Mexico at Last

My Christmas Story

2011-12-23T11:23:00.000-08:00

This city, and the people whom we have met here, never cease to amaze me.

Years ago, when we first came to Mazatlan, we lived in a little house on Azueta, and didn't have internet or a telephone. When we needed to use the internet we took Abi and walked to Fish Taco where we were able access WiFii.

Telephones were a bit trickier. We bought long distance calling cards at the local pharmacies and then found public telephones along the street. It was all a bit tricky as often the telephones did not work, or the traffic noises were so loud we couldn't hear. After much trial and error we discovered a telephone outside a small hospital several blocks from the house. It was our first full term visit and we called home regularly, much more than we do now. We spent a lot of time at that telephone, reassuring our family that we really were fine, and incredibly happy!

After several weeks of standing on the side of the street, hollering into the phone, the homeowner of the house across the street wandered over and offered us the use of his Vonage phone. He had seen us out there, often, and took pity on us.

However, at the time we had no idea what a Vonage phone was. Nor did we have any idea how open and generous people are to strangers in Mazatlan. We never did take him up on his offer, and shortly afterwords, moved up the hill to the Casita, where we had both a Vonage phone, and the internet. But, I always remembered him.

Last night we attended a party to celebrate Hannukah and it was a simply amazing evening. We ate latkes, and way too much other food, listened to some wonderful music, and also, as a group, made our own. It was a wonderful chance to learn more about the customs and traditions of our Jewish friends and we had a marvelous time.

However, imagine our surprise when we arrived at the house, which we had never before visited, to discover that it was THAT house!

The hunt for a telephone and the kindness of the man who offered the use of his has always been one of my fondest memories of our first months in Mazatlan. And now it is one of my Christmas stories.

I don't think it matters if you are Christian and celebrate Christmas, or Jewish and celebrate Hannukah. It also doesn't matter if you are Muslim, Hindu or Agnostic.

It's just all about being kind, caring and considerate, and helping out in any way you can.

So, to all, in whatever language you speak, and whatever religion you practice, "Peace on Earth and Love to All".

Baseball

2011-12-19T06:52:00.000-08:00

Well, Mazatlan is certainly never boring. Saturday evening we were watching a Flamenco performance, and Sunday evening we went to a Ball Game.

The Venados, our local heros, have been are not doing very well this season, but we were hopeful that our presence would be of some assistance.

A bit of a history lesson here. The Venados are part of a winter league, at the AAA minor league level and have been a team since the 1940's. They have been in the January playoffs for years, however are struggling this year. In the 2004-2005 season, the Venados won the Mexican Pacific League title for the seventh time. During 2008 they won the Mexican championship and represented Mexico in the Caribbean World Series in January 2009.

Home games are played at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, which was constructed in 1962. It is 325 feet down the stadium's right and left field lines and 400 feet to the center field wall. In 2000 the stadium underwent a major remodeling that expanded capacity from 12,000 to 14,000. I just threw in the measurements for fun - I have absolutely no idea how big ball stadiums usually are!

There were probably 20 of us, all hanging around the first base line, cheering loudly, and doing everything in our power to inspire the boys on the field, but to no avail. The final score was 7 to 4, and the Yaquis, from Obregon, were the victors. The seventh inning was very exciting, the Venados had the bases loaded and a home run would have put them in the lead, but, alas, the batter struck out. At times, watching baseball can be very stressful.

Our team lost the game, and hopefully we were not too much of a hindrance as the hooting and hollering from our side of the field did get a bit loud at times, however, win or lose, we had a lot of fun.

We ate (the hot dogs were delicious)

and had a few drinks.

We admired the hats and noisemakers

and several of the male members of the group also admired the girls.

Oh, and yes, we actually did watch a lot of the game!

There is absolutely nothing like a beisbal game, Mexican style!!

Flamenco

2011-12-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

The Museo Pérez Meza is a close walk from the Casita and consists of a Heritage Museum with tables available for coffee and a sweet treat, with spaces for children's activities and conferences. There is also a music forum, the garden of the Trova. The aim of the Museo is to investigate and preserve the history of the Pérez family, whose musical legacy has been shared by several generations.

We are not fans of Banda music, but it is wildly popular in the State of Sinaloa. Luis Pérez Meza, who is referred to as El Trovador del Campo, was a composer, a singer and a pioneer in the recording of Banda. Other family members have continued the tradition and the Museo has been established to collect anecdotes and material pertaining to these Sinaolese troubadors.

Last night we attended a Flamenco performance at the Museo Perez Meza, featuring Citlali Iglesias, a teacher at the Mazatlan de la Compania de danza Mirabras Flamenco, and several of her students.

It was a marvelous evening and the dancers and music were amazing. The pictures really don't do them justice, you really do need to be there to hear the music, the clapping hands, and the pounding feet!

Tis the Season

2011-12-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is the season and we are starting to get jolly. The people of Mazatlan love Christmas and decorations have been popping up all over the city. I love the store selling Christmas Pinatas and also the fact that you can buy your tree and lunch at the same location.

These are part of the holiday display at Plaza de Revolution, in front of City Hall and the Cathedral.

It's a true Christmas wonderland, complete with a creche, donkeys (including one very tired little guy who just gave up and laid down for a nap), and of course, Santa Claus! The tree at the Plaza is huge, with rather interesting decorations. The Coca Cola tree is a tradition and this is the third variation we have seen.

The children are loving it, and the adults are having a good time as well.

We have seen numerous live trees being transported home on the roofs of cars, some as early as mid-November. I can only imagine what these trees will look like by Christmas Day, but right now the ones I have seen through the odd open doorway are lovely. The trees are often burnt after the holiday, but some are just left to completely wither away, tucked into an outside corner near the house. Our neighbours have had such a tree in their outer courtyard for several years and this year, dead or not, they decided to go ahead and decorate it anyway. It is truly spectacular. As well as multiple strings of lights and dozens of brightly coloured balls, they have set up, on one side of the tree, a winter wonderland scene, reminiscent of the Dickens Villages so popular 'up north'. On the other side is the village of Bethleham, and of course, no tree is complete without a toy train.

The tree on the top of the Pacifico Beer Plant has been up for several weeks now.

At home we always had a beautifully decorated 'real' tree (I know, we all think our trees are the best) but, although I decorate for Christmas every year in Mazatlan, we have not had a tree. This year, however, a friend is spending Christmas Eve and Day with us, and she felt that we simply had to have a tree. So, on a recent visit to New York, she bought one and brought it all the way back to Mazatlan, in her suitcase. This is one special Christmas Tree! It came with it's own decorations, and lights, and with the addition of a few extra baubles found lying around the Casita, we now have a tree.

Just can't wait to see what surprises Santa will bring!

The Start and the End of the Day

2011-12-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

I'm back, as Mike has managed for 'fix' whatever was wrong with my blog. I have no idea what the problem was and I suppose I really should learn to correct these things myself, but then again .... I have Mike! I can now post, so I guess it's time I got serious here.

Right, like that is ever going to happen!

Once again, we find ourselves enthralled by the stunning sun rises and sunsets. We are often awoken early in the day (more on that later) and just couldn't resist pulling out the camera on a recent early morning.

Could there be a better way to start the day? I really don't think so.

I also think that every day should end like this:

Hopefully this works

2011-11-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are back in Mazatlan, yes, I am still working on my blog, and yes, I am unable to post. To be honest, I am extremely frustrated, so yes, I quit trying for awhile. But, today is the day I am going to figure this out.

In that I have no idea if I will ever get to post this, I'm not going to go into great detail about the Day of the Dead events (well, except for a few pictures) as I've already done that and it disappeared - somewhere - who knows where. As I said, it's been frustrating.

So, the pictures:

I don't think we have ever seen that many people crowded into the Plazuela Machada, nor have I ever seen as many 'La Catrinas'. The time and effort some people put into their costumes was awe-inspiring.

It has been wonderful, as usual, being back in Mazatlan. We have been busy renewing old friendships, and also making new ones. This is a very social community and it is quite possible to have something scheduled each and every day. Actually, often there are several activities planned and sometimes it becomes necessary to make difficult choices as there are so many things to do. Sometimes we choose just to stay home. We all do it, it's a matter of survival!

I still work at the Library on Monday, and we have continued our habit of stopping after my shift for a marguerita (Marguerita Monday!) and then heading off somewhere for dinner. Mike attends Monday Lunch with a group of men from Centro. They search out good food for low prices, and have solved the problems of the world over some excellent meals. Wednesday is still Beans and Beer day for Mike and my day to explore. Today I am heading to the market to buy the ingredients for my contribution for American Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's home and I'm also going to stop by the fabric store (one of many in town) as I want to recover the cushions on the sofas and I found the perfect fabric yesterday. Mike brought his clubs with him, but has only been out once since we arrived (those conflicts again). Oh well, he managed to get in 100 games over the summer at home and I know once we get settled in the golfers will establish a routine.

And, as I type this, I keep wondering if I can post it. So, without further ado, here we go, let's see what happens .....

Tu Mazatlan

2011-05-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

I was doing some cleaning up and a bit of organizing the other day and realized that I had forgotten to mention something.

Just before we left Mazatlan to return to our other home in Canada, we discovered a video that had been posted on YouTube. The video is entitled "Tu Mazatlan" and whoever put it together deserves many thanks. He, or she, has captured the essence of Mazatlan and it is a video that I feel truly needs to be viewed.

We have watched it several times and every time we do, our love of the city is reinforced.

And so, to whoever created "Tu Mazatlan", we would like to extend our congratulations on a job well done.

Muchas Gracias!

Quick, get the passports!!!

2011-05-01T09:52:00.001-07:00

Seems to me I just said how nice it had been this week. Silly me.

We went to bed listening to the pouring rain and howling winds and woke up this morning to this!!!!

I suppose, once again, we can consider ourselves lucky as parts of Manitoba have received over 20cm of the fluffy white stuff. However, the temperature right now is -5C and the winds are still howling.

We are not feeling particularly blessed at this point in time. We are also not planning on going outside again til all this stuff melts!

View through the Windows

2011-04-26T09:52:00.001-07:00

Seven days is just way too long to spend in a car, even if you are very fond of your travelling companions.

We left Mazatlan bright and early on Saturday, April 16, and started the long trek once again. This was the 6th time we have made the drive and I'm going to be honest here, it doesn't get any easier! We have established routines and, like most of us, are creatures of habit. We stay at the same puppy friendly motels and regularly stop at the same grocery stores for our dinner provisions. We also often fill up at the same gas stations! That part has become routine; it's just the length of the trip that is so trying. It takes us 6 days to drive to Mazatlan and 7 return to Winnipeg. We take longer on the drive home, perhaps because we are so sad to leave the hot sunny days of Mexico for the much cooler Spring weather in Manitoba!

However, for all my whining and complaining, the drive was fairly uneventful and we had no problems along the way.

The weather was lovely when we left and the fields were filled with new crops.

The flowers at the Best Western in Navajoa were as lovely as ever, and once again, I couldn't resist pulling out the camera.

The scenery was not quite as interesting on the drive north from Navajoa to Nogales and the line up for the border crossing was a bit intimidating.

However, it only took 2 hours to clear and we were entertained during the wait by the dozens of vendors attempting to convince us to make one final purchase before leaving the country. We resisted, especially the cotton candy!

After Navajoa we headed to Albeguerque, more pictures along the way. It's amazing what you can manage through the front windshield of the car. Side windows, I have discovered, are next to impossible - I've deleted a lot of blurs since we've arrived home.

We did make a stop in Texas Canyon, which we refer to as "Boulder Alley". I love the rock formations, especially the one that I swear is a very large, fosilized Inguana.

Hatch, New Mexico is another favourite spot. I would love to buy a string of chilis to bring home, but somehow doubt I could get them across the border. Hatch has billed itself as the Chili Capital of the World and they do deserve the title as there are chilis for sale everywhere.

Things were starting to get a little dull ....

and Abi was apparently getting a little hungry.

We were running out of things to watch from the windows, other than the few other cars on the road so the wind turbines were a welcome addition to the landscape. We see hundreds of these on the drive and I love them.

By the end of day 4, we were anxious to arrive at the hotel in Belleville, Kansas, as the sky was getting very dark and blustery looking to the west, and we all know what happened to Dorothy and Toto.

Abi was happy to arrive as well, as she was obviously still craving dinner.

Kansas really is a pretty state, and it was a pleasure to see green trees again.

However, we were travelling north and as expected, the weather did change and get a bit nasty. Has anyone read the book, 'The Road', by Cormac McCarthy, or seen the movie? I was starting to relate. It was getting cooler, wetter and grayer, and we travelled for miles without seeing anything other than empty fields and so it was a relief to finally see a farm - something different!! No people, but at least it was a hint that there was still someone around. At this point there was some serious discussion regarding turning the car around and heading back south.

By the time we reached northern Nebraska it was colder, wetter, grayer. And then, we saw snow, which did not amuse us in the slightest. The plan was never to see snow, ever again. At least we didn't have to touch it. The change in direction was discussed in more depth.

And then the weather hit. It had poured rain for part of the afternoon as we drew closer to Watertown, South Dakota, our last stop, and we were dreading making the final day's drive with the windshield wipers going full tilt. Instead of rain we awoke to pea soup fog. The discussion re change in directions was becoming quite serious at this point.

It was slow going, but did make for an interesting ride. It's a good thing we've driven this route before, because if not I would have no idea what this part of South Dakota looks like!

After the fog cleared somewhere in North Dakota we were greeted with this not so lovely mess.

The floods through the Dakotas have been dreadful and the highway has been closed more than once. We were lucky and were able to make it across the border at Emerson into Manitoba before being detoured around the town of Morris. We have heard that the highway has since been closed again. I shouldn't use the word lucky here - the damage is devastating and Morris is completely marooned, as are many more towns and villages throughout the province.

However, after a slow drive, we finally arrived home, on Friday afternoon. It was cool and grey, but we were home! And, it was not raining.

