Before Colin left

Contessa Jewall5 Comments

We attended two evenings out before Colin left for Culiacan.

The first was at El Balche. As you can see it is an open air event location with a pyramid being a feature. This is not the band we went to see. I just wanted to show you the layout. First and last time for us.The drinks were horrible and the food was just okay with very little choice for Colin and I.

We were there to see a Santana Tribute put on by Santana – Maz. Benito is the Mazatlan Santana and he indeed looks like Carlos. As you can see it was a bit chilly as the band were wearing coats and even a Canadian toque on Howard the sax player’s head.

We were there with our friends Genie and Joe ( who is a first class drummer ), I had three layers on at this point. To be honest it was very chilly and we were all shivering. Later we thought about it and as you can see in the first photo there is a very tall hotel behind us. We believe that this was creating a wind tunnel. Genie is out of focus because she was bopping around to the music.

Nice photo of Joe and Colin.

Colin was happy to introduce Benito to Joe. Hopefully next season Joe may find some musical groups to play with.

We were so very surprised to discover that once out of that place it was not windy and was much warmer. We were worried about taking the lancha back to the Isla and freezing but instead it was calm with nary a ripple on the ocean.

A week ago today, Saturday evening we were invited to a bonfire and firework display.

Dave one of our friends here in RV1 decided to host a bonfire and firework presentation in honour of his 80th birthday.

Many many of Dave’s friends from all over the Isla came to celebrate.

And this is when I noticed that I had a sore throat. Obviously I caught it at the Santana evening.

Happy 80th Dave! Wishing you many more.

The next four photos were taken by Colin, he was looking for a mix of people and fireworks.

The following were my snapshots of the very well done fireworks. How fortunate we were to have this happen right in front of our RV.

We really did have a wonderful time at both of these events but I certainly could have done without my sore throat and horrid cough which I am still dealing with 😥 Am I being punished for going out two nights in a row? I am on the mend and I believe that within 2 days, 3 at the most I will be back to 100%. In other news we are finally warming up outside. Thanks for checking in.

 

 

 

 

 

He came back

Contessa Jewall10 Comments

Thank you Cindy for the two year memory. Were they really that small?

Colin took the following few photos of the girls before he left.

The afternoon that Colin left, my good friend here in the RV Park who I have known for many many years, Ferne, came to visit for a bit. The girls love her and it was a good distraction for the girls. For some reason we always are having an enjoyable chin wag and photos are never taken.

Monday around 12:30 noonish, Colleen, a very special lady who came into my life a few years ago arrived  for lunch. She has been there for me whenever I have needed her the most. The girls enjoyed her company.

Not only did Colleen come for lunch, she brought it! Homemade vegetarian tortilla soup. She eats the same way that we do.This was my first taste of this Mexican dish in all all the years we have traveled here. Usually it is made with chicken broth. Colleen is an excellent  cook. Carlie is already on the sofa next to Colleen and Ciela is coming on the ramp mid right.

We had an exceptional visit that of course included vino. Time breezed past and we were both surprised to see how close we were to 6PM. A memorable long afternoon well spent. Certainly both the girls and I enjoyed our cherished time with our amiga.

So happy with this photo I took of Ciela.

She does the most cat like thing with her paws.

I have to say that the girls became very needy with Colin gone. This is the first time that they have not had us both at home 24/7. They were okay the first full day, Monday, but after that they clung to me. Literarily.  They had to both be sitting on me if not next to me.  And I do mean both in my lap at the same time. They would run to the window at night looking for Colin and start barking. They would not settle at night in the bed, of course every time I got up to go to the bathroom they got up and wanted out to see if Colin was back. It certainly was not relaxing for me. I had no freedom.  If I sat at the computer to write a blog they were both right there pushing against my leg with their noses. Then the whimpering began, a very soul wrenching cry 😥 Of course they were not having their daily beach walks. I can’t mange them on my own. Likely next winter as they should be moving slower 😆 Hmm I might be as well 😎 But we love them dearly and know that they will change as they get older.

The following is Colin’s return. Ferne graciously agreed to pick him up at the Embarcadero. I knew that they had arrived back to the RV park so I took the girls into the front yard to distract them. Colin came ever so quietly into our site. I did a one minute video. They were so surprised that they did not even bark.

We had a grand reunion and today was their first beach walk in four days.

Colin had to let their leashes go before they reached the water as they were pulling too hard. He says that they had a wonderful walk and Carlie had a swim and that they were very obedient.

I was unable to go with them as I have had a sore throat that started last Saturday. We had been to a function on ( I will post about it ) Friday that was outdoors and I caught quite the chill. Then I lost my voice on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have found my voice but still have a very sore throat. I did do a Covid test and I am just fine. But a beach walk will have to wait a bit longer.

