Blacksmith, Candy Make and Willies Whistle

It is a beautiful day today here in Mazatlan. No clouds, no wind and so far perfect temperatures. Unlike home where it is raining and will be in the high 30s! Brrrrr.

Yesterday was nice too but kind of muggy. Around 9 a.m. we picked up our friends from Oregon and headed out to La Noria. We wanted to bring Roberto our friend with the leather shop a copy of the newspaper with the picture from his shop in it and we wanted to let him know we’d soon be leaving for home.

As we were driving up the street towards his shop we noticed the blacksmith shop was open and the blacksmith was standing in the door. We’ve met him several times in the past so when he waved we stopped. He was more than willing to invite us into his shop to explain how he worked. The shop is in front of his home. It is small and very old. Dirt floors, old brick walls and woven wood ceiling.

We asked him how old it was and he said it belonged to his great grandfather. Here is one of the walls with some of his tools.

His forge – he now has added electricity to it so he no longer has to use a bellows. The first time we met him he was still using a foot pumped bellows.

An anvil that has seen many many years of hard work.

The business has been handed down through his great grandfather, grandfather, father and now him. He says his son doesn’t want to be a blacksmith. He is in a technological school to learn welding for the oil fields. So the business will end here. It’s a shame but I can understand the son.

The blacksmith.

Some daily life in the village. Two older women heading towards their home after doing errands. Stopping to talk. The man delivering gas. The older women always seem to be wearing dresses mostly two piece dresses. Sometimes with an apron over them. Never see them in slacks or jeans.

Here is Roberto in his shop working on a belt for a tourist.

And here is his apprentice – one of the young boys from the village. He is almost as fast and accurate as Roberto. 

Roberto’s son also is pursuing another line of work – chemistry.

OMG guess who showed up in La Noria while we were there? All of our neighbors from the campground. All 40 something of them on a big green double-decker bus. The group was so big they had to be split into two groups each with their own tour guide – in French of course.

I got out of the crowded shop but Bill stayed inside and ended up helping with some of the questions and sales. Guess his knowledge of some French came in handy.

Sergio, Roberto’s brother working on a leather mask. Since they started making them they have sold a few.

From La Noria we went to the candy factory in Puerta de Canaos to get more of the yummy candy. It was still fairly early in the day so some of the candy in the pots was still warm. The girl that makes it brought out a package of Ritz crackers, dipped out some of the warm and creamy candy onto a dish and showed us how to get the cracker coated in candy. Wow! Salty and sweet. Could have stood there all day and eaten them. But didn’t. Did buy a couple more boxes of the nut covered candy to take home though. 

Got home in time to watch the Bristol NASCAR qualifying. YES! Kyle set a new track record and got the pole for tomorrow’s race. 

Now hope he doesn’t have engine problems in today’s practice. Be nice for him to start up front. He needs a good race. Last year he was wrecked in the 24^th lap – only 12 miles into the race.

Did some knitting but the color I’m using now has a different texture than the other colors I’ve worked with and is harder for me to control. Had to rip out and start over. It’s is exactly the same kind, brand, weight etc. of yarn. The other colors have been darker shades this one is a light turquoise  Does dye make that much difference? So don’t know why it feels so different.

And last night we went over to Torres – the restaurant on the beach – for dinner. It was BBQ night but both Bill and I had fish. Angelica and Lorenzo joined us. Angelica had the BBQ ribs but said they didn’t begin to compare to the ribs at Fat Fish. Rafael Rodriguez was there providing the entertainment. Love to listen to him he is so versatile. Bill almost fell out of his chair laughing at one time. A couple of ladies were line dancing to a tango. My contention is it is better to dance alone than not dance because you don't have a partner. It was interesting.

And here is a video of Willie’s new horn/whistle. It is the same one the Pulmonias use. Turn up your sound!

Boys and their toys!

So far today the only plan is to pick up Bill’s sunglasses downtown. Maybe have to check out if the parasailors are out.

 CRAP! Just bumped my toe - and I'd just taken the tape off of it. What is the saying "It sticks out like a sore thumb" Well this sticks out like a sore toe. Always bumping up against something since I whacked it.