5C's Que Pasa

Today, October 31st we went to a function. Loved the afternoon timing and we wanted to check out this restaurant.

It was put on as a fund raiser by long time friends Carol and Bill who have started and run this Mazatlan Animal Rescue. They receive no grants from anyone. It is run on donations only.

We love our twins so much.

They had some pets available for adoption plus a large well run raffle.

The drinks were great and the food was awesome.

First time I have heard Besame Mucho on the violin.

The girls won the prize for best pet costume. A lovely gift certificate to the same restaurant.

Apparently this organization does a fundraiser like this every few months at this location. Be on the look out for the next event.

We had each purchased raffle tickets and Colin put in all of his 8 tickets into this particular draw. I only put in the one ticket and I won. Great minds and all of that. The ornament is handmade and sort of looks like a weiner and was from Michael’s  Gallery ( one of my faves here in town ). First time I have ever seen skull shot glasses. What a great prize.

I have to say that this was a really fun and special day out for us. Yes it was hot and humid but we had a blast!! And I had two very yummy margaritas – they make them perfectly here.

We were having such a great time that we decided to splurge and take a pulmonia home instead of Didi.

Playing tourists in our new home.

Different view from street level.

Heading home. That is our white building in the middle.

This wee one was trick or treating on the malecon.

Taken here in the city – yesterday, October 30th. I love how creative the Mexicans are.

These two “similar” photos were taken last Thursday by our friends Pilar & Andres. They have fallen in love with the girls. The girls expressions are priceless.

Just as I was about to publish my blog we heard some noise outside….at 6:00PM tonight two parades were scheduled. One was an OFF ROAD HALLOWEEN PARADE and the other was a ZOMBIE MOTORCYCLE RIDERS event. both parades were throwing candy to the onlookers along the malecon.  I decided to not do a video, too many photos already in this post. But once again, we have had a very special  & exciting day. How can we not help but love living here.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween Day!.

Tomorrow will yet be another new adventure for us. And of course more blogs will be involved.

PS. This is my 2nd blog post today.

I know I promised this to you yesterday but life intervened. Love the golden colors.

A special sunset before Vance let the skies pour down.

This is the link to the storm that Vance brought to Mazatlan, in case you missed it, it was posted October 29th.

And here are a few more flooding photos that I saw online that I never included in the previous post!

I heard that canoes were being used on Isla de la Piedra as well.

No, not Venice but Centro Mazatlan.

That was quite the tropical storm. So very glad that the hurricanes missed us with any direct hits. The tides and winds were enough.

The Pacific coast certainly had its share of storms this season.

************************** PLEASE NOTE *********************

I will still be posting a special Halloween post later today – so be sure to check back!

…and for some reason he has decided to stay and torment everyone.

ThIs was posted earlier in the day yesterday. So we knew what was supposed to come. We had some rain but not too much.

There was a huge wind and lite show 2 nights ago on the 27th and a palm fell onto there malcon – just next door to us at the corner of the hospital.

An extreme high tide was at about 9:30AM and it was obvious.  This restaurant ended up losing most of the new plywood that they had installed a few days ago. You can see one piece floating away at the very top middle of this shot.

We had just a tiny bit of filtered sunshine before tropical storm Vance moved in.

My window washer was here before the rains started……oh well.

The rain intensity kept changing!

Mazatlan does not handle so much rain at once.

So glad that neither of us had to go out today.

Beaches were closed.

At one point the wind was so strong that it required two hands to close our sliding patio doors.

There were so many things to observe. Mother Nature is in charge for certain!

Fortunately there was no cruise ship in port today.

About 5PM a golden glow began, ever so subtly.

A moment or two later, blue appeared in the sky to the right.

From this point I could not stop snapping shots of the sky, the golds were like nothing I have seen before. Then some dark clouds began to appear. During this entire time the rain never stopped. And we noticed that the waves were getting larger and stronger. Then winds then began to increase.

The skies began to look ominous.

A strident firetruck came screeching around the corner just below me.

We could see no fire but these fellows often respond to the cartel violence as a first responder. Wow, we certainly had lot of that today. Vance did not deter them.

I suspect that we might see another side of Vance this evening. I hope not…..

I took many photos of the changing golden sky this afternoon and I promise to have thenm put in to their own blog post for midday manana. So be sure to check back then.

