The Thieves

We've been collecting sea shells. Nothing of any great significance, just the odd shell that catches our eye on walks along the beach. We found several interesting cone shaped ones during our stay in San Carlos in the spring and left them here to enjoy on our return. I noticed the other day that we seemed to have fewer of these shells than I remembered, but didn't really think too much of it.

Our next door neighbour, Chuy, has been feeding the birds on his rooftop, which is level with our terrace. Other than the fact that the darn things are pooping all over the terrace it is rather fun as we have lots of winged visitors thoughout the day.


I looked out a few hours ago and saw a bird struggling to carry something away. It was quite heavy however and all he was doing it was dragging it across the terrace. I did think it was unusual that Chuy was feeding them such large bits of food. Abi was curious as well and went to investigate, so of course, the bird left, leaving his treasure behind.


I now know why I have fewer sea shells. I do have to wonder - exactly what was he planning on doing with that shell? And where did he hide the 3 that he did manage to make away with?

I just looked out the door and they're back, attempting to make off with yet another shell!

Dumb birds. Now I'm going to have to go back to San Carlos to get more!

Changes in the Weather

It has been quite hot since we arrived a month ago, staying in the very high 20's every day, and it's still been quite humid. I know that the folks who spend the summer here have found the weather to be much cooler, but remember, we arrived from a much colder climate, and have been quite enjoying the hot sunny days.

We check the weather forecast every day, both for here and home, and were surprised to hear that we were to get rain, something that rarely happens this time of year. We were doubtful, until 4a.m. Monday morning when the skies just opened and it poured, and poured, and poured. It was also the noisiest rain I've ever heard. Many of the houses, including ours, have drains on the roof but there are no down spouts so the water just shoots off the roof to the street below, like a waterfall. It makes walking rather interesting!

Mentioning walking, Monday is my volunteer day at the Library, so I dug out the umbrella, packed an extra pair of shoes and walked/waded my way down the hill in the middle of the downpour. It was sort of fun, and other than having wet feet up to my ankles, I managed to make it without getting too wet.


This was just a 'smallish' rain shower, but the power went out several times, once for over 2 hours. I have a real respect for the people who survived the two big storms that hit the city this year and who have done such an amazing job cleaning up and repairing the damage.

My big job will be rewashing the sheets that I forgot to bring in before we went to bed Sunday night. Then again, it was just water and the sun is supposed to shine today. Maybe I'll just leave them there to dry, again.

The view from the front


and of the terrace at the rear


The sun came out briefly, around dinner time




























but then the clouds rolled in again.


At this point, we went inside, had dinner and watched a movie!

It's Happened

I headed out this afternoon to do some shopping - needed to go to the market to pick up some veggies for tomorrow's American Thanksgiving feast and to see if the jewellery store was open (I'm supposed to bring hors d'ouevres to the dinner - more on the dinner later and also more on the store - which is never ever open).

Just after I left the house, I stopped to chat to a couple who were 'house' hunting in the neighbourhood. One thing led to another and the subject of hairdressers came up. We found a great stylist last year and plan to go back to him, and of course, I wanted to share our discovery. However, I know his name, I know where his shop is, but do I know the name of the street? Of course not!!!!!!!

It used to drive me crazy when someone would say, "Oh yeah, the vet ... hmmmm.... well you go down the Malecon, yeah about 4 or 5 blocks, turn right at the OXXO store, or maybe you make the right before the OXXO, then you drive for 2 or 3 blocks and then make a right (what, oh yet you're right honey, it's a left) and then you make a u-turn and he's 5 or 6 doors down on the left, I think it's the left, but it might be the right, it used to be a white building. What colour is the building now? Umm, I think its green, or blue .... his name .... well, gosh, I can't remember, but he was just the best darned vet we ever found, did a great job, saved our dog/cat from near death, you'll love him!!!! Sigh .....

It really wasn't that bad but sometimes it felt like it and now I'm afraid I'm starting to do the same. It's just so darned hard, the street names are all unfamiliar, the streets twist and turn, we wander back and forth and never seem to take the same route twice. I find that I can now manage to find my way around and my sense of direction has finally kicked in. I feel quite comfortable wandering around on my own although I confess that once in awhile I have to stand on a street corner until the 'spidy - sense' kicks in. So far it seems to be working and I haven't felt really lost once since we arrived back. Confused several times, but not lost. However, I rarely seem to remember what street things are on. I can walk there no problem, but as for knowing whether the shop I'm looking for is on Belisario Domingues or Melchor Ocampo, not a chance!

So, as soon as I heard myself babbling directions to Tony's I shut up and promised to send them an email, once I got home and looked at my map. We used to carry the map with us at all times so that we could find our own way, and had all our favourite spots highlighted. Think it's time to resurrect it again. Not for us, but for the poor souls who happen to stop us to ask for directions.

By the way, we went to an absolutely fabulous restaurant last night. It was just around the corner from our house ... and that's the funny part because someone said that to me recently and I had no idea where on earth they lived! So once you find the house, I'll give you the rest of the directions.

