Month: October 2025

You all know about October 31st and Halloween. Many of you are familiar with the Mexico customs at this time of the year regarding the dead.

As you can see the makeup is a true art form.

Many set up their own personal altars to honor those who have passed.

Locally here in Mazatlan there are a variety of activities to enjoy.

There is always a parade around the Plazuela Machado and in front of some other local restaurants in that area. So you simply make a dinner reservations and watch the parade pass you by so to speak.

Some parades are more elaborate than others. Mexico City always has a huge celebration.

There are hundreds and hundreds of personal celebrations at graveyards. Some hire a live band to play and all bring food and to enjoy as they sit and visit with the spirits of those that have passed.

One of the most enduring symbols of the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) in Mexico is the Calavera Catrina, or simply “La Catrina”. Her skeletal face has become synonymous with Mexico’s celebration of life and death, adorned with an elegant dress and an ornate hat.

Puerto Vallarta is known for having the largest Catrinas.

Nowadays, La Catrina is everywhere during the day of the Dead. Her image is used to remind everyone that death is not something to be feared, but rather embraced as part of the human experience – from giant sculptures and costumed parades to sugar skulls and face painting.

Sadly this year Colin and I will not be able to participate but hopefully next year.

There are so many different aspects of Mexico to enjoy and to celebrate.

 

 

 

Can you believe we are only two sleeps away from returning to Isla de la Piedra? A week ago I wasn’t sure that I could wait eight or nine days and now we are down to two nights and one full day. We have been busy packing and organizing. Because of the extreme rains this past summer the Isla roads are full of huge potholes. Fortunately Colin had already arranged for the low trees branches to be cut so we only have to navigate the pot holes. Hence careful packing of our fragiles and art objects.

Now that we are leaving the weed cutting gets more intense.

Meanwhile I have been busy grocery shopping for what is not available on the Isla and stocking up somewhat so that we can simply just get there and sit and rest and relax and take it all in. Yes we will eventfully need to get stuff from our bodega but we have lived without it all for four months so we can take our time getting settled.  Of course the urge to get it done will be pushing us but I think my desire to be one with the ocean wl be stronger.

I had no idea that there were two RV patio pads under all that mess.

I know for a fact that Alex our palapa builder will be pushing to get started but we do need a few days to figure where the light is coming from and where we will set up our relaxing areas. The priority of course will be fencing for the girls. I already ordered new fencing to add to what we have and it is waiting on the Isla.  We can simply start with a small area and then add as we have time and expand their area. I am pretty sure that to just be free to be outside next to the ocean breeze and view will be all they need – no matter the size of their penned in area.

Night two of unloading the U Haul into our new RV on October 8, 2024.

Colin’s first physio appointment on the Isla with Sofia is booked for Friday morning, the 31st. She is the one he has been seeing once per week in Centro. Sofia has an eagle eye and is extremely attentive to details and to the slightest error. She has caught so many small things and has helped Colin so much. He has progressed in the past few weeks. But he does tire easily as he keeps pushing his body.

It took me 6 other 7 months to finally find things. Those first days things were simply shoved into empty spaces.

I can’t say that I will miss this place ( hell hole ).  We had three huge 5th wheels from Alberta heading down to La Parota RV Park in Lo De Marcos stop by last week. They were surprised at how unkempt this place was. The mosquitoes are still biting but the weeds are starting to get cut. On a daily basis we check for spear grass and remove it from the girls. Ciela is a magnet for the new batch of prickly burrs just popping up everywhere. And Carlie has the eye infection this week. Wednesday morning can’t come soon enough.

So why can’t I sleep at night? Maybe too many things going thru my mind. As far as I can tell the new site @ #15 is ready for us. Erik was supposed to have set up the tinaco & pump and water supply for us this past weekend. I called TotalPlay and created a new account with an anticipated installation of the fibre optic internet connection early afternoon Wednesday.

A new perch for the girls last October. This October they will have a new yard.

