Reports, stories, pictures from my new ventures of visiting and living in Mazatlan, Mexico...Hasta Luego!
In 2008 I went there for the first time, followed by two more visits in the following years. Then came the Pandemic!
But in 2023/24 I could make plans again. During each visit I added posts to ths blog, amd all are accessible via the side bar.
Note that you can translate all blogs into any language via the enclosed link below.
Mexican breakfast: Lots of restaurants, indoors or roadside, serve breakfast menus - and usually there are a lot of choices on the menu - a "rancho" type is a safe way to go. For about 5 dollars (60 Pesos) you will get a salsa dish, with crisp breads, some chili peppers and maybe some cottage cheese. I had a near-death experience after stupidly eating an entire little green pepper. In the future, I will know better. It was mucho picante!
Then comes the main dish - and I think there none that come without the obligatory refried bean serving or with a package of soft tacos - which was too much for me. So, the cost was 60 pesos for all the foods - but a soft drink (without which I indeed might have died) and coffee afterward added another 60, which I felt was a bit out of proportion. Never mind, it was all affordable.
Next to my table was a group of some 15 ladies - maybe from a neighborhood morning hour athletic club: they all looked very strong and fit:
Lounging on the
balcony, I look across to the hillside about500 m away, and I see
someone flying a huge Canadian flag in his backyard.
What is this about:
Look at me, I am a proud Canadian. I am better than you, I am richer
and can afford to live on this choice property (maybe own it, even?).
Right in the middle of this city and country. I want you to know that
I am a Canadian. Why do you want anyone to know this? To keep people
away, to attract them, to welcome Canadian tourists to your place, or
keep them away – “this place is taken already”!
I feel like going
over there (should be 25 min hike) and ask the guy these questions,
just to find out why he is flying this damn flag in this host country
as a foreigner, to say or demonstrate what? Just like to hear what he
thinks and feels about this, no offense.
When I see
“foreigners” flying their flags in countries other than their
own, I am never happy and think it is inappropriate to do that, and I
am not quite so sure why I feel that way. In my dwelling in Vancouver
(Canada), I actually am flying a foreign flag: the Vincentian one, a
very beautiful design. I do this because it reminds me of the good
times I had in that country, as a sign of gratitude and because it
looks beautiful – and because my grandson has the Vincentian
nationality – it being his country of birth. I don’t know whether
he cares it is hanging up on the wall, but I think he well should.
And maybe at some time he will – but I think he and I should hang it
up in our private home and not stick it out of the window – and
what would that be good for?
I am visiting Mexico
again for a few weeks – after having had my two knee replacement
surgeries this winter and suffering a bit for several months of
rehabilitation in cold Vancouver, I really had an urge to enjoy the the warmth of the south and many times dreamed of swinging in a hammock
or lounging on a recliner without having to wear much clothing and
let the sun heal me. So, still limping and using a walking stick, I
boarded a flight to Mazatlan – this time using a new carrier called
“SWOOP” flying out of Abbotsford. The base price was $161 (plus
some 60 dollars for extra leg space and checking 1 bag), compared
with Westjet flights that were all listed at over $1000.-!).
But the healing
process here in the Mexican sun was somewhat not quite to be, at
least during the first week: After a 10 min sunbath, I developed a
photo-activated Type 4 Immune reaction with lots of itching on chest
and thighs. I have no idea which of the several drugs I was taking
(with to exceptions all had been with me on previous visits). I am
sure the stress of surgery somehow was partly or fully responsible
for this unusual and unexpected reaction. Anyway, halfway through a
course of prednisone treatment, I fell OK now and within a day or two
might risk exposure to the sun again and see what happens.
