5C's Que Pasa

Difficult to take photos of swarming insects.

Just as it got dark last evening we noticed many insects swarming around the outside lights.  If you are a new reader you must read how we were attacked last year.   Most interesting is that it was exactly a year ago last night.  You can read about the attack here.  At certain times of the year, mostly in the spring, the termites swarm and come through.  Usually it only lasts an hour or less.  In Mazatlan you can be sitting at a restaurant and get swarmed and notice that the next restaurant over is not being bothered.

We were preparing dinner last year when we were attacked.  Our outdoor lites were on and as well as many inside the RV.  We now know that this attracts the termites, they swarm to the light.  Our windows and vents were open.  As I was standing in the kitchen I felt things falling on my head and shoulders.  They were coming in through the vents and all of the RV orifices.  It was horrific.  If you read my post from last year you will see how bad it was.  Our entire bed was covered in insects.  So what did we do?  We kept killing them and more and more came.  They were everywhere.  Very little sleep that night.

This is how they look when they fly and often loose their wings once they come inside and look like crawling ants. Photo taken from Google.

What should we have done?  Turn off all the lights and close the windows.  Once Colin found several in the kitchen last evening, he and I quickly started shutting the windows and turned on the A/C and turned all of our lights off.  We could see the termites swarming all the lights outside.

It was dinner time and we were hungry so we packed the girls and ourselves into the car.  First stop was to go tell Rae what was happening and then went to the local wee restaurant that is open at night.  Yes there were swarms there also but not as bad as we had near the ocean.  We sat away from the lights and by the time the food was ready most of the termites had disappeared.  They usually pass within 30 minutes.  Sorry but in the rush to leave we forgot the camera.

So we now consider ourselves locals and in the know on how to deal with these swarms of termites.  Our first four years here were termite free and last year made up for it.  But this year we survived.  We had about a dozen to kill last night and I did kill one more on the bed this morning.  We found out today that some RVers had gone out to dinner and left windows open and lights on and came home to a bunch of crawling bugs.  One fellow took a can of Raid and sprayed the inside of his RV in an attempt to kill them.  Tonight we had a few and just sat in the dark in our closed in RV with the A/C on.  They have passed on and now I am free to post.

Meanwhile we are packing up.  This is the start of a pile that we  will put into storage here.

Just before sunset and the onset of the termites we had a cruise ship leave.

In fact we had two large ships in yesterday. The beach has been very busy all week. Evidence of spring break.

Yes we have Murder in Mazatlan in the form of an interactive murder mystery dinner theatre.  What did you think I was referring to?  Colin and I and a few friends partook in this wonderful evening in early February.  Sadly my father passed away shortly thereafter and I was delayed in posting about the evening.  Everything you need to know about this new and wonderful addition to Mazatlan’s must do activities, including reservations can be found by clicking here .  The most important thing to know is that it is truly entertaining and the dinner is delicious.  For about $28.00USD you get two drinks, a three course meal ( with several choices of an entree  ) and a fabulous whodunnit to solve.  It plays until the end of April in Centro on Monday evening and in the Golden Zone on Tuesday evening.

Sitting with friends between acts and discussing who might be the murderer.

The play happens all around the diners so everyone sees everything.  An exciting aspect of the evening is that you can be part of the action.  You can play a role in the evening or you can just sit back and try and figure out who is telling the truth and of course enjoy the laughs.

The storyline revolves around real life people and locations in Mazatlan. Here my friend Renee plays Debbie Rodriguez, the owner of Tippy Toes.

I got to play the part of Sharon, the owner of a B&B in Mazatlan, Casa de Leyendas.  Lots and lots of drama.

Our meal was gourmet. The salad served for the first course was the best I have had anywhere in years.  The shrimp here were cooked to perfection and melt in your mouth.

I bet you didn’t know that I had a wee bit of actress in me.

Linda and Kevin left shortly after the murderer was apprehended due to another function.  However Colin and I stayed and visited with our friends Renee and Greg.   We weren’t quite ready for the evening to end.

The only thing different is that the Monday evening show is now at El Fish on Olas Altas.

The writer Bodie Kellogg promises an entirely new subject matter for next season’s dinner theatre.  I for one can hardly wait.

We have had six years of beach time here on the Isla and I have to say that 7 days ago it was the best day ever.  I didn’t post about because I kept hoping it would repeat the next day or the next day and I could share even more with you.  Interestingly I shared the joy of our  beach walk with a fellow camper about what a special time it had been.  She asked why was it so special.  I tired to put it into words and it was not easy.  So I thought, why not do it again?  But it just did not happen.

A perfect sky and temperature and even the  ocean was warm. The tide was just right.