With everything that has been happening ( including daily physio this past week ) it completely slipped my mind that we have been full time RVers for over a year now. We started living in this RV on Monday October 7th, 2024

We someone managed to fit into the old palapa. One of our first sunsets  on the Isla in October 2024.

We left Canada on October 4th, 2024 and crossed into Mexico on October 24,2024 and have officially been living in Mazatlan since October 26, 2024, a year ago yesterday.

A new windscreen. Lovely. We were able to  have it moved to the new site. It will be a bit shorter when we re install it next week.

It took extra time to write this blog post tonight as I had to go back to last October. I was surprised to read things that I had forgot like my having emergency root canals mere days before we left Kelowna and of course my cataract surgeries. But we actually had problems on the road with the Jeep ( and crappy hotels )  traveling to California to pickup this RV. Then when we finally left the RV dealership we had RV problems from that first night. It really has been a difficult year. Let’s hope that as we go into our second year in the RV things will settle down.

Starting to look like home. At least this October, I only have to deal with the outside of the RV.

The details of last October are not well recorded as I simply did not have the energy to do so. I wish that I had been able to take the time to go back and write up all the missing days.  I know that I was so worn out once we got to the Isla that I pretty much slept from November 2024 to March 2025. I was just getting back to whatever my new normal was going to be when Colin had his stroke.

Our new location. From the Playa Sur Embarcadero you turn right and walk for a short period of time. The tip of the first red arrow shows the entrance to the compound. Our RV was parked at an angle. The tip of the second red arrow, along with the #15 indicates the entrance to our new home. The yellow outline will be our RV and the green area shows our outdoor living space.

So returning to the Isla is going to be like starting all over. Hoping to take it one step at a time, poco a poco.

No one made a comment on my last post about using #15 or commune or ??  So it likely be different each time.

Meanwhile back at our old compound some serious cement pouring is happening re the construction of a swimming pool. No one really knows what is  being planned for the site.

The necessary tree trimming has been done and the route is clear. However there are some very deep and wide pot holes that we will have to navigate.

This will be the gate that we will drive in through. The owner has put a huge amount of energy into cleaning up the site and laying new gravel.

The plan is for the front of the RV to be parked next to where the grey wall ends, just before red brick wall and the palapa. All that gravel will be our space.

Brand new installation of a sewer system and 50AMP RV plug.

Three new breaker panels. We are #15 and a large 5th wheel will be beside us in #14. Lot 13 is for the old 5th wheel that is placed along the back wall. We had been told that it was rented but this past weekend we were told that it is not.

Brand new meters will be installed.

Our friends Lusana and Mario visited from Chihuahua, Chihuahua over the weekend. Mario is an electrician who also teaches electricity and he checked out every inch of the new electrical installation paying specific attention to wire gauge, connections, grounding etc. All is ready for us.

They also gifted Colin with lovely shirt and I with a magnificent matching shawl. Both the softest materials from Oaxaca, Mexico.  We had lots of laughs which Colin and I certainly needed.

We will be on the right.

Only 7 more sleeps until we can be parked here.

We actually went out to a late lunch / early dinner two days in a row which was much too much for us. We are not used to much activity and it has taken us a few days to recover.

We ate at La Caleta on Saturday and we were not at all impressed. Never mind the half hanging door in the view but the service was bad as was the food.  We will give it one more try once we are back on the Isla but I am doubtful it will become favorite.

As usual despite my best intentions life kept in the way of my posting. We certainly have had a lot of rain this summer and here at Las Jaibas we are still drying out from the remnants of Priscilla and Raymond. Hopefully this is the end of the high heat and humidity. It really is time to return to our normal weather patterns. Especially as we will be returning to the Isla exactly two weeks from today. Two nights ago I was woken up at 3AM with heavy rain and strong winds. So strong that the glasses in the cabinets were clinking together. After swaying in the kitchen I woke Colin up as I decided that we really should bring in the side window awnings. Who knew that we had a button to push that says – more or less “moving all awnings in? Quite remarkable!!  The next day Joyce told me that the Isla had received 3 inches of rain 😯  And just two blocks north of us cars were covered with water and were floating.