A Sunday Stroll

When we arrived at the Food Festival earlier today, we were a bit too early, so decided to just wander around for a bit and work up an appetite. No problem there, as things were starting to smell pretty good, and we'd already checked out the pastries.

We headed down past the cathedral



passing a Pinata store on the way. Take note of the chicken in the back yard; I didn't even notice him til we loaded the pictures onto the computer!



As we passed through the Plaza Revolucion in front of the Cathedral we stopped to look at the displays honouring some of the heros of the Revolution.



The women kept the men supplied with ammunition. Great job - no danger there at all!

Of course we had to stop to admire the odd ruin


and marvel at yet another wonderful reconstruction



And here it is - our house, up on the hill. We're just a bit off centre to the left hand side, 2 streets down from the bright turquoise building, just below the house with the arched windows. The Casita is a creamy colour and the terrace railing is criss-cross brick. This might remind you of the old series of books, "Where's Waldo?"



OK, it is a bit hard to make out, but trust me, the Casita is there!

The Taste of Mazatlan

I doubt very much if we will be eating dinner tonight.






Around noon today we wandered over to Zaragosa Park, which is about 4 or 5 blocks from the Casita to check out the food - we had noticed signs several days ago advertising "The Taste of Mazatlan". We went with friends and we all came home absolutely stuffed.

The food was varied and all that we tried was delicious. Between the 4 of us we sampled the Paella, Tostadas, Carne Asada and the Marlin Cerviche. The Tostadas were my choice and my favourite - a flat, hard tortilla, topped with shredded beef, lettuce, mixed veggies, cheese, sour cream and drizzled with hot sauce and a flavourful beef broth (I passed on the refried beans)... yummy. We were too full to try the Tamales, athough I did take a picture, and we unanimously voted to pass on the Pozole. How to describe pozole - sort of a soup, with lots of cut up pieces of animal that shouldn't be eaten! In my Spanish/English food translation booklet it says the meat is usually beef or pork. Perhaps but a lot of what went in today's batch was definitely not some of the better cuts! Smells good, but ... must be an acquired taste.

We did have no trouble at all indulging in the desserts, all homemade by the ladies of the Rotary Club and all an individual piece of heaven!


Dinner will definitely be much later tonight, if at all!

Beach Days

It was a busy day on Friday.

We were up early, went to watch a parade, and then headed over to Stone Island with our friends who have just arrived for a 4 month stay. It was their first trip, and I think they were suitably impressed!

It was a perfect beach day; the sun was shining, the water was warm, and the beer was cold.

Stone Island is not really an island; it's actually a peninsula and the beach can be reached by car, but it's a long way around, and we've heard the road is not the best. It's much easier to go to the Stone Island Panga Docks, pay 20 pesos a person, and take the 3 or 4 minute ride across the water to the beach side. The beach is lovely and stretches for kilometers. We will spend a day and walk the length, but yesterday was just a day for settling into our lounge chairs to relax.

We did have several heated rounds of 'chicken foot' dominoes



























and Mike and Jerry had several 'swims' in the ocean

while Diane and I eyed the vendors and their wares,

but all in all, it was just a wonderful, lazy day at the beach.

Herbs and Lemons

Last year the search was on for Lemon Juice.

Every summer at home I plant basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme in pots and use them almost daily for one thing or another that's going on in the kitchen. This year, I'm attempting to track down herbs to plant here, but so far it has not been as easy as I had thought. We did find a lovely bunch of oregano which is thriving on the terrace and I have a lead on basil. As for the rosemary and thyme ... well, 'thyme' will tell if I ever find live plants! Sorry, that was pretty weak but couldn't resists it!

In the meantime, I looked up the words for basil, rosemary and thyme in Spanish and headed to the market to see what I could find. It was a successful trip and a very economical one. The bags were large - about 2 cups of dried herbs in each - and each bag was 10 pesos. As our dollar is currently worth more than 12 pesos, that's almost free!

So, I now have some dried herbs and will continue the quest for the fresh, green variety.


Oh, on the subject of lemons, I got really excited one day last week when I popped in to say hi to Alfredo, the owner of our local tienda. I was astounded to see a large crate of lemons in the corner of the shop. I did bring down a small bottle of juice with me, but this was a gold mind - I could squeeze them and freeze the juice - I was set for the season! Alfredo even cut one open for me, so that I could check to see if it looked like a 'real' lemon. It was perfect. Lemons, at last!

However, I should have reminded myself that this is Mexico, and we have learned many times not to get too excited about anything until it's a done deal. These lemons were not quite what I expected. They looked like lemons, they smelled like lemons, but unfortunately, they did not taste like lemons. The juice is very mild tasting and has a much sweeter taste than the lemons we are used to.

I now have 2 frozen ice cube trays of this juice. It's wasn't what I expected, but I'll find a use for it somewhere. It might be good to add to iced tea, along with the regular ice cubes.

And, I will continue the on-going quest!