The weather has improved somewhat since we arrived on Friday. The last few days have been bright and sunny, the temperature has been hovering near 20C (60F for you southerners!) and I've spotted a few signs of Spring.

As much as I dislike the endless hours spent in the car, and at times envy those who fly home and are here in 4 1/2 hours, the trip does give us time to readjust to our other lives. We have made plans for the summer months in Canada (Mike is on the golf course as I type this) and the time will go quickly. Before we know it, we'll be packing and getting organized once again.

In the meantime, I'm off to rediscover my other hometown, Winnipeg.

The Faces of Mazatlan

2011-04-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've had queries from several people, asking why I rarely post pictures showing the faces of friends in Mazatlan.

I think it's sort of a privacy thing. I really don't like to have my picture taken and would find it particularly upsetting if what I perceived was an unflattering shot was posted for all to see! I do have some lovely images, but just don't feel comfortable about showing them.

That is also why I am at times somewhat vague about names.

However, because it was noted, I will share this charming shot, taken at La Rosa de las Barras on our last visit. We visited Gail Blackburn's wonderful beach compound in Barras de Piaxtla with a group of 16 for a 2 night visit shortly before we left Mazatlan but I, foolishly, left my bag, with the camera, on the kitchen table at the Casita. This was definitely not one of my brighter moves!! Everyone was very kind and sent me the pictures they took while we were there, but I've decided to just share one this time.

It was taken after the discussion regarding faces and names as I just couldn't resist.

Oh, and Gail said it perfectly ok if I mentioned her! Next time, I'll take her picture!!

Watching the World Go By

2011-04-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened again.

We are running out of days, so decided to make the most of a perfect one, and once again headed to Stone Island. It's still chilly at home, and we're trying to soak up some heat and sunshine before we leave. I knew that I recently missed the opportunity to get the 'perfect' panga photo and so I was prepared this time. I remembered the camera, even remembered to charge up the batteries. What I forgot to do was take a panga photo!

Perhaps it was because there were so many other images to capture.

The surf was pounding when we arrived and the tide was higher than we have seen it in months. It did make swimming a bit tricky and the yellow flag was finally raised around the noon hour, but to be honest, the ocean is still chilly and we didn't feel like spending a great amount of time in the water anyway. The waves were awe inspiring and the pounding sound of the surf was soothing background noise all day.

We were not the only ones on the beach lulled by the sound!

The vendors are struggling this year. We have spent so much time at Lety's we are now often recognised and although we are approached on a regular basis, we are never harrased. We usually try to make a point of purchasing something on each visit just to do our bit to 'support the local economy'. I will be honest here, I love beach vendors and left to my own devices would have us in the poor house in no time at all! They are so enterprising and they just have the most interesting merchandise. Of course, as we don't need a lot of 'stuff', we do need to be a bit dicriminating. The funny straw masks just have to stay on the beach, as do the bathing suit wraps. The masks I don't care for, and a woman only needs so many wraps! I try not to look too closely at the black cases, the ones filled with silver!!

We didn't buy anything, but I did have a necklace I purchased several weeks ago 'converted' into a bracelet - he remembered me, remembered the fact that he had altered the necklace to make it a bit shorter when I purchased it originally, and was more than happy to convert it yet again, changing it to a bracelet. I felt a bit guilty about not paying him but he said not to worry, he would use the leftover beads to make earrings and then sell them for more than the necklace cost!

It was a perfect kite flying day and obviously we were not the only ones who noticed, because just as we finishing our lunch, the beach was filled with dozens of school children, all with wonderfully inventive home made (perhaps 'school' made) kites. The sky was filled with kites, and, over the sound of the pounding surf, the air was filled with the sound of children's laughter.

I forgot to take a picture of a panga, but did it matter? Not a darned bit!

What could be better than a day at the beach, watching the world go by. Especially since it is such an interesting world.

Reflections

2011-04-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again and we are now counting the days until it is time to leave and head north, to the other home. I am not counting happily, by the way, as I was when it was time to leave to head south!

I do love my home in Canada, and everyone who knows me is aware of how very proud I am to be a Canadian. But I have also come to care for and about Mexico, my adopted country, and I will be very sad to leave.

I try not to dwell on the bad press that Mazatlan has received over the past several years. This is the third year that we have come for a long term stay, and during that time we have not had a single instance where we have felt insecure or at risk. I know that things have happened, and it has had a truly dreadful effect on the economy. Tourism is down, the cruise ships stops have been sporadic, and it has been harmful. However, all we can do is pray that next year will be better. The government of the State of Sinaloa and the City of Mazatlan are doing everything in their power to correct the situation, and we just need to do whatever needs to be done to support them in their efforts.

It has been a magical six months. We have renewed friendships with people we met on previous visits, and have developed many more. It is easy to make friends here; we joke that perhaps it is because we have chosen the same path and are anxious to share our adventures. For whatever reason, we know that many of the delightful people we have met will remain our friends forever.

Mike has golfed more this year, which, of course, makes him a very happy man. I have learned to play Magic Train, and have spent many hours struggling to count my leftover dominoes at the end of the game, praying that I do not come in last, again. Whatever, it's fun, and someone has to be the caboose! And I don't lose all the time, so there is hope!! Our monthly wine tasting group is flourishing and we have welcomed many new members to the group this year. I have remained very involved with the Library, and have already started to plan next year's anniversary party, and our Fundraiser in January.

We have continued to shop regularly at the Mercado, and now have favourite vendors for fruit and veggies, chicken and seafood.

We also have our favourite restaurants and in several cases have become close with the owners and serving staff.

Our neighbours in the 'hood welcomed us back this year with smiles and have told us they are pleased that we are coming back to the same house in November. It's been a quiet year on the street, no big parties - and no banda! The cars are as loud as ever and people leave for work as early and as noisily as ever, but we are used to it now. We have heard complaints from many about the noise level in Mazatlan, and yes, it is loud, often very loud, but this is Mexico. The culture is different here and the Mexicans are just a very rambunctious, happy people. It's something that you need to adjust to, and I think we have finally managed to do that. There are times that we feel the need to shut the front door, and yes, there have been days when I feel like stepping outside and glaring at someone, but all in all, it's been fairly peaceful.

There are still so many things that we would like to do before we leave. We've planned several more trips to Stone Island and have made arrangements to meet with friends for a final dinner before we all head north. Of course, many of our friends stay here year round, and I try to stifle my jealousy when we see them! Mazatlan is brutally hot and humid here during the summer months, so perhaps going home for a few months is not such a bad thing. I just need to keep reminding myself.

I still have not made the climp to the El Faro Lighthouse, and I have yet to make the trip to El Quelite. The list of things yet to be discovered is endless.

The truly wonderful thing is that I know we are coming back, so whatever didn't get done this year is something to look forward to in the Fall, when we return.

The Pangas

2011-04-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

It is definitely 'holiday' weather here in Mazatlan, 27 and sunny today, so off to Stone Island we went. We seem to spend a lot of time over there, and have been so often I've actually stopped taking the camera with me.

I did take it on our last visit, however, as I wanted to get a few shots of the pangas, the boats used to transport us over to the beach.

The price per person is 25 pesos (about $2.00 Cdn) and although tickets are issued no one has ever looked at a ticket.

I actually didn't get a very good shot of a panga, but while we were waiting I did notice a few things that made me smile -

the pelican standing guard over the ticket booth -

and the young man, busily chatting away on his cell phone as Dad was hard at work diving for oysters!

I was obviously sidetracked because I realize now that I actually forgot to take more than one photograph of the pangas! Oh well, we'll be back!

The Grace

2011-03-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky, and we had a truly lovely day today.

When we stopped at the Motel 6 in Nogales, on our very first drive down three years ago, we met a couple who have become very special friends. We lived in Winnipeg and they lived on their 42 foot sail boat in San Francisco. Not a great deal in common, other than our mutual dream of life in Mazatlan and the fact that they had two dogs and we had one, but it's been 3 years and we have become close friends. This year they sailed their boat, The Grace, down to Mazatlan as they have decided to make the city their permanent home. Grace is moored at the Marina, and they keep an eye on her from the terrace of their condo.

Today was the day, finally, when we took Grace out for a sail. It was the perfect day, the sun shone, it was hot, but not too hot, there were some waves, but not too many, and thanks to our hosts, who provided ginger pills for the weak at heart, I felt amazingingly well all day. (I've had a few not so great experiences on the water, so to be honest I was a bit apprehensive!)

Oh, if I could do this again tomorrow, I would be a very happy woman!

I finally made it - the end of the walk to the Library

2011-03-26T16:29:00.001-07:00

I really did need to pick up speed. Even though we are volunteers, we are expected to show up on time, and I was seriously behind schedule. Still time, however, for a few more quick shots ....

.... especially one of one of the 'car wash guys' next door. I'm a wimp, I can never get the gate lifted on the days I open at the Library, and they always come to my rescue.

I made with just minutes to spare.

To be honest, I don't think we'd ever be 'fired' for being a few minutes late. It's just the principal of the thing - I hate not being on time for anything!

The Library was just the way I left it.

The books were still on the shelves ....

and the members were there waiting to check out their books ....

This, by the way, is Gordon Gilkey, who owns a business in Maz called Gringo Solutions. He does all sorts of renovation/repair work and employs Mexican Nationals to do the work. He is a highly respected business person, because of the quality of his work, and also because he uses skilled Mexican tradespeople who so need the jobs. Gordon is one of my favourite members - any questions why when you see that happy smiling face? He has also recommended several books that I have very much enjoyed!

(Gordon was so willing to pose for me that I told him I'd give him a good plug on mexicoatlast!)

So, this was my trip to the Mazatlan Membership Library, in Historico Centro, Mazatlan.

I have worked at the Library every Monday afternoon since we arrived in November, and this Monday is my last shift. I have also traded shifts, which is why I have bonded with the car wash guys! We are reverting to summer hours on April 1 (10am til 2pm) and so only need one volunteer per day and as we are leaving on April 16th, my time at the Library is over until next November. It's been a great season. I cannot imagine giving up my shift permamently - whatever would I do on Monday afternoon?

Most of the time, I do walk at a quicker pace, but this just seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a truly wonderful walk.

Oh, and on the way home, I couldn't resist taking just a few more pictures.

Library Walk, Part 2

2011-03-25T22:22:00.001-07:00

And the walk continued ....

I wasn`t hurrying ....

I noticed, once I had made my way down the hill to the Malecon, that the fog had still not totally cleared.

I also realized that if I didn`t pick up speed I was going to be late for my shift!

The Library Walk,Part One

2011-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

We are all creatures of habit. Admit it, we all do it. We go to the movies and sit on the same side of the theatre. We dine at our favourite restaurants, and order the same thing at each of them. We park in the same corner of the shopping lot at the mall. Okay, we're off the hook for that one because we all know we do that so we can find the car when we're finished shopping!

However, what we also do is walk the same routes day after day, even in Mazatlan! We might vary it slightly, this block versus that, but we walk the same paths endlessly. In Maz, we know where the friendly dogs are, and also where the loud, barking beasts live! We've memorized the bumps in the pavement and where the air conditioning units jut out from the walls at temple height, just waiting to snag the unwary pedestrians.

I think what often happens is that we become so used to the paths that we travel that we stop noticing them. It's just the same old, same old, which really is a shame, especially when we live in a city as vital as Mazatlan. When I realized that it was happening to me, again, I decided to bring the camera with me when I walked to my shift at the Library last week. For some reason, having a camera along just seems to make me look at things in a different way.

However, as usual, I seemed to find a lot of images to capture. So, this is Part One of the Trip to the Library.

Oaxaca Craft Fair

2011-03-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

The Oaxaca Craft Fair is in town again, set up in tents in an empty lot along the beach in the Zona Dorada. We've all be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the vendors as their crafts are truly unique and lovely to see.

The young people who work in some of the stalls are very helpful and hugely entertaining!

As well as admiring the amazing embroidered fabrics, the rugs, pottery and profusion of jewellry and shoes, we also did some sampling. Mango Chili ice cream is delicious as are the dozens of different flavours of mole that are available.

I decided not to sample the grasshoppers, but Mike tried them and said they had an 'interesting texture'. I took his word for it!!

The Fair is on for another week and I am planning on returning. I'd like to buy some mole, and possibly sample another flavour of ice cream. I will still pass on the grasshoppers.

The Belmar Hotel

2011-03-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Belmar Hotel, located on Olas Altas in Mazatlan's Centro Historico was reportedly built by an American mining entrepreneur, Louis Leonard Bradbury, in the 1800's. The hotel was originally used as a home, office and guest house but has evolved over the years, and through several different owners, into a hotel. By the 1920's the Belmar was the hotel of choice for many celebrities and was frequently the temporary home of John Wayne and Tyrone Power, who came to Mazatlan to enjoy the thrill of deep sea fishing. The Belmar was also the hub of Carnaval activities during these years and the rooms were filled to capacity and the ballrooms glistened with the gowns and jewels worn by the female guests.

During the 1960's an addition was built onto the existing hotel, adding a bar, restaurant, pool, lights and air conditioning. The addition added 110 rooms to the existing 86 rooms in the 'old' section.

Times have changed however, and over the years tourists have abandoned the Belmar to move on to the newer, more modern hotels of the Zona Dorada (Golden Zone) The Belmar has become a somewhat shabby 'ghost' of it's former self.

Notice how I slipped in the 'ghost' reference there?

The Hotel has always fascinated us, and we were amazed to learn that, as well as the occasional back-packer, or tourists on a very tight budget, there is a thriving community of expats who call the Belmar Hotel their home. We have discovered that, tucked way in the back of the Hotel, there are charming little apartments filled with equally charming residents. We have been to dinner there, and a birthday party. We have met one fascinating gentleman who has called the Belmar his home for close to 20 years!

This was, as legend has it, John Wayne's room.

The door was locked, but judging from the rooms around it the interior would look somewhat like these.

