We're still around. On Monday we took a trip to the beautiful town of Cosala to visit friends. I'm still sorting through my 250 photos. Yesterday we went into town for lunch and to get the car washed. And had company last night. This morning we are going out to breakfast with friends and eventually I'll get the photos and the blog posted. We don't plan on going anywhere but to bed tonight. Too many parties going on.
In the meantime we want to wish everyone a VERY HAPPY NEW YEARS
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Miss you John
Our Son
John Richard Sirimarco
May 1965 - December 29 2006
We
could not say our last farewell
Or
even say good-bye
For
you were gone before we knew
And
only God knows why.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Just odds and ends about Mazatlan
Well today was a
day we did nothing – except go out to breakfast and to the grocery store. The
ocean was really rough today, big big waves and lots of wind. At least it
stayed cool. I thought it was nice everyone else was freezing!
So back to
yesterday – Across the street from El
Clavadista [the place where I had my raspado and where the divers dive] are
some pretty high cliffs. Along one is this.
For years we speculated on what it
used to be. Bill always said a road – I wasn’t sure. Well a couple of years ago
we bought a book on the history of Mazatlan
and discovered sure enough it was a road! Here
is the old picture of it.
Notice
the old Fords and pedestrians on it. According to the book in the 1920s the first cars in Mazatlan were Fords
so this was an area the Ford owners took their friends to impress them. Then or
now I sure wouldn’t want to go across it.
As
we walked along we came to the sculpture of La Mujer
Mazatleca – Mazatlan Woman. It celebrates the beauty of the Mazatlan women. You can see the dark clouds that were around
most of the day.
And
going by the Hotel Freeman – where someday I want to watch the sunset from the
roof lounge.
Then
we came to this sculpture. No signs or anything to tell us who it was.
So
Bill stopped a man walking by and asked him about it.
It
is of Fernando Valades Lerjarza a famous Mexican composer. The picture on the
piano above the keys is of his wife. Lucila Valdez de Valades. They had
thirteen children, 8 girls and 5 boys. They also lived in a house across the
street. A picture of the real man.
The
house was originally built in 1823 by a German. Through the years it fell in
and out of disrepair – at one time it was an Oyster Bar and Restaurant where
John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and Ernest Hemingway hung out. In 2007 one of their
daughters bought it and restored it – it is now a hotel and restaurant. The
Casa Lucila Hotel Boutique.
Walking a little further
on we came to this statue/sculpture of Pedro Infante. The statue of him on a
motorcycle honors his role in the movie A
Toda Maquina. He was born here in Mazatlan
and “With a golden voice, undeniable charm and devilish good looks – he marked Mexico ’s
Golden Age of Cinema like no other star of his time. The motorcycle looks real enough to jump on and ride away.
We got back in
the car and rode out to the port and inquired about sunset boat rides, ocean
rides and pangas to Stone
Island . Maybe I should
add them to my list!
Then just drove
around town a bit. Passed this car. No idea why, but quite a paint job.
Looking down some
streets. Every time there is a color change it is a different house. The one here
could stand a little TLC. If you buy a house in Centro Historico you can
restore it, but the exterior has to remain true to the original. One of the
problems with buying one of these old homes is parking. There is very little
street parking and you can’t turn the bottom floor into a garage like they used
to be able to. The front door is pretty high up and small.
More homes,
different street.
This old building
has a bougainvillea growing on the top floor – or else it is a very tall
bougainvillea.
The sun came out for
a bit and lit up these buildings. Notice the narrow street.
I posted a
picture of the sunset last night. This was just before when we first got to the
beach. A parasail – tandem. They landed right in front of us. This is on my
list too.
Well another day has
passed and the wind has finally let up. We had frozen pizza for dinner. Stuff brought from home. Next time we'll go to Dominoes.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
A picture taking kind of day
Yesterday, Friday, we had planned
to go to the town of Cosala about 90 miles from here but plans got changed so
we pretty much just hung around until evening when we went to a friends house
for his daughters birthday. And for the first time ever I had ceviche. I had no
idea what it was but it turned out to be pretty good. This is the way Roberto's wife made it: finely chopped fish,
carrots, onion, garlic, cilantro and lemon juice. More like a salad than
anything else.
This morning – how’s this for a
beautiful day?
We went to Torres again for
breakfast. I had fruit and a waffle and Bill had banana pancakes. After leaving
the restaurant we decided to be tourists and take a leisurely ride to the
Malecon. As we got further south the sky started to cloud up and the traffic which
has been so light over Christmas increased.