In any case, tourist
season with its influx of Americans and Canadians is basically over
anyway – but it is not too hot at all and not rainy as yet. I went
to our old trailer court site at Burritos today – but none of our
old neighbors and friends were there anymore and the place feels
like a morgue. OK, so I have to make the best of it – this time
staying close to the Historic Center of Mazatlan, In Joan’s and
Randy’s house, while they are underway in Canada. In a previous
blog, from my last visit, I showed a lot of pictures of the location
of their house, and not too much has happened in terms of interior
finishing work. But there is running hot and cold water, windows are
in, and the balcony has a secure wall around it and lots of sun –
as long as you can tolerate it which, I hope, I will able to do once
this initial problem I developed is taken care of.
Yes, friends, in less than 2 weeks it is Goodbye here for me: dictated by the price structure of Westjet, whose sharp increases of fares at my originally planned time (late March) force me to travel so much earlier.
I just received the link to a historical summary for the state of Sinaloa, dating back to the times of the Spanish conquistadores into the 20th century, which takes you through over a dozen of big and small wars among local tribes, Spanish, French and US forces as well as Jesuits and other orders...
If you are a history buff: try to read through this lengthy and detailed document! I cannot even think about summarizing it - much too complex and diverse. The only thing I can say is that bad things have happened here since the 16th century when the Europeans invaded.
Also, the document is referencing, and inserting below, a YouTube video that dances you through the many diverse natural beauty spots and wonders of the State of Sinaloa: This makes me somewhat sad that I have not seen or experienced most of these spots - but without having a vehicle at my disposition here, it is not really possible to visit all these places. The only towns I have visited outside of Mazatlan are Concordia and Kopala, and these are mentioned many times in the document mentioned above because of their significance in the silver and gold mining history of the state.
In the title of this blog I put in the number 1 - suspecting I may have something else to say before I depart on February 2nd.
Over the holidays tour buses and corresponding masses of visitors from the interior have invaded Mazatlan, including the beaches next to the trailer park. Playa Cerritos:
Mazatlan's largest market - Sunday Flea market at Juarez (=not the famous drug and crime center at the US border, but a part of Mazatlan) needed to be re-visited. But I must say, after a few minutes there I escaped to a side street and back to the bus stop. It is an incredibly busy and congested place, both with cars and people, where hundreds of businesses and traders congregate over a few blocks, without any special assigned place or area, everybody spreading out his wares on the sidewalks, under tents - and some walking among the crowds draped with their particular wares or items. In some streets, of course, there are regular businesses including fast food outlets and tace shops.Whatever the item, here is where you probably find the best prices for both new and used items, and gadgets you have maybe never seen before. I wanted to take lots of pictures - but it is so crowded, you feel inhibited and limited in what you can do. I bought some strawberries, fresh off some fields and some citrus - and fled the scene.
Slowly moving through the crowd:
Here a merchant created a small traffic obstacle - nobody cares:
And overhead I saw an advertisement for a young lady with the nice German name Gretel - candidate for "Child Queen" for the carnival (whenever that will be). Her Hansl probably got lost in the crowd.
Some Park inhabitants have their daily rotating Happy Hour where they discuss philosophical, political, religious or ethical issues of the day.
One one of those occasions I joined them and actually supplied some sustenance in form of a cake and some condiments. Actually, these I supplied for some of the neighbors who kindly had helped with manpower and trucking of items from J&R's downtown location back to our trailer - during their temporary absence in Canada. But, the word spread and many others showed up - not to miss the sustenance:
Eventually some non-human visitors also showed up - they may well be recent arrivals from Canada: I learned a lot interesting things about these critters from an Attenborrough BBCvideo (there re some others, look for them on YouTube).
And all evening I had a view of the most recent palapa that was built by a newcomer to the Park - it now happens to be the highest or largest of palapas and has thus been labelled the "Trump Tower":
I doubt I will become a regular attendant of those Happy Hours sessions, because, as it turns out, political, ethical, religious, philosophical discussions do not really take place - and i do not need information on how to install a TV dish (have no TV), find parts for your truck (do not have a vehicle) or review restaurant menues (don't attend any). I am asocial and a certified bore. And the women are all taken.