It doesn't look like much now, but some of the furnishings have been moved to the apartments, and they are lovely.

Now we get to the ghosts. Word is that our friends are not the only people who are calling the Belmar 'home'. There have been many stories of the ghosts who frequent the hotel, ghosts who set the chairs in the lobby rocking in the evenings, who party by the pool late at night, and who have been seen standing on the hotel balconies enjoying the view. A dashing gentleman dressed in a cape and hat, and carrying a riding crop has been sighted on the stairs. A lovely lady in white, dressed in a flowing white gown and sporting long black hair, has been viewed several times. She appears coming from the bar and carries her room keys. The bartender, however, has never seen her, although the front desk clerk does, on frequent occasions. Where does she come from and where is she going? The ghost stories are endless and all equally enthralling.

The Bar holds many memories, apparently especially for the Lovely Lady in White.

After finishing dinner with our friends, she and I headed out with a flashlight to cruise the hallways and see what we could find. No ghosts, alas, but it was a fascinating wander through a lovely old building, now slowing crumbling into oblivion.

The Belmar has passed through the hands of many owners, none apparently with the means or will to restore the Hotel to it's former glory. This is understandable, it would be a massive undertaking. The front of the Belmar collapsed last year (it happened at 5am and amazingly no one was injured) but the facade has been restored. Perhaps there is hope!

By the way, there are also stories of "the Belmar Snake". True? I'm not sure. Let's just say I didn't spend a lot of time searching for snakes! And the staff? If asked, they deny any belief in ghosts. However, many refuse to venture far from the front desk after dark!!

We missed the end of Carnaval

2011-03-16T16:12:00.001-07:00

Darn, we were so looking forward to Carnaval this year, and we both came down with the dreaded Mazatlan cold that has been making the rounds.

We did manage to make it to the fire works, which we watched from the roof of the Old Mazatlan Inn, a prime vantage point. They were spectacular, even better than last year. From past experience, I didn't even try to photograph them - I just sat back, blew my nose and enjoyed the show.

And that was it! We both felt dreadful, we missed both parades, and just about everything else that was happening. Darn. Oh well, there's always next year!

We are just about back to normal now, and live has resumed it's usual fun filled hectic pace.

I've found a few things to photograph that I hadn't noticed before.

We've had many more visits to Stone Island - one day in pea soup fog. It did burn off after we arrived, but it was somewhat eerie early in the morning. We've had a lot of fog lately - something to do with the warmer air flowing over the cold ocean. I don't care, I'm just glad we're getting warm air! It was darned chilly for awhile down here in sunny Mexico. Really!

But 'summer' weather is back, we've packed away the jeans and hoodies, and we're ready to thoroughy enjoy the balance of the season.

I've been playing with the camera a bit and discovered that on foggy days some pictures are more interesting in black and white, or variations thereof.

And some are just foggy!

I've discovered more fishing nets.

and I find driftwood fascinating.

The bottle tree on the beach in Barras de Piaxtla just made me laugh.

There are endless variations in the light fixtures in Centro. This is a favourite.

I'm also partial to the art work adorning the walls and roof of this Art Gallery.

But the best yet is the cow - absolutely the largest I have ever seen!

Carnaval has Started

2011-03-04T13:22:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again - the decorations have been hung, the beer stands have been stocked and the bands have tuned their instruments - loudly. As someone said recently, it's time to par-tay!

We met friends for lunch at Edgar's yesterday. They've had their Carnaval decorations up for a few weeks now, so they're all set to go.

After lunch, we decided to stroll over the Plazuela Machado to sit outside in the sun, perhaps have a cerveza, and just watch the world stroll by for an hour or so. However, as often happens in Maz, nothing ever goes as planned and we didn't get home til close to 6pm. The place was just hopping. We had completely forgotten that the Taste of Carnaval was being held later in the afternoon and people were already starting to gather to enjoy the amazing selection of free tapas provided by the many restauranteurs at the Plazuela.

We certainly didn't need any more food as we had just finished lunch but it all looked so good we couldn't resist. (Dinner was a bowl of popcorn, much much later!)

We were also blessed with the presence of Carnaval Royalty - the Queen, the Flower Princess and also the King of Carnaval.

The school children were enchanted,

as was my husband. Can you really blame him - these girls are lovely!

And look at her shoes!!!

A lot of time and effort have been spent on the Plazuela itself this year, and it shows. It was spotless, all the planting beds had been raked, the trees were all trimmed, and the decorations were the best I've seen in several years.

I think this is going to be a great Carnaval this year! More details to follow ....

The Cooking Class

2011-03-02T14:40:00.001-08:00

One of the prizes at Write On Maz, the library fundraiser, was a cooking class for six, donated by Hector, the very talented owner of Molika Bakery. Hector is a world class chef and his restaurant and classes are very popular.

A group of us decided that we really wanted this one, so we pooled our resources and lucked in. On Tuesday, we attended our two hour class, to learn how to cook fish, ala Hector. And what an adventure it was.

Hector is passionate about food, and is a wonderful teacher. We really didn't learn how to follow any particular recipes, rather we were instructed on how to create a recipe. We were enthralled, and his staff were obviously equally so.

We started with Red Snapper, whole, cooked in parchment paper. As well as showing us how to prepare the fish, Hector gave a mini lesson on how to properly prepare julienned vegetables! The Snapper was stuffed with celery, garlic and lemon zest, and then covered with the veggies (nothing fancy, just carrots and celery) and then anointed with white wine. Perfection, absolute culinary bliss!

Next was a salad, with scallops, greens, sun dried tomatoes, and pineapple bits which had been enfused with lemon grass, coriander and chiles. The dressing was a truly simple, wonderful, lemon vinagrette.

We were a bit greedy sharing the Red Snapper, I thought we were going to come to blows over this one.

Next we were treated to swordfish, cut in 1 inch pieces, sauteed and tossed with a mixture of fresh basil leaves, tomatoes, olives, capers, and lemon pieces. There was something else, but darned if I can remember. At this point in the evening my brain was on overload. I'll have to check back in with Hector, because this I want to make again. The dish was served over a bed of Hector's wonderful bread, to soak up all the juices. There was another battle over this one! Unfortunately I was so busy rushing in with my fork, I forgot to take a picture. A friend, however, emailed me hers but I cannot, for some reason, make it bigger. I have tried and tried and give up. So, here is a teeny tiny picture of the finished swordfish - you might want to consider a magnifying glass for this one!

Personally, I did not think the next round was as successful - Spaghetti with Calimari, Garlic and Chiles (but I did figure out how to say it en espanol: Espaguetis con calimari, ajo y chiles).

The pasta was perfect, with lots of the aforementioned garlic, and chilies. We learned that in a great restaurant, the pasta is divided into individual portions so that there are no mistakes in portion sizes on busy nights. We also learned that Hector knows exactly how much salt to put into the pot so that the water is perfectly seasoned every time, and he gave us that trick as well. And then he talked about calimari. And cooked it, and served it. I tried it, twice, and then graciously stood back and let my fellow classmates enjoy. Not as much passing of the dish that time - I am not a big fan of calimari. I think Hector rather enjoyed explaining calimari to us!

And I did try it!

We then moved on to the Sea Bass. I have never, ever, tasted fish that was as good as this was. It was so simple, Sea Bass quickly sauteed til it was golden and crip on the exterior, served over a bed of spinach and butter, accompanied by small roasted onions, drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sesame seeds. We were just about licking the plate on this one!!

To finish off the evening Hector taught us something amazingly simple - he tossed smoked marlin (readily available at the market) into a blender with a good chuck of cream cheese, whipped it all up, drizzled it with anchovy oil, and then served it spread of toasted bread. Instant appetizer and delicious.

My girlfriend and I went for a massage the next day and stopped afterwards at the Mercado to check out the fish. No Sea Bass (darn) but we really didn't expect to find any, as Hector said it is hard to find. We did see some lovely Red Snapper, however. Hector taught us to look for bright perky eyes, and also suggested a good healthy sniff - you're supposed to smell the ocean, not the fish. I also spotted a piece of tuna that I very much wanted to buy and bring home. Hector said that the sword fish he served would also work with tuna. However, we'd been invited out for the evening, so the tuna will have to wait for another day. Janice did pick up some smoked marlin however, and headed home to experiment.

What else did we learn? To mix olive oil and canola oil, half and half, and use that to saute with - that way you don't waste your precious olive oil. Use the good olive oil to drizzle over your food after it's cooked.

Hector, by the way, also reminded us that the three main ingredients in French cuisine were butter, butter and butter!

Mamey

2011-02-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

On Monday, as we were heading out to the Library and Mike's Men's Lunch, we stopped for a minute to chat to our neighbour across the street. Now, you have to understand, our grasp of the Spanish language, to our chagrin, is still somewhat minimal, but we do seem to have developed a rapport with the folks in the hood, even if our 'chats' involve a lot of hand waving and gestures. (Do not ever challenge us to an evening of charades by the way, as we are becoming pros!!!)

He had just come from the market and had a bag of the usual stuff, potatoes, peppers, cheese, but he also had something we had never seen before, which of course we had to ask about. It looked sort of like a mango, with a skin, like a very serious minded kiwi with an attitude. Next thing we knew, it, whatever it was, was split in two pieces and we were invited to a sample - and it was a treat "to die for". I'm not sure how to describe the taste, but we were enthralled, and wanted more. He wanted to give his fruit to us, but we just couldn't take it from him, as much as we wanted to, as it was so good.

However, on the way home, after my shift at the Library and dinner out, we stopped off to pick up a few necessities from Alfredo, who owns the tienda on the corner and mentioned the 'mystery fruit". He knew exactly what we were talking out and said he would have some for us the next morning. And he did. And they are amazing. A very different taste, one that takes some getting used to, but very very good.

Alfredo also told us that he likes his mamey (pronounced mah-may) blended with a touch of brandy and leche (milk), which I haven't tried yet. It does sound like a pretty darned good way to get your essential nutrients! OK, the brandy isn't essential!

And now here's the lesson, for those who are interested:

The mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota) is a species of tree native to southern Mexico. Today, the tree is cultivated not only in Mexico, but also in Central America, the Caribbean, and South Florida for its fruit, which is commonly eaten in many Latin American countries. Mamey sapote is a large and highly ornamental evergreen tree that can reach a height of 15 to 45 meters (60 to 140 feet) at maturity. The fruit is about 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) long and 8 to 12 cm (3 to 5 inches) wide and has orange flesh. Personally I think the fruit is closer to red in colour.

The fruit is eaten raw out of hand or made into milkshakes, smoothies, ice cream and fruit bars. They don't mention Alfredo's recipe! The fruit's flavor is variously described as a combination of pumpkin, sweet potato, and maraschino cherries with the texture of an avocado. Which could be why I was having trouble describing it. Some consider the fruit to be an aphrodisiac. No comment on this one!!

End of lesson. I wonder how we ever survived without Google?

Bon Appetit!!!

Routines

2011-02-22T16:28:00.001-08:00

I don't think it matters where you live, after a month or so of living anywhere, it is just natural to fall into a routine. I was looking at the calendar this morning and chuckled to myself when I saw how filled it was, and how different it appears from the calendar during the summer months, when we are at home.

Our time was scheduled very differently while our son, Jeff, was here and also our friends, Ann and Jim. We played tourist and had a truly marvelous time. It is so refreshing to see your home through someone else's eyes and I'm thinking that perhaps it might be time to try it again in Winnipeg.

We are still being awakened, almost every morning, by that darned rooster who has moved in almost next door. He starts early; ignoring him is pointless as he never stops, and even if he did, the cars on the street would have us up by 6:30 am anyway. I am still wondering why we are so lucky to live on a street where every car needs either a new transmission or muffler (or in some cases, both)! However, we are not on a bus route, which is a plus, and we are learning to sometimes ignore the activity outside our front door, and bedroom window, and to roll over in the mornings and catch a few more minutes of sleep time before the day starts.

Abi however, is usually awake by this time, and when Abi decides to get up, we're all up, so the sleep in time is quite short!

She also decides when it is time to go to bed.

Which brings me back to the calendar. Somedays, most days, it's a good thing we do not sleep in. A quick review of the calendar reminds us that we have men's lunch, library, golf, Beans and Beer, girl's day out (to offset Beans and Beer), book club, dominoes ... we each do our own thing, and we write everything down, or else we'll be sure to forget something. Of course, we don't do all these things on one day, but they are repeated throughout the weeks.

Although they are not marked on the calender, every week we do the usual boring domestic things. We do the laundry, visit the market, sometimes every other day, make the run to Sam's and Mega (for the stuff we can't get at the Market - like English Muffins and wine!), and we even clean house. Esther comes every Monday, but Mazatlan is very dusty and we just can't get through the week without pulling out the mop and the dust cloth.

We meet friends for lunch, or dinner, or we make a date and go out on our own. Monday, for example, is almost always a 'dinner night out' - I have 'worked' all afternoon at the Library, after all! I love the Plazuela Machado on Saturday evenings, so we try to make that a firm night out as well. Several times a week, we stay in. We love movie nights, and thanks to our son, Jeff, we have downloaded and watched almost all of the Oscar nominees. He has shared his expertise with several of our friends here, and others are anxiously awaiting his return.

We have started to schedule a beach day, which is almost always a Sunday. Sunday seems like a good day to reflect on life, and how lucky we are, and what better place to do that than Stone Island. We actually write this one on the calendar - because once it's written down, it's a firm date that we try not to break..... Unless it's cold, or cloudy..... Or some silly person organizes a Library Benefit on a Sunday (I might have been one of those people!) But we do try, and most Sundays we make it to the beach.

We were told last trip that we needed to wear a life jacket - not sure why, but rules are rules!

We've talked to friends and it seems like our crowded calendar is the norm.

I now know the real reason why we go home in the summer. Mike says it's because he needs to golf with the boys at Bell Acres. I know the real reason - we need to get some rest!

But always, every day, we stop to admire the view, wherever we are.

Even the fish!!