 

Colin left me today…..

Contessa Jewall5 Comments

Colin left midday to attend the 23rd International Sinaloa Guitar Festival 2023 in Culiacan. He had a long journey even before he left. I drove him to the embarcadero where he took a lancha to get to Mazatlan and from there he took a Didi ( Uber ) to the bus station. Good thing he left with lots of time to spare as the bus left 30 minutes early!! Four forms of transportation.

I am glad that he took the bus. Safer all around.

Do you think that he likes bright colours? Poor Colin his guitar strap ( the one you sling over your shoulder ) broke just as he was leaving the RV. We figured out a temporary solution.

The girls were surprised that we left Colin behind.

Once we got back to the RV, Ciela plopped herself down in front of the gate.

Carlie paced for a while.

They sat there for the longest time, just waiting for Colin.

They had lunch and finally after a few hours they relaxed enough to sit at my feet. It was a beautiful warm day today. However each time they heard a noise they ran to the gate just in case Colin was there.

It got cool at sunset so I made them go inside. Ciela immediately took her lookout position. I covered them to try and get them to relax and maybe take a nap.

Carlie is under those blankets.  You can see her dark head between the white and pink blankets.

They finally fell asleep but as soon as I went outside to turn on some lights and close the door they were up and following me. So I decided to make their supper which they had and then once again went out to do a check of our yard and finally lay down on the chesterfield. It did not take long for Ciela to fall asleep but Carlie just follows me with her eyes. They usually nap 3 -4 hours in the afternoon and they have been up since 9:30 AM when Colin took them for their beach walk. I really hope that they will settle down in bed with me later on.

Meanwhile Colin has texted a few times keeping me posted as to what he is up to. I wonder who is going to miss whom the most 😥

 

How time flies when you are having fun

Contessa Jewall16 Comments

But really how did it get to be March 1st?

We have done a family beach walk together now for a few days. Colin walks to the far end of the beach and I leave about 15 minutes later and catch up to them on their return. So happy to say that I can walk to El Velero and back.

They are mindful of us going in this direction. When they walk/run in the other direction they go wild and almost out of control. Here they walk nicely and come back when we call them ( a piece of a small treat helps ). The yellow house mid photo at the top belongs to an RV couple from RV 2.  At this point the house is not quite ready to live in. Meanwhile they continue to live in their RV in RV2.

I guess on this day I walked to the end of the beach. I had to sit down and rest for a bit.

Carlie is always first in the water. She does have a  green collar on but it is difficult to spot. We have lost so many leashes and collars this season. Time to stock up once we get to the US.

I was still sitting on the rocks when Ciela started to bark that she had found something we needed to see. Colin beckoned me over. It appeared to be an eel or a snake struggling very hard to get out of a hole in the sand.

It was a a challenge to keep the girls from touching it. But we stayed to watch the struggle and this is what it looked like when it came out. I have Goggled eels and there is not much known about how they breed and hatch. So perhaps this was a newborn!

We left right after it started moving along the sand. Apartments are being built everywhere on the Isla. 1200MXN per month for a place right on the beach with electric and wifi is a very good price indeed.

So much colour wherever you look.

El Velero to the left and new apartments for rent for 1200MXN are right behind Puesta Del Sol. One of the longtime rvers from the back row have rented the top apartment on the right. They have two balconies, one always in the shade. Another two have also rented apartments starting in November but on the causeway.

I took this snap shot as the brown umbrella in the middle had just flown off the table because of a wind gust.

Dad looks so proud of his girls.

This sunset is from February 19th.

What do you think of the size of these photos? Would you prefer them to be smaller like below?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit of this and a lot of that

Contessa Jewall7 Comments

It remains cool for this time of year. There is a lot of wind and it has a chill to it. However compared to what is happening north of the border we are not complaining. Many who had planned to leave within the next few weeks have decided to stay and wait for some warmer weather. We are here as planned for another 31 sleeps. I have been spending more time inside but with all of our windows I can see the ocean, the sand and what is happening out there. There is just one day that the girls did not get to the beach cuz it was too cold for them to go into the water. They had a walk at Amaitlan instead.

We have come to the conclusion that the veggie truck that goes to the RV parks and home to home, street to street is charging us more than they do the locals. About three veggie truck vendors back, Miguel left the business of driving around in his truck and instead set up his garage like a grocery store. He aways has fresh veggies and will bring in anything special that you might like. We simply say that we are going shopping at the garage. This bunch cost 78 MXN/$4.24USD/$5.77CAD.

Having said that, we do try and support the local veggie truck guy now and then. But this small amount cost us 48MXN/$2.61/USD/$3.55CAD.

