Living in paradise can be a great way to meet people!  We have had several wonderful introductions recently that wouldn’t have happened unless we lived here in Mazatlán.

My sister was at a party with some people she has known for years – their kids played soccer together through many years of school.  So when my sister heard that they were heading to Mazatlán, she shared that I live here and suggested we get together.  She gave them my blog address and they sent me an email.

What nice people!  And we hit it off immediately.  They actually met in Mazatlán something like 30 years ago – he was teaching and she was taking classes – and they love to come here on vacation.  We spent a very fun afternoon and evening and have kept in touch since they went home.  I have my fingers crossed that some day they’ll be our neighbors here in Maz!

Almost the same week I saw a blog post by a woman passing through Mazatlán on a backpacking trip around Mexico.  I commented on her blog, she wrote back and before you know it we were spending the afternoon together.  Barbara Weibel was on the first leg of her journey here and was heading to Baja, then over to the Copper Canyon and finally through central Mexico.  She is a free lance travel writer who has put together a pretty amazing resume and is actually able to support herself traveling and writing about it.  Her blog is well written and interesting.  Links to her articles on Mazatlan are below:

• Sleeping in Mazatlán
• El Centro – the Heart and Soul of Mazatlán
• Stroll along the Malecon for a Taste of Mazatlán
• Second Stage Spanish
• Meeting American Expats in Mazatlán
• Ferrying across the Sea of Cortes from Mazatlan to La Paz

Another week later we had the pleasure of getting together with another person thanks to my sister.  Carol Pucci and her husband visited Mazatlán from Seattle, where she is a journalist with the Seattle Times.  We emailed a bit before they came, sharing suggestions for things not to miss while visiting Centro and making plans to get together while they were in town.  We had an enjoyable afternoon with these two, also – showing them our home and taking a walk through town on our way to the Shrimp Ladies and comida at Dunia’s.  She and her husband stayed for two days in the Golden Zone and then spent the next several days in Centro.  She wrote about their experience here.

There is a bit of an exodus going on right now as the snowbirds head North for the summer.  Blogger Sandie and Mike are heading back next week. They leave for Canada the same day that Ingrid and Frank do… I met Ingrid through the blog when I was (I am embarrassed to say) a bit snippy with her.  But we sorted that out and now are good friends and knitting buddies.  Mary leaves in a couple weeks, too… I have taken her fabric dyeing class and next Tuesday learn about fabric collage.  Mary’s website is  here, and if you are interested in fabric art, I recommend you talk to her next winter.

So by the end of April the city will be quiet and those of us who stay year round will feel like we have the sleepy city to ourselves.  We like it – for a while – but come November we’ll be ready for all our snowbird friends to return!