To offset the fish, there is always the cathedral ..

and other things ...

Carnaval, by the way, starts in two weeks and the city is already winding up. More on that later!

Coup d'etat

2011-02-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Yes there has been a temporary coup on this blog. For one week anyway.
Mike and Sandie have generously allowed us to come down from the land of ice and snow to stay with them for a week.

We started off the week with a lovely breakfast at Macaws. Then later that evening we attended a small "Wine tasting of Mazatlan" event here in the Centro.
Monday we had beautiful weather for a day trip out to Stone Island. Which turned out to be the best day of the week for the beach. The sun was warm, the ocean was cool, but it was still alot better then anything in Winnipeg.

Tuesday was an easy day with a trip into the Gold Zone for a little shopping and drinks.

Wednesday the boys went to "Beans and Bear", that 50+ year tradition for ex patroits here in Maz. The girls were off to more shopping, and some sun by the pool in Villa Marina.
Thursday we loaded up the car and went for an overnight trip to Barras de Piaxtla. We stayed in a wonderful beach house right on the ocean.

Friday we returned to Maz in time to hit the Mardi Gras party. The band was amazing and the food was excellent for such a large crowd.
Sadly we have to spend Saturday preparing to head home, but we can at least take the comfort that we know that we'll be back.
Thank-you Mike & Sandie.

The Bullfight

2011-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I swore I would never attend a bullfight. I find the whole idea of tormenting an animal until it dies absolutely barbaric and quite disgusting. Hope I have not offended any bullfighting fans out there, that's just the way I feel.

However, when the Midget Bullfighters came to town, we were told that the animals were not harmed in the least and we just couldn't resist. I was still a bit hesitant, not because of the animals, but was a bit worried for the Bullfighters themselves. As the major draw for this event was the fact that the performers were little people, I thought perhaps the whole spectacle would be degrading but we were reassured that this was not the case, so off we went.

And we are so glad we did - it was a highly entertaining afternoon to say the least.

We realized as soon as we arrived at the ring that this was definitely a family affair. A first, there was no acohol served, but there was lots and lots of cotton candy! By the way, this being Mexico, if anyone wanted a beer, all they had to do was go outside, buy one, and bring it back in!

The troupe has travelled together for years and have their routines down pat.

As well as the actual bullfighters, all midgets, there are 4 'full-size' clowns on the team.

And, oh, can these girls dance!

Everyone in the troupe was very funny, and very very talented!

As for the animals - they were priceless. The "bull" was a calf, one of the mangiest I have ever seen, who often had to be chased by the bullfighter as he just wasn't interested in the cape. They did, at one point, bring out one slightly older 'teenage' calf who had started to sprout horns, but he was no more intimidating than his predecessor, and was equally less involved in the proceedings! The horses were adorable, a herd of Shetland ponies who raced around and around the track and then knew exactly which exit to take to head back to the stables.

It has been a long time since we have laughed that much, and I will definitely go back the next time the itty-bitty bullfighters are in town.

Day to Day

2011-02-07T08:49:00.000-08:00

I don't think it matters where you live, after a month or so of living anywhere, it is just natural to fall into a routine. I was looking at the calendar this morning and chuckled to myself when I saw how filled it was, and how different it appears from the calendar during the summer months, when we are at home.

Our time was scheduled very differently while our son, Jeff, was here and also our friends, Ann and Jim. We played tourist and had a truly marvelous time. It is so refreshing to see your home through someone else's eyes and I'm thinking that perhaps it might be time to try it again in Winnipeg.

We are still being awakened, almost every morning, by that darned rooster who has moved in almost next door. He starts early; ignoring him is pointless as he never stops, and even if he did, the cars on the street would have us up by 6:30 am anyway. I am still wondering why we are so lucky to live on a street where every car needs either a new transmission or muffler (or in some cases, both)! However, we are not on a bus route, which is a plus, and we are learning to sometimes ignore the activity outside our front door, and bedroom window, and to roll over in the mornings and catch a few more minutes of sleep time before the day starts.

Abi however, is usually awake by this time, and when Abi decides to get up, we're all up, so the sleep in time is quite short!

She also decides when it is time to go to bed.

Which brings me back to the calendar. Somedays, most days, it's a good thing we do not sleep in. A quick review of the calendar reminds us that we have men's lunch, library, golf, Beans and Beer, girl's day out (to offset Beans and Beer), book club, dominoes ... we each do our own thing, and we write everything down, or else we'll be sure to forget something. Of course, we don't do all these things on one day, but they are repeated throughout the weeks.

Although they are not marked on the calender, every week we do the usual boring domestic things. We do the laundry, visit the market, sometimes every other day, make the run to Sam's and Mega (for the stuff we can't get at the Market - like English Muffins and wine!), and we even clean house. Esther comes every Monday, but Mazatlan is very dusty and we just can't get through the week without pulling out the mop and the dust cloth.

We meet friends for lunch, or dinner, or we make a date and go out on our own. Monday, for example, is almost always a 'dinner night out' - I have 'worked' all afternoon at the Library, after all! I love the Plazuela Machado on Saturday evenings, so we try to make that a firm night out as well. Several times a week, we stay in. We love movie nights, and thanks to our son, Jeff, we have downloaded and watched almost all of the Oscar nominees. He has shared his expertise with several of our friends here, and others are anxiously awaiting his return.

We have started to schedule a beach day, which is almost always a Sunday. Sunday seems like a good day to reflect on life, and how lucky we are, and what better place to do that than Stone Island. We actually write this one on the calendar - because once it's written down, it's a firm date that we try not to break..... Unless it's cold, or cloudy..... Or some silly person organizes a Library Benefit on a Sunday (I might have been one of those people!) But we do try, and most Sundays we make it to the beach.

We've talked to friends and it seems like our crowded calendar is the norm.

I now know the real reason why we go home in the summer. Mike says it's because he needs to golf with the boys at Bell Acres. I know the real reason - we need to get some rest!

But always, every day, we stop to admire the view, wherever we are.

Even the fish!!

Carnaval, by the way, starts in two weeks and the city is already winding up. More on that later!

Write on Maz

2011-02-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

I have just realized how long it has been since I last posted anything here. The days have flown by since Jeff left, and although I have written endless 'stories' in my head, I just haven't had a chance to sit down and actually commit my thoughts to 'paper'.

I lead such a quiet life at home, I am still astonished at how busy I am here!

I am a member of the Library Committee and recently many hours have been devoted to the organization the second annual 'Write on Maz' benefit. It was a lot of work, and very time consuming, but well worth it in the end.

As the benefit is on behalf of a Library, we have decided to make an attempt to keep the event as educational as possible. Last year we featured local authors, who spoke about their experiences with research, dealing with editors and publishers, etc. This year we recruited a very informative speaker, Richard Rhoda, an American who currently lives in Guadalahara and is the co-author of the book 'Geo Mexico: The Geography and Dynamics of Modern Mexico'.

As this was a fundraiser, much time was spent pounding the pavement, soliciting items for our raffle and silent auction. We did very well. We had 42 items which were raffled, and 9 items on the Silent Auction table, including 2 paintings by Loretta, the very talented manager/director of the Library.

I was amazed by the generosity of the local business people. I visited close to 25 businesses and was rejected by only one (and that I think simply because he was having a really bad day!).

We had thought at first we would be able to rent palm trees to decorate the courtyard of the Museo de Arte, where the event was being held, but at the last minute, that fell through. So, a fellow volunteer and I visited several of the local flower shops on Saturday and bought armloads of blooms to fill the courtyard. We bought so many, we had to take a pulmonia home as they were too heavy to carry. Price, by the way, was less than $40.00. You've got to love Mexico!

'Write on Maz' was held on Sunday, from 2 p.m. til 4 p.m. and the day of the benefit was a marathon.

We had previously moved everything we needed into the Library - the prizes for the raffles and auction, wine, glasses, plates, flower vases, the list went on and on.

At noon on Sunday, the earliest we could gain access to the courtyard at the Museum, we were at the library, lugging things across the street and frantically arranging the blossoms in vases, piling books everywhere we could find an empty space, and setting up the tables for the silent auction and the raffle. Oh, and then there was the food - all of the volunteers at the Library, as well as a few other wonderfully generous people, provided appetizers, which were accompanied by generously poured glasses of wine. Which meant that the food and wine tables needed to be set up, and decorated ..... and then the whole thing needed to be dismantled afterwards as we only had the use of the space til 5!

It was exhausting but so much fun! We have received a great deal of positive feedback from those attending. Our speaker very generously offered to donate 50 pesos of each book sold to "Write on Maz" and 15 were purchased the day of the benefit. He has left us with an inventory at the Library, and the books are continuing to sell. The only derogatory comment heard was from one gentleman who complained that the food was so good it was all eaten before he had a chance to come back for seconds. His wife reminded him it was more like fourths!!!

All that's left to do now is to complete the delivery of the Thank You cards to all who contributed - I plan to set aside a day to retrace my steps and drop them off. And then I will sit back, relax and read the books I have been neglecting!

I am also going to take a minute to look at the sky, as it has been stunning lately.

And also to shop for my dog. We really have to get her a mat as apparently she is finding the floors near her breakfast dish just a bit slippery.

Brrrrrr

2011-01-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

Jeff flew home yesterday, back to the land of ice and snow. It has been unseasonably cool here for the past few weeks and I was disappointed that the weatherman did not co-operate during his visit. We had several mornings of intense fog, the days were far cooler than normal, and the evenings were downright chilly. However, Jeff is waking up this morning to temperatures hovering around -30C and a windchill that has pulled the temperature down to -45C so I guess our average temperatures of 22C to 24C during his week in Mazatlan are really nothing to complain about!

I have finally been able to lay claim to my camera again. Jeff captured hundreds of images of Mazatlan while he was here and it was quite entertaining watching him move through the streets of the city with the camera always at the ready. I think at times we all become a bit jaded, used to the beauty of the city, and it is refreshing to explore with a `newbie`, someone who has a new experience everytime a corner is turned.

One of the things Jeff really wanted to do during his week was to visit the Aquarium, something we have never done, so off we went. I wasn`t sure what to expect, but realized almost immediately that 75 pesos, the price of the admission, was a steal. The seemingly endless varieties of fish are displayed beautifully in spotlessly clean tanks filled with stunning displays of coral.

We spent ages at the huge outdoor pool watching the manta rays and I loved the bird sanctuary, and the turtles.

I am not so sure, however, about the crocodiles!

We also took him to the Petroglyphs at Las Labradas. Mike and I have been several times and we knew that it was a place that Jeff would love as much as we do. It was a special visit as, other than the security guard and his endlessly entertaining pet, we were the only people on the beach.

There were times when I felt a bit guilty that we didn`t take Jeff everywhere and do everything, but he reminded me several times that he was on holidays and there were times when he just wanted to hang out at the Casita with his dog and his Kindle.

Smart child!

Company, Day 1

2011-01-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

I have lost control of the camera for the week.

Our son, Jeff, is here for his first visit to Mazatlan and he has been wandering the streets of Centro with the camera close at hand, just as I did when we first arrived. I've been browsing through his shots and have decided to share some of his images.

So, Jeff's first full day in Mazatlan:

The streets

The grafitti

The Art Gallery (we all loved the Sergio Navarro exhibit!)

and, as I do, Jeff apparently likes the birds at Casa Etnika!

The Pulmonia

2011-01-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

Pulmonias are a method of transportation unique to Mazatlan.

The Pulmonia was invented in Mazatlan by Don Miquel Ramirez Urquijo, who sadly passed away in October, 2010, at the venerable age of 90.

During the 1950's, in Mazatlan, it was frowned upon for women travelling alone to take a taxi, which of course involved travelling in a closed vehicle driven by an unknown man. Don Miquel, a man of stellar vision, decided to provide the citizens of Mazatlan with an alternate method of transportation, one which used little gas, was safe of the town's roads, and allowed women to navigate the city streets, unescorted. (To be honest here, I don't think women at this point were his primary concern, but we thank Don Miquel anyway!) The first fleet of 15 vehicles hit the streets in 1965 and by the late 1960's there were 100 pulmonias cruising through the city.

Don Miquel's original model, based on a Cushman golf cart, was modified in the early 1980's and the present four-wheel pulmonia with a Volkwagon engine has became an integral part of the city landscape, used regularly by visitors and residents alike. As Beetles were produced in abundance in Mexico from the 1950 to the 1990s VW parts are plentiful in Mazatlan.

There are the pulmonias which you can hail down just about anywhere (but don't foget to negotiate the fee before you take off) ...

There is the monument along the Malecon, no fee here .......

And then the are the pulmonias owned by local residents, to the envy of the rest of us!

Pulmonia, in Spanish, means 'pneumonia' and trust me, some evenings this is a darned chilly method of transportation!

Beans and Beer

2011-01-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

A number of my friends have asked about this "Beans and Beer thing?" I have talked about it a few times so Sandie has let me explain a bit about our group in her blog. But as I started to write something, an article came out in our local Mazatlan magazine written by Nola Dyck, whose husband Les is a member of B and B and it is so much better than what I could do that I thought I would just reuse her story here.

It happens every Wednesday, midday, and has since the ‘40s. Like moths drawn to a flame, male expats from all corners of Mazatlán migrate to the Cantina La Alemana on Zaragosa, just east of Aquiles Serdan. This intrepid lot are officially known as “La Hermandad de Cerveza y Frijoles” and freely admit to being an anarchist bunch with no rules and no leaders. These greying boys just want to have fun. They spend this sacred couple of hours swilling beer, eating bean soup and tortillas made especially for them, spinning yarns and telling jokes.

La Alemana is rumoured to have been around in one form or another since the 1930s. Ol’ Jim, one of the most senior members of the group, recalls his working days as a mine foreman near Copala. One of his tasks was to go into Mazatlán to search bars, jails and houses of ill-repute to round up his workers when their monthly leave was over. Let’s just say that La Alemana was on his list, fulfilling two of those requirements.