Last Wednesday we went to a cocktail party. One of my friends had invited 50 of her closest friends to meet her daughter and her fiancé. Truly a lovely couple and the party was great. Sadly they are only here for six full days and the weather has not been its usual perfect self. Then Saturday afternoon we went to a fund raiser benefiting special needs students here on the Isla. There was live music, an auction of many original paintings and a client auction. Colin surprised me by biding on a lovely full size fleece throw. One side had puppies and the other teddy bears. Carlie has claimed it as her special blanket. I borrowed it for a nap today and it is very snuggly. Colin took new friends into Mazatlan to show them around and came home with all kinds of goodies.

Colleen’s lovely winter home and some of her friends. It was nice to catch up with other people who live on the Isla.

Colleen, Katia ( my masseuse ), myself after enjoying some tequila and sadly I only met the lady in front and don’t recall her name but like the rest of us she was happy. That is an original mermaid painted wall with my dear friend in the middle.

Colin snapped the joy of the moment. Yet another painted wall in the background. It truly was the best party since we arrived.

Fundraiser at Chivos. A perfect place right on the beach. Live music by Barefoot Bob.

I am sitting bottom middle. I would have preferred to sit in the sun but after thirty minutes it likely would’ve been too warm. The fellow sitting with the white hat mid left is Nathan Koenig, a documentary filmmaker and archivist. He was right there in the midst of Woodstock and was a part of creating the Woodstock Museum. There are many fascinating people who winter here on the Isla.

Carnaval is over but there are still quite a few folks who have stayed over in town. We always enjoy watching families coming to the beach. Colin is planning on heading to Culiacan to see Heriberto and possibly the guitar festival. Plans are up in the air re dates. Our greatest problem these days is that we have run out of relish, first time ever. Also we only have one more can of vegetarian refried beans left. I have been experimenting with a few new recipes. Oh and my very old falling apart beach sandals were stolen on the beach today. Hopefully the person who took them will get some use out of them. I will pick up a pair of cheap flip flops tomorrow.

One final Carnaval photo. Have you ever seen fireworks that go sideways? It was spectacular.

We have been unable to stop the girls from barking when people come over. Once they get to know someone they still bark but only once or twice.  We definitely have dachshund security.

One of our nicer sunsets this past Thursday, February 23rd.

Thanks for checking in.

 

 

First Parade Carnaval 2023

Contessa Jewall5 Comments

The theme of Carnaval this year was Deja Vu. Some of the floats carried Carnaval Queen’s as far back as 1973. There was a float dedicated to getting a man on the moon. Another float was all about the hippie era of peace and love. There were floats from Egypt, China and Brazil and likely more places. Here is a collage of the many floats taken from a variety of areas. Colin and I watched the entire parade on TV and some of these are photos I took from the TV. Just scroll though the photos and enjoy the colour, the LED lights, and the energy. Every person on each float has to keep dancing, waving, smiling for close to three hours. Between the floats are dancers relative the theme of each float. We thought that they were excellent this year but they are very difficult to photograph as a they never stop moving. So many huge smiles. These photos are in no particular order. This first one is carrying the Queen of Carnaval 2023.

 

So many people watching the parade.

Some of the former Carnaval Queens from years past.

Carnaval Queen 2023.

King of Carnaval 2023

 

 

The following photos are from the MS Carroza Official Bandams Mazatlan Carnival 2023. Sinaloa loves Banda, MS stands for Mazatlan, Sinaloa. The crowds went wild as this Banda playing float passed by.

 

 

 

Fireworks cruise 2023

Contessa Jewall6 Comments

Once we loaded two wagons right outside the RV park we left promptly at 8:30PM. Colin is in the first wagon standing up.

We were delivered back to the RV Park at exactly 12:30AM.

A borrowed photo from online showing just a few of the 500,000.00 people in Olas Altas waling to see the show.

Only 47 of us on a boat that holds 70. Lots of room to move about.

A few of our friends. The boat was decorated with balloons and flashing lights.

The above two were taken from higher up in the Olas Altas area.

The above were were taken by Colin.

It was a fun adventure and everyone had a great time. One of the best ways to see the fireworks.

 

Carnaval in Mazatlan

Contessa Jewall13 Comments

That means Banda music to excess, plenty of lights, tons & tons of beer, two breathtaking parades and the 125th anniversary of the Carnaval fireworks, loads of parties and people galore.They say that there will be at least 1/2 million people on Olas Altas alone tonight to see the spectacular  pyrotechnics.

We saw this Monigote a few weeks ago being transported to where it will be placed along the parade route.