The rain continues to fall and high tide is about 11:00PM 😯 Did I mention that we have had lightening and thunder for the past few hours?

BREAKING NEWS…..this was just posted 25 minutes ago.

Google translate :

STORM UPDATE IN MAZATLÁN
Heavy rain continues, though its intensity is beginning to decrease (rainfall rates have dropped from 30–40 mm/h to 8–21 mm/h).
Total rainfall across the city ranges from 73.3 mm to 98.3 mm.
The storm activity is now moving toward Villa Unión and the municipality of El Rosario. Residents in those areas should remain alert, as rainfall may intensify.
Another storm cell is developing off the coast, moving toward the area between the city and the Laguna El Huizache region. It is likely to concentrate near the coast of El Rosario.
CURRENT TEMPERATURE: 21–22°

I hope that tonight, we see our first 4 girls. I have been dreaming about them these past few nights. Sometimes I hear extra dogs walking about, as well as see an unexpected movement out of the corner of my eye.

Our # 1 Cloii in the raspberry collar and # 2 Channel  ( huge chest ) in the green collar. 

 

They were all so special with unique personalities. On the right is Carmeh, our #3 and on the left is Caeli, our fourth doxie. 

You will always be in our hearts. Thank you for the special memories.

What a wonderful life we have lived over the years 😎  Some downs but many many ups. We have experienced so many unusual and wonderful adventures. Over the past few months we have been reminiscing. We got married in 1987 ( 39 years together ). Got our first doxie about ten years later. And then a second to keep her company. Of course then we had to purchase our first RV ( we have only had 3 overall  ) so that the girls could travel with us. Previously we used to frequent Hawaii annually before the girls. But now, they had to travel with us. The chocolate twins are our last set. They were our Covid babies. But in the future, once we are healed, we plan to travel again. Well that is, if there will still be a world left in a few years. We started RVing to Mexico in 2001.

Yesterday I actually unpacked our final two totes that we brought with us from Kelowna. Inside the final one I found ALL of my travel notes staring from day 1 of RVing. Including the ones I emailed ( I had to learn how to use a computer on the road in the early 2000’s ) to my parents and that a sister had printed out for my parents to read. So incredible to have this detailed information from 2001 and on. What an incredible time we have had traveling Mexico all along the east coast as far down to the isthmus. That was the most dangerous and difficult crossing that we had ever done because of a road washout and we were stuck. We could not go forward nor back. Suffice to say that we crossed the two steel pipes put over the river when a bridge washed out. Colin crossed first in the RV and I crossed next in the car with the dogs. It was a very steep decline with a very short place to cross. Somehow Colin barely got the 40′ RV front tires onto the steel pipes before he bottomed out.  Honest to God I closed my eyes as he crossed. He had only a few inches on each side of the RV and I did not want to see what happened. So I just kept my eyes closed and simply pushed the gas pedal down. We lived to tell the story, but meeting up a ways down the road and connecting were another horror story.

Isthmus of Tehuantepec, isthmus in southern Mexico, between the Gulf of Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico to the north, and the Gulf of Tehuantepec on the Pacific Ocean to the south. From gulf to gulf the isthmus is 137 miles (220 km) wide at its narrowest part; and it is 120 miles (193 km) from the Gulf of Campeche to the head of Superior Lagoon, an inlet on the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The isthmus is a broad, plateaulike ridge. Its climate is hot, but Pacific winds often bring relief. The northern side is swampy and densely covered with tropical forest; the Pacific slopes on the south are drier.

The reason I brought up this story is that just a few days ago Colin met up with a fellow from Catamaco, Veracruz where we had stayed for several nights before we had this washed out bridge adventure. Colin actually has met many Mexicans walking the dogs in the early mornings. Catemaco is a town in the Mexican state of Veracruz, famously known as the witchcraft capital in Mexico. You can imagine Eddie’s surprise to find out that Colin had not only visited there but had driven there and back from Canada ( approximately 3,203 miles one way ). I even met a few witches in the market one day.

