View of old town

Iguana on the wall

7 days left in Mazatlan

This past week after the grandkids left we took it pretty easy. We did have an opportunity to go out on a catamaran. Sixteen people from our RV park went out for a trip on the water around Mazatlan. We sailed over to the sealion rock and then went to Deer Island. Next we sailed north up past the RV park where we're staying. The boat was really nice - it had a canopy so we were able to get out of the sun. It also had a ladder and we were able to get in the water and take a swim. People brought food to share. We were out on the water from 9:30 until 2:30.

Today we went to our favorite spa for a massage. We had coupons for a facial and pedicure, so Connie had those along with an hour long massage. Bob had an hour and a half massage. We then went to one of the big hotels and had lunch. Life is tough in Mazatlan.

Our friends, Sue and Richard, are arriving here in Mazatlan tomorrow. We'll enjoy showing them around and spending time with them. We will be traveling back to Tucson with them - leaving here on the 24th. It will be nice to have someone with us on our two day trip back to the United States.

The things we like about Mazatlan:
1. The weather
2. The beach - it's beautiful
3. Good place to walk
4. Weekly hour long massage for $15
5. Did we mention the weather?
6. Met some really nice people here in the park
7. Beautiful sunsets
8. Friendly Mexicans
9. Cheap haircuts ($5)
10. Beautiful RV space - RV park is on the beach. We're 5 rows back from the beach
The things we don't like about Mazatlan:
1. The drivers - it's nerve wracking!
2. Hard to grocery shop - try figuring out where anything is in the store
3. Topes - Mexican speed bumps - they are everywhere
4. Buses and most other vehicles with no break lights
5. Not knowing Spanish-wish we knew more of the language
6. $4 for a day old USA today (thank goodness for the internet)

Grandkids at RV park on their last day

Grandkids at Hacienda Las Moras

Swim up bar

Nichole and Cody at Stone Island

After Banana Boat ride

Banana Boat

Sunset

Cathedral

Carol and Nichole looking at a shell

Aquarium Sea Lion show

Grandkids in Mazatlan

On Sunday, April 1st, our two grandkids flew from Seattle to Mazatlan on Alaska Airlines to spend one week with us. Nichole is 17 and Cody is 16 and they were both really looking forward to a week in the sun. We had a busy week. Monday we took a Hobi-cat to Deer Island and had a picnic lunch. Tuesday we went to old town Mazatlan where we had our weekly massages. While we were doing that Cody had an eye exam and ordered himself some new glasses. We picked them up the next day - total cost including exam was about $90. We then took the ferry over to Stone Island. We had lunch, then Connie, Cody, and Nichole took a ride on a banana boat. Next on the agenda was swimming. We also used the boogie boards we had bought. It was a fun day.

The next day - Wednesday, was cruise ship day. Our friends, Paul and Carol, from Tacoma arrived on the Diamond Princess. We picked them up at 8 in the morning and showed them old town, including the theatre, the central market and the cathedral. We walked along the malecon (board walk), and then went shopping in the Golden Zone. Next stop was our fifth wheel and lunch next door at the big timeshare resort. We visited with them for awhile in the afternoon and then delivered them back to their ship.

Thursday we headed to the tequila factory and then to an old ranch called Hacienda Las Moras. We had lunch and took a swim in their pool (comes with a swim-up bar). The swim up bar had about 6 bar stools in the water - pretty unique.

Friday the grandkids went to the water park. They were there for a couple of hours and said they were the only English speaking people there. But, they had a good time. Saturday we were going to try to do a horse back ride, but that didn't work out, so we went to the Aquarium. Again, we couldn't understand what they were saying, but did enjoy the sea lion and bird shows. Sunday we put them on an airplane back to Seattle. On the way home from the airport we were stopped by the military. They flagged us over at a checkpoint and the guy came to our window. He was talking to us in Spanish and we had no idea what he wanted. We kept saying no hablo espanol (don't speak spanish). Finally, we handed him our visas which he looked over. He kept trying to talk to us and then finally let us go.

Granddaughter Nichole on the beach

Grandkids and us

Tequila Ranch

Agave pineapples

El Quelite church

El Quelite town square

El Quelite and Tequilia Ranch

Monday we took a drive out to a beautifully restored Mexican town about 30 miles north of Mazatlan. We then headed south towards a town called La Noria where there is a Tequila ranch. We drove through about a mile of beautiful blue colored Agave plants until getting the where the tequila is made. We had a shot of their tequila and then wandered around - there wasn't a whole lot to see and nobody to give us a tour. But, our friends who had been to the town of Tequila had told us something about how it is made. The agave plant is cut down into the shape of a pineapple and then the juice is pressed out. It's fermented in casks over a period of time. (That's about all we know!)

Friday again was cooking class for Connie. The menu of the day included Chilis Rellenos, Guacamole, Quasidias, and Tres Leches Cake. The cake is a milk cake. It's a butter cake that is soaked in a mixture of three different milk products, hence the name Tres Leches. The milks that were used to soak the cake were sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. The Chili Rellenos were really good. That's the fun part about cooking class - you get to eat what you make!