5C's Que Pasa

….I pretty much planned to do a new post most days – but I guess I really am living life to the fullest each day.  And often at the end of the day I little energy left. I have no energy left to sit at the computer for a few hours. However I have written untold posts in my mind. Happy to say that I am mostly content and all is well in my life. And if it is not – I simply sleep till 10AM.

Early morning walk.

The photos with  comments below are from here and there with no particular dates.

Special friends from Holiday Park, Cindy and Sonny, on a much needed and deserved visit to Mazatlan early December. They certainly made the best of each day and created hundreds of new memories while they were here.

We have had so much happening. Unlike past years I have no inclination to capture every moment which I know that I will soon regret. Almost daily I go back into my blog to capture what we were doing on such and such a day in the past.  I am hoping to change all that so I can stay current with my “diary”.

So much activity on the shipping channel behind us. Huge car carrier.

Only 2 weeks left in this year…..I definitely need a fresh start in 2025. Over all we are doing well. Ciela has developed an ear infection. Colin took her to the vet a few days ago and she was treated. However none of us including Ciela are happy with the treatment. Currently looking for a new vet much closer to us. Colin spent 300 MXN on Didi and the vet was an extraordinary 500 MXN for a 10 minute appointment.  The ear liquid  treatment was beyond stinky and did not help. I am on it…..

When we went out in the other RV the girls could sit in this corner and watch and wait for us to return.  Earlier in December we were away for just about 90 minutes having a shrimp dinner at Chivas. Apparently the girls cried and even howled a bit. This RV does not have such an area for the but we figured something out in the bedroom which just might be the solution. A comfy area for them to watch for us. Also Colin finally got the nanny cam connected.

We are pretty much settled in. Today Colin took in 11 totes to be stored and 5 empty ones. The bodega was closed. We later discovered that the owner was ill. We will rehire a truck another day to bring the bins in. Most of them contain books and photos albums that go back 50 -70 years to current time. We are working cleaning up our site today so hope to get these containers in storage soon. 2025 will give us lots of time to go thru the contents. I spent several hours today once again discarding recipe after recipe. Some went back to 2002.They were all great recipes but for the rest of our lives we can only add so many new ones. We are more inclined to live in the moment day by day for now. We have months/years ahead of us to sort through these items. There is no way that I will likely cook what I have already saved but there just might be an extra special recipe lurking in my piles of paper. I found a few yesterday. Will get to them when I get to them.

A new recipe with fresh shrimp and fresh crab topped with 20 year old grated parmesan from Italy.  Fresh as in never frozen. So very rich. Yummy.

I have not been reading books for several weeks but happy to say that Colin has been back to his guitar, 1 -2 hours per day. I am still getting massages every two weeks which have helped with my mobility. When I am outside I usually just sit and enjoy our unique vista, which also helps my eyes – which remain problematic but I am trying to be hopeful. I did fairly get a good pair of regular sunglasses which have helped. I will check with an eye specialist here in Mazatlan in the New Year. Recommendations welcomed.

On an almost daily basis we get to watch the locals being in their catch the day.

The net was was out to just past us on the right. The pelicans were happen to nibble.

Totally enjoying our onboard washing machine. Except last week when we discovered late in the day that the water pipes from Mazatlan required repair and that we had had no water input for many days. Our tinaco as well as the RV tank were either on low or empty 😳 We did mange to get thru those few waterless days. Our plants were ever so happy to get full water once again. Not sure if I shared earlier but we now have our full complement of potted plants ( 34 ) and our garden is looking happier.

I saw the notice of the water shut off after the fact!

This was another day.

I am thinking of starting to use my ‘real’ camera once again. The iPhone doesn’t give me what I want. However on the other hand I can’t really see what I am taking a photo of because of my eyes.

We are set up for Christmas outside as usual but the inside is laid back which works for us this year. This is our first Christmas in this home and we are creating some new traditions. We both are preferring to be rather quiet and to not have many folks over.

Sadly I have had to spend numerous hours online with both Telus and Shaw since we cancelled our accounts October 3rd. Just yesterday I got yet another charge for $66.64CAD.  The account has been closed since October 3rd. So much wasted time online.  An average of 3 hours per day. At least I am mostly winning the war of the not valid charges but oh such a waste of my life.