To be honest the rest of the journey to the Pacific Ocean and then north to Acapulco only became more complicated. But we did ( very ) eventually get to an RV Park in Acapulco ( not to mention a road we could not drive down in Huatulca ( it got pitch black in 30 seconds and for the second time in as many days we were unable to move forward or back without damaging the RV), PLUS a flat tire, broken tow bar and so on, including staying in our bus in a Pemex with space for 3 cars max  ) and  where we met some of the very best people we have ever met in our lives. We spent 4 – 5 winters in Pie de la Cuesta, Acapulco. Traveling the west coast from Vancouver to Acapulco was a grueling, 3,170 mile journey in  each direction.  Such a long drive but worth every mile. I miss those people more than I can explain.  And very fortunately we are still in touch with some of them.

Colin and I have so many complicated / exciting / fun & dangerous stories to share. We have spent many many years years exploring Mexico. Most RVers get as far as Mazatlan and are content. There is so much more of Mexico to explore. So way back in October of 2009 we stopped at Tres Amigos RV Park on Isla de la Piedra and after a pro and con list,  that is how we decided to stay in this area of Mexico. We are so very happy to have stopped there and were content to live there five to six months every winter.

Taken with the past 14 days. I was too lazy ( or sore ) to get up and go out onto the balcony.

Sadly, I do not have the energy ( at the moment ) to expand on these thoughts. Back to October 24, 2024.

We had no idea how long this stay in Mexico would be. We were so very excited to be driving our new to us full-time home, a 45′ diesel pusher. We actually had planned to be traveling months to Canada as well as the USA to explore the many wonderful vistas. All we knew was that this was our new forever home. We had hoped to travel north in the summer and return to the Isla in the winter.

And then Colin had a damaging stroke the end of April 2025. Our life and future goals were changed in an instant. You can go back and read about the struggles, if you wish.

This story is somewhat disjointed – but here we are a full two years to when we arrived in Mexico back in 2024.  Sadly we came to realize that we would no longer be living in an RV full-time. As you know the RV was moved to Mesa in early May  to sell on consignment. It was the only RV lot taking consignments at that time. A few weeks ago we had it moved to a much larger RV lot in Sun City, AZ.  We hope to get it sold within the next few months.

April was spent selling personal items and packing to move. I had started last February to find us place to live in Mazatlan. The prime requirement was a place with a view and constant perfect sunsets, space to move about, a usable balcony for the twins and a beach as close as possible. Strangely some of the beachfront condos did not qualify as it was a long long way from the apartment to the actual beach. We are closer here.Unfortunately we had to move here once from the Isla and then move again ( within the same building )  3 months later. We are ecstatic with the condo we are living in. We have everything that we need. And finally we have just unpacked all that left Canada two years ago. But yet again I have a few more totes coming and some art that we love. That is it, the end of our possessions from Canada. Not saying we will never go back to Canada. We are totally aware that life is a constant change but this is home for a few years. Anything can change,

Sadly part of the change was my taking a heavy and damaging fall the day of our second move, ( July 26, 2026 ). Within about 5 days it was established that I had a fractured pelvis. I was on bedrest for two months.

Even worse it was discovered about 13 days ago that I had not one but TWO ( but ?? 2 or 3 ) fractures in my pelvis. No wonder the pain continued. So now I am on DAILY physiotherapy. The purpose is to try and get the bones of the pelvis to join and heal. We both continue to work daily to get ahead of our current health issues. In real time Colin has done a HUGE amount of improvement based on his daily strict attention to detail. He is working so very hard day by to increase the normality of his gait.

Oh and I neglected to discuss the most  thorough eye examination I have ever had in my 73 years.

A  90 minute eye examination for only1000 MXN.  Extremely long story short!  My eye vision is what it is – which will allow me to see to the best of my ability. This eye doctor was an ophthalmologist and also a retina specialist. I have to keep using top quality eye lenses such as Zeiss.

That red zig zag line on the bottom right shows that I have a hair follicle growing inside my right eye. This is affecting my vision. At the moment I am using eye drops during the day and an eye ointment at night. Poco a poco. They can pull the hair follicle BUT it can regrow and be even thicker which will create a greater problem!  So they are trying drops and creme for a few months. At least the eye pain has stopped and I am so glad to have a reason for it.

Last Sunday we headed out about 5:30PM.  This is in front of our condo.  We were going out on a really actual date. Possibly our first since the stroke in April 2025. Such a beautiful sunset.

