The months of January and February have been filled with special time with our family and friends. First we had visits from our friends Jason and Lisa, who we met here last season from Minnesota, then Luc and Tina, from Toronto. It was great to see them again and we kept very busy.
We provided lunch aboard our boat and went for kayak rides in the harbour one day. A couple of days later the weather conditions were favourable so we took them out for a day sail to Stone Island, anchored the boat, then went for lunch to a nice restaurant on the beach called Molokays.
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| Table set for Lunch for friends aboard our boat |
On January 10th Kim, Douglas and I climbed to the top of the El Faro Lighthouse. It's the highest lighthouse in the Americas and one of the highest operating lighthouses in the world. It sits 523 feet above high tide and offers spectacular views of Mazatlan.
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| Douglas and I about to start the climb |
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| Kim and Douglas on the climb and yes, Douglas trying to give me a heart attack. He has no fear of heights! |
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| Kim and wonderful views of Mazatlan in the background |
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| Jan and Douglas enjoying a break at the top of El Faro Lighthouse |
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More gorgeous views of Mazatlan
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While doing a little shopping one day we came across this article of women's clothing and had a good laugh at their sign! It's certainly an unusual way to market 'large' clothing.
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| Interesting sales tactic! |
On January 17th we were invited on our very first 'weenie walk'. If you're like me and had no idea what this is, quite simply it's a walk through all the hot dog vendors in the Golden Zone of Mazatlan. There were 18 of us that went down for the weenie walk. I was surprised to see about 10 different hot dog vendors with so many toppings for hot dogs, including slices of bacon, melted cheese, various hot peppers, onions, relishes, etc. etc. Afterwards we stopped for ice cream then some of us stopped for 'happy hour' on our return walk back. It was loads of fun!
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| Ted, Jean and Bob enjoying hot dogs on our weenie walk |
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| Friends on a very casual stroll in the Golden Zone to eat hot dogs |
On January 21st we went to Los Brochetas with Bob and Bev for dinner. It's a great restaurant and very popular too. Kim's favourite meal there is a molcajete which is a Mexican style meat and vegetable stew. Yummy! They aren't licensed so encourage folks to bring their own bottle(s) of wine which they happily uncork without a fee.
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| Jan, Bev, Bob and Kim at Los Brochetas for dinner |
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| Kim's molcajete fresh out of the oven |
On January 23rd our daughter, Amy, and grandchildren, Jessica and Connor, arrived to spend 8 days with us on the boat. We had a blast! We had several breakfasts on the beach, Jessica had her hair braided there and later Amy, Jessica and I had pedicures at Gabby's Salon.
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| Jessica getting her hair braided while eating pancakes at Loco's Loco's on the Beach |
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| Jessica's hair is almost done! |
While we were getting our pedicures, Kim took Connor to a nearby tidal pool where Connor tried boogie boarding.
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| Connor is very agile on the Boogie Board. Great job! |
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| Connor has the right idea. With a lack of surf though, he's moving himself with a stick. |
We took Amy, Jessica and Connor to the small town of El Quelite for breakfast on January 25th which was quite interesting as they have chickens walking through the restaurant, and turkeys, goats, sheep and ponies in their backyard.
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| Some animals kept in the backyard of Restaurant |
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| Connor and Kim checking out the animals in El Quelite |
On January 27th we all went to the Mazatlan Aquarium. They have a huge Tiger, crocodiles, sting rays, and much more but the highlight for us all was the Sea Lion show.
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| Connor and Jessica checking out the Turtles |
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| This crocodile snarled at us ... he does look angry! |
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| Large Tiger that just paced back and forth in his very small cage |
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| Jessica getting a kiss from the friendly Sea Lion |
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| Waiting for the Sea Lion show to start |
On January 29th we all climbed the El Faro Lighthouse. We were so happy that Jessica and Connor were up for the challenge and did the walk and hike with smiling faces. Connor put on his Superman outfit which gave him extra strength for the climb. Great job kids!
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| Jessica, Amy, Connor, Kim and Douglas about to climb El Faro Lighthouse |
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| Connor, Amy, Kim, Douglas and Jessica enjoying the views |
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| Douglas enjoying the climb - he certainly isn't afraid of heights! |
Jessica and Connor did a little kayaking on January 30th with a little help from Grandad and Mommy.
