Having fun in El Quelite, Fonatur, Puerto Vallarta and El Cid Resort in Mazatlan

We've been keeping very busy since our last blog update.  The days, weeks and months just seem to fly by.  Here's what we've been up to!

We drove to El Quelite on October 26th with our friends, Eva and Rene.  We had lunch together at a Restaurant called Los Arrieros, then we walked through the local church which was really quaint and quite beautiful.

Touring the Church in El Quelite

Church in El Quelite

Kim, Eva & Rene at Los Arrieros

On October 31st our boat was hauled out of the water at Fonatur Boat Yard Services for bottom sanding and painting by Active Marine Service.  Fonatur is a Boat Yard that also offers dock moorage with electricity and water.  It has a nice pool, washrooms, showers, laundry and guest lounge with wifi service included.  It took 12 days to complete all the work on our boat and we were very happy with the finished product.  We spent 9 days/nights on the boat while it was in the yard being worked on and found it to be quite pleasant.    The only difficultly was climbing the ladder to get in and out of our boat numerous times a day.  It was hard on the knees and a little intimidating for me as I'm squeamish with heights.

Dock Party by the pool at Fonatur

Just hauled out and in need of sanding and painting

Sunset while at Fonatur

Kim and Douglas cooling off in the pool at Fonatur

50 Ton Travel Lift is ready to put us back in the water now the work is completed

Kim & Douglas on the Melacon in Puerto Vallarta

On November 1st Kim, Douglas and I left the boat at Fonatur to drive to Puerto Vallarta for a 3 day/night stay there.  We thoroughly enjoyed our trip.  The last time we were in Puerto Vallarta was about 20 years ago and to be honest, we found it really hadn't changed that much.

Jan & Douglas on the floating bridge in Puerto Vallarta

Kim & Douglas enjoying a stroll on the beach in very pet friendly Puerto Vallarta

An evening in Puerto Vallarta's town square enjoying live music and dancing

Kim & Douglas enjoying a more traditional breakfast at Johnny's Diner and yes, Douglas was welcome in all the restaurants we went to

Kim & Douglas in our room at the Rio Hotel in Puerto Vallarta

We stayed at the Rio Hotel on the Melacon in Puerto Vallarta.  It wasn't fancy but it was clean and in the perfect location.  We were just a short block away from the ocean and all the activity of the town square and the Melacon.

Jan and Douglas at the Rio Hotel in Puerto Vallarta

Parade on the main street in Puerto Vallarta - picture was taken from our hotel room

While we were there we took a drive to Nuevo Vallarta (Paradise Village Marina Resort), La Cruz Marina,  Punta De Meta, then finally Marina Vallarta.  Douglas was not allowed on the Paradise Village Marina Resort property so I stayed behind with him while Kim went to check out what they had to offer.  He said it was a very nice resort but after reading their rules, we learned Douglas would only be allowed on part of the dock, and not on the grass or in the resort area.  We decided that wouldn't work for us so we went to check out the Marina in La Cruz.  It was also quite nice but had a very tiny pool that didn't look well maintained.  It was far away from restaurants, shopping and activities so not an ideal location for our daughter and grandkids visit with us.  Next we drove to Punta De Meta which we had visited 20 years ago.  It's a small fishing village that we thoroughly enjoyed back then but like people say, sometimes you just can't go back.  We stopped for drinks on the beach there at a local restaurant and were surprised at just how expensive it was, with all prices now posted in American dollars.

Kim & Douglas having drinks on the Beach in Punta De Meta

Our last adventure was to scope out Marina Vallarta.  Years ago it was a very ritzy Marina so we thought it would be the perfect location for our grandkids visit as it's close to downtown Puerto Vallarta.  We were disappointed to learn it was extremely expensive and didn't offer a pool, washrooms or showers.  Apparently it had been in receivership and the new owners are just pulling permits for improvements that may or may not happen over the next few years.

Needless to say our trip was very enjoyable, educational and worthwhile too.  We decided we won't take the boat to Puerto Vallarta or to La Cruz this season.  We will keep the boat in Mazatlan but we do plan to take some more driving trips.  We plan to go to La Paz in mid January for a few days.  We can take a Ferry directly from Mazatlan to La Paz then stay in a Hotel there.  It's a 15 hour Ferry ride so should be quite interesting.  We are also thinking about driving inland to check out the city of Durango, possibly in January or February.  We will sail our boat over to Stone Island and anchor there for a few days sometime in December too.              
  

Our boat is back in the water at the El Cid Resort again now.  It's sure nice to be back in the water!  We are enjoying all the friends we've made here and all the amenities El Cid has to offer.

I went to the local Church on Thursday morning and helped make 450 sandwiches for the poor.  The church does this every Tuesday and Thursday and they're always thankful for volunteers.  It was truly a humbling experience.  Once the sandwiches are made they are taken out to 3 villages and to the local dump as well where people actually live.  Volunteers are invited to go along for the ride to distribute them but I just couldn't do it.  I felt it would have made me way too sad.  I was very happy to help make the sandwiches though.

The guys bottling water for delivery to poor villages 

The gals making ham and cheese sandwiches for the less privileged

On Thursday night we went out for Turkey dinner with 15 friends from the El Cid Resort (to celebrate American Thanksgiving).  The food was delicious and the company was great!

