we would have a place to sit and eat and watch.  Later we went back to the Square and ate at Pedro y Lola's, a wonderful restaurant.

The sculpture at night-made out of paper mache' covered fabric but it looked like metal.

Gratuitous sunset picture.

Good Times

We're having a lot of fun-yesterday we went to the Carnaval Parade.  Unbelievable!

We arrived here at 2:00 Friday morning-they tell us that being delayed in Mexico City is pretty normal.  They lost our luggage, but it was here by noon Friday-not too bad!  We've tried to take in as much of the Carnaval activities as possible, but we've kind of worn out, so I think our last one will be the special celebration at the resort.  I'll post pictures when I get home.

We've connected with our friends, and have arranged get-togethers.

Loving Mexico more and more!

In Answer

This link is in answer to all those nervous people who worry about our safety when we travel to Mexico:

http://www.thetruthaboutmexico.com/

Coming Together

Carnival floats from last year.

Well, for such short notice, the trip is coming together quite well.  We booked three nights at the resort, from the 16th through the 18th, but we were missing one night's lodging because our timeshare had no units for Sunday night the 19th.  So I booked a room for us at the Hotel Playa Mazatlan.  This is a beautiful old hotel right on the beach in the Golden Zone.  The food there is marvelous.  Then we will go back to the timeshare for the last 9 days of our stay.  And when I booked the hotel, I was able to use my PayPal account, so one charge won't make it to my credit card.

Getting plane tickets is always a chore, but Contessa turned me on to booking one way tickets.  It used to be much cheaper to do round trip, but not any more!  And this way I could get us the best itineraries-both ways.  There's always something you don't want, either on the trip down or on the trip back, so this way you can be more choosy.  There are getting to be dozens and dozens of travel sites nowadays.  Anyway, we don't have any red-eyes and I got halfway decent prices. 

I just can't believe we are going to do Carnival! 

Now just have to arrange dog care, stop the paper, pay the bills, do laundry, pack, arrange a bowling sub, arrange a cook sub for a church ministry, and get my sub for church secretary.  Already did that last one-in gratitude for filling for me during my surgery and recovery, we gave her a smoked turkey.  She loved it, so she was quick to agree to do the bulletin again!

Stan is sick today-has an infection.  The dr at the Urgent Care was concerned about his fever, chills and white count so she gave him IV antibiotics before she sent him home with a prescription.  And she wants him to come back tomorrow to check his white count again.  Poor guy-right now he doesn't look like he feels much better.  He hasn't had much to eat today, so maybe supper will help.  I have a lovely ham and sprouted bean soup simmering on the stove-smells heavenly!

Going Again

Sister-in-law has been wanting to go to Mazatlan.  She wants to go during Carnival and stay for two weeks.  Well she is just about to get her wish and we get to go along with her.  I called her this morning to tell her I was well enough to fly, and by 8:00 tonight we had our timeshare booked.

One thing I'm learning is, in this day and age, there are no cheap flights.  And no convenient ones, either!  I'll keep you posted.

Such a Pain!

Yep, that would be my lower back!  I did go to the spine people today, and got some really good news.  I do NOT have a ruptured disc!  Still not sure why the guy with the big needles and cortisone said I did.  He's an MD, you'd think he would know how to read an MRI.  The spine guy and I read it and in his words, "Your spine looks really clean!"  I could see it easily and I'm not an MD!  It's probably a tiny muscle causing the problem, the piriformis.  The sciatic nerve can run through that muscle and cause terrible amounts of pain.  Only thing is, they can't do anything for me.  Of course, they half-heartedly mentioned physical therapy, but my experience with that is less than optimum.

It's good news to me that there is nothing structurally wrong because now I can take over my own healing.  There are a few options open to me-accupuncture, massage, chiropractic, etc.  My friend Contessa recommends this book, and I think I will get it.  It has to be mailed, it's an older book and isn't available on Kindle yet, but that might be better-Stan can use it for his rotator cuff pain.

I'm reading some other books, too, about tension and the mind-body connection.  I just might combine both and come out on top!

Stan's sis is chomping at the bit to go to Mazatlan soon-like in a couple of weeks-but I'm not sure I can sit in a plane that long yet.  I really want to go, so I do have to get in shape quickly!

Last Day(s)

Saturday some of us headed to El Centro or downtown.  We wanted to take in the Mercado and show Dave and Laura the cathedral and the downtown area.  Steve stayed back with the four boys and they camped out in the swimming pool for the day.  Millie talked Gracie into going with us, but she wouldn't go near the pigs' heads in the meat counters!  Gracie did get her twirly dress and Laura found some cool earrings.  We had to finally leave the market because it was a bit overwhelming for Gracie.  Then to the fabric store, but I need time to think, which is hard to do when you're with a bunch of people and it was really hot so I just decided to forget the fabric shopping.  Too bad-fabric is dirt cheap there, and they are more into the apparel kind of fabric and less into quilting.  So off to the cathedral.