We went to El Recreo. It was the first night of Season 2 of the Monologue series,  he performance was less than an hour. So glad we went as it was most enjoyable. Five  story tellers  about “the line not crossed”. Afterwards, we waked over to the Plazuela Machado.

The vendors were there but no shoppers. And empty tables everywhere. So we sat and had a drink and shared an excellent dinner. Great food and service at Pedro and Lola’s.

Later last week I had my ‘sun spots’ removed. I went for the full Monty and turns out it was a lot….I am going to be a mess but should be normal in a few weeks. Sadly the week ahead will have me doing my six month vein appointment.  I don’t think it will ever end.

My plan was to publish this yesterday, October 24, 2026. That way I could say that we have officially been in Mazatlan for two years – without leaving the Isla nor the city itself. So now this evening as I publish, I will add that we are now a full 2 years and one day here in Mexico. The time has gone so quickly. Who knew that we would be here for two full summers! HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!  Hopefully the humidity will start to decrease soon. Then I can start walking with Colin and the girls in the morning.

We have one cruise ship in tomorrow, Monday, then two one Tuesday the 27th and another two on the 28th. Life is grand here in Mazatlan.

Sunset tonight Oct 25, 2026

Hurricane Simon was to come very close to Mazatlan at a Cat 2 or a Cat 1. Several hours ago the cone began to shift toward the right – towards the mountains. And now as you can see we are no longer even in the path of the cone. However from Mazanillo and up it is now an entire cone of uncertainly. Things can shift quickly as Simon has been dancing all over the place.

We are prepared for whatever happens. We have purchased extra water, food, veggies and fruits. At one point we thought we could have to tape our 15 large floor to ceiling windows but have decided that is not necessary at this point. Or course tomorrow everything on the balcony ( including the dogs pee tray ) will be brought inside to prevent flying projectiles.

The past few days have been cloudy and ever so humid. So it was lovely see this special sunset.

We have friends who left LA, on Thursday, on Voyageur of the Seas. A group of eight including three wheelchairs. At boarding they were told that they would no longer be docking here in Mazatlan on Monday the 12th and would stop in Puerto Vallarta. Sadly that port is scheduled to be hit by Simon as a Cat 3 before 11PM tomorrow, Sunday the 11th. No one really knows the que pasa of it all!

Workers spent today boarding up the windowless spaces in the building under construction.

I have medical things to catch up with you on, plus other things such as parts of the malecon sinking. But at this point our minds on our Simon.

The colors in the sky tonight are outstanding.

Sadly just now at 6:40PM I see that there is already another system of disturbance forming.

Stay safe everyone.

The girls love their daily walk at 7AM.  I of course sleep through it.  Once it cools I will get out there but just not at 7AM.

This will be one of those off the cuff blog posts. I have tried to find time but it eludes me. So I am just going to dive in. I do write better now as in 8PM before we have dinner. Colin is playing so I am taking a chance on how much time I will get here. He had a great therapy session which wore him out but after good nap he exercises and now it is time for him.

After the eye doctor last week I did an expensive quick stop at Sam’s. Tis the seaon (S)!!

The RV had a potential buyer who showed up the day before we had planned to move the RV to another consignment lot. Apparently the husband really wanted it and even had the cash -however his wife said no!! It took them over two weeks to decide. So we have pulled the RV and moved it to another area in Arizona. We have been on call for two solid days trying to explain that this and that are not broken but ‘you just need to know how to use them ‘! It is difficult as most Americans don’t have Whats app so can’t call us. Fortunately we got 2 out of 3 things repaired. I even had to some photoshop on some photos I found.  I am letting Colin take the brunt of the discussions on this consignment. The new location seems much more animated and professional.

Each time it rains the street behind us gets flooded.

Of course being on the computer so much has affected my right eye. I did finally get out last week ( for only the second time since my bed rest ) and got my new to me eye glasses ordered. They are Zeiss lenses and take a full ten days to be made and they are done in Mexico City. Of course I grilled this eye doctor as well as to my vision loss. He is sending me to a retinologist who will do a thorough examination and see if there is even a possibility of corrective surgery. Normally an implanted cataract lenses can’t be removed 😥 I have been all over the map with my emotions. My very special amiga Mary-Ann did some spectacular research on a possible solution to my eye issue. I will be presenting her research tomorrow morning at my appointment.  Mary-Ann has been doing non stop research to help me and Colin over the past 14 months for a variety of reasons from financial to mechanical to medical and more.  She is truly an angel on earth! Thank you so much, both of you.

