5C's Que Pasa

Our site as we backed out the RV and before we backed in the car and then the RV. We did this early in the day Sunday as we had Eric the RV repair guy come out to do some last minute tunes ups. We did get in our normal beach walks but not as much free time as we had anticipated.

We did say our goodbyes to the Isla but should have left even earlier.

This might have been my first sunrise I observed this season.

Loved all the tomato trunks. Sinaloa is an agriculture state.

Not sure what they were going to do with these corm stalks.

Many firsts today....more wind than we have ever dealt with on the road and it did affect our travel not to mention the severe dust conditions. We even saw a cow wandering all over the road. Certainly a good reminder not to travel at night.

As I checked in, I ran into Bob who had arrived less than 30 minutes earlier. He and 2 other RV's has also left Mazatlan this morning. As it turns out, we were 5 RV's from B.C. and 2 from Alberta. Our visit to Bob & Sandy interrupted their dinner and they in turn got us pre dinner but we did manage a good quick visit. I am happy to say that they mostly came to Mexico because of my blog and they loved the city. They have more news to share but perhaps Bob will do a guest post. It was great to finally meet the Frenchies, Jacques and Ruby.

Shortly after they left, Jenny & Joe came knocking at the door They checked in tonight just minutes behind us. They came to the Isla for just a few days and left a few days before us. As you can see by the clock, it was 9PM and we still had not had dinner. We had a brief but pleasant visit.

A long travel day of 390 miles but much shorter than our 510 miles of today.

'A' is the start of a 3035 mile trek.

These are our stops along the way.

A few are long days, a few are short days and most are around 300 mile driving days.

Our first day of the trek is the longest with close to 540 miles which is why we are starting so early in the morning. Last year we did this portion in two days and stopped at Los Mochis. That is what many do but we would rather drive straight through to San Carlos.

Our site as we moved the vehicles out and before we backed in again.

Caeli is going to miss her various male friends.

We are going to miss the ever changing scenes in our front yard.

Who has a tuba walking past on a regular basis?

Who can watch a chicken being transported on a bike? Yes this is one of the bikes we donated last December. Not sure what happened to the fenders or the front basket!

As long as Carmeh is near Colin she is happy.

The Isla is as colorful as Mazatlan if one takes the time to look.

So much to see just as in the city. This fellow was stringing a new fishing net amongst the rubble.

As long as Caeli has her 'baby' in her mouth she will likely sleep most of the way home.

Adios sweet Isla. Hasta Noviembre.

First thing on the to do list today was to power wash the dust screen. It was a tough job this year as our garden has grown so much.

This screen is so important in keeping the dust out of our RV. Look at that dirt.

It is a true dust screen and it does trap the sand and the dust. Not sure how we would survive without it as we still do get a lot of dust inside.

Three years ago there were no plants on the other side of the fence, so between them and the dust screen things are better each year.

We hired Ishmael to help us for a few hours today. The worst job was going between the fence and the plants to take the screen down. You can tell by his facial expression that he doesn't like this part of the job. The screen is clean and ready to do it's thing next season.

The next thing on the list was to take down our dog fence. Caeli has to be tied up as she loves to wonder everywhere. Carmeh stays close as she doesn't want to be left behind.

In typical Mexican style the fellow who we hired because he had a truck never showed up at the appointed time. So we just drove up to the embarcadero and hired a truck pulmonia. One load by truck and five loads by our car and we were done.

While Miguel was here with his truck we asked if he could help bring our stairs up off the beach.

This is our normal practice but last year we left them standing on the sand for the use of the RV Park owner who moved onto our site when we left. Sadly both the stairs and our gazebo were swept away during a storm last summer. This year they are being protected.

What we have in our storage area locally referred to as a bodega. Where the heck did all that stuff come from? No wonder our now empty site looks so huge.

This is Alfredo, the guy who does the laundry here on the Isla. He does all of our laundry for about $10.00 per week. Always sad to say adios.

This was taken 6 to 8 weeks ago but never managed to get published but I like this photo of us dining on Olas Altas. Sadly I dropped this pair of eye glasses a month ago and had to resort to my old ones until I can replace my scratched lense back in Canada. Cheaper to get one new lense at home than to get 2 here as they don't have the same types here.

Something new to see on each corner.

All two stories are part of a large single family home.

I would not be happy having a condo tower being built that will block my ocean view.

This car parks down the street from where I get my hair done, just in front of Paulina's, a great little restaurant on Sixto Osuna.

Creative art? Love all the color.

The two lions just add the right touch to this home, don't you think?

Colin ran some errands Thursday while I got my hair done at Tippy Toes, then it was his turn. We will really miss Deborah and her wonderful salon.

Then we returned to where I was served a chicken burger back in January. Yes it was an error but it took me over 2 months to get over it. I have to say the wait staff were overjoyed to see us return and they bent over backwards to make sure we were happy.

So our final hours in Mazatlan were spent devouring a perfect dorado burger. We have been assured we will be greeted with open arms when we return in November. Now if I could just somehow get them to perfect their margaritas 😉

We were so glad to get back to the Isla. There is something here that delves deep into our souls. We do love the city but the Isia is where we belong.

One thing we are going to miss is our twice daily horse parade.

This mare had her foal on Tuesday afternoon and just hours later they had her and the baby walk back down the beach. This was taken the next morning as they came back to their working area. Here the wee one is just 1.5 days old.

This is the first time that I have never seen a horse so young.

Isn't she sweet?

I have no idea why they had her do the trek home the day of her birth and back up the beach the next morning but since then she and her Mom have been staying in a secluded yard not too far from here.

Colin was wanting breakfast so at 1:00PM he was served a very tasty omelette complete with pan fries and toast.

I had fish tacos in a soft shell, which were very nicely spiced but way too much food for me.

Renee decided that her coconut shrimp were the best she has had in Mazatlan.

Greg ordered pulpo ( octupus ) and was very detailed in how he wanted it prepared and the type of accompanying broth he desired. I think he was very pleased with his meal. The bonus was that they both enjoyed the margaritas and I think they are even fussier about them than I am.

It was definitely the perfect location for our final adios. These two hit the road back to California Friday morning. Safe travels. See you next season.