5C's Que Pasa

Adios Rochelle and Micheal. After a sleepless night due to yet another loud restaurant party, they decided to head home early Tuesday morning.  Enough was enough.  Christmas won’t be the same without you.

After a bunch of errands we suddenly came across a posada late yesterday afternoon.  Photo taken through the car windshield.

Wish we had known about the parade. Would have loved to follow along but as usual we had to be somewhere.

Finally the clouds are gone and the sunset returned.

We were off down the road to greet Mike of  the Abuelo Loco blog, joined by Rae.  Mike had just arrived from Guanajuato.  Welcome back to the Isla Mike, lovely to have you here for Christmas.

Met up with Janet and Grant, their dog and their son on the beach this morning. I believe I mentioned a while back that they are staying on the Mazatlan side of the channel this year.  Had a nice visit but we do plan to spend more time together after the holidays.

Caeli scored this morning with the end of the peanut butter jar. I wonder if Adams would pay us for this shot.

Ishmael loved his new hat as part of his Christmas gift from us. Seems he really did like wearing Colin’s hat last week at the dance. He doesn’t photograph well but trust me he really was pleased.

A very huge welcome to Chris and Juan who pulled in about 5:15PM today the 23rd.  We were expecting them tomorrow for happy hour and they thought that they had indeed arrived on the 24th.  Somehow they got their dates wrong 🙄  We had a marvelous reunion and they happy to have an extra day at the beach.  Welcome to paradise amigos.

It was hot and humid yesterday.  By noon it was 87F inside the RV and the ocean breeze had stopped.  It was not pleasant but still better than rain, snow and cold.  We had unexpected visitors.  Always love it when someone walks up off the beach.  Bella and Carl came by and dropped off one of her very special Christmas cards.  A print from one of her hand painted pictures I was enjoying the visit and didn’t think to snap a photo until after they had walked down the beach.

I discovered an oriole nibbling, well actually pecking, at my bananas. I guess the oranges I put out for them aren’t enough.

It was just after 1PM when we finally headed into Mazatlan.  The plan was to get all the groceries we needed until after Christmas.  The mercado was a sea of people and traffic was crazy.  After our purchases and a late lunch of a shrimp burger at Tony’s we had to walk blocks before finally nabbing a taxi.  Not a pulmonia but a taxi with the back windows positioned in the up position with no handles to lower them.  Remember how hot I said it was. I vow to only take pulmonias from here on in.  Finally we got to the embarcadero and an ocean breeze and the quiet and peace of the Isla.  Sorry no photos, I was just coping, hanging onto my parcels and putting one foot in front of the other.

Earlier in the morning Michael was out there becoming one with nature.

I did manage to take this one photo as we arrived in Mazatlan. A few shrimp boats were in and unloading their catches into that waiting truck.

After a late lunch we had an even later dinner but somewhat lighter. My version of nachos with tons of chihuahua cheese, refried beans, guacamole, salsa and sour creme. Not so light a dinner after all, my stomach is full but oh so tasty.

Some of you may remember when last March Colin sent his precious guitar to a luthier in Paracho, Michoacan.  If not you can read about it here.  We finally found out this past October that the repairs were completed.  How to get back Colin’s precious instrument?  Much back and forth, a number of emails to Chris and a good deal of research on his part.  For certain Colin did not want to chance having the guitar shipped back to us here in Mazatlan.  It is priceless and after the repairs even more so.   Someone asked the other day what made it priceless.  In a word it is the sound, you might compare it to a Stradivarius violin.  However it is the total package, the handmade guitar built by a master, the wood, the very high quality of the parts, but in the end it all comes down to sound.  So Colin had the fine cracks on the back repaired, caused by moving from wet Vancouver to dry Kelowna ( which will now increase the sound ), the frets redone as they were worn down, caused by much playing, the finger board needed to be plained and a new finish.  How to get it back without damage or losing it?

Now this is what I dislike about posting…..I just lost the same amount I have already written above.  I will try to recap.

The luthier himself put the guitar in the belly of bus going to Guadalajara from Paracho.  Heri ( Heribertos’ son who is studying for his Masters in Architecture in Guadalajara ) met the bus as it arrived and carried it off the bus.  A few days later Heri was traveling to Culiacan for Christmas but not via Mazatlan and took the guitar with him.  Last Friday I drove Colin to the panga, on the Mazatlan side he took a pulmonia to the bus station.  It was only a 2.5 hour ride and he spent the night in Culiacan.  On Saturday  he did the reverse trip back to the Isla with his precious guitar.

