5C's Que Pasa

We like to start the evening with a walk along Olas Altas.  So much activity and energy.

Hard to believe that they sell beer in such large containers. Love the band stand right above the Pacifico store.

Hello to you too.  Note the Pacifico beer to the right.

There are a few hotel rooms with a great view but you do have to book for a minimum of four nights.  These folks got right into the spirit of Carnival.

So very many band stands being set up. The music goes till at least 4AM each night of Carnival.

Look way up….we are watching the fireworks from up top there.  Great view, can’t be beat.

Look who got some new earrings.

I had to walk for a long time to find this mini mask on a chain. Just perfect for me.  One can’t wear a Carnaval mask if you wear spectacles.

Most of the music only starts after the fireworks are over.  In fact we saw larger line ups getting into the area as we were leaving.  It was nice to see and hear this band in action.

These three girls with their flashing crowns were a delight to watch as they danced around and around.

We saw a few kids with these flashing running shoe soles. Very vivid indeed.  I wonder if this is how the shoes are sold of if they are an add on?

One part of this evening is the burning of the Bad Humor. Last year it was Trump and this year it was he and his wall.

Finally we went up to the rooftop where we saw the huge crowds that we had just been a part of.

Hundreds of thousands attended the event.

So many in such a tight space yet everyone was polite and happy and respectful if they bumped into you.

I truly enjoyed our enchanted evening.

This is the blue line painted on the road for the benefit of the cruise passengers to find their way into Centro from the cruise ship terminal.  Just in front of the tuba player is the young couple we had met earlier in the morning, obviously following our advice to follow the blue line.  The fellow on the right in the blue jacket is a volunteer, one of many who are available to help the tourists.

A bit on interesting street art along the road.

It must be green bean season. This is the first time that I have seen a vendor selling them on the street in front of the Cathedral. Those big bags were only 10 pesos/.65cents Canadian.

We stopped to look at blankets in the mercardo and found this sleeping feline.

We decided to take a pulmonia back to the embarcadero. Centro was in gridlock.

No matter which direction you looked, we weren’t moving. So we sat and listened to the honking vehicles. Drivers here tend to be impatient.

This fruit and candy vendor is sneaking a smoke behind his back.

Between the passengers from this ship and folks in town for Carnaval, Mazatlan is muy ocupado.

This beautiful tree is directly across from the lavenderia on the Isla where we stopped to pick up our laundry on the way back from town.

Those are baby mangoes on the tree. Hopefully they will be ready before we have to leave.

Fortunately it was jazz night on the Isla and so we headed over to El Velero. I was too worn out to cook our dinner at this point.  A few of our friends were playing in this set.

I won’t deny it.  A margarita or two later and there I was being swung around ( you can’t call it a dance floor, rather ) the sand floor.  Gosh that Chava is a great lead.

Despite the long day we were one of the last ones to leave the party.  Colin was in the grove.

The cruise ship sitting at the end of the road as we return to the Isla.  It is actually docked on the other side of the shipping channel.

Ishmael just happened to show up and he planted Colin’s third papaya tree, the replacement for the one that was destroyed in the storm.  It is much smaller and we hope that it will grow into a large fruit bearing tree.

I had decided to pull out one of my hibiscus. It was one from last year or the year previous. It has only had one flower since we arrived in November.  The white spots show some sort of disease.

This is the plant that I had pulled out.  There was a lot of yellow on many of the leaves.

I replaced it with a brightly colored bougainvillea.  It will grow with time and always be in bloom.  This is a special shorter bougainvillea that won’t grow as tall as the ones at the back of my garden.  I should be able to keep it in a hedge like shape.

We were rewarded by some lovely color by Mother Nature.

A great deal of water on our patio.

Lots of things blown over including plant pots and the dog carriage.  Water everywhere.

The waster was pouring out of the drain we had installed under the RV last year.

We had to get rid of the water or we would still, two days later be living in a mess.

The parking lot was a bit of a lake here and there but is soon dried up once the sun came out.

We took 15 buckets of water off the patio. At one point I was sweeping the water towards Colin as he scooped it up in the smaller pail.

I guess I was sweeping rather vigorously as I got a blister from holding the broom so tight.  Sadly it still hurts and affects how I use my right hand.

The water that couldn’t be scooped up was toweled up.

This fellow drove onto the beach and started frantically shoveling sand. He obviously needed to stop some water from going somewhere. He managed to dig himself well down into the sand as he filled the back of his truck.

One of the easier ways to ring the water out of the towels. Then mop up more water and repeat. I couldn’t help with this part due to my very sore finger.

The worst thing that the storm did was blow over Colin’s papaya tree.

Such a shame as it had so many papayas already growing.

After about 4 hours of clean up we finally got out for our beach walk.

The waves post storm were still significant yesterday afternoon and remain so today.

There was not as much beach sculpting as I had thought there to be, just enough for Carmeh to jump up and down.

The egret looks like he is on stilts.

We have survived yet another water intrusion.  But seriously enough already.

Isn’t Carmeh cute?

Today I called the US border crossing station at Lukeville, Arizona and actually spoke to a person.

Great news. As long as the chicken is cooked we can bring it into the USA.  So dear Carmeh will for certain have her food as we travel through the border.

Every few months my ears get very very itchy and I have trouble hearing.  So I have Colin candle my ears.  This is how much wax that came out of each ear.  The tip of the pen gives you an idea of the amount of wax.  I can hear clearly now and no more itching.  Google ear candling if you want more details.

Caeli and Carmeh snuggling at 7:30AM.  It is unusually cool at the moment, 12C/53.6 at night with highs of about 23C/73.4F forecast for tomorrow with cool winds.  We hope to get back up to 27C/80.6F by next weekend.