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Colin missed physio on Wednesday because the Didi network was out and as it is almost a full hour drive to her office it was too late to figure out another method of transportation…I no longer have the Uber app. So Thursday ( the 15th ) the morning after the unexpected rain & wind storm we were flooded and could not get out. Shortly thereafter Colin was told that that the rehab area had been flooded as well – so no physio two days in a row. That did not stop him from doing his exercises in the RV.

On the way to the vet on October 7th, we were surprised to see the extent that the fishermen had gone to, to save their boats from the wrath of Priscilla. Pulling the boats up from the ocean to the sidewalk takes a huge amount of effort.

I am slowly buying things that we will need there that we can’t get there  ( such as 2L bottles of limonda natural ) but I only have so much room in the RV. We will be limited as Colin will not be able to do his weekly shop in Centro. In fact it will be a while before Colin will be able to get onto the lancha and cross over to Mazatlan.

I expected to see Day of The Dead at Walmart.

..but not this is in the next aisle. Very bizarre.

I have been able to arrange for the newest physiotherapist Sofia ( she is the one he sees once per week ) to come over to the Isla almost once per week during November. Working on December. Colin plans to spend a dedicated hour doing the exercises he does every morning at the rehab facility, in the RV once we move back to the Isla. As well as the multiple hours of a variety of exercises he now does everyday on a rotational basis. And of course he will be walking around a lot, unlike here.

Ciela and I. She was totally relaxed. Pure love.

Mango season is pretty much over but we still have about four or five in the fridge to enjoy over the next week. Surprisingly the plumeria are also still blooming but I have been so unsettled lately that I have not even bothered picking any to sweeten the air inside the RV. I really must do that tomorrow. Still have not done so. But I was not into fighting the mosquitoes nor the rain puddles.

Interesting article on the plumeria. I had a pink blossomed tree like this in the RV park a few years ago, Fred has it now. I started it back in 2009 from a tiny plant.

Plus there have been things happening behind the scenes so to speak, much too much to write about. Things like wasting hours and hours and hours of time on a possible offer on the house, then that person went silent. Then suddenly the other day we had a showing and goes who it was?  Same person but this time with a realtor in tow. And the offer was much lower. Lost that deal last night.  But we still have our original offer pending the sale of these potential buyers home in Calgary. However I think it is time to send positive thoughts out to the Universe that their home sells so that they can buy ours. The buyers set January 7th as the date they want their home to sell by or the deal for our home will be over. Meanwhile we do have another showing tomorrow. So you never know. “Loved our house but they’ve not even listed their home.”

Our Mountain Ash is putting out her fall colors.

So I started this post two days ago and already there are updates, which I am highlighting in italics. 

When I see the photos that Cindy sends, I truly do miss our Kelowna home.

On October 7th ( I can’t believe that 10 days have passed by ) the girls had their teeth cleaned at our vets office in Centro. Time is ( finally ) moving swiftly. The vet was wonderful and had offered to have the girls picked up here at Las Jaibas and returned back to us. There was no way we could do that and chose to take a Didi ( a bit of an ordeal as we ended up with tiny tiny car ) to vets office. We sat and held them until they were taken to the back to be put under for the teeth cleaning. We wanted to reduce the stress as much as possible for them.

Oh where has my sister gone?  Colin is there to comfort her.

While their procedures were happening Colin went to nearby restaurant for a long breakfast while I dashed around doing errands. Including picking up cheese and fresh snapper at the mercado. Once done, I pick Colin up at the restaurant and we went back to pick up our girls.

They were so happy to hear our voices. I was surprised at how alert they were.

