Uncorked in Mazatlan

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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!!!!!