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| Kim and Amy towing the kids in the harbour |
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| Connor and Jessica getting ready to be towed in the kayaks by the dinghy. They loved it! |
It was sad when Amy, Jessica and Connor left for home on January 31st. We look forward to reconnecting with them when we get home in early April.
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| Jessica and Amy enjoying their last breakfast on the beach at Loco's Loco's |
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| Connor and Douglas sharing a chair at Loco's Loco' |
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| Jessica jumping high at the El Cid Marina Beach |
Our son, Jason, and daughter-in-law, Tanya, arrived on January 31st to spend 11 days in Mazatlan. They stayed in a nearby resort for the first 7 days, then moved onto our boat for 4 days. We had a wonderful time with them and kept very busy.
On February 1st we were invited to Luc and Tina's rental condo to watch the Super Bowl. The game didn't end the way we hoped it would, but we did enjoy spending the afternoon with family and friends in a lovely waterfront condo. Thanks Luc and Tina!
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| Watching Super Bowl |
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| Curtains closed so we could see the 2 TVs set-up for Super Bowl |
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| Friends and Family watching Super Bowl |
A group of us enjoyed Chinese food at Peking Restaurant for the first time on February 4th, followed by a walk to 'happy hour' at Gus Gus. Thanks Eva and Rene for suggesting it!
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| Our first time at Peking Restaurant |
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| Bob and Bev in front of Señor Frogs on our way to Gus Gus |
On February 5th Kim took Jason, Tanya, Luc, Tina and their friends Noni and Ed out for a day sail to Stone Island. Douglas and I opted out of the sail but caught a bus and panga to meet them at Lety's Restaurant on Stone Island for lunch.
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| Tanya enjoying the sunshine and sea air |
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| Jason on Stone Island |
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| Lety's Restaurant |
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| Kim and Jason snorkeling to check the bottom of the boat |
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| Tanya and Jason returning to the harbour after a fun filled day at Stone Island |
We took Jason and Tanya to the El Faro Lighthouse on February 6th which they thoroughly enjoyed although it was a little warm for climbing that day.
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| Jan, Douglas, Tanya and Jason preparing to climb |
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| Jason, Kim, Douglas and Tanya enjoying the views of Mazatlan |
Afterwards we stopped at Macaws for lunch. Great food and very relaxing.
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| Tanya and Douglas at Macaws |
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| Jason, Tanya and Douglas enjoying a beer at Macaws |
On February 7th we took Jason and Tanya to Old Town to do a little shopping in the Market. Jason bought a couple pairs of sunglasses and Kim found a nice pair of dress shorts and a couple t-shirts too.
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| Jason trying on sunglasses in the market |
After that we went to the Best Western Hotel on the malecon to meet up with our friends Bob, Bev, Luc and Tina for happy hour and to watch the sunset. Afterwards we all went to the Plaza mechado for 'Blackened Burro' (steak dinner). Delicious!
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| Sunset at the Best Western Hotel |
Luc went fishing and offered us some fresh snapper . Jason offered to prepare it on the boat on February 8th. We enjoyed some drinks in the cockpit while Jason slaved away in the galley. Thanks so much Luc and Jason!
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| After a few drinks Luc was forced into wearing this but Douglas didn't mind at all! |
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Tina enjoying some special time with Douglas in the cockpit - she was missing her dog
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It was sad when February 9th arrived. Jason and Tanya decided they wanted to have drinks at a beach bar then a final dinner at Los Brochetas that evening. It's one of our favourite restaurants here.
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| Tanya and Jason enjoying margaritas at the Beach Bar |
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| Cheers! |
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| Luc with his smouldering hot molcajete |
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| Jason with his piping hot molcajete |
We bid farewell to our friends Jason and Lisa on January 8th, and to Bob and Bev on February 8th. Jason and Tanya returned to Calgary on February 10th, then Luc and Tina followed on February 14th. We had a great time and look forward to seeing all of our friends back here next season!
The season is coming to an end for us here in Mazatlan. We have only 5 1/2 weeks left before we start heading home on March 30th. We calculate the drive home will take about 6 days (4,000 kms) so we expect to be home around April 4th or 5th. We miss our family and friends so look forward to reconnecting with you all when we get home.