For a grand total of $114.50CAD/1500MXN each, the girls had the works. Toes were dremelled, ears were checked and cleaned and anal glands checked. And basic bloodwork was done. A tiny piece of spear grass was found in Carlie’s gum and of course was removed. Ciela had a tiny “extra’ tooth that was removed as it was wobbly and the area was slightly inflammed. They each received a shot of antibiotics as well as an anti-inflammatory shot. They were groggy when we arrived but in the same crate as I had requested and appeared relaxed and content. We were back in our casa within 4.5 hours of leaving. Wow, great service and at an unbelievable price. By the way, the girls are only two months shy of turning five. This is the firs time they have their teeth cleaned. They only eat dog food, kibble and the very occasional dog treat. Kudos to us.

Colin sat in the front with the the Didi driver. I was in the back with the packages from my errands as well as the girls, each in their own carry bag. They were very sleepy from the anesthetic and never moved an inch.

We had three very large 5th wheels pull in very late afternoon – like after 5PM. No idea where they are from or where they came from today. But they seem to be setting up for more than a night or two. Hope to get more into re the roads etc.

Can you believe that we are down to 12 sleeps including tonight. We had plans to visit here and there but things never worked out re bugs and weather and other reasons. I am not wishing to spend more time here in order to do these things. So looking forward to getting back to the Isla.

Once we got back from the vet we took them out to pee and then they promptly lay down in true twin fashion and fell asleep. I carried them in and they pretty much slept for the rest of the day.

The next post will be about the progress of our new site on the Isla.

So from the fall of  2009 to spring of 2023 we lived at the Tres Amigos RV park. Then the winters of 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 we lived in what I called the “compound” with Genie and Joe. So now we are moving four lots over southish – towards Chivos. The compound was comprised of 3 individual lots which is why it was so large for the two RV’s.

I have been seeing this bird all around me this past week. It is a Red Warbler. It has been interesting to track it around us.

We are moving to an even larger area which is actually 4 individual lots. There are now two homes in that area, one is newly built and is actually two separate apartments, the other is the owners huge wonderful home. Plus there will be our RV, another large 5th wheel ( they will be coming and going and not there on a daily basis ) and the old 5th wheel which has been moved to the back of the site along the wall and rented out for a period of time. So three cement ( I really wanted to say brick and stick ) homes and three RV’s which will pretty much be permanent. So should I call it a commune? Certainly better than #15. Any and all suggestions will  be considered.

Next post will be all about the Isla updates with lots of photos.

Always on security duty.

Living the best we can during TS Raymond.  We now have a waterfront site. Our food delivery person barely got here an hour ago because there is a real lake ( over pulmonia tire height ) leaving Las Jaibas onto the main road.

And now this, taken just 30 minutes ago in Centro…..hard to believe it….

https://web.facebook.com/reel/1257638763075954

She did not make a direct hit but by stalling in one place for three full days off shore @ about 569 KM off shore she left her mark in many many ways.

The following are some of the photos and maybe a video or two to click on re the effects seen Tuesday in Mazatlan along the malecon. There are so many photos all over the media to share but I think these will give you the idea of what happened.

It was a full moon as well as high tide and of course Priscilla parked off shore for three days.

These beach restaurants were damaged.

These images are specific to Isla de la Piedra with special thanks to Dallas as noted.

Great photo Dallas. He captured the intensity of the waves.

The colonia embarcadero was affected during high tide.

The Ramada

Union Bar on the right so that road is gone for now. 

I have been told that the road between El Velero and Puesto del Sol is no more.  Also that the road along the Isla Malecon – along the shipping channel from where the pavement ends all the way to just past the Playa Sur Embarcadero is pretty much impassable. Erik the RV tech does not think that we could get our RV through that area. But we have a few more weeks to go.

Sadly El Velero, one of the favorites on the Isla, did suffer some damage. Click on the link below for a 20 second video.

https://web.facebook.com/reel/800847629022190

Click this link for another Isla video, rowing a boat inland……https://web.facebook.com/reel/1492198482112131

To the right of RV2.

There is yet another possible hurricane system out there. The forecast is for extensive rain this weekend.