Overall we love being here and can’t think of anywhere else we would like to be. We have only been in the RV for about ten weeks and still can’t believe that this is our home. We were so fortunate picking this one especially as we needed to purchase it before seeing in person. Huge decision based on a one time FaceTime Video Tour. We have made a few changes and have plans for more, probably next summer after we sell our home. I miss having a recliner.

This was a few weekends ago.

Watersport’s Cars? An extraordinary fusion of jet ski dynamism and the refined luxury of a classic sports car.  Who knew? Might be fun to try.

I am simply enjoying the beauty of where we are, watching the dolphins, the jumping fish and the hundreds of pelicans and the birds. Then there are the sail boats, catamarans and a rather large cabin cruiser that hang around our bay of late. The other morning we had ten vessels all lined up facing us. The weather is perfect. We had a few foggy days which simply added to the ambience of this area.

A full day of cruisers in port.

We suddenly realized that it is Christmas week already. I don’t plan to entertain too much due to lack of stamina but we certainly will be enjoying a few social activities. More on that later.

This is happening December 31st and we are going to the early show at 6PM. We should be home by 9:15PM at the latest. Eugene is a great artist. Seats are still available for both shows.

I am going to try this this evening.

Sunrise by Colin – of course I missed this one.

Moonrise last week.

………..no-one knows how long we are here for. It is up to each of us to enjoy every single day to the fullest. Colin and I are fully aware of that and have always strived to live each day as jammed packed as we can.

Those thoughts came back to us this past week…..

My mother’s brother passed just three days ago, Sunday the 8th!  Just yesterday the 10th, a most extraordinary friend, Kelly passed. She was a warrior fighting her liver disease to the end. So very happy she passed pain free with her loved ones at her side. We were surprised today, the 11th, to hear that Colin’s older brother had passed today.

Three deaths in four days.

Be sure to tell those around  you that you love them. Tomorrow may never come, live and love today!

We had a lovely day. We got a few to dos done including some relaxation. Then we headed out for a coconut shrimp dinner with Genie, Joe and Amy to Chivos Restaurant.

Lovely sunset.

Our small group grew to eight.

Wonderful friends and great food, life is good.

…… this is the time of year to donate to helping the less fortunate here on Isla de la Piedra so that they may have a Christmas / Christmas Eve dinner. I have collected for this group for many many years since 2010 and over Covid helped keep the community fed.

The following is from Rocio and Dallas……

Every year becomes more and more difficult for each of us.  Any amount that you can spare will bring joy to those who often live in cardboard homes. Anything you can donate is appreciated more than you will ever know.

Time moves quicker than we often are aware of.

Oh wait. I am already doing that. So very thankful!

Ciela getting a mini massage also known as a get rid of that excess hair.

Guess who arrived yesterday? Our compound is now complete with Genie and Joe here. They are working at getting set up for the many months to come. Linda and Russell who live in the apartment upstairs to our right ( facing the ocean ) arrived today. Looking forward to giving them hugs in the morning. Our wee community is filling up.

Just this past Thursday we had our neighbor ( to the right ) Umberto and his wife and five year old daughter over for a visit. I was concerned about conversation but it all worked out, either we know more Spanish than we think or it just worked out perfectly. Mom and daughter do not speak any English. Lots of laughs and a friendship was further strengthened. We were all shocked at the end when the daughter who never speaks English said very clearly ” thank you so very much”. They kept our plants alive while we were back in Canada.

Today, locals hunting for oysters just below us.

Going through 30 years of old recipes – keep or discard? I might be at this well into the new year.

Happy days…..thanks for sharing the photo Fred.

The best is yet to come.

It truly is.

….like wine and friends like you all.

Started this post Monday afternoon…..

Much better to be here than back in Canada where the snow has begun fall. So glad the birds will have food this winter.

I have been trying to write a post for at least five days but life just keeps happening.

Ciela has figured out how to chew her way out of the yard. Colin had to reinforce the fence with bricks.

Thank you all for your many many comments. They were much appreciated. Gene, overjoyed to know you are still hanging in. Hey you know my life is always full of drama so stick around as it won’t be boring. I might even do a synopsis on what happened to the Rexhall generator a few years back 😉  I did promise you…..

