Hot, Hot, Hot in Mazatlan!!!
Kim, Douglas and I arrived at our boat at Mazatlan Marina on October 26th. It was very hot and humid until around mid November, and I was really wishing we had timed our return for at least a month later. It took us a few days to get the boat in order, but as soon as it was ready, we moved our floating home back to Marina El Cid. It was so nice to jump into the cooler of the two pools, and we found real comfort inside the cave there as well, out of the sun and extreme heat. Luckily for us, friends loaned us their portable 10,000 BTU Air Conditioner and it honestly made the first 6 weeks here bearable.
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| Marina El Cid |
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| Kim and Douglas cooling off in the very warm Pacific Ocean |
Out and About
Most of our friends returned to Mazatlan in October and November, so we resumed our 'winter' lifestyle right away. Douglas and I enjoy our daily 5 km walks, Kim and I play pool volleyball daily, Texas Hold'em weekly, games of Uno, lots of outings to try new restaurants as well as the tried and true restaurants, Dock parties, Room parties, Shopping excursions, pedicures at Gaby's Salon, Sailing our boat to Deer Island and to Stone Island, and the list just goes on and on. People have asked what we do here day after day for months on end and I can honestly say, there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything we'd like. The days, weeks and months fly by! At some point I'd love to find the time to take Spanish lessons by the pool, and maybe join in on the water aerobics too.
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Some members of our 5k morning walking group
Tom, Andy, Joanne, Donna, Sandy, Lane, Vicky, Jackie, Jan and Douglas
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| Our walking group changes from day-to-day as people come and go |
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Donna and Eva on our morning 5k walk
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| Friendly ferrel cats - we fed them on our 5k walks |
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| Such a sweet ferrel cat |
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| Ferrel cats enjoying the food and water we brought them |
A new experience for me this time included visits to the Dentist to get my teeth cleaned, a crown replaced, and a brand new crown as well. I was a bit nervous about getting the work done in Mexico but many of my friends assured me the Dentists are highly skilled, their equipment is top notch, and their offices are spotless. They were right! I got the work done for 1/3 of the price I was quoted back home, and I'm very pleased with the result.
Douglas injured his right knee
A few weeks ago Douglas was chasing his ball when he started yelping in pain. He had injured his right hind knee. We rushed him to the vet and learned he had pulled the tendon away from his knee. The vet spoke fluent English plus he opened his medical book to show us, with pictures, exactly what the problem was. He prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for 5 days along with strict instructions that Douglas was not to run, jump or manoeuvre stairs. He said it would most likely heal on its own but if not, he would need surgery. I'm so happy to report Douglas is doing much, much better already. He's walking normally again but still tends to favour the injured knee from time to time. We're making sure he doesn't overdo it though, so given time, we expect he will have a full recovery.
Christmas and New Year Celebration Plans
We had loads of plans to keep us busy over the festive season. We climbed Faro Lighthouse then went to Stone Island for lunch with our friends Luc and Tina on Christmas Eve day. Our friends, Joanne and Andy, invited us to their Christmas open house in their hotel room on Christmas Day. After that Eva and Rene invited us aboard their boat, Babeeze, for Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. On New Year's Eve our friends Luc and Tina invited us to their condo for a 'New Years Eve in Paris' celebration. The meal and dessert were so delicious! After that we were invited to stop by Donna and Sandy's room for a sip of champagne to bring in the New Year. We are so fortunate to have made so many good friends here. I find being apart from my family especially hard at Christmas, so good friends really help.
Christmas Eve Day at Faro Lighthouse and Stone Island
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| Luc, Tina, Jan and Douglas about to climb Faro Lighthouse |
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Kim, Jan, Douglas, Tina and Luc at the top of Faro Lighthouse
- gorgeous views! |
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Kim, Luc and Tina on the Panga on the way to Stone Island
- time to rest up at the beach after our climb |
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| Jan, Douglas, Luc and Tina arrived at Stone Island |
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| Kim, Luc, Tina and Douglas enjoying the beach at Stone Island |
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| Luc, Tina, Kim and Douglas having lunch at Lety's on Stone Island |
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Jan, Kim and Douglas on Stone Island
This is the life! |
Christmas Day Gathering at Andy and Joanne's
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| Andy and Joanne |
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| Gene, Andy, Tom and Kim |
Aboard 'Babeeze' for Christmas Dinner
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| Kim and Tina aboard Eva and Rene's boat 'Babeeze' for Christmas Dinner |
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| Luc aboard Babeeze for Christmas Dinner |
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Christmas Dinner was served aboard Babeeze
Turkey and all the trimmings! |
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Christmas dinner aboard Eva and Rene's boat 'Babeeze'
The food was delicious and the company was wonderful |
New Year's Eve celebration at Luc and Tina's
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| Eva, Marilyn, Gary and Luc |
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| Bev, Tina, Bob and Rene |
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| Kim, Eva, Marilyn, Gary and Luc |
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| View from Luc and Tina's rental condo - beautiful! |
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| Kim, Douglas, Luc and Moose |
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Kim, Luc, Bob, Rene, Eva and Marilyn at the table
Bev, Tina and Gary standing |
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| The wine was flowing on New Year's Eve |
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Moose and Douglas getting to know each other
Moose is just 3 months old - Luc and Tina rescued him here in Mazatlan |
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| What a cutie! Look at those ears! |
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| Moose and Douglas getting along very well |
New Year's Eve celebration at Donna and Sandy's
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| Jackie, Donna and Debbie |
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| Tom, Leif and Sandy |
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Joanne and Andy celebrating the start of the New Year, and their
30th Wedding Anniversary! |
What's Next?
We are looking forward to visits from Kim's daughter, Amy, and 2 grandchildren, Jessica and Connor, on January 19th for a week. I've already made pedicure appointments for Amy, Jessica and myself at Gaby's Salon. Some 'girl' time and pampering is in order. Kim's son, Jason, also arrives on January 22nd for 10 days. This time Amy, Jessica, Connor and Jason's visits overlap so we can spend time here all together.
That's about all the news for now so until next time, we wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2017!