We stopped at the area where the
divers perform. More of the birds on the retaining wall across the street.
We headed up towards the vendors that line the street and the sidewalks.
This year I made a list of things
I wanted to do while here in Mazatlan
– things we/I haven’t done before. About 15 things on my list. One was to eat
cotton candy – I did that so it is checked off. Another was to have a raspado.
And here was a raspado vendor. A raspado is kind of like a snow cone. Shaved
ice with fruit juice. No time like the present.
The vendor shaving the ice to put
in a cup.
The cup of ice is in his hand. He
shaves it with a wide blade [kind of like a meat cleaver without the handle] and scoops it into the cup.
Pouring the juice over the ice. The juice and fruit is kept in a big plastic jar.
I got peach and along with the
juice I also got ½ a peach. You get a straw and a spoon with it.
Enjoying my raspado. And not enjoying a brain
freeze! Next time I want a strawberry one.
As we were walking around while I
was eating my raspado we noticed “a poser” he is the guy that stands up on the
diving platform drawing a crowd. He does not dive. But I think he is pretty brave just to stand up there.
When a big enough crowd gathers
the real diver climbs up. Ready!
Set!
Go! – I wonder how young they
start?
We also stopped to watch this man.
He was using a very fine sandpaper to sand an ironwood turtle. He buys the
rough carving and then sands them. See the finished pieces in the background.
We always thought the pieces were
finished with a polyurethane or lacquer of some sort. Come to find out – after he sands them smooth he finishes them with…shoe polish! This gives them their shine
and preserves the wood.
Another thing on my list – to go
to the top of the hotel in the background and have drinks at sunset. But it was no where near sunset – something to save for another day.
We continued our tourist day – but
will leave the rest of it for a day we do nothing.
Sunset Saturday night.
Fixed a good dinner tonight - steak smothered in peppers, mushrooms and onions. Baked potato with sour cream and butter and sweet corn. Yum.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Quiet Christmas Day
We had a quiet and pleasant
Christmas Day. Started off by going to the Torres [hotel on the beach]
restaurant for breakfast. While eating we saw our friend John from the
campground swim by. He waved but I missed that shot.
the little pink spot is him |
Then we took a leisurely ride all
the way across town. There was no one on the roads and most businesses were
closed. A view of the town.
Stopped by the Dolphin fountain
and walked around a bit.
Across the street was this new
mural.
Then we stopped at the area where
the cliff divers perform. None there yesterday and very few vendors. The
Mermaid statue with the city in the back ground. No haze in the air.
Another view of town – from under
the divers platform – the stairs up to it are on the left.
Then we drove up to the El Mirador
restaurant. There are also stairs one can walk up to get there. I think NOT.
Looking out over downtown.
Looking over the water to Stone Island
– it really isn’t an island but that is what it is called. There are a couple
of RV parks there and lots and lots of big palm trees and a long beach.
Kind of a panoramic view
From there we drove over where the
cruise ships dock – none in on Christmas Day – then we followed the blue line
into Centro Historico. Notice no traffic!
Drove around the city a little –
nice to be able to go slow and really admire the buildings. Then to the Golden
Zone where we even found street parking. So we walked around there a bit.
Nice to see so many of the little shops open again. Between the cruise ships
coming back and the new road from Durango
there are a lot more tourists here.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Merry Christmas
A very Merry Christmas Day to
everyone. Hope you are enjoying good weather, good food, good friends and good
health.
Yesterday morning we went over to
the new Mall here in the north end. It is a beautiful and rather expensive
Mall. And you have to pay to park there. It always kind of annoys me to pay to
park to go spend money…
The Christmas Tree in the Mall.
Nicely decorated – with the
ornaments hanging from the ceiling.
We got there just as it opened so there weren't very many people there yet. We walked around checking things
out. Do know for sure we will never be able to shop in Liverpool .
A golf shirt cost 1895.90 pesos – around US 132 dollars! For a golf shirt –
well it was Ralph Lauren. But still. There was also a Jeep Trail Ready Cherokee
for US 39,000. Cheaper than one in the US - but without all the crap the US has to add to it. A lot of stores whose names I recognize from home. And the thing
we were looking for a TelCel customer service store – so we can buy more Gigs
for the Banda Ancha there instead of going downtown. Found it at the very end
next to the big Sears. Yes Sears and a very nice one – the nicest one we’ve
ever been in. More our price range too.