My bougainvillea that I planted on the street side of the fence survived despite being attached by looper caterpillars,  the leaves will come back.

Planted two more bougainvillea near the entrance to our fenced yard. Going to put hibiscus in the other two pots. Yellow maybe???

Shirley you were one of my first readers back in 2010. And here we are 14 years later. Moving back to Tsawwassen, eh!  Good luck with that. But having family near is also important.

It took two pulmonia trucks ( King Kong on the left and Umberto on the right ) to bring it all here from our bodega.  Then just two days ago, our new and very special friend Edward, delivered the last of 7 large bins to us from Kelowna ( we had no room in the U Haul ).  He also has a home here in Mazatlan. So we are still busy unpacking and putting things away.

Special thanks to those who explained how to sign up for each of my new blog posts – directly deposited to your inbox. No muss nor fuss, not having to check back day after day.

I ordered the wine racks while in Vegas and Colin has since put them up. It is really nice to have a place to put the bits special china and glassware that we brought with us.

Perfect location in the kitchen.

We did get out a week ago to pick up some flower plants to replenish those that died over the summer. We went to two nurseries but potted hibiscus plants are in short supply. I have a friend here on the Isla who loves flowers and between us I have an order for ten hibiscus of varying colors including double and single incoming by weeks end. That will certainly complete my flowers for this season.

I have exactly ten empty medium size pots.

I had my third – most wonderful massage by Katia last Thursday. She has really helped thaw my tense body nerve by nerve, muscle by muscle, poco a poco. My pain levels have begun to decrease. A few days ago I thought I would surprise Colin and the girls and meet them on the beach on their hour long walk. Somehow something always interrupted me – usually computer related. Well today I actually met them on the beach. I walked on my own all the way to El Velero before I caught up to them on their way back. Very slowly and carefully of course because of my eyesight. It felt liberating. And not too much pain. I actually ( with Colin’s help dragging the hose for me ) watered all the flowers and then did a load of laundry and hung it myself.  And here I am now working on blog post. Colin is making dinner for us.  Oh and yesterday I made ( always with Colins help doing the chopping ) a huge pot of Thai curry fish chowder. It was yummy 😎

My desk remains a work in progress. Edward ( the friend who delivered our last bins from Canada ) had purchased my roll top desk last September. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he has brought my – well now his desk, here to Mazatlan. Hopefully I can visit it one day.

I am working the best I can with my eyesight. Trying to decrease my computer time and to increase just sitting and looking out at the vista and the Isla beach and trying to discern details. Some days my eye are sore using the readers with the computer. I am hoping that means I need less eyeglass help. At this point I have decided to wait till mid January before going to have my yes rechecked. We had some special friends over the other day and she mentioned that it took her a full year before she could see in one of her operated eyes.

…stopped for dinner and to reorganize the kitchen for the third time. Each time it had helped make it better to work in.

….resuming this post about noonish Tuesday the 26th. Had a busy morning, Colin went into Mazatlan to pick up a few items at the bakery and some veggies and of course my must have Chihuahua ‘Santa Rita’ cheese – cut fresh off the big wheel. Meanwhile I yelled at the girls a few times who were barking at the feral cats and also got a few loads of laundry done and hung outside in the sunshine.

We have had folks over about 3 times, just one couple at a time for some low key visiting. I am not ready for social events right now.  I even did a home delivery of a shrimp dinner special being offered last Friday. Great food and so much of it for 80 MXN each. Just read that a local restaurant ( local as in less than four blocks from here ) is offering a dinner special of coconut shrimp for 150 MXN. We just might do that tomorrow.

My biggest accomplishment was walking down to the beach the other morning. It did not happen today but hopefully tomorrow.

Mazatlan on the top half and Isla De La Piedra below with the shipping channel running along the middle. The black line on the bottom left shows where our compound is. The black dot to the right (above and in the water ) is the Playa Sur Embarcadero from which small boats ferry people back and forth. Our beach is 13 miles long.

Certainly a different view than here.

During the last week I received the following comment on my last blog post. That post along with the many comments can be found here.  On November 12th I received this comment……..

I started following Contessas blog 4-5 years ago and have found it quite interesting, reading about their nomad life in MX and their Canadian Summers in BC.