The institution of Beer & Beans as it is today was started by RV’ers from the old Ole Trailer Park when the first campers found Mazatlán. Depending on the time of year, as many as 55 guys are on hand to share the soup, the beer and the stories; some of which may even be true. Contrary to the macho/anarchist label, they can be a very generous group. For example, a waitress from a few years ago never smiled. Someone in the group discovered it was because she had no teeth. They took up a collection and bought her a new set of teeth. The next week, the line was drawn when all her neighbours showed up with wish lists of their own. There are other instances, but one must be careful to protect their macho/anarchist image.

By Nola Dyck

Thanks Nola for helping me add to Sandie's blog.

Presents

2010-12-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

Mike and I were not going to exchange presents for Christmas this year as there is nothing that we really wanted, or needed. Well, to be honest, there is nothing that we needed, but there is always something to want and so at the last minute we changed our minds.

It all started with a visit to Casa Antiqua, a wonderful shop here in Centro. The store is closing and they were having a 50% off sale. We stopped in for a browse, saw these vases, and voila, there was what was to be part of Mike's present.

I had already decided that what I really yearned for was one of the Day of The Dead ladies, so the next day while Mike was golfing, I headed to Michael's to pick one out. Some people think these things are grotesque, but I love them.

The day before Christmas I changed my mind about Mike's gift and realized that what Mike really should have was a round of golf at Estrella del Mar, one of the premier courses in the city.

He usually golfs at Compestre, the publicly owned course, but he and his golf buddies have often talked of playing a round at Estrella del Mar. A round of golf at this course is usually around $100.00, just a bit pricy, however, they have a special on right now for $45.00, which is quite reasonable, given the quality of the course. So, after a quick chat with one of 'the boys' about booking a tee off time, I printed up a certificate and presented Mike with his golf game.

So, a few days after Christmas, he set out with his clubs, and the camera.

Oh, and the vases are now considered a gift from Santa, to both of us!

Christmas

2010-12-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, for all my moaning about not feeling festive, Christmas was lovely! We even had the perfect moon.

We went to church on Christmas Eve, to the "Blue Church" on the corner of 5 de Mayo and Melchor Ochampo. The Iglesia Cristiana Congregacional Church is fondly known as the English Church and has become part of our Christmas Eve tradition in Mazatlan. The music is phenomenal and the hour spent in the church has become an important part of the Eve. Special enough to attend each Sunday? I am not a 'church-goer' but am sorely tempted, if just for the choir and the musicians! After the service we wandered the streets of the 'hood, admiring the decorations and chuckling at the excitment of the children. Christmas Eve is the same everywhere, filled with children that we all know are not going to sleep a wink all night. The balance of the evening was spent with friends and then we headed home up the hill to snuggle into bed and to wait for Santa.

We blissfully slept in a bit on Christmas morning as our neighbours who normally leave for work at 6 am were obviously not working, and we have no little ones to shake us out of our beds. We did have to get up, however, as we were having friends for brunch, and I needed to cook. It was pea-soup fog when we woke up (a "White Christmas" maybe?), but by the time our company arrived at 10, the sun was out and we were able to dine al fresco on the terrace.

Brunch was a strata (recipe found on-line and a definite 'make again'), pan fries, a lovely fruit plate (provided by our guests) and of course, champagne and freshly squeezed orange juice. Not a bad start to the day.

After taking a break to regroup, we then headed down the hill (notice all the ups and downs the hill we take) to have Christmas dinner with neighbours. It was a small group, about 20 of us, and it was wonderful. Our host and hostess provided the turkey, stuffing and dressing and the rest of us brought the trimmings and we dined like kings! One of the guests brought homemade egg nog, 'seasoned' with bourbon and rum and I truly cannot explain how delicious that was!

Boxing Day was to be a beach day, which did not happen. We woke up, looked at each other, sighed heavily, looked at the lounge chairs on the terrace, and stayed home! We needed to regain our strength, prepare for Monday at the Library, Mike's golf on Tuesday, and New Year's Eve which apparently will be here soon!

Feliz Navidad to all, hope your holiday was wonderful and your New Year is filled with Peace and Love.

Just Hanging Around

2010-12-23T15:16:00.001-08:00

Well, there are probably all sorts of things I could be doing right now, considering that Christmas is only 2 days away. Christmas, however, is different here as other than one present each, we don't really shop for each other (a day at the beach is pretty much the perfect present) and I don't even have to worry about cooking dinner as we've been invited out. I will make a casserole to contribute to the feast, but that certainly doesn't take a huge amount of effort. We're having friends for brunch Christmas morning - once again, not too much effort and certainly nothing I can prepare today. I've pulled out all the required recipes and Mike and I went out this morning to stock up on all the necessary ingredients for my culinary efforts.

It was pretty funny as Mega was the social gathering place of the week. We ran into someone we knew on many of the aisles - Christmas is Christmas everywhere and the grocery stores are always packed. Mexican parents also looked just as stressed and frazzled as Canadian parents at this time of the year, and the children are equally as excited as their Canadian counterparts!

So, I'm having a somewhat quiet afternoon and have decided that I really need to something productive, other than sitting here listening to Christmas music. The music? Mannheim Steamroller, of course, and also The Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I really needed to tidy up my photo files and decided to share a few. No particular rhyme or reason here, just photos that appealed to me at the time!

It is Christmas, and the tree went up, once again, in the Plaza Revolucion, in front of the Cathedral. Last year the tree was all coke bottles and I think I liked it better.

The children love playing with the pigeons and I think the pigeons are equally happy. The bread crumbs might have something to with the attraction, however.

I was walking to the Library for my Monday shift and noticed this tree.

It's been quite foggy lately and although the air usually clears by 8 or 9 a.m., early mornings can be a bit fuzzy.

The sky was crystal clear the evening these cruise ships were setting out to ports further south. It really does look like they're sitting on the roof of the Cathedral.

And then, of course, there is the bucket of beer, the favourite of many. I'm not fond of beer, but love the presentation!

Just in case I'm not back before the 25th, Feliz Navidad to all. I truly hope that your holiday season, wherever you are, is filled with love, joy and laughter.

The Eclipse

2010-12-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

Taking pictures at night seems to be next to impossible for me as I do not have a proper tripod for my camera, however I just had to try one more time.

It was a lovely, clear, evening and we had a perfect view of the eclipse from our terrace. I don't usually stay up that late as our days start early, but didn't want to miss this one. The last time there was a total eclipse of the moon on the winter solstice was in 1638, 372 years ago. The next one matching the date of the solstice will be December 21, 2094, and I certainly won't be around for that one.

So, I'm tired, the pictures of the moon are fuzzy, but it was awe inspiring and I'm glad I stayed up to watch. Now I think I might go back to bed for a bit of a siesta.

Sundays at Lety's, Stone Island

2010-12-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is just too easy to get side tracked.

We seem to have developed rather busy lives and the beach days, for awhile, just were not happening. I volunteer at the Library every Monday, and Mike meets with the 'boys', searching out yet another great Cantina for lunch. Mike usually golfs on Tuesdays, my day to wander with the camera, shop the mercada for whatever looks appealing, or to get together with friends. Tuesday is often 'blog' day as well. Wednesday is Beans and Beer. Mike will tell you about Beans and Beer, soon. The men have been meeting for over 40 years (no, Mike has not been there for all 40!), they drink beer, they eat beans, they stop to visit the Shrimp Ladies and then go somewhere else to eat the shrimp. I don't plan anything at all on Wednesday evenings and also didn't feel badly at all that women are not included! Trust me on this one!!

Yes, we do have the other 4 days of the week. However, it is just like life at home - we do the grocery shopping, the laundry, we plan meals, sometimes we even wash floors! And, of course, there are the friends .... which means getting together for dinner, or drinks, or just to be there for each other when needed. Life seems to be filled to the brim these days but we realized that we were missing something.

Which brings us to the beach, the all important beach. We really lost track of this last year, and were starting to fall into the same bad habits again this year. We have come to realize that, as much as we do try to live normal lives in Mazatlan, live here is not normal. This means that it is perfectly acceptable behavious to take a day off and do just nothing except go to the beach and realize just how lucky you are.

We are now doing just that. Every Sunday we head over to Lety's, on Stone Island, where we spend an absolutely delightful day, doing as little as possible.

Stone Island is actually a peninsula, but it is virtually inaccessable by road, and the easiest access is by pangas. Cost? 20 pesos each, both ways - less than $2.00. There are plans in the works to build a development on the 'island' but care is being taken to perserve what makes this such a special place - nothing will replace the small village, the turtle sanctuary, or what has to be the most beautiful stretch of beach we have ever seen.

It can smell just a bit 'fishy' at times as we walk to the pangas, but I seem to have a thing for fishing boats, and have also learned to rather like the 'aromas', perhaps because I now realize just how delicious the fish is!

I rather like the birds as well.

Our favourite spot on Stone Island is Lety's. Lety's Restaurant has been a favourite among the expat community for years and we were all heartbroken when Lety, the matriarch, passed away suddenly last year. Her family have all worked to improve the restaurant and to develop it as Lety would have wished and it has remained a special retreat for all of us. This is not your average 'restaurant' however .... we arrive early in the morning, settle onto a lounge chair under one of the palapas on the beach ... and there we stay, all day!

We play dominos, splash in the ocean, have a truly wonderful lunch, and sometime eat oysters (that would be Mike, not me!).

Lety's is a restaurant, but the 'family' always make us feel welcome, and at home.

I'm going to be honest here .... sometimes we go twice a week! Like I said, we live in Mazatlan, and it's okay to goof off once in awhile.

Lunch at the Market

2010-12-13T10:23:00.001-08:00

We needed to make a Mercado run the other day as we were running seriously short of fruit and veggies. I was also looking for a necklace to wear with a new dress to the Christmas party we were attending that evening, but, of course, I pretended that the food was really the reason we were there.

We stocked up on our produce in no time at all and realized that looking at all that food had made us hungry, so we headed upstairs for lunch. There are,I would guess, at least a dozen restaurants upstairs and the food is delicious, and cheap.

I had Milanese de Pollo (thin chicken cutlets, lightly breaded - yummy) and Mike decided to try the Bistek Rancheros (sliced beef in a delicious spicy sauce). Of course, both meals came with rice, and refried beans. I'm not wildly fond of the beans but Mike loves them, so he eats his and mine as well. My meal was 35 pesos, Mike's was 30. There are 12 pesos to the dollar. With a drink and a tip the meal cost us a little over $6.00 Cdn - for both of us!

The view from upstairs is fascinating.

Waldo's, our local dollar store, is always packed:

There are buses, lots and lots of buses:

More fruit vendors, for those who are in a hurry and don't want to go into the market:

Love what they have done on this building to deter the pigeons

however, the grafitti on the building next door is not quite so impressive

This little one was abolutely priceless. She appeared with her broom and dustpan and very studiously tied up around us while we were enjoying our lunch.

Oh, and I did find a necklace, which matched the dress perfectly!

"Growing" Things

2010-12-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

It amazes me how quickly plants grow in Mexico.

Our terrace is so large that we have lots of space for plant life and I've been busy raiding the neighbours' gardens. There are many nurseries in town and plants stands are set up everywhere, but sometimes it just more fun to see what happens when you stick something in a glass of water for a few weeks.

I have no idea what the green plant is called, but these cuttings have been in water for less than 2 weeks and already have a substantial root system. I'll let them swim a bit longer before finding a pot for them, but so far, they look quite healthy.

The Coleus was acquired yesterday. It's not drooping yet - there might be hope for this bunch as well. Of course, if all else fails, they do look rather nice in the vase.

Our favourite plant of all is the 'stick tree'. There is another name, of course, very Latin, but I can neither spell nor pronounce it, so we just call it 'stick tree'. This one is very easy to transplant - cut it from the 'mother' tree and "stick" it into the dirt. No water, no nothing. However, the sap drips furiously and apparently can be poisonous (!!!?????) so I was very careful. I doubt very much that a drop of sap would affect a human adult, but then again ....

So, all is growing well in my garden, except for what is supposed to turn into our Avacado Tree. Children in school can make these things grow, but I, apparently, can not.

We'll give it another month and see what happens, but I'm not counting on harvesting any time soon.

Water, and the lack thereof

2010-12-11T10:15:00.001-08:00

This is one of the tinacas on our neighbours' roof, one of three.

Tinacas are the containers which are used in many homes in Mazatlan to store the water provided by the city water company, Jumapan, a plan which is often not as simple, nor as successful, as it would seem. We have had no water problems this year at the Casita and have had a regular supply. Our tinaca often does not fill during the day, but usually fills each evening. We also have a cistern which holds many thousands of litres more, so we're fairly confident that we'll always have water. We do check every the morning, just to make sure we have water and if the tinaca has not filled, the laundry just waits for another day.

Our neighbours however have not been as lucky, perhaps because their house is on a different line and is at the end. They also do not have a cistern, hence the three tinacas as their house. Their tinacas have not filled for close to 2 weeks, and they were getting just bit tired of rationing their water.

In a case like this, the only recourse is to call a private water company, and make arrangements to have a Pipa (water truck) come to your home. The Pipas are huge, and carry much more water than a tinaca can hold, and when you order one, you are expected to pay for the whole load, 10,000 litres, an expense of 500 pesos (approximately $42.00).

Being a good neighbour, however, is partly about sharing. Not all homes have tinacas or cisterns and if the water is shut off there is no back up supply at all. The arrival of the Pipa can be a time of joy for many in the 'hood. After the three tinacas were filled, as is the custom, our neighbours were prepared to share the balance of the load, at least half, with other people in the area. However the laneway is so very narrow, and the planter so large, that no matter how he tried, the driver could not move Pipa further down the land and the hose just would not reach the balance of the homes needing water. Mexicans are very resourceful, however, the buckets came out and they saved as much as they possible could.

Unfortunately for all, the balance of the water in the Pipa went back to the water company, to be paid for, once again, by someone else with an empty tinaca.