Actually I just remembered that it started with you finding me a back cushion for my computer situation in the RV.

We saw them in March of 2025 here on the Isla, about a month before Colins’ stroke.

Sadly my right eye has been hurting these past few busy days on the computer  🙁  But my life is the computer and reading!  Hopefully I will get some good news tomorrow.

Mazatlan has been crazy the past few weeks. High winds and waves. So much destruction of waterfront restaurants both here in front of us and back on the Isla. Apparently it happens almost annually but this particular season seems to be worse. This is a different year with all of the constant local unrest. I have been advised to not discuss any of it on my blog for personal safety reasons. So happy to be here way up in our secure vantage point.

It started with a few waves.

I am feeling stronger and I am getting back in the saddle so to speak. I had no idea that I would so little stamina after my pelvic fracture. This week alone I have four medical appointments.

It wasn’t long before the restaurants began to disintegrate.

Both of these restaurants are directly across the street from us. So may people suddenly out of work. Plus the beach vendors and of course those who set up the tables, umbrellas and chairs every morning.

The Mazatlan season is slowly getting started. However there any many who have left or are on the process of moving elsewhere in Mexico. Colin and I are totally happy here. As are our chocolate twins. I am bound and determined to start doing a few things that we only thought about when living on the Isla. We are here so why not!!

Hmmm….I really need to start doing physical exercises again. I must rebuild my physical strength. Soon the humidity will decline and I must be able to get out there and walk the malecon!!  Never hesitate to nag me in a message about moving and exercising 😉

A few nights ago by Colin.

Strange white cloud formation two nights ago and it stayed until 5AM.

So much for my short post 😀  Okay, I need to add some photos. Well I guess I added a lot….

My sunset tonight, taken towards the west.

And just to the east was this lovely sky.

I have an important notice ❗  A long time blog reader, Kay, who has been with me since I started posting in May of 2010 has hired an entire cruise ship and she is sailing in to see us a week today. Kay is also an extremely special person in my life. Whenever Colin and I had a breakdown on the road, Kay, ( also an RVer ) was always there for us. I remember her saying just get here to my place and you can stay as long as you need to. I will look after you 🙂  And I knew that she would have but we always figured it out. But to have Kay waiting in case we needed her was very extraordinary.

Yippee!! The shrimp boats came out tonight.

I appears that I have been collecting very specials angels over the years. So looking to my first ever hug from Kay – I have been waiting over 15 years! Isn’t life amazing 😎

Anyone coming for Carnaval?

That is Hurricane Rachel just hanging on the left ( in yellow ) but there is a new disturbance as shown on the bottom right. It is to be named Hurricane Simon. We just might be in for a wild ride, in about a week! It appears to be hugging the coastline!!

After I posted my blog yesterday afternoon I looked over the balcony toward the mountains. I am always looking outside! So much to take in and to observe.

Where did those dark clouds come from? The hurricane was in the opposite direction.

We watched as the heavy clouds moved around Valentinos and over the Islands.

Another different sunset.

The wind began to pick up.

The sun was setting and the sky was getting darker.

Not only darker but dense with a rain cloud.

Nature is amazing.

Closer and closer….

The rain was falling as you can see under the street light.

Almost high tide and the waves were coming over the palapa roofs. The smaller restaurant on the right was missing its front row of palmas.

Colin spent today cleaning out his photos file. I love this photo of me….working to become that person again.

Interesting waves formation this afternoon.

Polo has moved on, but Rachel is knocking at our shore. Tropical storm now and looks like she might become a Category 2 in a few days.

Thanks for checking and comments are appreciated. That is the only way I know that you are out there!!

It is 4:30PM PST and I think that Mazatlan got lucky.

It is windier than normal but the sky looks clear.

There are some larger waves but certainly no towering surf.

This is the latest screen capture from the Zoom Earth Satellite. As you can see the cloud cover between Polo and Mazataln is clear. I saw a video earlier that Dallas had taken on the Isla and the surf on the island is much stronger than here but not beyond a normal high tide on the day of a full moon.  Next high tide is at 9:27PM @ 1.37 meters.

