Food Fun Fiesta Friends

March 2017 - Mazatlan Mexico

I cannot believe this was our last of 7 weeks already! The time flew.
The title says it all! Good weather, good food and great friends.

Last night's sunset.

I posted another photo like this last week, looking back at the resort.
We are in the building with the white roof on the far right of this photo.
the building on the left before the water houses the laundry, harbour master, coffee shop, convenience store, doctor office and clothing store. The rocking chairs are out front looking over the marina.
You also catch the boat shuttle to the beach from here.
The building in the middle with the wide expanse of green is the lobby,bar and restaurant.

Saturday our last Saturday! Started a little overcast and the sun slowly worked its way out. Lots of people coming and going this morning. We had a late breakfast of bacon,eggs and tomatoes.

We needed one more grocery run today that should carry us through the week. We can always pick up anything we need at the market. So we went to Mega, I love grocery shopping here, always an experience whether you are hunting for something, picking out your baked goods on a tray, asking for something, getting a vocabulary lesson as you study signs and tipping the person who packs your groceries. Found a pot roast!

While reading on the balcony, I saw a wedding party coming down the steps. They were heading away from me to the marina to get the boat shuttle.

Bell boy with her flowers.

You can see the tables set up. You could easily hear the music. When we returned home after dinner the fireworks went off.

We took a cab to have dinner back at Royal Villas to see Jose and devour his fantastic Caesar salad once more.

John's burritos.

Sunday the clocks sprung forward at home but they don't here until April 2. But my laptop decided it was daylight savings too! Good thing I checked, thinking it was odd that I had slept that late.

As usual, John cooked breakfast, bacon, eggs and sausages, actually English bangers according to the sausage guy. Well, I can't say the bangers were a big success, too much garlic for breakfast.

This guy was out sunning himself. Some days have been too cool for these guys to show themselves, by cool I mean mid 20s or mid 70s.

We took the bus to the Fisherman's Monument. We then walked the beach north to Valentino's. It is 52 minutes by the sidewalk, without any drink breaks! It is a harder walk on the beach.

Fisherman's Monument is located at Avenida del Mar, it is also known as "Los Monos Bichis" naked human figures in perfect harmony with marine elements such as fish and a dolphin besides the silhouette of a lying down woman, all of this under a lighthouse.

It's Sunday so the beach is busy with Mexican families enjoying a day off. Most people work six days a week.

Getting down and dirty!

Some mothers had dug shallow holes and sat their babies in them to keep cool.

John and I were about the only gringos on this beach.

We make a stop for beers, has to be Modelo Especial as it is made with corn. Lady says, sorry no we don't have. We start to leave as someone else will have it, there are many palapa bars along here. She calls us back, Senor!!! We have. She has sent someone to get it at the store. Typical Mexican service, always wanting to please, Well, that meant we felt we had to order some food so we shared an order of shrimp diablo, which doesn't look photo worthy, but was delicious. The fries were good in the sauce too.

This was just the bottles of sauce on our table, something for everyone's taste!

Cute!

Lots of vendors on the beach, hawking just about everything.

Music? That too.

A new hotel and the back of the statue of the baseball players. Mazatlan has its own Triple A baseball team. Venados, Venados is Spanish for “deer” and Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of deer."

Ah, the merits of riding the bus in Mazatlan. We crossed the street to get a bus and watched as one sailed passed us with no intentions of stopping. This is a sport to the drivers, there are some designated bus stops in the Golden Zone but you can hail one at any time, but that doesn't mean he'll stop for you, local or not, they don't discriminate. We have been amused by this several times.
Of course, he might be distracted by his cell phone or listening to his boom box. Or maybe he really didn't see you as you were hidden by the huge holy picture or crucifix on the dash. Or perhaps the large crack in the glass, getting larger all the time. Or maybe by all the writing on the glass showing the direction the bus is going in.
This is the green bus going into centro, air-conditioned and only 10 pesos.
It doesn't have as much writing on it.

Here's a concept, how about using numbers?

Here's an example of the speakers the drivers sometimes have, on this day he was blaring Johnny Come Lately.

And here's one with the writing, please note the large hole in left top corner.

I digress...so we caught a pulmonia instead.

Monday we head to the Gran Plaza for my haircut. $50 pesos or $3.43 CDN. A packet of hair colouring L'Oreal is $43 pesos or $2.95 CDN. Six cans of Modelo Especial beer is $76 pesos or 5.22 CDN. A beer on the beach is $20 pesos or $1.37 CDN.
A pastry at the grocery store is $10 pesos or 69 ¢ CDN. A large cappuccino at the resort coffee shop is $44 pesos or $3 CDN.

Some photos of this shopping mall. Beside having several department stores, Sanborn's, C and A, Suburbia plus many small stores, salons, movie theatres there is an ice rink, bowling alley, billiards, arcade and small rides.

Carol tells me some of the guys from the RV park play pick up hockey here on the weekends.

We walked over to Mega for a couple of things, got a pulmonia back and made tuna sandwiches for lunch. It is so good to just have a plain ole sandwich for lunch!

It clouded over so we read and watched movies. But sunset looked promising so John headed towards the marina and i went to the other end looking over the ocean and both got different results.