Company

2010-12-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

Last night while I was brushing my teeth before bed I realized we had company in the bathroom.

I haven't seen him today, but he was so tiny he could be anywhere!

Uncorked in Mazatlan

2010-12-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

When we first arrived in Mazatlan last year, we were invited to attend Uncorked in Mazatlan, a monthly wine tasting event. Many of the people we met that evening we now count as good friends and we had such a great time that I volunteered to help co-ordinate the tastings this year.

Uncorked in Mazatlan is not a truly serious wine tasting, rather just an ever increasing group of people who enjoy getting together and sharing a glass, or two, of wine. The group has grown by leaps and bounds and we now have 50 to 60 people on our list. Of course, not everyone is able to attend each tasting. The group is growing and it can often be a bit of a challenge for the host and/or hostess to accomodate such a large group. We have been lucky so far this year, as each host has indicated they will be able to handle the whole crowd.

We did split the group this year, as there were several members who wanted to pursue a more traditional style of wine tasting. We are still part of the original group, but plan to attend the 'traditional' tastings as well.

Everyone who attends contributes a bottle of wine, and also provides an appetizer. The appetizers, according to my husband, are often the best part of the evening! We do discuss the wine, a bit, as in "Do you like it?" This season we have also requested that each bottle of wine comes with a label, indicating where it was purchased and what it cost. It is a bit frustrating when you answer "Yes" to the question and are then unable to locate the wine you enjoyed. We are also making everyone wear a name tag, at least for the first few gatherings. We all admit it, we're getting older and sometimes we just forget things, like names, and other things we won't mention here!

Mike and I hosted the tasting this month and made several interesting discoveries. One was the fact that we had approximately 30 guests, which was the perfect number - not too crowded, or too loud! It was just the right number as we were able to spend time with and to enjoy each person who attended.

Each month we try to feature the wines of a different country. November we focused on Mexican wines and Mike and I picked Italian for December. Big mistake there - you can find the odd bottle of Italian wine in Mazatlan, but it is expensive, and invariably red. Which of course doesn't work at all if you prefer white wine. This was a somewhat frustrating discovery as the invitations had been sent out before we realized the problem, but, this is Mexico, not big deal, we just reissued the invitations and told everyone to just bring along a 'favourite' wine to share!

Then we started the hunt for wine glasses! We have been to some tastings where the hosts actually had enough glasses for all of us, but that is definitely not the case here at the Casita. Actually, I don't have that many glasses in Canada either. Once again, we figured, no problem. We would provide plastic wine glasses and those who didn't wish to use plastic could bring their own "glass" glasses. We've done this at previous tastings. Another suprise - there is not a plastic wine glass to be had in this city, at least that we could find. We checked Mega, Soriana and Leys (the biggest grocery chains in town). We also wandered the aisles of Walmart as we were told they always have plastic glasses. Not this time, not a plastic wine glass in sight. We also scoured the streets in Centro checking out every party/kitchen supply store we could find. No luck there either.

But everything always seems to work out in Mazatlan. Mike and I were walking home from the market a few days ago and stumbled across a little party rental store and, eureka, they had wine glasses for rent. So, for 3 pesos a glass we rented 50 wine glasses (that's around $12.00 for the lot) and now everyone had a real glass to use.

We borrowed a table for the appetizers, collected a few extra chairs and set everything up on the terrace. The evenings have been a bit chilly lately, but we lucked in as the weather on the evening of our "Tasting" was lovely. It was a wonderful evening and everything went perfectly.

We were tired as it was a lot of work getting set up, but it was worth it! We pretty much finished the tidy up after everyone left and moved the furniture back into place the next morning. After washing 30 wine glasses Sunday evening, it was just time to make a cup of tea and settle down with a book!

Fireworks

2010-12-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

This year is 12th year of the Mazatlan Marathon, and in true Mexican fashion, the event was marked by a huge fireworks display along the Malecon. There were approximately 12 stations set up along the beach and the display was truly stellar.

We joined a group of friends for dinner at Loco Lupes, one of our favourite beach Palapas and then moved down to the sand to watch the show. It was spectacular, perhaps even more so because they were straight above us!

I would love to say that I took these photographs, but I'll be honest, I didn't! I did try, but photographing fireworks is just way too difficult. I did get some lovely shots of the smoke and actually managed to capture the odd shot where you could see colour way down in the corner, but generally speaking, my pictures were not wildly successful this time.

See what I mean? However, the internet is a wonderful thing. These were not our fireworks, but they looked just like this.

Abi's Day at the Spa

2010-11-21T06:46:00.000-08:00

The household humans said that I was starting to look a bit rough around the edges and decided that it was high time I had my hair cut. I thought I looked perfectly okay, but apparently I was starting to resemble a sheep dog and they insisted it was time for the big chop.

I really hate getting my hair cut. I don't like being left behind at the groomers, and I really detest that razor thing. I mean, really, I'm a blonde, my hair is curly, I'm really skinny, I do not look my best when I've been shaved bald!

So, Mum and Dad made some phone calls when we arrived here in Mazatlan, and one of Mum's friends recommended a really really nice lady, who came right into our house to give me a hair cut. I was still a little nervous about the whole thing but it worked out really well. She even let me sit on Mum's lap for part of it (I just hate getting my feet and tummy done and I got a bit fidgety for that part).

I had a bath too and then the nice lady and I sat on the floor while she fluffed me up with the hair dryer. Now, normally I would rather hang out with a chihuahua than have someone come near me with a dryer but this wasn't bad at all. In fact, I sort of enjoyed it! I was exhausted after the whole experience though, and had to have a bit of a siesta to recuperate.

Mum and Dad and their friends refer to my groomer as the "Dog Whisperer". I don't get it, but I sure do like her!

By the way, hope I didn't offend anyone there. I just don't care for chihuahuas. They yap at me and just get me all flustered. Give me a Great Dane any day!

Some of the Reasons

2010-11-20T06:17:00.000-08:00

There are so many reasons why we decided to move to Mazatlan for the winters, but to be completely, totally honest one of the main ones was this:

Oh yes, this was on the front page of yesterday's paper - the first snow of season. And apparently, there was lots of it!

Now, while this was happening in Winnipeg, Mike and I were sitting at the Puerto Viejo enjoying a marguerita, marvelling over yet another perfect sunset. We don't drink margueritas every day, by the way, but always stop off at the P.V. after I finish my weekly shift at the library. It's tradition! The sunsets are "every day" however, and I never tire of them.

After seeing the paper in the morning, it really did seem like a good day to head to the beach, so off we went to Stone Island. We've been busy since we arrived, and this was our first chance to head over to one of our favourite spots in Mazatlan and it really did seem like the perfect moment.

Was the decision to move to Mazatlan a tough one? No, it was not too hard at all!

Aero Fest 2010

2010-11-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

For the third consecutive, Mazatlan was host to Aero Fest 2010, an event we had somehow missed during our previous visits. How could this have happened? Beats me, but this year, we made sure we were on the beach to watch the action.

Aero Fest is a 2 day extravaganza during which what would appear to be perfectly sane, normal men attach themselves to giant motors and gliders and then proceed to fly through the air, swooping like birds and at times buzzing the spectators on the beach.

We missed the previous shows and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at this one.

This poor pilot lost a propeller, but luckily was close to the ground and landed safely, if somewhat sloppily, in the water at the edge of the beach. He's smiling, so I'm guessing that whatever broke can be repaired. Or, maybe, he's just happy to be alive!

These atheletes really are 'loco'!!!!

We Made It!!!

2010-11-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go?

I had every intention of posting a least once or twice more before we left Winnipeg, but that certainly didn't happen. Like I said, where does the time go???

As usual, the last few weeks were a bit chaotic. Emptying the fridge was a challenge but we managed to do it. When we were down to one egg and a half a carrot, we knew it was time to leave. The leaves on the ground were another sign that it was definitely time to hit the road.

There were boxes and bags piled everywhere and of course, we kept finding more items that we felt we really 'had' to bring. Eventually it got to the point where we simply needed to start removing things from the pile. There is just so much room in the trunk of the car (and, of course, Abi gets the back seat all to herself).

(She did have to share the seat with the lounge chair pads and a few pillows, but that apparently was not a problem!)

I had planned to bring a microwave for the Library but it just was not going to fit, so it was left behind, along with several pairs of shoes! Darn, and I really liked those shoes. Oh well - they'll be there waiting for me in the Spring and perhaps we'll have room for the microwave next trip.

The drive down was uneventful, although the weather the first day was dreadful. It was pouring rain when we left, which turned into sleet, and the wind was just howling. We heard on the radio that it hit up to 80mph in the Dakotas and we saw two large semi-trailers on their sides along the highway. The winds were so strong they had just tipped over, like dinky-toys. Day One was long, and exhausting for Mike as he had to fight the wind every minute, but we made it to Yankton, S. Dakota, still in piece and woke up the next morning to clear skies, and most importantly, no wind!!! We did discover that cold blustery days are perfect for crossing the border, however. It was so frigid, and nasty that they basically just waved us through. It appeared that no one was prepared to weather the storm and come outside to check the trunk. Perfect!

And then, we drove, and drove, and drove.... No offence to the five other States we drive through, but it is always such a relief to arrive in New Mexico and Arizona and have something new to look at.

We love this place - it has a name, darned if I know what it is, we just refer to it as Boulder Alley and look forward to it every year.

In Nogales, Arizona, we met up with a group to do the convoy-thing through Mexico to Mazatlan. There have been reports of incidents along the highway, but, as usual, we just sailed through with no problems at all. I am sure the reports are true, but we certainly have never had the slightest difficuly in either crossing the border or making the 2 day drive to Maz and won't hesitate to make the drive again. The one nice thing about being part of a group is having different people to talk to when you're out of the cars and as usual we had lots of laughs during our pit stops. We need to make lots of stops - we use Abi as the excuse, but to be truthful, we're just so sick of the car by that point that we have to stop regularly!

So, we are finally back home in Mazatlan and blissfully happy.

The first few days are always hectic - unpacking and rearranging - but everything we brought down seems to have found it's spot in the Casita and I think I finally have the kitchen reorganized to my liking. The Casita, as usual, was spotlessly clean when we arrived and it felt like home the minute we walked in the door.

Monday was my first day back at the Library and Mike has joined the boys for their regular Monday Cantina Lunch. Today he is golfing. We think Tuesday will probably be his regular golf day and starting next week I'll be meeting with a camera group on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday is Mike's Beans and Beer Lunch (he'll tell you about that later!) and we've penciled in Thursdays for Beach Day. The pages on the calendar are filling up!

It is wonderful to be back. Our Mexican neighbours have welcomed us home with open arms and everytime we leave the house, we run into someone we know. The weather has been perfect every day we've been here. I'm even getting attached to the rooster who lives up the street - the one who can't tell time and starts his cockadoodledoo routine very early in the morning and keeps it up all day long!

So, more later. I need to get cleaned up so that I can take the camera for a walk - these are pretty boring with no pictures!

The Countdown

2010-10-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

So, the question is, am I excited, or filled with panic? We have 23 sleeps til we leave for Mazatlan. Today is almost over, so we won't count that. That means we have 22 days left. Twenty-two days is one day short of three weeks, which I think means I could be in panic mode!

It's funny, this is the third time we've done this, you'd think it would be easy by now, especially since I leave all the hard stuff, like insurance and hotel reservations to Mike. He contacts the health care providers, makes the arrangments for the cars, contacts the phone company, etc etc etc.

Really, all I have to do is pack the clothes and empty out the fridge. Which reminds me, I really must decide which recipes to bring with me (and to gather up the appropriate herbs and seasonings that we might not be able find in Maz). Oops, the list is getting longer as I think of all the other things we plan to bring along - like the cushions for the loungers which have been hiding under the bed all summer and the box of candles to use on the terrace in the evenings.

Abi needs to go to the vet for her 'Good Health Certificate', the Christmas shopping has to be finished and mailed before we leave and I need to get my hair cut ... I haven't even made a firm decision on the shoes yet!!!!

So, time to get organized and focused, sitting here listening to music (new CD - Vagabond by Spencer Day) and fretting isn't getting anything done. Off I go to read recipes (and decide what we're having for dinner while I'm at it!) On the way downstairs I think I'll stop and delete at least one pair of shoes from the 'take with me' pile.

It will all get done, we'll be in Maz on Nov. 1 and we can't wait!!!!!

St. Boniface

2010-09-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to the St. Boniface Hospital this week, preparing to give yet more blood before my annual visit with my oncologist, and decided to take a break and play tourist again.

Known as Winnipeg's French Quarter, St. Boniface is the largest francophone community in Western Canada. Winnipeg actually has the largest speaking French population of any Canadian city outside of Quebec.

The parish of St. Boniface was established in 1818, became a town in 1883 and was declared a city in 1908. St. Boniface remained an independent city until 1970, when it was attached to the City of Winnipeg. The parish opened doors for settlement in Western Canada, attracting primarily French-Canadians and workers from the North West Company with mixed European and native backgrounds.

St. Boniface has made an effort to preserve its heritage and French is seen on street signs and is heard in shops and businesses. Over half of the population in St. Boniface is bilingual and some claim to speak French exclusively. I guess that would work, as long as they didn't leave St. B.!

It is ironic, considering the area's French roots, that the original parish was named "St. Boniface" in honour of an eighth-century English-born missionary who became the patron saint of Germanic people.

This dramatic facade is all that is left of the original St. Boniface Cathedral. The St. Boniface Basilica was built in 1908, and ravaged by a devastating fire in 1968. Five cathedrals have stood on the site, the first being built in 1832. The present cathedral was completed and blessed in 1972 and incorporates the sacristy, facade and walls of the former Basilica.

The cemetary, which is the the oldest Catholic cemetary in Western Canada, includes the graves of many important Manitoba figures, including Metis Leader and founder of Manitoba, Louis Riel.