We all played in the surf.

We walk in the surf everyday but there was something magical this particular day.  Colin and I and the girls were having a blast.  We did not want to stop.  It was last Monday, massage Monday and we had to get back for our appointments.  Thinking back, I realized that in over almost two hours of playing we had lost track of time and got back with merely 10 minutes to spare.  If I had to do it over again I would have stayed out there with my family and said too bad about the massages because this is way better.

Even the girls were having a wonderful time.

I can’t recall the last time we just played.   It was refreshing and exhilarating.  Running in and out of the surf.  We all got wet.  No photos of Colin because I was having so much fun and he had the camera.

Not too many others on the beach.

We saw Maria on the beach. She was sad as she has to leave soon. Work is a necessary evil.  Soon it will be our time.

Hey Mom, that wave was over our heads!

We made a game of finding shells. That day we found 3 large sand dollars and 12 auger shells. We would see them tumbling in the surf and then be covered by a wave and then we would try and find the shell in the sand. So much fun.

Who wanted to go back?  Not us.  We truly were in a magical moment.  I can’t really describe that walk but it was extraordinary.  Something we had no control over and now that it is past I wish with all my heart that we had stayed a few hours more.  It really was that special.

But it was time to head back….

Had I known that it was a one time moment in my life, nothing would have pulled me away.

For the last seven mornings we have tried to recapture those magical moments but to no avail.  Perhaps that is when I became listless.  This morning it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other.  Yes it was another massage Monday with only one more to go.  However the sun and heat are back and I did actually just sit and read a book this afternoon.  I even mustered up enough energy to start this post and with any luck or another glass of vino I will finish it and post it.

We even had a nice sunset that evening.

Not my usual type of post but it will just have to do 😳   This was featured on our Kelowna local online news this morning.

It is true, the weather is very different in the West of Canada vs the East.

First off a special thank you to Rae, my computer guru. She has brought my blog up to date.

Thanks to Rae, you can now sign up for new posts delivered to your inbox as well as sign up for replies to your comment to be sent to your inbox.  Most importantly she has updated my blog system for the first time since it was created in 2010.  Seems like I hired someone to do the set up who was not too certain as to the process.  He did a good job setting me up and Rae has done a fabulous job of bringing me into the 21st century.  I believe she is for hire to do a variety of computer related things if anyone is interested.

For the past three days we have endured mostly overcast skies and daytime lows of around 80F.  Plus the new moon has brought us a high morning tide.

The ocean was spewing angry waves up higher and higher.  Usually the water does not come past that dark grey line at the top of the photo.

It has been swirling closer and closer to the wall in front of the RV Park. Our early morning walks have been postponed to about 11AM.  You can still walk but I prefer not to sink into the wet sand with each step.

I have had little to no energy these past few days.  Perhaps it relates to the change in our morning routine.  I’m certain it relates to the fact that we are heading North very soon.  I have tired to ignore that fact but it doesn’t help.  I see all the work that needs to be done to pack up before we hit the road.  I guess I feel I am not ready to leave,  I have not had a lot of free time this winter.  In part that is why I am not blogging every day right now.  Frankly I am sick and tired of sitting in front of this machine call a computer.  At times I feel chained to it.

I feel as unsettled as these small boats sitting high up on the beach but easily swayed by the forces of nature.  Those restaurants have no control over the ocean creeping in and invading their space.

I now understand how so much damage can be done here during hurricane season.

The sun came out today so hopefully I will come out of my funk eventually.  I know I can’t ignore what my future holds but I would like to hide for a few days more at the very least.  Napping is not a part of my day but I have enjoyed those for the past 3 afternoons.  Sadly I usually wake up cranky.

I have been so into myself that I made no effort to great some new RVers to the park earlier in the week.  Just no energy to do anything but what is essential.  Thank goodness for Colin who greeted them.  Turns out that these folks are blog readers but were too polite to come and say hello.

Meet Wayne, Kenya and her daughter Yorama.  They live in Tecate, a town on the US border in the Baja.  Wayne, now retired,  is a great traveler and now they are on a quest to find some land to purchase, perhaps on the beach but likely in the mountains.

I am certain we will meet again as it is likely they will be passing by us here on the Isla again and again.  Fortunately they did not find the Road an obstacle at all 😮 They have also been reading Juan and Kevin’s posts over the last year.  Such a small world we live in.  Safe travels my friends.  Stay in touch.  I wish I had been able to spend more time with you, next time, I promise.

The night the clouds started to form…..

…we had a spectacular sunset.

The colors like the tides were extremes.

Thanks for stopping by.  Always nice to know you visited.