I call it a guitar coffin 🙂

It was well protected.

He is very happy with it and it has hardly left his hands the last few days.

Isela did a great job decorating their tree. The Mexicans are so creative.

Somehow time just seems to be eaten up each day and you can’t seem to understand what you did that took up so much of it.  Perhaps it’s because one is more relaxed and if it takes an hour to get out to the beach for a walk so be it.  If it takes an hour to have a five minute chat with a neighbor so be it.  Life simply evolves from one event to another, minutes have no meaning.  The weather has been wonderful, the humidity had ( past tense ) diminished and it cooled down at night, perfect for sleeping with no fans nor A/C.  I got my hair cut last Wednesday and it remained straight until yesterday when the humidity returned.  Back to very warm and sticky.

There have been a lot of loud weddings, as in band noise, around here the past few weekends and Saturday night there were three, a first in the seven years we have been here.  Tis Mexico, simply shut the windows and turn on the A/C.  Apparently one party next to RV2 went until 8AM 👿  I don’t think that there was a happy camper to be found over there.  Meanwhile we had a wedding next door on the left and another down the beach on the right, didn’t bother us at all.

Love watching all the activity on the beach, more and more nationals arriving.  They say that the hotels are 100% full for the holidays.  Great for the economy.  I enjoy people watching.  Different vendors on the beach, more hustle and bustle.  I’ve read a few books in the last week and somehow just never got to posting.  Blogging every day takes a huge amount of time and although I always have lots of photos and things to write about daily, I do not have the luxury of time even though I am supposed to have lots of it 😳   So I am just going to go with the flow and possibly my style of posting may change a bit.  Life is to be lived to the fullest each and every day and I intend to do what I feel like doing rather than feeling I have to not read my book nor enjoy another beach walk but to post instead.  I also miss relying to emails in depth as well as keeping up with all the other bloggers I read.  However I might just post twice in one day. You never know, cuz I certainly don’t know 😉

So first on my agenda is to catch you up on some of the things we’ve enjoyed and not posted about.

Almost 2 weeks ago we headed down the beach  along with Rochelle and Michael to the monthly spaghetti dinner at Carmelita’s.

All the RVers were there plus many who live on the Isla.  Drinks were 2 for 1, tasty tasty margaritas.

It was great to hear Bonnie pick up a guitar and sing a few tunes.

She beckoned me up to join her for a number but I didn’t know the song.

So instead I danced with Russ while Debbie enjoyed the music.

And just because I choose to, so ends this post.  Colin and the girls are waiting for me, it’s beach walk time.

First a car ride to the embarcadero, then the lancha ride over the channel to Mazatlan and finally a pulmonia ride.

It was a trip to the vet.  Someone’s anal glands needed expressing.  Yesterday was the day.  However our vet, La Jungla has moved…..far away.  What used to be a 50 peso ride was now a 100 peso ride to the very far outskirts of Mazatlan.  Plus we had to pay extra for the pulmonia to wait for us as there was no traffic in the area at all so we would not have been able to get a ride back.  However I am very certain that the driver was happy, he made a lot of money because of us today.  Much better than short trips back and forth all day.

Lots to see on our 30 minute ride. This is how the trees and boulevard get watered. The truck drives along and someone directs a hose to spray the area.

School just got out. I really like how everyone wears a uniform. No competition re who dresses the best.

It must be Christmas, vendors were going from vehicle to vehicle stopped at the red light, trying to entice someone to but a gift.  I just couldn’t see the use for coat rack or an overbed table.  The dart game looked interesting.

The new office. Anals were done on both the girls for 100 pesos total.  Back in Canada we pay $35.00/430 pesos for each of the girls.  So the charge of $4.07CAD/50 pesos was a bargain even though our travel cost was $17.92CAD/220 pesos.  We were there and back in 90 minutes, had we driven it would have taken at the least five hours.  Well worth the extra cost.  Overall we were only out an extra $8.00CAD over last year and we had a great tour of the city.

