Mazatlan #4 - Friends

Let us begin with a happy dance, shall we?

Below: Juan Jose, my good friend and writer (famoso) from Mazatlan, at the house Greg and I are renting. Juan Jose and his girlfriend, Karla, came over for coffee this morning. JuanJo has been so welcoming ... he met us at the airport, toured us around, etc.

Here are Juan Jose and Karla in the party room. It was the coolest place to be this morning.

A few days ago, we had dinner at Plazuela Machado with Juan Jose.

Mazatlan #3 (b) - More images from the Isla de Piedra

This little girl (above and below) was working hard ... digging holes for sun umbrellas, etc. She was about 8 years old. And smiling.

White sand beach.

The man with the hats.

And a long shot of Isla De Piedra, before the crowds. The water was ... as perfect as water can be: just a smidge cool, and clear. Reasonable waves if one wanted to ride them. Each time Greg or I went in we really had to force ourselves to return to the beach.

A young hippy family was playing drums while their little girl ran around between them. Some Mexican jovenes (young people) had fun dancing to the music.

(A middle-aged Canadian did a little dancing beside her table, too.)

It was a 2 margaritas + 3 beer day.

And below: my favorite photo of the day. The mariachi's boots.

Mazatlan #3 - Un dia en la playa

Saturday: super hot. We decided to take the ferry to Isla de Piedra to cool off. (Less than a 10 minute ride, and only 20 pesos return.)

First, we walk to the embarcadero, down this hill, with the ocean crashing beneath us. The Lighthouse (El Faro) is on the top of the hill you see below.

We stop to view some wildlife.

And the stunning views. The water here is Caribbean-coloured.

We are at the ferry in about 10 minutes. Greg's enjoying himself, and we have no idea, yet, what awaits.

On the beach, we follow the locals off the lancha (boat) and a gorgeous beach opens before us. We buy a "coco" and enjoy the refreshing drink.

The photo is out of chronological order, but Greg wanted me to pose ... I feel silly, but comply. (This was on the walk to the ferry.) Again, note the colour of the water.

A photo of Greg, with the book he's currently reading:

The Girl who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson).

I'll read it, too.

The beach quickly fills with people, and a parachuting man (it's a toy).

I liked this figure. They were selling them on the beach.

This was our lunch. So delicious. And less than six dollars Canadian.

Young couple in love.

I made a little photographic study of beach vendors on Playa de Piedra. Below are some of my favourite images.

Mazatlan #2 - 36 degrees

Breakfast, first morning. We have several patios and decks, but this is our favourite, with a view of Stone Island. We overlook the city from here. There is shade in the morning. Often: cruise ships.

Greg at the table at the end of the kitchen.

Outside the front door. We see the ocean from here; our location could not be better. We walk down the hill to the old town, the beaches, el mercado, y todo.

It is not uncommon to have 5 - 6 showers a day. Yes, it is that hot. We don't merely sweat, we stream.

Running is difficult in these tempatures and humidity, but we do run, we do. We begin by walking down the hill away from the gorgeous home we are renting. Then begins the malecon, all along the beach. It is filled with people, also exercising, or fishing, or wading, or beachcombing.

The photo below shows an early stretch of the malecon. The photos were taken from the terrace at the Posada Freeman (large hotel), which has a rooftop pool. We were the only ones there when we went up for a beer. Greg swam in his underwear.

Another view from the terrace: this shows some of the old town. We are very much enjoying living in this old part, rather than in the tourist area, Zona Dorada, which we ran through (mio dios ... 15 k ... I nearly passed out) and found claustrophobic.

Here we are looking north from the Freeman. We can actually see our house in this shot. See the large blue building on the right, at the top of the hill? That is the high school. What a setting, eh? We are halfway between that and the left edge of the photo.

Another view of old town, with Isla de Piedra in the distance. Stone Island. We are taking a ferry there today (20 pesos ... approx $1.75, return).

This is the land of artist Frida Kahlo, and she is well-represented in this house.

One of my favourite things in this 3 bedroom, 3 bath house: the glass door, where light comes through like butter.

Here is the ensuite bath. Marble.

And one of our many decks. We are only 5 minutes from the ocean in 3 different directions.

This is one of the bedrooms we don't use.

I love the homeowners' taste in art. The house is full of paintings, sculptures, etc.

This is a partial view of the side of our house. It is much larger (in real) than it appears here.

More art.

This is the bedroom we slept in last night, as it is very loud here (and, in my experience, in Latin American countries in general) every night, and especially loud on the weekends. We are on the street that leads to the lighthouse (El Faro); a narrow but extremely popular street.

Last night we turned on the air conditioner and didn't hear nearly as much in this back bedroom.

This is the foyer, and one of my favourite places. It is in the approximate middle of the house. There is a wing off of it.

The foyer from the other direction. There's that lovely door again, and the rooms beside it is the master bedroom. Que hermosa.

Here is one view of the living and dining area. I'll post another later. Again: huge. And beautifully appointed. An architect designed this house for his personal use.

There is a small sadness: we may never be able to afford anything like this again (it is low season here, thus we have a mansion). But we're enjoying every segundo while we're here.

Off to the beach now. More later.

Mazatlan (#1)

We are here.

In Mazatlan.

And it is fantatisico.

More later.