Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The Doors and Bloom of Bucerias
These street scenes are all from Lazaro Cardenas Street next to the Punta Arena Condos.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Building the new condos
The iron workers work high above the ground building the next condos, Costa Bonita Marina
Dale and the Shrimp Lady
We bought fresh shrimp from this feisty lady, what a great supper. Ask Gail for the recipe.
Mazatlan Adios
In the morning of March 16, Gail will fly back to Wenatchee while Dale heads to the other side of the world: India. We have had a memorable time in this sun filled spot. We have been visiting Mexico for 23 years, (Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Cabo, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Acapulco, San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro and Guanajuato) and many of the best memories were here with our kids in Mazatlan. This was our longest stay, 31 days. It never rained one time. We did all the old things, recapturing sweet times. But we also saw many new places, like the rehabilitated stone buildings surrounding Plaza Machado and the new condo towers all along the beach. We hiked 4 miles in the sand to the Playa Bruja (Witch's Beach) and went shopping at a Sam's Club and a Mega that are nicer than any grocery store in Wenatchee. All the exercise, swimming and hiking for hours every day, have been good. We feel better physically than in many years. And despite the old jokes about Montezuma's revenge, neither of us has been sick once in Mexico. In fact, the only time we were sick since Christmas was the two weeks in February between South America and Mexico while back in Wenatchee. We had to go home to catch a cold.
Dale has written some book reviews, they are opinionated and so he does not want to post them on line now. But if anyone wants to see how he really feels about the books he has been reading, send a request to dale@daleforeman.com and he might just send them to you. He spent a lot of time on line researching the real estate market in Mexico and the fruit opportunities here. He also has learned a lot about India in preparation for that trip. And we have been captivated by the political primary season and the abrupt resignation of Eliot Spitzer. Hubris or humility, what a choice and what a lesson.
Gail has planned the next year of music at the church. She has also been on line every day, communicating with choir members and musicians. It is amazing how much work you can do on line these days. It makes us want to rearrange our lives so we can spend the winters in the southern latitudes. Today for our last day we hiked all the way to Los Sabalos, on the beach. Then we watched a wedding from our balcony. A Mexican wedding and right now they are dancing on the beach to the live band. Life goes on here. We will fly away tomorrow. But we will be back. Adios amigos hasta la vista.
Monday, February 25, 2008
our beach is changing
The daily beach walk is part of the fun at Mazatlan! We are seeing a lot of development in our neighborhood.
Gail's favorite palapa
This is Gail's special spot to read, sun and listen to music. A private palapa, on the beach, what could be better?
La Marina side view
We love the south and side view from room #703 where we stay at La Marina. The ocean view is in front of our building and we DO see world class sunsets from our deck , but the side view of the yachts is not bad either!
Petroglyphs: ancient carved rocks
Mexico 2008.1
Mexico 2008
On Valentine's Day 2008 we flew to Mazatlan to begin a time of rest and reflection.
As we pulled in to La Marina we were met by Mary Ann Corning, our next door neighbor from Wenatchee. She and Jack had been down here for two weeks and they made a reservation for us at the special Valentine dinner at the hotel. It was a very memorable evening and we had some great times with them during the next week.
One day we drove three hours north to Dimas and the petroglyph museum at Las Labrades, where we walked miles along the unspoiled beaches. We saw thousands of sea birds, crabs, and a fascinating recreated village of the pre-Columbian native people who carved the artistic/religious motifs in hundreds of rocks that are still out in the open, washed twice daily by the tides. It is amazing that no government agency has removed these rocks for protection. This is a priceless monument to the human heritage yet the stones are simply resting on the beach for all to see, touch and photograph. We were the only people there and as there is only one small sign, it is not surprising. This is not in any guidebook and there is no clearly marked exit. If you want to find it, travel 50 kilometers north of Mazatlan on the new Autopiste. At a turnaround near the 50 K road marker ,exit the freeway by turning left and drive about 7 K down a dirt road that winds by a village, under a railroad track and dead ends at the beach. The museum is well worth the trip. Hope you enjoy the attached photos.
Later in the week we spent several hours with Luis, the owner of the beach just south of the museum. He has owned the property for many years, but has not had the time or money to develop it. Since it is about 3 miles of pristine beachfront, Jack is convinced it could be a world class destination resort. It is also the subject of a title dispute. The local natives claim ownership under the "Ejido" laws form the 1930's. Until the title question is resolved in court, nothing will happen here. However, someday, we expect to see a fantastic resort. The model for this may be a resort owned by Luis at San Blas, a tiny town in the jungle three hours south of Mazatlan. There, surrounded by the ocean and dozens of natural mango swamps and waterways, an old fishing village welcomes ecotourists for bird watching and fishing trips.
Fishing in the Sea of Cortez may be the best in the world. Jack and Dale went out one day and caught over 30 fish. Among the catch were three huge Groupers, one weighed 25 lbs. Also they caught Conejos (rabbit fish) Trigger fish and Rock Cod. Gail cooked four of the Conejos and we had a great dinner. (Her recipe included crushed cashews and sweet red peppers, you should ask her for it.) We took plenty of photos of the fishing day, including proof of all the fish, but they are on our other camera and we will have to download the photos when we get home.
The food is as good as ever. And we enjoyed it for three days with Kyle and Ann, who flew down on President's Weekend for an all too brief mini vacation. Go to Ann's blog to see some great photos of the places we walked and the seafood.
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| Mazatlan 2008 |
Now that all the friends and family have gone home, we spend at least three hours a day walking the beach and the rest of the time reading and writing. Gail has been transposing music for the church choir. Dale is writing some essays on various topics and researching his upcoming trip to India. This is a very sweet place to contemplate the next chapter in our lives.
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