Every year there is a theme to the Carnaval. This year it is Dejavu, Dreams of a Carnival (Dejavú, Sueños de un Carnaval). Apropos considering that this is the 125th anniversary of the start of Carnaval here in Mazatlan. Mazatlan is said to be the 3rd largest Carnaval in the world after Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans.

In no particular order and taken from  a variety of public websites.

The amazing thing is that they look wonderful during the day but at night they have a special sparkle. LED lights galore.

In addition to the fireworks and the parades one thing that stands out are the giant Monigotes. They start going up about 10 -14 days before the start of Carnaval. They are usually construction out of wire and covered with a thin cloth and then covered with paper mâché and painted.

Lots of effort to place the Mongiotes.

So much detail.

Sorry to cut this short but we are off to see the fireworks tonight with 47 friends 😀

This is a link to an interesting article about the giants.

 

 

 

 

Sunset after sunset

Contessa Jewall5 Comments

They have been getting nice but I recall them much more colourful in past years. But the world’s climate is changing and affecting many different areas.

My friend is in Tucson for a conference and never expected snow this morning. She will be getting back to the Isla as soon as she can.

Interesting cloud formations in the last two. This was a sunrise photo taken by Kathleen.

A favourite.

Don’t miss the post I did yesterday morning even though it was two days late.

Love these two. All four us had a long peaceful walk on the beach yesterday afternoon. They have changed so much in the last year, so very well behaved.

They seem to get longer every month…

Always something to post about

Contessa Jewall6 Comments

Then it was to have been published yesterday but I forgot to hit publish 😳

Initially this was to have been published Monday but I ran into some production issues.

I saw this photo on FaceBook yesterday and made a screen capture to share with you. I really like it.

What you are looking at is the entrance to the Mazatlan port. Looks to be a narrow opening but the cruise ships and large freighters get through. To the bottom left is El Faro with the lighthouse on top and to the right is Chivos Island. The green at mid right is Stone Island/Isla de la Piedra. To the left and on top is the port and all of Mazatlan.

I am not giving up posting but I have decided that I don’t need any more stress in my life. Colin has picked up making many meals, doing the dishes, cleaning, grocery shopping and walking the girls. So not fair to him but I really appreciate all that he does and he knows that I do 😎  At the moment my priority is getting thru each day with as little stress as possible. Of course there is my daily knee exercises and on going kinesiology.

Remember a few weeks ago the girls ate/destroyed one of my bougainvilleas.  I replanted it with this one but it lost all its flowers two weeks after we planted it. We now have nice healthy flowers.

I am up to my elbows in the fireworks cruise that I am organizing which is for this Saturday evening. At one point I was worried that it might not happen due to a lack of eager participants. Now I am getting new people everyday and will have to start turning folks away. This is the 125th anniversary of Carnaval here in Mazatlan and the fireworks are supposed to be incredible. I have people from Mazattan renting a van and driver to get them here and then pick them up afterwards. The cruise leaves from and returns to the Isla. Another couple who are thinking outside of the box will spend the night in a hotel here on the Isla.

A sunset from a few weeks ago.

The weather has been cool and often foggy during the day. We are happy with our down duvet at night. Tonight we are going down to 12C/53F I do try and walk every two days with the girls but sometimes 3 or 4 days pass by. Once Sunday comes I should be much freer. Gosh I haven’t read a book for over a week 😥

The large stone that Stone Island/Isla de la Piedra was named for.

Wasn’t that a super Super Bowl yesterday. We only started watching just after half-time. We missed the half time show and will watch it soon as we taped it. And of course we have only seen 50% of those very expensive commercials, thus far! Which commercial was your favourite?

Another great photo by Sue on their visit here.

Colin has had to see three chiropractors in the past 9 days. We certainly hope that yesterdays treatment will fix him up!! Each has helped just a tiny bit but it has not hit the jackpot yet. Gosh he will be 73 in July and I will be 70 in May. Much much too soon for physical issues. We plan to keep working on our bodies as the best is yet to come. Egypt and another visit to Venice and who knows where else.

We have had very few happy hours but are still doing out Saturday night game night.

Wednesday the 15th of this month is when we have to pay our annual one month non refundable deposit for next season. This is the first time that under new management that the deposit is non refundable. Our first season here was 2009/2010. We can’t believe that this is our 13th year here at Tres Amigos. I was only 57 and Colin 59. How fortunate we have been to be here annually except during Covid year. On April 8, 2024 there will be a complete solar eclipse best seen right here in Mazatlan. I think that there is a great possibility that we will be here on the Isla for five full months next winter. That means we get to enjoy both Semana Santa and the eclipse.

The twins have become more ‘twinning’ lately.

Colin shared these with me the other day, seriously 🙄