 

Our friends from El Cid enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner together at La Marina Restaurant

Kim & Jan out for Thanksgiving dinner

It's wine o'clock - and just the right amount of wine for Jan to walk the very scary high wall after dinner

Saturday morning I joined 12 ladies from the El Cid Resort and attended a benefit breakfast called 'Desayuno De Los Pollos' at a big warehouse where cruise ship tourists arrive at.  There were about 600 people in attendance for the event.  All the money collected for the event goes to purchase frozen whole chickens that are distributed among the neediest citizens in the most humble dwelling sites.  Last year they collected enough money to purchase 2200 whole chickens and 1000 dry goods that were distributed on Christmas Eve and benefitted about 10,000 very needy people.  We had a lot of fun and it was nice to know it was for such a good cause.

Breakfast fund raising event called Desayuno De Los Pollos

Enjoying breakfast at Desayuno De Los Pollos

Friends of ours from home arrived on their boat here yesterday, Judy and Wayne.  Judy worked for the Ministry of Health too and retired about a year before me.  They are thoroughly enjoying life aboard their boat, Curiositas.  They came aboard our boat for a visit last night and we're planning on going out for a nice meal with them later this evening.        

Kim, Jan & Douglas out for dinner at La Mona at Marina Mazatlan

We are continuing to enjoy our walks along the beach, playing cards and dominos with friends, watching movies outdoors by the pool,  playing pool volleyball, attending dock parties, going for bike rides, and so much more.  We are looking forward to a visit from our daughter, Amy, and our grandkids, sometime in January.  We are hopeful that our son, Jason, and daughter-in-law, Tanya, will make it out sometime next year for a visit with us here too.  We are still finding every day to be a new adventure!  

  

  

Our 2nd Season in Mexico Begins!

On our way!  Douglas has a very comfortable bed in the backseat of the Truck 

We left our home on September 29th to drive to Mazatlan, Mexico. It's approximately a 4000 km drive and we felt it would be well worth the cost and time to do it. First it would give us an opportunity to see some interesting scenery in the United States (i.e. Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona), then in Mexico (i.e. Sonora and Sinaloa). Second it would provide us with access to our vehicle during our stay, and third, we felt it would also provide us with the opportunity to fill our vehicle with supplies needed for this season, as well as the ability to take some no longer required supplies off the boat when we return home.

On the way here we stayed 2 nights each in Portland, San Francisco and San Diego, then 1 night in Nogales, Arizona (near Tucson) , then another night in Navojoa, Mexico. We arrived in Mazatlan late in the evening on Tuesday, October 6th. The drive was very good and yes, it was long too. We picked up some pre-ordered boat supplies in Portland then visited with friends in San Francisco, Tanya and Scott, who recently left their home on Salt Spring Island to sail their boat to Mexico.  They made us delicious chicken tacos aboard their boat, Kialoa, then we watched the sun go down from their cockpit. It was really lovely.  San Francisco and San Diego were both experiencing a heat wave during our stay so we were told temperatures were 20 degrees warmer than normal.

The scenery on the drive down was lovely, with lots of very good rest stops all throughout Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona. They offered full service washrooms with lots of green space, vending machines, picnic tables and pet relief areas, which Douglas very much appreciated.  Once we arrived in Mexico though the only rest stops were at the Government operated Pemex fuel stations.  We were very surprised to see how green and lush Sinaloa is right now, but it does make sense since summer is their rainy season.

We were happy to finally arrive in Mazatlan after the 4000 km drive. I have to say it's very hot and humid here right now. Today the high is 31C but feels like 39 C, due to the 94% humidity. We are thankful we brought a good portable air conditioner down with us as it's the only way we are able to sleep at night. For future seasons we will return to Mexico a little later, to avoid this intense heat.  It was necessary for us to arrive a little sooner this season to prepare our boat for haul out on October 31st. We have arranged to have the boat bottom sanded and painted, as well as a few other minor projects done.  While the boat is being worked on we will either move into a nearby Motel in Mazatlan, or take a drive to Puerto Vallarta for a few days (about 450 kms away by car). We haven't firmed up exactly what we will do just yet, but will do so very soon.

We have settled back into life here nicely. Kim and I had haircuts at Gabby's Salon then I had a pedicure too.  Total cost was 240 pesos (about $19 Canadian) which included washing my hair and putting a braid in it afterwards.  Douglas was welcome at the Salon and received lots of attention from the staff too.

Douglas having a nap at Gabby's Salon

Douglas getting lots of attention from the Staff at Gabby's Salon, and soaking it up too!

We fill our days and nights by taking walks on the beach, hopping in the pool several times a day to cool off, playing pool volleyball, watching movies by the pool under the stars, taking siestas as needed, working on the never ending list of boat projects, and catching up with the many friends we met here last season. This Sunday we are planning to drive to a nearby town called El Quelite for lunch.  Our friends, Eva and Rene, will join us.  We are finding it very handy to have our vehicle here to pick-up groceries, run errands and sight see too!

Douglas enjoying a nearby Tidal Pool on the Beach in Mazatlan

Once the boat work is completed (mid November) our plans are to sail to Puerto Vallarta to the Paradise Village Resort, then on to the Marina at La Cruz (both are in Banderos Bay about 20 miles apart).  It will take us about 40 hours to sail there non-stop. We plan to stay there for approximately 2 months, then return to Mazatlan until the end of March when we will begin our trip (drive) home.  We are expecting family members to join us in both Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, which is wonderful.

That's about all our news for now. Hope you are keeping well.  Take care and stay warm!