Carnival float

 

Mazatlan carnival parade

 

Carnival parade

Carnival

The 5 days before the start of lent are the time for Carnival here in Mazatlan. This year the Carnival was from February 15 - 20. There are many events associated with the Carnival, but the only one we attended was the Tuesday parade.

We had heard that the crowds were really bad. Fortunately, we found a hotel advertisement that was posted on the bulletin board here in our RV park. For $5 each, we could reserve a table on the second floor of the conference room. The location was great - we could see over the top of the people who were watching the parade from the street. We could order drinks and food. It was a perfect location from which to watch. We took the bus so that we didn't have to drive. The parade started at 4:00 and was over by 6:00. It was very noisy and lively. We had a good time.

In Mexico they don't bring the check until you ask for it. It is considered impolite as they don't want to give the impression that they are asking you to leave. So here is your spanish word for the day. La Cuenta, por favor. (The check, please).

Copala Butter Company Restauraunt

Beautiful flowers in Copala

Copala town square and church

Copala, Mexico

This past week we took a 100 mile roundtrip drive to the town of Copala, Mexico. This town was founded in 1565 by the Spanish to work the nearby mines. The town has quaint cobblestone streets that wind their way down into the town. There is also a very old church.

We've hardly driven our truck. We do drive to the grocery stores, but for sightseeing trips into the Golden Zone of Mazatlan or to old town it's much easier to hop on the bus. No worries about where to park. The bus stops right outside our park and costs 80 cents for the airconditioned bus and 50 cents for the old Mexican buses.

We've been walking every morning. It's a 3 mile round trip - trying to get in shape for our trip to Europe. Here's your spanish for the day. Hola to everyone. (Hola is hello - pronounced ollah).

Mexican school girls

Mask made for Carnival

Field day

Mexican kids

Mazatlan school kids

We've spent our first week here in Mazatlan. We've learned our way around the city, rode our bikes to old town Mazatlan, and taken the bus several times. We're feeling more comfortable with our surroundings. It would be easier if we could speak some Spanish. We've also been walking on the beach in the mornings.

This past week the park we're staying in had a 'field day' for a Mexican school that the park helps sponsor. A woman who once stayed here in the park started helping at a makeshift feeding center several years ago. Now, there is a free school for approximately 60 children ages 4-6. They are enrolled at no cost to their families. In Mexico public schools still have costs associated with them and some families are so poor their kids can't afford to go to the public schools.

We volunteered to help bring some of the kids from their school here to the park. So, we had 7 small girls all speaking Spanish - laughing and yelling and giggling in our truck. They kept trying to talk to us, but we didn't have any idea what they were saying. Once arriving here at the park, they played with beach toys in the sand. They then had hot dogs, juice, watermellon, and cookies. Next on the schedule was crafts. They made masks for the carnival, got their faces painted, and made bead bracelets. At 2:00 it was time to make the return trip with the kids back to their school. Altogether, we had about 45 kids here in the park that day. All in all it was a very great day. Very enlightening to how things work in Mexico.

Sun light on a Light House

 

Buddy on his perch

Mazatlan sunset

Our new home in Mazatlan

 

Mr. Moro's on the beach

We spent two nights here on our way to Mazatlan 

Tollroad onramp

 

Mazatlan

We arrived in Mazatlan on Wednesday afternoon. Our friends, Carl and Nadia, were here to help us get settled into our new home. They also had us over for dinner. The RV site was tricky to get into, but is actually quite nice. The patio outside the rig is covered in tile and we're surrounded by plants. Buddy is enjoying being outside and watching all of the birds.

The trip down from the states was interesting. It was a little nerve-racking at times. We drove 270 miles from the border on day 1. After staying in San Carlos for two nights, we then drove about 250 miles. The next place was right on the beach. We paid for one night, but liked it so much that we paid for a second night.

Wednesday morning we headed south to Mazatlan. We had a little driving experience we wouldn't want to repeat. We somehow missed getting on the tollroad and wound up on a two lane highway. The only problem with the two lane road was that it was very bumpy. We could see from the map that we could head west and intersect with the toll road. So headed west we went through several small towns. In one of the towns, Bob thought the main road turned right, so turn right he did. Oops. We drove about 3 blocks down this little one way road and couldn't get any further. Of course, by then there were about 3 vehicles behind us. So, all had to backup - and of course, Bob had to back the fifth wheel up 3 blocks. What fun. And, then he had to back the fifth wheel around the corner. We continued along the main road and found an overpass over the tollroad. But, we didn't know how to get on the tollroad. There was a little gravel/dirt path that went to the road. Sure enough, vehicles were using this to get on the tollroad. So, we did also. The only good news is that it saved us about $20 since we missed one of the toll plazas.

Our friends took us out for a drive yesterday so that we could get acquainted with the stores in the area. We went out later and bought a few groceries and a large bottle of water.

The shrimp man came around this morning and I bought Bob 1/2 a kilo of shrimp for 60 pesos (about $6 dollars). We're learning our way with the weights and the money. We're also trying to learn a little spanish. Buenes dias (Good Morning!)