Mar 06, 2014
Looking back at these shots it really was a marvellous parade
A look to the right at the floats that have passed by.
There were many groups who danced their way along the parade route.
All great parades end with the horses.
Mar 05, 2014
Looks like there will be a part 3 tomorrow 🙂 Too many fabulous floats.
Mar 04, 2014
Hola everyone. Sorry for the delay but when I went to post, Word Press was down but finally here we go. Between us we have so many photos to share with you. Tonight I will bore you with my photos and delight you with Colin’s shots tomorrow.
We were fortunate enough to be able to watch the parade from this vantage point. The popular night club Valentino's can be seen in the distance.
Thanks to our neighbors here on the Isla we were able so use this wonderful location as our viewing area for the 2014 parade.
This is where we were seated. Some of the perks, great washrooms and dinner delivered to us by a nearby restaurant. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we are grateful to have been included.
The crowds on the street just kept increasing as the hours got closer to the parade start time.
We arrived at 3:45PM and the first "commercial" float didn't appear until 6:30PM and the first official Carnaval float not until 8:30PM. Meanwhile we had lots to watch on the street below our vantage point.
How wonderful to be able to live here and watch the sunset on a daily basis.
Nice to see the sunset from a different location than the Isla.
She was directly across from us.
Finally the parade arrives. Well actually it is the commercial parade, companies like beer & food companies and newspapers, etc.
They put on a good show.
The crowd loves it.
We eat these.
We couldn't figure what this one was all about but it was colorfull!
One of the actual smaller floats, so colorfull!
An overview of a float.
Such attention to detail on that same float.
Many walked or danced the entire route.
Love those colors.
That’s it for this post. Come back tomorrow for spectacular photos taken by Colin.
Mar 03, 2014
Yes, mi amor has left us girls. We got back about 11PM last night from yet another fabulous Carnival parade. Between us we took about 800 shots. Lots of great photos to share with you all.
Then this morning after our beach walk Colin just started to pack up.
We seemed like the happy family this morning, just enjoying some time on the beach.
The girls became despondent as Colin began loading the car. He was leaving us.
...then he just drove away and left us behind 😥
After two very long days and nights of Carnival celebrations Colin had had enough 😐 He just upped and left us as he headed North to Culiacan. No he is not going to check out El Chapo’s homes and tunnels but to attend the annual Festival Internacional de Guitarra. For those who have been following this blog on a regular basis, you know that Colin is headed there to attend Master classes and very special musical events each evening centering around the classical guitar. He will be gone for eight days.
Sadly the girls don't understand why their Dad left them behind. They kept up their lookout for hours.
Finally Carmeh feel asleep but each time a vehicle passed she awoke barking.
Even our laid back Caeli was distressed.
I always miss mi amore when he leaves but I do support him and his very special guitar time with the best of the best in the entire world of classical guitar professionals. But please make this very long week pass quickly.
We have had so much fun these past few days enjoying Mazatlan’s Carnival. I will be posting photos over the next few days of a compilation of our parade shots.
One of the three bunches of horses we see on a daily basis here on the Isla.
Buenos noches Colin. Enjoy the concert tonight.
Mar 02, 2014
What a spectacular evening! I can’t think of a better way to kick off Carnival. Mazatlan certainly does things in a big way with over 79 thousand people crowding into the Olas Altas area to view the fireworks last night.
The area is closed off and you pay a 30 peso entrance fee. We got there early, about 8PM and it was already teaming with people. Folks had rented rooms with balconies overlooking the ocean. Normally there is a 3 night minimum on these. So much to see.
Masks, glue on moustaches, wigs, flashing earrings or head bands, you name it and it is for sale.
All part of the fun. I borrowed a camera last evening and it had the date setting turned on. All of my shots are with this new to me camera. I think there is a new camera in my future.
He was having a blast!
Many band stands had been set up and will be playing nightly throughout Carnival. Olas Altas is the place to be. We were too early to see any performances but we certainly heard them later and even once we got back home on the Isla. There are dozens of beer tents set up and waiting to serve you.
We didn't stay down on the street but rather went to the very top of hotel you see here.
Looking down at the crowds. By the time the fireworks started at 10:30PM there wasn't any standing room left.
The hotel had two areas they had sold tickets for. We were on the very top floor sitting around the pool area in the open air. It was crowded and the service was slow but it was Carnival and the atmosphere was electric. My margaritas were not great but I still enjoyed them, I did have the choice to switch to wine. Of course beer was the beverage of choice but I don’t enjoy it. Those who had reservations one floor down faired much better with service and food. They were closer to the bar and the kitchen but had to look out of windows as opposed to our panoramic views. When I made the reservations we were told that food would be available and it sort of was. I only bring this up as the neighbors from the RV Park that came with us waited over an hour for their meal and finally due to hunger left. We were starving also but kept nagging our overworked waiter and we finally got a plate of food to share. Sadly they missed the greatest fireworks we have ever seen. They did see it but not from our prime location. Coming from Vancouver we had attended the Symphony of Fire competitions for a number of years. These were exceptional. Of course the fireworks can be viewed from everywhere along Olas Altas but to be so high up and feel like you were in the middle of a burst of color is beyond description.
While waiting for the extravaganza to begin we visited with old friends who were there. Hola Debbie!
Even my dancing partner Laurie from January 17th at the Plazuela Machado with my boy band 🙂
...and we made new friends, Donna and her husband Mark from White Rock, B.C. but shown here with Colin.
As well as their friends and now ours, Vicki and Jack from Vancouver, Washington USA.
These two couples have been viewing the fireworks from this location for three years now. They claim it to be the best location. Yes the hotel ran out of wine last year but things happen and with over 79 thousand people in such a confined area you just go with the flow. They came back again and guess what, we are going back with them next year 
There was a technical glitch last evening and the fireworks had a 13 minute delay but that delay was soon forgotten by the show itself. At one point there was so much smoke that we could not see the people on the ground. From our vantage point and with the slight wind we had the perfect experience.
I took this from the Noreste online paper to show you a different perspective from where we were.
I let Colin take the photos as I was overwhelmed. We could hear the sizzle of each dot of fire and the colors were so impressive. It was hard to know where to look, the fireworks were out on the water, then back and forth from the shore, then low along the shore, then on either side of us and then the best part was when we were simply enclosed with the bursts of color all around us. Somehow I would like to try and capture that next year. Meanwhile here are just a few of Colin’s many awesome photos.
Getting back to the Isla was another story. Needless to say many of the crowd poured out of the Olas Altas area and the streets in all directions were curb to curb with people.
Quite the crowd.
We elected to stay put and have another drink before heading down to the street. It made little difference. People were everywhere and traffic was not moving. Total gridlock. We headed off towards side streets that were slightly passable and tried to make our way towards the embarcadero. Finally we found a taxi that took us the rest of the way, saving us about 8 minutes of walking. The pangas were full in both directions. Everyone was very festive. We even had a fish jump into our panga, I guess he wanted to party also. That was a first for us. Another first was our walk back to our RV. We had travelled into Mazatlan with our neighbors and because they had left the hotel early we were on our own. The walk back was tiring but it was pleasant to see the Isla from yet another perspective at 1:00AM.
The parade is next. Stay tuned.