We were way out in a new area in the very North of the city, a more modern area. I just managed to get a quick snap of this round a bout. Very nicely done.

A private pulmonia. We were moving fast and it is not an easy feat to capture the shots you want. This was a Harley Davidson colors with many HD logos along the side.  We also saw a brand new Mercedes that had to cost at least $90,000.00CAD.  There is some serious money in this city.

The girls were tired but perked up on the boat ride back to the Isla.

Caeli was really enjoying all the action. Carmeh was rather sleepy.

Always good to be back home on the Isla.  We still had errands to run before heading home, put some more minutes on my Mexican cell phone, buy juice for Christmas morning, drop off our laundry, pick up some tortillas and finally home.  Phew, we were all happy to be back.  Somehow it ended up being a busy afternoon for me.  I divided up the cake I won at the silent auction on Wednesday evening.  Everyone in the RV park got some including Rae who came by for a brief visit but over some vino it evolved to a longer and most special visit.  Even though we just live a block and a bit away from each other we both have busy lives.  Yes we live in paradise but we do have things to do so it was nice to sit and put our feet up over a glass or two of vino and just chat.

A sunset enjoyed by man and beast.

I had no idea that today was going to be so much fun.  First off as usual was our beach walk once the girls ate their breakfast.  We only get to eat after they do and get a long walk.  Guess who rules the house?  Today was hair day in Mazatlan.

It also was a first time in a very very long time that four cruise ships were docked in port.

All of Mazatlan was holding its breathe that these 13,854 people had the perfect day.

Before I left the Isla I was able to observe the joy of the cruise passengers enjoying the beauty of the Isla. What touched me most was this elderly couple. I saw them walk the beach twice and though they were slow I could somehow sense their devotion to each other and the desire to get the most out of each day. When she bent over to pick up a shell he so very carefully helped her up again.

I also saw a single elderly gentleman, was he alone or was his wife still on board, too frail to get off and enjoy Mazatlan or the Isla?  He was extremely slow and  would stop every five or six steps.  I was so tempted to go to him and offer to help him walk the beach.  But instead I simply watched and willed both him and the couple the strength to continue as far as they wished.  One day that will be Colin and I, strolling along a warm beach….

I went into town on my own and Colin came along later for his hair cut.  No photos…..

As we returned to the Isla, the first of the four ships was heading out.  So much power in these vessels.  The last one is the Veendam  ( Holland America ) which we have sailed on in the past where we did a lot of our ballroom dancing.

Tippy Toes, my hair salon was behind schedule.  Cruise folks dropped in with no appointments, others dropped in to get an autographed copy of one of Deborah’s three novels.  Heck I had trouble finding a pulmonia, had to walk two blocks and flag one down on the way to get there on time.  Everyone was happy that the ships were in port.  However we personally were in a rush.  We never left Tippy Toes until 4:45PM and we had a party/posada starting at 5PM on the Isla 😐   We were about 45 minutes late but no worries, it was just fab once we did get there.

We were almost the last to arrive, but not quite and there was still much to eat. Some of the food such as the fish was provided by the RV Park owner and the rest as a pot luck by us RVers.  I made a pasta salad from a recipe created by George of Our Awesome Travels.  It was a huge success.  The best part was that I could make it a day ahead and let it sit and marinate leaving me free to go into Mazatlan the day of the party.

A three piece band was also provided and they were really good.

I did draw the line at the jump jive, but Jeanne was the perfect partner for Colin.  Note that Ishmael and Colin have switched hats and it certainly got Ishmael on the dance floor.

However I managed to dance….

…and dance and dance.

I really had a great time and honestly can’t remember when I last had so much fun.  I must say special thanks to Debbie for these photos.

With or without Colin I danced and danced.

I think I was cleansing the past and getting on with the future.  I love to dance.

Neither of us expected the evening to be so very special.  It was a fund raiser for the Christmas Hamper fund for the poorest of the poor on the Isla.  Actually no long a food hamper program but rather food vouchers at one of the two stores here on the Isla.  This was the third fund raiser this month and this evening just over 9000 pesos was raised 😀

Tonight there was a silent auction and I won this lovely chocolate cake. Of course I can’t eat it as I am allergic to caffeine but I will have a good taste and share the rest with friends and RVers  tomorrow.

Such a contrast from yesterday.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.  You must live each day to the fullest.