From there to the WalMart across
the street for groceries and then on home. Spent the day home then around 6:00
decided to out to eat. So we headed for the Centro Historico. There was no
traffic on the roads, And the Plazuela Machado was empty – only one restaurant open and none of the parking lots were open. There was a lot of street parking
which was very unusual…Even the main plaza was empty. I guess everyone stays
home Christmas Eve. Kind of spooky out. We didn’t stop to eat and headed back
to the Cerritos
area. Even the restaurant in the marina we go to a lot was closed. We finally
stopped at La Bruja in Cerritos
– north of the campground. It was very busy – too busy. Our meal was not very
good. I ate most of mine because I was hungry. Bill didn’t - so he had to find
something to eat when we got home.
Today we'll go out to breakfast then don't know what we'll do.
Again Merry Christmas to everyone.
A Christmas present from our son Paul and his wife Tina
Twas the Night Before Christmas
A Christmas present from our son Paul and his wife Tina
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Season of Beautiful Girls in Stunning dresses
Merry Christmas Eve! – It is hard
to remember what day it is here in the continual sunshine and with no TV to
keep reminding us.
Guess I’ve been remiss with my
posting. Seem to be getting lazier and lazier.
A couple of posts ago I mentioned
the wall around our favorite parking lot. Finally got the Real information about
it. Notice the crack between small front section and the big side part of the
wall.
The chain is trying to hold it together. Last time I understood that the
city would not let them repair it – Wrong – the city will let them repair or
rebuild it as long as it is done historically accurate. The problem is the
owner of the lot doesn’t want to spend that kind of money. He wants to tear it
down or replace it with something cheaper… So now he has put the lot up for
sale but no one wants to buy it. The saga continues.
We had a rather nice surprise the
other day. A car pulled up out front and a gentleman got out and knocked on our
door, When Bill answered the delivery man made sure who we were and went back
to his car and brought out a cake for us. The doctor who is the director of the
hospital Bill was in last year sent it to us. He wanted to know how Bill was
doing. So we stopped by to visit with him the other day. He said he’d seen the
Jeep going by and took a chance that we were staying at the same campground and
sent the cake. He is a good friend of
Paquis, the congresswomen too. Had a good visit with him and the nurse that
took such good care of Bill. No pictures of the cake - ate it too fast - beyond delicious! From the Panama Bakery
Monday afternoon we went to the
Centro Historico with Esther, Mike and their four kids to the Central Market and
Plazuela Machado. Passed this pickup truck parked at the curb next to the cart
that sells packaged nuts. The bed was covered with a cloth with sunflower seeds
drying on it.
Into the market – they’d never
been to one of the big central markets so we had to check out the chicken feet.
Stopped to listen to the two guys
who stroll around the market playing their drums and horns.
After the market we went to a
yardage shop – everything was so crowded. Then we headed to the Plazuela
Machado for lunch. Stopped at Beach Burger.
While there we watched the woman
pose for pictures. Her dress was magnificent. Her hair was pretty too. She didn’t
have any attendants and she looked older than 15 so don’t know what the story
was.
And then this group taking 15th
birthday pictures. The girl and her escort
With some of her attendants.
Boys and girls.
Meanwhile we were sitting at the
table waiting for our meals. The children got served first – they had
quesadillas. Bill got his meal Italian Chicken Salad, Then I got mine
quesadilla and Mike got his burrito. Esther still hadn’t gotten her
hamburger…and still didn’t get her hamburger …We saw a plate with a raw burger
come out of the restaurant and go into the restaurant next door???? The waiter
came over to Bill and whispered to him. Bill started to laugh. Then the waiter
told Esther – her hamburger would be ready soon but they were having to cook it
next door as they had run out of propane before it got cooked. RUN OUT OF
PROPANE??? Saw her hamburger make its trip back to Beach Burger and soon it
came out to be set in front of her. Oh My. Welcome to Mexico .
While we were eating the propane
truck came to refill the tank. I didn’t think to take a picture of it. They
have to throw a rope down from the roof and drag the hose up the building to
fill the tank. And of course the street is so narrow they have to block it to keep
out any traffic. You can see the propane truck behind the girls.
Heading home we stopped at Mega, a
supermarket, and I had to take a picture of the little tree in the bakery
department decorated with tiny baked breads.
Yesterday we pretty much stayed
home all day except to go pick up our laundry.
Today we might go to the new mall
up by us -
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