 It's such a beautiful church, and there was a wedding just starting, which thrilled Gracie.

Dave and Laura in the square in front of the cathedral.  I think I need to frame this-a great picture of the two.

Lunch at Panama then back to the Golden Zone so people could buy the goodies they saw there the other day.  For the first time, I went upstairs in Seashell City to the museum.  Pretty nice-this is a fountain, completely encrusted in seashells.

Dave, goofing off.

That night, we fed the kids macaroni and cheese and the adults ate a nice grown-up dinner in the resort restaurant.  Sweet and sad-nobody wanted to go home.

We left for the airport at 4:30 the next morning.  We got back to Montana at about midnight, so we were an exhausted group!

 I don't know how he sleeps like that!

 

Or that way, either!

A nice little place for a nap.

 And another one bites the dust!

There went the girl, too!

Gracie sobbed all the way to the airport and when she got out of the taxi she threw up on the sidewalk.  She did NOT want to leave Mazatlan!  I think the grand throw-up total for the week was four for Sam and two for Gracie.  Plus Sam had a pretty bad allergy attack after the Fiesta.  Didn't seem to make them sick, they just threw up.  Millie was so embarrassed she washed the bedding at 1:00 A.M.!

We're already planning our next trip-hopefully sometime in late February or early March.  My heart is still there, but now comes the hard part-the knee surgery-so I have to wait until I'm cleared to fly.

Another Fun Day

On Friday, the first thing I did was watch this cloud over the ocean pick up the rising sun's rays.

It almost looks like a mushroom cloud.  The weather forecast was for rain, but it never came.  Steve, Chris and Isaac headed out for a zip line tour.  The rest of us, all but Irene, headed to the aquarium.  First, Stan, Dave, Laura and I headed for a drug store to buy some Poli Grip.  The cashier looked at us-probably wondering which one of us had false teeth!  Laura had a temporary crown come out, and Millie had suggested this.  It worked well-that crown stayed in until they got home.  I'll be remembering that!  Then we hopped a pulmonia for the aquarium.  Jim, Millie and the kids got to see the sea lion show, but we were too late for that.  We hooked up with them just after the show got out and walked around with them.  Of course we saw sea turtles:

 And many, many fish:

We did get to see the bird show, very cute!

 Just watching the kids' faces was entertainment for me.  Everything was in Spanish, but it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.

It was very reasonable-85 pesos for adults and 60 pesos for children.  That works out to about $7 and $5-not bad for a whole afternoon's entertainment.

Then we headed to Mega for more groceries then back to the resort.  The kids got a huge kick out of riding in the pulmonias-half of us in one, half in another, and we had to keep shouting and waving to each other!

We had a taco supper and the kids hit the pool.  The teens and Steve related an awesome time zip lining.  They even got to tour a tequila factory-and grumped because Uncle Steve wouldn't let them taste the finished product!

Then to bed-whew!  We were all pooped, and we had one more day of fun to enjoy.

The Jungle

We knew we wanted the kids to take the Jungle Cruise.  This is a tour of an estuary in the mangroves on Stone Island, and a walk through an old time Mexican farmyard, where we saw a cayman and several sea turtles.  This is followed by a stroll on the beach-we were carried there from the farm on a "Mexican Hummer."  Actually a big trailer pulled by an old tractor.

Crazy happy family.

 Don't remember the name of the smaller birds, but this is the first time I've seen them-probably has to do with the time of year.

The waterway through the mangroves.  The tide was still high enough for us to boat through.  During low tide it becomes a mud bog.

On the "Hummer."

Stone Island has the best beaches in the area.

After the hour or so on the beach they hauled us back to the hut, where our delicious lunch of fish cooked on mangrove wood waited for us.

The tables and benches were petrified palm tree trunks.

Our dessert was coconut candies-actually macaroons-made with fresh grated coconut.  So yummy and they gave us the recipe.

Then we headed back, and Fernando our guide brought out a bucket of fish to feed the pelicans.  He asked for volunteers and Sydney was first in line.

Pretty cute!

I had to get a shot of that hat!

That night most of the guys went to a baseball game.  Mazatlan has a professional AAA team-some of the players even come from major league teams in the US, wanting to stay in shape during the winter.  They do this at a mere fraction of what they earn in the US.  The guys had a blast-they showed Stan on the JumboTron and played Christmas music.  He played along and waved.  The crowd cheered and some lady from Canada passed him her e-mail address.  Nice try lady, that Santa is taken!

The name of the team is "El Venados" the deer, since Mazatlan was named by the local indians, "Land of the Deer."  Here is their mascot.

The family had had spaghetti for dinner, but I didn't eat since I was allergic.  So after the guys left, I freshened up and went to the restaurant all by myself and had a lovely shrimp salad.