Mazatlan Sunsets

Well it's that time again for the post on sunsets. For anyone that has seen one too many sunset pictures then you should go on to another site.

If you are addicted to sunsets like us then read on.

Mazatlan has the most beautiful sunsets. There really is no better way to put it. Every night is different; it could be a huge orange ball sinking into the ocean or a multi coloured sunset as viewed from our deck which is where these pics were taken from.

Either way it is unique and we will usually stop whatever we are doing to grab a look.

We also have a great little restaurant right beside us called La Callectia. It is run by a very nice neighbor by the name of Zenada. When she was younger our house was part of her family home. Her and her two sisters grew up in it. The house was later split into three homes and she and her sister are our neighbors. Zenada is an excellent cook and decided to start up a small restaurant on her roof specializing in local Sinaloan foods which she grew up with. Inexpensive, delicious and you bring your own refreshments. And I can walk across the roof to get there! Although after a few adult beverages I don't walk over the roof to get home.

So there you go, sunsets 2013. And I'm sure there will probably be many more.

Christmas 2013

This was the first year we were able to have Christmas in our new house.

Sandie brought down a number of decorations to spiff up the house. We needed a wreath so Sandie wandered off to the local fabric store and bought the wreath, some material, some ribbon and assorted decorations. An hour later ... voila, it's Christmas at 71 Venus.

Because we don't have a lot of space anymore Sandie also takes a few of our favourite decorations and just puts them in an old Mexican bowl we had found in a small used furniture shop.

She also has a number of homemade decorations from a time when she had her own buisness with a friend in Edmonton. They did home parties and sold their homemade decorations to groups of ladies.

We also had our own Xmas tree. Although they do sell real trees here in Mazatlan they tend to be a little pricey and we don't really have any room for one in our small home. So a friend brought us a fake tree in New York a few years ago and that is what we continue to use.

One tradition we have started is to invite many of our Canadian friends over to Stone Island on Boxing Day for shrimp, beer and a killer game of men vs. women Trivial Pursuit. Lots of laughs and some down time after a very hectic Xmas in Mazatlan.

Many people enjoy the beach the day after Xmas. It was quite funny to see this group playing beach volleyball. Not wearing the regular bathing suit you would expect to see on the beach.

And if you don't want the traditional Xmas leftovers you can always stop the tamale cart and order a homemade tamale from him. It is always interesting in Mazatlan.

Day of the Dead 2013

I thought I would take some time this summer and go back into our last year in Mazatlan and post a few of our most enjoyable things we did.

Day of the Dead is one of our favourite times. It usually runs over a couple of days and is basically a celebration of your departed relatives and friends. The Mexicans build elaborate displays to their relatives which show some of their favourite things. They will also go to the cemetary and eat and usually drink while gathered around the grave site.

Here in Mazatlan there is a large parade in Centro which many people dress up for. There are also beer wagons pulled by donkeys that distribute beer to the waiting crowds.

At the end of a very long night we relax at Macaws, one of our favourite hangouts in Mazatlan.

A mural of Mazatlan

Since we are always thinking about ways to put more of Mexico in our Casita here in Mazatlan we thought (after indulging in a couple of refreshment) why not have a large painted mural done on one of our outside walls????? A few months ago I had found a small picture online of an artists version of Old Mazatlan. The picture is probably a painting depicting the era around the early 1800's So we contacted a local muralist who has a great reputation here in Mazatlan. He has done a mural at our local watering hole, Macaws and knew he would a great job. The wall is about 2.5M high and about 10M long, a great canvas. So we met with him, showed him the wall and picture and negotiated a deal which we were very happy about. Our artists name is Tikio, a real gentleman and a great craftsman / artist. We are absolutly thrilled with it. And we can now say we have a water view from our deck.

Four Directions

We haven't published any house pictures yet so thought we would show you our upper outside deck. The first one is looking South, then East, then North and then West. A few changes from last year. A new mural on one wall painted by a very talented, local artist. I will do a post on the mural. And that has been about it. The weather is nice and warm; 28 - 29 deg. The sun is bright and the Pacifico beer is very cold.

Mazatlan Storms

Usually when we come down for the winter to Mazatlan we manage to miss the bad weather. The summers here are very hot and humid and they get some huge rain storms. But by the end of October the storms have passed by and there is nothing but sunny warm days until we leave at the end of April. This year has been a little different. When we arrived here the first week of October the weather was still very hot and humid. We were showering 3 - 4 times a day and not even turning the hot water on! The water in the tinaco on our roof was so warm it was fine even turning it on. And we also got a number of storms. It poured buckets as you can see by the water in the street by our house.

And we had a tropical storm while we were here. It was called Sonjia. As you can see in the pictures it really soaked the city. What I can't show you though is the wind and the sound. The wind howled, literally you could hear it roaring like a freight train. We took everything off the deck as we were afraid we might end up having to pick things off the street.

The good side of the storms is they really clean everything and for just about the first time everything around the city is very green. Since the storm though everything has settled back down. Although so far this year we have had the nicest weather since we have been coming here, a big yeah for living in Mexico in the winter and not Winnipeg.

Roller Art

One of the things we really enjoy about Mazatlan is the wide range of cultural events available to us at a very low cost. We have a world class symphony, a great music school and of course the Angela Peralta Theater which hosts events ranging from modern dance, to flamenco,to a Bee Gees knock off band. Cultura Mazatlan also puts on a number of free events which we try to take in every year. This year we saw a classical guitarist playing at the Art Gallery and a classical pianist also at the Gallery. Then we saw a German Techno Rock Band who were set up at the Plaza Machado, which is about a 5 minute walk fro our house. But one of my favourites is the demonstration of Roller Art. It's very unique. Basically a number of local artists are asked to particiapate. The theme this year was Day of the Dead. Each artist carves a reverse image of their chosen design on a large 3' x 4' board. Then she will ink it with a thick layer of printers ink.

The inked board is then put in a frame on the ground and a paper put over the top and then a board to protect everything and an industrial roller is rolled over the inked board and paper.

And when it is done you end up with a one of a kind ink print that is sold and typically mounted in someones house. They usually sell for 5000 pesos and up depending on the artist and the design. This is our friend, Dave Robb who is very talented local artist holding his finished print.

Something a little different that we have never seen before. And it's all in Mazatlan.