Tuesday when John went to make coffee he said the milk was off. He walked over to the deli, but it down't open until 9 so he picked up two large cappuccinos from the coffee shop and brought them back. On the way a woman said "what a good husband"!

Gorgeous morning, no fog here but that changes in town.

We headed downtown me for a manicure and John to pick up his new sunglasses.

John snapped a few photos around the market.

A cake in the window at Panama's.

Shoeshine men are busy today.

These girls were getting photos done in Machado Plaza.

Stopped into Bohemia to see the inside. No problema, server said "photograph?", "si" and waved us in.

I went to Tippy Toes to get a manicure. Clara did my feet and I am going to request her in future. While sitting there, listening to all the conversations around me. Noah, the owner, has his mother working as the hairdresser and I listen to her and another woman talking about being writers and the difficulties with agents.

In the middle of the salon, there is a table with books by Deborah Rodriguez. I had read one of them several years ago, The Kabul Beauty School and enjoyed it. But the penny then dropped, that Debbie, the hairdresser, was in fact the author and Noah's mother.
You can read more about her here.

The fog kept moving in and out downtown. John sat and had a cappuccino by the ocean. He declared it to be the best cappuccino in town, from Looney Bean.

He comes back and meets me and we head to lunch.
Another branch of Panama's.

The Indian restaurant was on our list to try. Morena's was excellent!

We sat outside on the sidewalk. We asked if the sauces were gluten free and our server checked with the cook and said yes, except for the roti. The roti was really a flour tortilla but it was good with the meal.

I had the lamb curry with roti and John had the rogan josh with rice. We both had a side order of aloo gobi as well.

My roti was really a flour tortilla but it was great for dipping in the sauce.

This guy rides around town delivering tortillas.

Another street dug up, right outside where Bill and Carol usually park.

We stop to get John's new sunglasses but they won't be in until after 3 PM so we said we'd pick them up tomorrow.

There is a concert in the plaza and some people are up dancing.

It is really foggy as we ride the bus back.

We arrange a large pile of dirty laundry for pick-up.

Wednesday was a gorgeous morning and we were at the pool by 9:30. We went to the warm water pool, what a difference to the other pool.

The fog rolled in around noon giving a really eerie view.

After lunch we went downtown to get John's sunglasses.

Thursday we did something we rarely do, headed to the pool and stayed there until early afternoon. Even more rare, as in not done once this year, we swam up to the bar and had a couple of drinks while chatting with a couple from Medicine Hat, Alberta.

We had lunch by the pool. Then we came back and relaxed, reading and watching TV. With DST in the US and Canada, we are now three hours behind so we are watching 8 PM TV shows at 5 PM!

Friday while having our coffee this was our view.

We headed out for breakfast at The Culinary Market.


They are now putting palm trees down the middle of Camaron Sabalo in the Golden Zone, so traffic is being diverted to the other side of the road for a couple of blocks at a time.

You can just see the crane used for raising the trees into the holes. This was taken from the bus.

Then we had a detour as the street along the Malecon was closed. It took us an hour to get to breakfast but it was a fun diversion.

Our lattes.

Full English for both of us.

New restaurant opened on the corner.

These are the cinnamon buns that Carol raves over!

$15 pesos is $1 CDN

Pretty table set in Machado.

A final stop into Nidart.

Heading back to the bus and the Malecon was still closed but we could see they were setting up some stands, looks like there might be a parade on the weekend.

We got back and decided to pack and then read before going to dinner.


Senor Frog dropped by the pool.

Our last dinner is at Casa Country, we first ate here in 2002 when we came with family.
We usually go back at least once a visit.

They make your guacamole right in front of you!

Happy hour margaritas.

As always the salsa and guacamole made at the table are excellent. Sadly, our rib eyes were not, so salty, the amount of seasoning was overwhelming. We advised our server who was so apologetic and offered another meal. We said no, it's fine, not your fault. Received our bill and we were not charged for our steaks, needless to say, he got a great tip. Not a lot of places will do this.

The entertainment is great.

BOOKS
  26 Finished to date

Children of the Revolution another Inspector Banks crime procedural. I thought I had read all of them but hadn't read this one. I really enjoyed it  especially the history of the 60s and 70s along with the music. How could i not love an inspector why plays Jesse Winchester and Leonard Cohen. It also makes me research some other musicians I hadn't heard of.

I tried a few other books but couldn't get into them, perhaps they just weren't vacation type reading. All My Puny Sorrows and The Love of a Good Woman, both by Canadian writers but just couldn't grab my attention.

The Crow Girl is shaping up to be a good read.



DINNER
Our last week and we tried to use up as much as possible. The condiments will be left for the maid.
We did well, just some mustard, mayo, ketchup, soya sauce, hot sauce etc
We did leave the frozen English bangers as we didn't enjoy them.
I threw out the remains of a lettuce, onion and tomato along with the leftover tomato sauce aand soup stock.

Saturday - Royal Villas coconut shrimp for me and John had beef burritos
Sunday - beef stew (was going to be a pot roast) but I decided to cut up the meat and make a marinade.
Monday - leftover beef stew
Tuesday - anise sausages and salad
Wednesday - spaghetti and homemade meatballs
Thursday - leftover spaghetti
Friday - Casa Country



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