This evening by Dallas. Drew and Jeannie’s house to the left and to the right our empty site with just a few pieces of wood sticking up and the small front area to Joe & Genie’s palapa. An apropos end view to our compound.

Before we get into the storms out there, I just want to share that in my last post yesterday there was some good news about a pending sale of our home.

An official hurricane.

This looks rather nasty.

Hopefully it won’t be too bad for us here in Mazatlan. But we are a bit concerned as we have a 9AM appointment at the vet in the morning so the girls can get their teeth cleaned. If it floods we will not be able to get to Centro where our vet is located.

Lots to read or just ignore the text part.

The main thing is that large ocean swells are mentioned with peak seas near 18 feet.  Seas are probably as high as 30 feet near the center of the hurricane.

Per Dallas, the waves are building back on the Isla.  Click here for a wee video.

The shrimp boats which only went out a week or so ago have been called in for their protection from Hurricane Priscilla.

So much for viewing the supermoon tonight!

Colin and I and of course the girls left Canada a year ago yesterday. In true ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ style we left Canada, October 4th 2024  towing a U – Haul filled to the brim behind the Jeep ( also filled to the roof ) and here we are a full year later still in Mazatlan. Who knows where we would be right now if Colin had not had his stroke on April 28, 2025? Back in Canada for the past few summer months or in the Lake Chapala area or perhaps somewhere in the USA.

Each of the three nights in the motel was not pleasant. Actually each was worse  than the previous nite.

So very many changes  in the past year but we have overcome them as best as we can.  Still need to overcome some things but we are working on pushing onward and upward.

Ciela and Carlie barely had any space in the Jeep as we headed south. I even had totes all around my feet.

Best news to date, is that as of a few hours ago today, we have a signed offer on the sale of our home. A pending sale as it is subject to the sale of their home by January 7, 2026. So keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming and crossed toes if you must. We are both sad and happy. We loved that house. Colin designed it. We moved in in early October of 2012 but only lived there half the year so the home is almost like new. We have been traveling to Mexico every winter since 2001 and it was only the winter of 2022 / 2023  ( our first winter living in the paradise of our compound  ) that we decided that we would like live in Mexico permanently. Then after Colin’s stroke on April 28, 2025, he made the decision that this is where he wanted to live out the rest of his days – despite having designed the most perfect home for us in Kelowna.

Focusing on the road ahead to our new future. It was quite the journey ( with many ups and downs and I mean that literally – we should have chosen a better route and I am sorry that I missed documenting that time in our life. I was so worn out from clearing out the house, selling  and packing that I ran out of energy. I always thought  that I would go back and write about it.

So here I am a full year later and feel sad about my neglect in the documentation. Fortunately Colin took these photos and those for the next blog’s photos or I would have none. Even more special is that he recalled taking them and was able to find them for me tonight. I spent everyday figuring out our travel direction ( and I yes I made a mistake but just the once  😕  ) and then figuring out feeding us and the dogs and trying to make our accommodation for the night “good enough” for us and as comfortable as I could. Unpacking for the night and packing up again the next day.

Yesterday we went to see our new to us home on the Isla. It is starting to look better. That is Colin in the blue shirt in the center of the photo. And the Jeep on the left.

We were surprised to see that the old 5th wheel was parked against the back wall. The owners decided to keep it on their property as a woman from California wanted to rent it for the winter. It does not affect our personal gate as seen on the left but it does affect our view of the shipping channel. Nothing is perfect.

Once we got to the Isla ( Oct 24, 2024 ), we only had so many days to get our Temporal renewed. It was a challenge. We finally got settled within the compound and set up our site and the RV. That is when I fell apart and began sleeping 18 – 22 hours per day. I missed visiting with our neighbors, as well as Christmas, New Years and Carnaval. I began to feel normal about mid March 2025 and was just starting to become part of the world by mid April. Much happened during those months and I have things to blog about – when I can. Then the stroke happened and I had no choice but to wake up and take on Colin’s care. It has had been quite the year.

7AM , December 1, 2024.