I am officially off of bed rest as of a week ago. But I was to keep taking my meds until they were completed. They are pretty strong anti inflammatories and my stomach rebelled so I stopped those as well. About two days later my right side ( which I fell on ) has some unusual aches. Even my ankle, toes and calf when I walk. I think it is going to take me a while to get back to full walking mode. I am going to have to back to the beginning go my strength rebuilding exercises.

Sometimes when Colin is out the girls sit at the door and wait for him. Yesterday I actually had to put a bed there for them to rest in. Colin was meeting a Mexican friend for coffee at Starbucks, just downstairs.

The only time I have been out was to go see my eye doctor last week. He still had not had a chance to check if the yag laser surgery had worked. Dr Wong pronounced my cataract lenses were clear. However I still can’t see properly out of my right eye and wanted a stronger prescription. Long story short I was told that my left eye is at 90-95% while I only had 40-45% vision in my right eye. I have never seen clearly after my cataract surgery back in August 2024. The doctor who performed that surgery thought I was joking when I said I want my cataracts back. He said that I should just add reading glasses.  I have struggled the past few years and I have seen at least six different vision specialists. It was suggested to me that perhaps the wrong lenses were implanted in my eyes. And no I can’t have another cataract surgery as it is much too dangerous to attempt it. That I should not have had a monofilament lense but rather a progressive lense.

With all the rain that we have had the three Islands are very green.

I was in deep shock and felt that my life was over. Reading and working on the computer is what I do. Of course this being my first outing since July 22nd, I was worn out and began to cry. My next step was to immediately go the the Galeria Optica and get a second eye specialist opinion. He spent close to an hour with me and checked my eyes and my glasses and did a few tests. Sadly he confirmed that my vision was as good as it would get and that a different prescription would be of no help. I was devastated and he was very kind to me. No charge for his time. So I bought an expensive pair of eye glasses with red in them! However I have to got to yet another place to get high end Zeiss lenses put it. That will ensure that I have the best possible vision. I feel bad for not being able to give my money to Galeria Optica but he insisted I go to this other place. I do plan to got there next week when I hopefully have more energy. I also intend to have a discussion with Doctor Daniel about my current vision. His father was an optician and his wife and son also work in the business. Meanwhile I am still mourning my vision.

Zuki meets the girls on most days. See how big his head is. He loves slathering Ciela with his tongue, she does not enjoy it at all. To be honest, Zuki could be female – Colin has no idea!

Nothing has been happening with the RV and we made a decision to move it from Mesa to another consignment location. We had a driver go to pick it up last Tuesday and the batteries were dead and the was no fuel in the tank to use the generator. No way to start the RV  never mind bring the slides in. What a mess! And a huge amount of stress for Colin – which we are trying to shield him from. But later that day we received a message asking us to please leave the RV there for another week. Apparently someone is very interested in our coach. He made an offer that was accepted but it is based on him getting a 3 year job contract in Missouri which was to happen within a week or less.  The fellow is waiting to find out if he gets the job and then will then live in the RV full-time. We have heard nothing 😯 Probably we will give them a few more days and arrange to move the RV next week.

Zuki’s Dad, Jose.

The girls are good and have totally settled in and hardly ever bark. Even when one of us comes back in they just run up for hugs and kisses. They love their long morning slow walk with Colin. They stop and sit on the malecon wall for a break every so often enjoying a bit of shade.  The girls have lots of dogs friends and Colin has met many people that he visits with everyday. I do think they miss seeing all their RV friends from the Isla.

A long walk from home.

Hurricane Polo has been deemed the  most powerful cyclone ever off the Pacific coast of Mexico. For a short yesterday it decreased back down to a Cat 4 but soon was back up to a Cat 5. It bounces back and forth and now has a new path. This is the latest from Zoom Earth Satellite taken 25 minutes ago. as you can see there will be heavy & surf coming our way.

SURF: Swells generated by Polo will affect portions of the coast of
southwestern Mexico during the next few days. Swells will spread
northward along the coast of west-central Mexico and toward Baja
California Sur on Friday and into the weekend. These swells are
likely to cause life-threatening surf, rip currents, and coastal
flooding. Please consult products from your local weather office.