2nd half of Friday's travels

This is the 3rd in a series of blog posts about our day Friday. Sunday morning – the sun was pretty as it was coming up this morning. Just a few scattered clouds. Now it is full up and the clouds are disappearing. So it will be another warm day – wish I could send some of the heat towards the Midwest – they sure need it. It's 1:00 and the AC is already on in here. Did get some cleaning done before it got hot. 

Yesterday, Saturday we did nothing all day – never left the RV. I think Bill is coming down with his “Mexico Cold” he manages to get at least one bad bad cold every year that we are here. Keeps him down for a few days. Some how Friday night I managed to turn the speaker off on our cell phone so we missed the calls yesterday to join in the campaigning. Mostly visiting areas of Mazatlan. That would have been interesting. But I used the time to good advantage to catch up blogging. So this blog will be about the second half of Friday – towns #4 through the end.  Here is the map again.

When I left off the blog yesterday we were leaving Siqueros on a PAVED road heading west towards El Roble #6.

Following the blanket truck into El Roble heading towards the church. Under all the power lines.

Traffic on the road.

An interesting building – no significance just liked the looks of it.

Truck stopped asking where the plaza was. Had to get directions twice to find it. More electrical wires.

Oh Oh where’s the truck? He’d turned a corner. Every morning every housewife comes out and sweeps the sidewalk and street in front of her home.

Ah. The plaza and gazebo – where is everyone. No one is waiting.

Oops right place wrong time of day. Now we’re following the car with Paquis and her husband heading to Walamo way down the road.

Leaving El Roble. Driving west into the sun.

Going past the continuing construction on the Toll Road that will go from the new Durango Highway through the outskirts of Mazatlan. The dirt detour was fine in the daylight but coming back through it at night on return trip to El Roble was not fun.

Crossing Highway 15 again through Villa Union heading east.

Pretty fancy and old second story on this building. Downstairs is a clothing store.

This used to be a big textile mill. Closed and falling down now. Sinaloa used to be one of the bigger producers of tequila. And one of the byproducts of the maguey was the fibers that were used to make textiles, ropes etc. The Government of Sinaloa decreed that no more tequila would be made in Sinaloa because there were too many drunks and the government couldn't cope with them. So the army was sent out to destroy all the plants and then there was no more fiber for the textile plants. The plant employed most of the town. Interesting tidbit you could only find out about here. 

Arriving at Walamo – people waiting in the street.

Inside the building.

This girl is going to get what she needs for her baby and things to make her life a little less difficult. She was crying. What kind of surprised me at these events was the fact that everyone there was always happy for the one person chosen. No one said "But what about me?" 

Must have said something funny.

Back on the road heading back to Villa Union. Going through farming country. The church in the background is the same church I took a picture of in January of 1978 when we were just starting out on our drive to Argentina.  http://www.movingon1.com

Passing the Central Market in Villa Union.

Looking for the meeting place going through residential district. The buildings are narrow but they go way back - ½ block usually.

The Salon de Fiestas. Weddings, 15^th birthday celebrations – all kinds of parties, events and meetings are held here. Rented by the families for the day.

Lots of people here – the biggest crowd we’ve seen. But of course it is also the biggest town we’ve been to.

As I mentioned I took fewer and fewer pictures as the day progressed. By the time we got to the next town of Barron (somewhere out past the airport towards Stone Island) it was dark out. Here is the meeting place again in a Plaza.

From there back east to Highway 15, through Villa Union and on to El Roble again. By then I was ready to sit down so I spent some time in Willie reading my Nook. Too dark to take pictures without a flash.

After leaving there we came back to Mazatlan to a restaurant about two blocks from where we started the day. We got home at 10:30. I hope I'm giving a different picture of Mexico from the one the US media gives of violence and crime. Has any one read the US papers about shooting is the US the last few days........

This morning – Sunday – we met Paquis and her husband at Ricos a restaurant by the marina for breakfast. Very good food. Then to Sorianas for groceries. Now home where I’ve been working on this.