Louis Riel's gravesite has undoubtedly been photographed hundreds of times, so I decided instead to focus my attention elsewhere. One of the oldest headstones I found was dated 1848.

And then I noticed this one. It does look odd, cars parked on the street and head stones so old the dates are illegible.

All right, I admit it! Cemetaries fascinate me!!

Memory Lane

2010-09-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few things I rediscovered on my visit to Clyde Forks .... and couldn't resist capturing on the camera!

The outhouse my Grandpa built

the fence

and the woodshed - still in use, unlike the outhouse!

Someone Grandma and Grandpa knew would have referred to this as the Root Cellar, but since the 'renovations' it has been rechristened The Hobbit House, aka the Hippie Hotel!

And then there was was the School Bus, parked down the hill from the Cemetary ... just imagine the stories that bus could tell!!!!

Autumn is my favourite colour

2010-09-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

I was a bit disappointed when I visted my Mum last week, as I was just a bit too early for the beautiful fall colours in the Ottawa Valley. They had an amazing summer and it just hasn't been cold enough yet for the leaves to really start changing.

I did, however, manage to find the start of some stunning fall foliage on my wanders through the country side.

I was amazed to discover colours at home in Winnipeg as well. It's been plenty cold enough here!!

We don`t usually see this amount of variation in leaf colour in Manitoba in the autumn and so, of course, the camera and I went for a walk.

Abi came along, but apparently the smells on the ground were far more interesting than the leaves on the trees!

The Ottawa Valley

2010-09-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I flew to Ontario to spend a few days with my Mum. I visited with her shortly after we arrived home in the spring, but wanted to spend a bit more time with her before we headed south again, to our other home, in Mazatlan. This visit was special for Mum, as my brother, who lives in Banff, Alberta, was able to join us.

My parents were both born and raised in the Ottawa Valley. My father, however, had a lifelong career in the Canadian Air Force and after their marriage they travelled far and wide (including four wonderful years in Germany) and it was not until his final posting to DND Headquarters in Ottawa that they found themselves close to 'home base' again.

I really don't think they expected it, after all their travels, but after Dad's retirement, they bought a home in Almonte, a lovely little town in the Ottawa Valley. I seem to remember some talk about the Annapolis Valley, in Nova Scotia, which was our posting after Germany, but there was one final move for them, to Ottawa, and I guess the Valley just felt like home.

Mum was raised on a farm just outside of Almonte, an hour outside Ottawa, and attended High School in town. My Dad was born and raised in a very tiny village, Clyde Forks, about an hour from Almonte. Mum and Dad didn't meet until after the War, in Ottawa. We've heard stories about how our grandfathers met at one point. Sure wish I knew the details of that visit as their lives were worlds apart it the '30s!

Almonte and Clyde Forks were where we went for summer holidays. We would spend 2 weeks at the "Farm" and then another 2 weeks at the "Forks". I guess the Valley felt like, and still does, a little bit like 'home base' for us as well. I refuse to use the term Air Force Brats, but I guess we were. Home was where our family was from, even if we had never lived there. Actually, in retrospect, home was where Mum and Dad lived, even after I grew up, moved to another Province and got married!

My brother and I decided to play 'tourist' one day and headed out with our cameras. My Mum's parents sold the homestead where she was born and raised and moved into Almonte in the 70's and although I would have loved to make the trek out to see the farm, Mum said that it has changed so much we wouldn't recognise it. Next visit, I'm heading out the Golden Line anyway to see if I can find it! As we weren't sure exactly how to get back out to the farm, we explored Almonte and made the drive out into the country to visit Clyde Forks once again.

Almonte was established in 1819 and is a perfect example of an Ottawa Valley town. The architecture and homes are outstanding. The Falls are an integral part of the town and have provided a source of power since it's inception.

Many of the homes in Almonte are truly lovely. These are a few of my favourites.

Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, was born in Ramsay Township, just outside of Almonte, in 1891.

Almonte was a booming metropolis compared to Clyde Forks. When Dad called the Forks home the population might have totalled 100. The road into town was almost impassable in the winter and the hardy Scottish folks who settled there in the mid 1880s supported themselves by working at the lumber mill, or hunting, fishing and trapping. The village is surrounded on three sides by water (the Clyde River) and although it was originally accesible by railway, the line has line been removed, or covered to form a road, of sorts.

The last time I visited Clyde Forks, with my Dad, there were perhaps 2 occupied houses. My brother and I were shocked, and so pleased, to find on our visit this year that people are returning to the village. I think Dad would be happy as well.

Clyde Forks is one of the most isolated and beautiful places I have ever been to. I could never live there, but I also can't wait to go back.

Murals

2010-09-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Winnipeg gets it's fair share of bad press and we over the years we have learned to develop a sense of humour. To be honest, the jokes about the wind, the nasty cold snowy winters, and, of course, the mosquitos are actually based on true facts, and some of of the jokes really are funny. However, if you don't live in Winnipeg, you are not allowed to laugh! Ever!!

We have also learned to deal with the comments about the fact that we spray regularly to keep those pesky "m-critters' under control. I'm as conscious as anyone about pesticides etc. but to be honest, I dare anyone to survive a summer evening in the 'Peg without the regular visits from the midnight 'spraying troups'. (I have a few friends who would disagree, but I don't think they like to sit outside as much as we do. I also hope they don't don't read this part of the post!!). Right now, to be honest, we are more concerned about the wasps. They are everywhere and they are mean and nasty.

Although Winnipeg is not my 'home town' I have lived here for many years and this summer I am finally discovering some new things about my adopted home. I think perhaps my eyes have been opened after the months spent in Mexico (and maybe perhaps by my on-going quest to find things to do that are 'free'!!)

I have come realize that every city has it's art and the walls of Winnipeg are overflowing with an endless amount of Canadian talent. I would like to say that I managed to capture all of these images myself, but that would just not be true. Winnipeg is a large city and filling the gas tank on the car would have truly messed up the quest to find interesting things, without spending money.

These are just a few samples of what is happening on the 'Walls of Winnipeg". Some are mine, and some I 'borrowed' from a wonderful site themuralsofwinnipeg.com.

Please, feel free to browse.

Of course, I will put gas in the car tomorrow. We need groceries and that is a totally different issue!

Winnie

2010-08-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to mention the connection between everyone's very favourite bear, Winnie the Pooh, and Winnipeg!

Winnie the Pooh, immortalized in the delightful series of books by A.A. Milne, was modeled after a real black bear in the London Zoo.

In 1914, while en route to England during the First World War, Colonel Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian with the Fort Garry Horse Militia purchased an orphaned black bear cub for $20.00 from a trapper in White River, Ontario. Winnie, the little black bear, became the regiment mascot and when the Fort Garry Horse were shipped out, Winnie was surreptitiously brought along. Winnie, by the way, was named after the Colonel's hometown of Winnipeg.

Winnie was left at the London Zoo while Colonel Colbourn and his unit were in France and he was eventually gifted to the Zoo, where he captured the hearts of many children, including that of Christopher Robin, A.A. Milne's son.

The only known oil painting of Winnie the Pooh by Ernest H. Shepard, the original illustrator for the books, is now hanging in a gallery in Winnipeg. The painting was originally commissioned for a tea shop in Bristol England, called Pooh Corner, and remained there for 10 years. In 2000, the painting was offered for sale at auction in London and a group of citizens spearheaded the effort to acquire the painting and move it to Winnipeg. The support included donations from private citizens, corporations and all three levels of government and was the campaign was a success.

The painting is ours, and Winnie is home again!

Flowers

2010-08-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

The leaves have started to fall from some of the trees in the neighbourhood and any day now we'll start hearing the geese, getting ready to head south for the winter. Hmmm, just like us, I guess!

I took the camera with me on an Abi stroll recently and noticed how lovely the flowers were in one of the beds on the property. My friend is an avid gardener and has worked on this bed for years and, unlike me, knows the name of each and every flower she has planted.

They were so pretty I just felt like sharing them.

Apples

2010-08-30T11:39:00.001-07:00

It looks like the weatherman, or someone in power anyway, read my last post and took pity on us. We have actually had lovely weather, most of the time, for the last week or so. This is late August, however, and there is a hint of something in the air. The mornings are cooler now and even though it can still be steamy during the day the heat is usually gone by bedtime and we can sleep with the windows wide open. Actually, most of our neighbours think we're crazy as we rarely turn the air on anyway!

Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year and as soon as I sense the crispness in the air something lures me into the kitchen. I don't understand it, but it seems like I have this overpowering mother-earth urge to cook for the whole month of September and this year I've made a head start.

While taking Abi out for her daily stroll last week I noticed that the apple trees on our property have had a bumper crop this year. I have to confess, we've lived in the development for 3 years and this first time I've really noticed the trees. Guess we're called Apple Lane for a reason!

All those lovely apples, just waiting to be picked - I couldn't resist and headed back with a basket to carry my haul home. I was so excited; I was going to make apple jelly! The fact that I haven't made apple jelly in over 20 years was not going to deter me. After all, you can learn how to do anything on the Net.

It was an adventure and my first batch might have been more of a success if I had followed the instructions a bit more closely. After a day of simmering, straining and boiling, I ended up with 3 lovely, albiet tiny, jars of Apple Jam. Not Jelly. No way was this Jelly. It is definitely very dark, very rich, Apple Jam.

So, off to the tree I went again and then back into the kitchen for more of the same - simmer, strain, boil.

And voila, it worked. I made Jelly!!!

I was tempted to make one final batch, but realized I've used up all the empty jars in the cupboard. Plus, I have no idea what to do with all this jelly now that I've made it. Guess I'll just keep giving it away!

By the way, the kitchen was a bit sticky by the time I was finished with this little project, but the house did have the most amazing aroma for days after!!!

Tell us it's not OVER????

2010-08-15T15:18:00.001-07:00

It seemed like we waited for the longest time for summer to arrive.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't all that long, but we had just arrived back from our winter home in Mazatlan and we were ready, in summer mode, shorts, T's and flip flops ready to go, and it seemed like forever. Horror stories of the wait for summer exagerate with each telling - it was cold, it rained for endless days, the rivers flooded, it was the worst spring on record, etc. etc. Actually, it was, now that I think about it!

However, as happens every summer, finally the sun broke through the clouds, the temperature rose, the flowers bloomed and the mosquitoes arrived. Hey, we live in Manitoba, we're tough, we can deal with the odd mosquito! We were all just so darned happy that it was summer!!!!! Mike set out to the golf course every day(where he has had a few rather itchy run-ins with the poison ivy patches and of course, the infamous, mosquitos). I opened every window in the house and amazed the neighbours with our resistance to air conditioning.

The last few weeks have been tough, air conditioning wise. It has been hot hot hot and even more humid humid humid. We keep track and we have had days here in Winnipeg that have been far hotter and more humid than those in Maz. (That means "Winterpeg' comments are absolutely no longer accepted).

However, all good things must apparently come to an end. Mike's club held their annual Men's Club Championship this past weekend and two sets of friends headed out to the "lake". I lhad unch with my son on Saturday and planned to explore Osborne Village (his part of town and well worth a wander) and then thought perhaps I would just take my book and spend the rest of the weekend at the pool.

Silly me. Silly us.

It was absolutely dreadful all weekend. Saturday was not too bad, Mike and the 'boys' managed to get in the day's round of golf and Jeff and I dodged the raindrops to visit his local Mexican restuarant for a delicious lunch. It was starting to seriously rain by the time we were finished our meal, so we gave up, I rescheduled my camera trip through the Village, and we just walked, rather quickly, back to his apartment. Much like Mike walked the course, very quickly, dodging yet more rain drops.

Sunday was truly a classic. It rained, off and on, all day. There was no sun. It was darned chilly. Mike bundled up in the early morning hours and headed to the course but they finally gave up and postponed the last day of tournament, it was just too wet. One set of friends arrived home from their visit to the family cottage, looking rather damp and wilted. The others are away for a full week and we haven't seen them. I hope they brought lots of books with them, and sweaters.

It is now Tuesday, August 17th. It is still cold, grey and wet. I wore a jacket this afternoon when I took Abi for her stroll around the neighbourhood; if it gets much chillier we're going to have to dig out her sweater. Did I mention the high today is somewhere around 15 or 16?

I know it`s rainy in Maz right now, but at least it`s warm!

How many days do we have til we leave to head back?? Right now, too many!!!!!!!!!

Folklorama

2010-08-15T14:40:00.001-07:00

Folklorama is the largest and longest-running festival of its kind in the world, a fact acknowledged by the International Council of Organizations for Folklore Festivals and Folk Art. It is organized by the Folk Arts Council of Winnipeg and is an annual event that runs for two weeks each August, this year from the 1st til the 14th. Visitors to the festival are invited to sample exotic cuisine and celebrate the cultural and ethnic heritage of people from dozens of countries who have made Winnipeg their home. Each country has an assigned venue, known as a pavilion.

Folklorama was first held in August, 1970, and was originally intended to be a one-time occurrence in celebration of Manitoba's centennial. It was such a success, however, that it has become a much anticipated annual event. The first festival was only a week long and featured 21 different cultures. This year 43 pavilions are being presented, with half operating in week one and half in week two of the festival. Each pavilion presents a show featuring the song and dance of their culture, along with trademark ethnic cuisine and a cultural display and most pavilions also provide imported alcohol from their feature country.

We have made Folklorama an annual event and attend several of the Pavilions each year. Last year we tried something different, the “VIP World Tour”, visiting Russia, Korea and Mexico in one evening, and it was wonderful. We were picked up and delivered by bus to the three pavilions, by-passing the line ups to enter. We had reserved seating, a 'tour guide' and full table service which was so much more relaxing than standing in yet another line to pick up our snacks and beverages. It is possible to visit 3 pavilions in an evening, but it does mean driving from one to another, hunting for a parking spot, etc. (and of course, also worrying about those national 'beverages' that are offered at each pavilion. It costs a little bit more to take the “World Tour”, but is well worth the few extra dollars spent!