Unfortunately it appears that she is in the process of shutting the site down. She can”t be oblivious to the fact that people are not going to log in every day; because they care and are interested, only not to see one word. Quite disrespectful. Recently there was a long time follower who was checking in and then advised he will be unsubscribing. That got an immediate response from Contessa, so we know she’s logging in herself!

I realize she does not owe us a daily blog but a lot of us may travel vicariously through her and Colin’s adventures and enjoy her adventures and respect the time it takes to do a proper blog…..perhaps a short blurb rather than a book??? She needs to decide if she’s a blogger …. Or not!

I was appalled. Thank you to my readers who added their own thoughts to this offensive comment. I can honestly say Paul,  that I appreciate that you have followed me for 4 -5 years, yet to call me disrespectful is shattering. I have been blogging since May of 2010. For most of that time I did write daily however our lives changed over the past year. Previously there had been a change in format in October of 2022 due to technical blog issues. It was a huge learning step for me but I kept on.

Last January we made a decision to change our path in life. Hence the past eleven months have been in preparation for that. Long story short my body could not quite keep up. But I kept pushing myself. Colin did the brunt of the physical work but I was the one who was constantly sitting at the computer researching, sending out emails, exploring possibilities and it never seemed to stop not to mention the constant marketplace selling and garage sales. We returned from Mexico April 30th and on May 1st began preparing to move out of our home. And neither of us stopped. The house did not sell so we sold the RV and rented a U Haul to transport what was left of our life ( stored in bins and boxes and plastic bags ) to California where we purchased a new to us RV – our home for the foreseeable future.

Towing the U-Haul was not quite as much fun as we thought it would be. Certainly not like the Beverly Hillbillies! Plus the roads were more mountainous than expected while the motels were lesser than expected especially at the prices we were paying. But on the plus side we were able to plug in the freezers overnight and park outside our room. On the last night we ordered a pizza for delivery, $56.00USD!! We ate and went to bed. The sheets and bed were clean but the rest of the place was best looked at with little to no lighting.

Over the past six weeks we left our home country of Canada and crossed not one but two international borders. We worked at fitting our “stuff” into an RV and some unhappy decisions were made. I already regret a few things given away in the US but we have no extra space. Then learning the ins and outs and of course unexpected breakdowns from day 1 ( just 4 hours away from the dealership ). No guarantees with a used RV 🙁   But we do have insurance for the next 5 years on major RV parts which of course was an unforeseen expense. The RV now has Montana plates which decreased the amount of taxes we had to pay. But we did have to hire a lawyer and an accountant for our LLC and an insurance agent to cover us for full-time travel in the RV. Health insurance was covered from Canada to the end of October. We are now on our own as in pay as you go in that department.

There were a myriad of todo’s such as closing down our incorporated company. switching banks, closing down the house in Kelowna for the next while. Finding out that the owner of our compound here on there Isla died a few weeks before we left Canada.  How long could we continue to stay here? We still are not certain. I could go on and on. Many nights I went to bed without dinner as I was too busy.

I came back the end of April 2024 with a worn out body. My fall in July ( broken nose ) was literally a pain. Then with less than a week to leaving Canada I had a major fall in the bathtub and could not walk for three days. I was beyond drained. Of course my “unsuccessful” eye surgery was debilitating. I consider myself unable to walk on my own and certainly I will never drive again. Every step is in slow motion so I don’t fall but simply not seeing cleary is crushing. Not seeing the ocean and the beach distinctly is well……think about it – if it was you.

It is only in the past few days that my physical pain ( thanks to my masseuse Katia ) is starting to diminish. I have been sleeping 10 – 12 hours per night with one or two naps per day. One of the few highlights in my life has been writing my blog for the past 14 years. It hurts me more than you when I don’t publish but I finally realized I had to choose myself as the most important thing in order to keep living. Living a good and happy life that is. I am number one 😎  La première 😀 El primero  😉

Paul I apologize for upsetting your reading and enjoyment of my blog. But I am simply a human who has experienced copious adjustments in the past six weeks 😥 Personally that fact that my body energy is ever so slowly returning as the physical pain level decreases delights me. What you don’t know is that in the past 12 months I have not been on a walk more than 24 times – never mind an honest to goodness beach walk.