This year we decided to do the World Tour again, visiting Columbia, Celtic Ireland and Scotland.

We started our tour at the Columbian Pavilion. This is the first year for this Pavilion and they did a marvelous job. We thoroughly enjoyed the appetizer, Empanadas, and Refajo, a mixture of Columbian Beer and pop was light and refreshing and just perfect for the evening, which was extremely hot and humid. The entertainment was provided by the Compania de danza Orrkeseos, a dance troup imported from Bogata, and also by a charming troup of local children. We all know about Columbian coffee, but we also learned that Columbia is one of the largest flower exporters in the world (#1 for carnations). The people running the paviliion were a delight, friendly and so anxious to share the culture of their wonderful country. Mike and I traveled to Columbia many years ago, visiting Santa Marta and Cartegna, and it was a pleasure to revive the memories of our adventures.

We then traveled on to the Celtic Ireland Pavilion, one of the most popular on the tour, with reason. The 'show' was 45 minutes long, featuring Riverdance style dancers from the Brady Academy of Irish Dance and several performances by an amazingly talented local musician, Sierra Noble. The costumes worn by the dancers are magnificent, and expensive! Used costumes start at $400.00, new at $3,000.00! Dinner, by the way, was classic Irish pub fare, meat pies and mashed potatoes. We also were informed that the Pavilion sells more Guinness in one week than any single Winnipeg bar does in a year! Not too much of a surprise there - the Pavilion was not air-conditioned, and it was hot!!!!

We finished off the evening in Scotland, where we greeted by the Winnipeg City Police Pipe Band. The Scottish Pavilion has non-stop action and the Pipe Band was not part of the on-stage show but were there to keep the crowd entertained between shows and they did a fantastic job. Of course, it helps you like the sound of bag pipes, which I do! I attempted to download a video, but have given up. Oh well, I pretty sure everyone knows what bag pipes sound like! After a dessert of Scottish shortcake and trifle, and entertainment provided by the Ena Sutton Highland Dancers and the Lork Selkirk Boys Band (yes, more Bag Pipes!) as well as a crew of very talented, energetic local musicians, we moved into the Cultural Display area, which thankfully was air conditioned because by this point in the evening we were somewhat wilted. I found the "world-famous" Elliott tartan on the tartan display boards, and worked my way through several of the books on display, leaving them all open to the page featuring the Elliott clan. Guess I should mention that my maiden name was Elliott and although the family has been in Canada for many hundred of years, we originated in Scotland (and even have our own castle!)

It was a great evening and we can't wait to do it all again next year!

Frustrations

2010-08-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have been valiently attempting to upload a video to attach to a post describing our visit to Folklorama this week. However, it is not working!!!!!!!!!!!! While waiting for the silly thing to upload, I have had my shower and tidied up, made the beds, been to the library to return my slightly overdue books, popped into the grocery store for romaine for a salad for dinner and the dollar store for 'puppy scoop' bags, cleaned my silverware, which for some reason tarnished horribly in the dishwasher yesterday, and freshened up the flowers in the living room. I also tidied up the bulletin board which was staring me in the face while I attempted to upload the video - again - and discovered this, something I printed years ago and decided was important enough to keep.

LIFE SHOULD NOT BE A JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE WITH THE INTENTION OF ARRIVING SAFELY IN AN ATTRACTIVE AND WELL PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN SIDEWAYS, CHOCOLATE IN ONE HAND, WINE IN THE OTHER, BODY THOROUGHLY USED UP, TOTALLY WORN OUT AND SCREAMING 'WHO HOO', WHAT A RIDE!

I am now going to have lunch, possibly a glass of wine and a chocolate chip cookie.

The Folklorama post will follow, possibly without the video!

The Forks

2010-08-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mike and I celebrated our Anniversary last weekend (lots and lots of years) and couldn't really decide what to do. I wanted to go out for dinner, Mike suggested ordering in Chinese. I really like Chinese, we haven't had any since we arrived home in the spring, it was eating at home but I didn't have to cook anything, or do dishes - Chinese it was.

However, it was a truly lovely summer day, far too nice to stay at home (waiting til it was time to order dinner) so off we went to see what else we could do for free in Winnipeg.

We ended up at the Forks. (Here comes the history lesson ...)

The Forks, named because of its position where the Assiniboine River flows into the Red River, is an expanse of riverside property in the heart of downtown Winnipeg. Archaeological digs carried out at the site have unearthed a 6,000 year old hearth, catfish bones and stone flake tools. These discoveries prove that Aboriginal groups were active at the Forks thousands of years ago and have provided evidence that Akoda(Assiniboins), Cree, Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) and Dakota were all visitors to the site. The Forks was the hub of the fur trade until the 1880s, when grain production took over as western Canada's principal industry. Beginning in 1886, the Forks became one of the key sites of early railroad development on the Prairies. The Forks has been meeting place for thousands of years and it is the city's most popular gathering place, attracting nearly four million visitors each year. It is by far Winnipeg's number one tourist attraction.

One of our favourite places at The Forks is the Oodena Celebration Circle, which commemorates Manitoba's First Nations people. It is a shallow, bowl-like platform surrounded by a set of astronomically arranged metal structures that look like fanciful sci-fi creatures! Years ago we sat on the grass and watched a couple being married in the middle of the circle. Very cool!

There is so much to see and do. We spent ages exploring the market and I had to stop to say hi to one of my favourite bears. He just makes me smile (some of the tshirts in this shop made me laugh out loud!)

We also climbed the stairs to the observation tower. There is an elevator, but we're tough, we live on Ice Box Hill in Mazatlan, we can handle stairs. Well, that's what I kept telling myself as we climbed and climbed and climbed. The view, however, is worth it!!

Some of the other Forks attractions include the Festival Park Stage, the site of many summer concerts (the Queen was there for one earlier in the summer), The Manitoba Children's Museum (where we spent endless hours when our son was young) and the new Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

In summer, you can stroll on the river walks along the Red and Assiniboine rivers, picnic by the riverside, and catch water buses to other parts of the city.

In winter, there's free public skating on outdoor artificial ice or along groomed river trails. Winnipeg, by the way, has the longest outdoor skating rink in the world. In January 2008, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized The Forks as the home of the longest skating rink in the world (8.54-kilometres) beating out the 7.8-kilometre long rink on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. We admit The Rideau Canal still holds the world record for the world's largest outdoor rink (as measured by total area) by we're the longest!

The river floods regularly - if you look closely you can see the blue line on the wall which marks the height of the river after one of the worst.

Canada's newest national museum, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is next door to the Forks and is still under construction but there are guided tours around the perimeter of the Museum construction site. It's huge, could be interesting, I wonder if they're free?

Free Downtown Spirit buses connect The Forks to the rest of downtown Winnipeg from beside Forks Market but we drove and parked free for 3 hours. I'll be honest here, it was for more than 3 hours! We didn't mean to be there for so long, but after wandering around for several hours, we stopped for a drink and appetizer at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and ran into a friend of Mike's from his working days. It was a beautiful day, it was fun to catch up with old acquaintances, one thing led to another, and we we sat there for hours.

So, the parking was free, but we did have to pay for the pitcher of mojitos and several cervazas!!

Oh, and the Dragon Palace Chinese dinner was as good as it always is, and when it arrived we realized, as usual, we had ordered enough for dinner on Saturday night and Sunday night as well!

Faces Around Town

2010-07-23T14:35:00.001-07:00

Anyone who has spent any time at all in Mazatlan is familiar with the sculptures, especially the ones along the Malecon.

In my wanderings around the grounds of The Legislative Buildings recently I found several interesting faces, some I was familiar with and some I was not.

There was good old Queen Victoria, everyone knows her!

and Louis Riel, we know him too.

The Earl of Dufferin

and James Wolfe

might not be as well known so I cheated and took a photo of the plaques as well.

but Taras Shevchenko, who was he???? I had to look him up. How did we ever live without Google?????????????

Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko was a Ukrainian poet, artist and humanist. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko also wrote in Russian and left many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator. There are monuments to him all over the world - even one here in Manitoba!

The sculpture of Nellie McClung and the Famous Five was unvieled the week before my visit. I'm sure all the women who are reading this know who Nellie McClung is, but just in case, I took a few extra photos (good idea because I'm feeling lazy)

My favourite faces were on the residents of 'Bear Park".

Sixty-two polar bears were displayed on Broadway Avenue, starting in front of the Legislature and continuing to Portage Avenue, throughout the summer of 2006. The bears were a fund raiser for CancerCare Manitoba and over $500,000.00 was raised, $320,000.00 in the first few weeks of the exhibit alone. Each concrete bear is over six feet tall and was given a unique identity by a local artist. Polar bears were chosen for the project based on the fact that Manitoba is well known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World, and because Winnipeg is the original home of Winnie the Pooh. Eighteen of the bears now live in the Bear Park behind the Legislative Buildings and the balance have been distributed around the city.

I love the bears!

The Two Minute Rule

2010-07-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

When I was still working, my boss shared the "Two Minute Rule" with me. Basically, when you think of something that needs to be done, go ahead and do it. It will probably only take two minutes (hence the name of the "Rule") and if you don't do it, chances are you'll forget and it won't get done at all.

Well, he was right. I was working on my post about the Legislative Buildings and was rambling on about the Masonic codes and messages hidden within the building and detailed in the book, 'The Hermetic Code', but darned if I could remember the name of the author of the book. I'll just put in a few xxx's I thought to myself and then before I publish the post, I'll look up the name. Unh hunh, sure you will. It wasn't until my husband came home and read my latest efforts that I realized I'd forgotten to check and edit.

The "Two Minute Rule" is not to be taken lightly.

The author's name, by the way, is Frank Albo. He is a Research Fellow at the University of Winnipeg and a specialist in ancient Near Eastern religions and Western esoteric traditions. He is presently a Huygens scholar in the Department of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam and a doctoral candidate in the History of Architecture at the University of Cambridge, UK.

(I lifted part of that from the Internet - and it took less than Two Minutes!!!!!!)

The Golden Boy

2010-07-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

As part of my on-going quest to see what I can do for free this summer, and because the Queen was coming to town, I decided it was high time I explored our Legistlative Building. We've lived in Winnipeg for almost 20 years and I've never been! So, once again, I rounded up a friend and set off with the camera.

The Legislative Building is located in the south part of downtown Winnipeg on 30 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. Government House, residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, is located on the southeast corner of the grounds. The Assiniboine River, once a route used by fur traders and explorers, forms the southern boundary.

The river was really high when we were there and the dock was under water - and I doubt the tour boats were around when the building was under construction!

The other three boundaries are formed by Osborne Street on the west, Broadway Avenue to the north and Kennedy Street on the east.

Excavation of the "Ledge" began in 1913. By the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, walls were beginning to take shape above the foundation, but a shortage of material, labour and funds delayed construction to such an extent that the building was not ready for partial occupancy until 1919, well after the end of the war. On July 15, 1920, the province's 50th anniversary date, opening ceremonies were performed by Sir James Aikins, then Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. (Just a bit of history to make reading all this semi-worthwhile!)

The Building is actually steeped in mystery!

Many of the designs in the building are repeated. The Grecian key, as well as other symbols of eternity, such as the wave or running dog pattern and the circle motif, are found throughout the interior and the exterior of the building.

Also repeated throughout the building is the number 13, as seen in the number of bulbs in the Roman Standard Lamps that help light the Rotunda. Some believe the number symbolized luck for the ancient Egyptians. Others believe the number holds symbolic importance to freemasons, whose members were, no doubt, involved in the design and construction of the Legislative Building. Frank Albo, who wrote the book, The Hermetic Code, a best seller in Manitoba, has attempted to explain the trail of secret messages and symbols concealed in the architecture of the building. Shades of Dan Brown!!!! Others believe such repetition is because ancient Romans felt the number 13 to be bad luck and hoped that honouring the number was the way to escape its curse. Most agree it is an intriguing but unsolvable mystery. (Another history lesson)

Guided tours of the building are available, however the tour costs just under $40.00 (and just over $50.00 if you want a copy of the book) and as I am trying to do this without spending any money, I just wandered on my own. I have put the book on my 'want to read' list.

The 'high' point of my self guided tour was, of course, the Golden Boy. Here comes the history lesson again!

The Golden Boy, a magnificently gilded 5.25M (17.2-foot) figure, is probably Manitoba's best known symbol. Embodying the spirit of enterprise and eternal youth, he is poised atop the dome of the building. He faces the north, with its mineral resources, fish, forest, furs, hydroelectric power and seaport, where his province's future lies.

The boy is a runner, like the messengers in Greek mythology. He carries a sheaf of golden grain in his left arm, while his right hand holds high a torch, calling youth to enter the race. The top of his torch is 77 metres (255 feet) above ground and before the more recent construction of high-rise buildings that today form Winnipeg's skyline, it was the highest point in the city.

The figure was sculpted by Charles Gardet of Paris, and cast in 1918 at the Barbidienne foundry in France. The foundry was partially destroyed by bombs during the First World War, but the Golden Boy emerged unharmed. The figure was rushed to a seaport and put aboard a French ship carrying wheat. Before the ship could put out to sea, it was commandeered for the transport of troops.

The boy lay in the hold of the ship, travelling many miles, constantly in danger. When the war was over, the figure arrived at Halifax and was shipped to Winnipeg and finally hoisted to the top of Manitoba's then-new Legislative Building.

The Golden Boy was in place for the official opening of the Legislative Building in 1920. Except for several months during 2002, when workers lowered the Golden Boy from the dome for repair and refurbishing, he has stood proud as a symbol for all Manitobans.

I even sumbled across a piece of Mexico in the building - an extraordinary artwork donated to the Province of Manitoba by the State of Jalisco!

Enough with the history lesson. By the way, I'm going to be honest - I plagerized some of the history part - I honestly didn't already know all of this - and the close up of the Golden Boy was taken in the Gift Shop (there are Gift Shops everywhere!) Apparently climbing to the roof top of the Legislative Building is frowned upon.