Right now my priority is to get out there and be happy with no pain nor anguish. Sorry this is a “book” but that is how I roll these days. Taking photos and editing them and fitting them into a post takes energy that I simply do not have. I have taken photos and am eager to share them but please give me time.

Some may recall that the reason I started to blog was that I wanted certain photos in my emails re our travels. That will come back but if it takes too long for you Paul, I wish you good reading elsewhere.

In real life today, we planted some new flowers here in the compound. I am going to make pizza from scratch for dinner. Life is good, we are a happy team with some wonderful ( if only they would stop barking at feral cats ) doxies. Our future lies ahead whatever direction down the road we choose.

Fred took this last ? November.

We are so enjoying our new home ( at least while I am awake ). We each have our own toilet 😆  So far we have no complaints except for the various breakdowns ( mostly because the RV has sat for many years with little use – it only had 23,000 miles on it so basically is like new ) Have to say that the macerator breaking down was a huge issue/problem! But having windows that have never been opened ( clean screens ) nor a stovetop that has ever been used are huge plusses. The enormous residential fridge and washer/dryer are wonderful bonus items.  And then there is the king bed. The girls are now officially sleeping full-time in our bed. Well we are full-timers.

Most difficult thing is trying to find where I put everything such as the pizza dough for dinner………

A very quick update. On Monday we got our Visa extended for the next 3 years and the TIP  for the car to match it. Tuesday it only took 30 minutes to carefully drive here and park in our compound. The driving part included cutting tree branches that could scratch the RV ( that had been done the day prior ) or put a hole in the roof and the parking part took over two hours and involved some machete cutting and saw cutting and rock pounding ( Mexicans are so creative ). Not to mention tall fellows standing on ladders to hold up both the electrical and the internet wires. Miraculously we pretty much fit next to the palapa we built last season. Details to follow. Also had some RV work done and we are good for now.

I had a massage today, a long shower and enjoyed homemade fresh shrimp burritos for lunch with a lovely glass of Australian Sauvignon Blanc. Followed by a bit of reading time and a long nap outside.  It was way too hot to sit outside at Tres Amigos but the breeze is perfect here and of course no bugs 😎  My main goal is to decrease my pain and increase my energy level. The rest of the yard set up and unloading can wait. As far as I know we are here for at least 6 months. We had planned to go out and about for the Day of the Dead ceremonies and parade starting tomorrow but this year we are just going to sit tight.

Just love the sunflowers and the butterflies.

It was a great travel day, we were driving by 6:03AM and arrived on the Isla itself by 12:40PM.  It was a stressless drive. In fact we wondered if this cartel war was for real.  We saw neither bad guys nor good guys ( police/military, etc ) no one was being pulled over every so often as we have been the past two past days. No military presence whatsoever. The roads were busy with mostly trucks. Never saw another RV since we left the US border. It was an easy non stressful drive.

Until we got to the Isla that is 🙄

We disconnected as usual but Colin decided to take the Jeep for a quick preview of the condition of the road and the low hanging  trees. He was gone almost 90 minutes 😯 Finally he came back with dismal news. Our site was full of weeds and our gravel had not been delivered and the gate was rusted shut! But worst of all there were so many low hanging tree branches that needed to be cut so we could drive to our site. It would take hours.

I made an executive decision and called David, manger of Tres Amigos and he graciously offered us to stay in which ever site we want to in RV1. It truly felt like coming home. Our site for years and years was number one but we stopped in site number two. Not sure we would fit in our old site with the new to us RV. But it was really wonderful, pulling in here. Even the girls knew where they were.

So tomorrow is tree cutting and gravel delivery day. I am staying here with the girls. Nothing is planned for certain but we wonder if it might be best for us to relax here for a few days and get our INM Visa business completed and then move to the compound Tuesday or later. Here it will be like a vacation just sitting and relaxing.  Moving involves starting a permanent set up. I vote to stay and relax 😎   We already had visitors earlier this afternoon which was very pleasant. Happy Birthday Jeannie, sorry but we really needed to set up the RV. Hope your dinner was extra special.

I feel asleep watching the ocean waves and then it was sunset. Perfection.

First Isla sunset this season. It feels so great to be back.