Life in Mazatlan

Tag

A Day for Helping

Sunday Paul and I went to Un Dia para Ayudar at the Plazuela Zaragoza.  Paul ate paella, we ran into friends, and we watched the kids perform.  These girls were just adorable! You can tell they love their costumes! These girls were adorable, too.  And talented. I swear, sometimes I think Mazatlán is a small town.  This event felt like a small town event to me…everyone seemed to know each other and the feeling of wholesome goodwill was everywhere. And...

Another late summer evening

I’m out on the patio upstairs, the sun is down but it’s still mostly light.  I brought my book and a glass of wine intending to sit and read in the coolish breeze. But as soon as I sit down the evening captures me.  Someone is playing scales on a muted trumpet and the notes lilt up and down, mesmerizing me. People pass by, scraps of conversation lifted on the breeze. Cars pass by, mostly soft whooshes but once in...

One year in Maz

Today is our one year anniversary of living in Mazatlán.  Some times it seems  the year has gone really quickly, and at other times it seems as though we have always lived here.  We have no regrets. We’ve learned a lot in the last year. We’ve found that people who uproot themselves to make a life in a foreign country are different – adventurous and outgoing. We’ve found that people here are very tolerant and accepting.  They are friendly and...

Rainy day parade

Paul and I headed out in the drizzly morning to watch the Independence Day parade.  We got a little bit of a late start as we waited for our housekeeper to arrive…which meant that we missed the horses at the beginning, but here’s a bit of what we saw.  Above, you see schoolgirls marching with a flag.  Pretty much every school in Mazatlán was represented, some with the Mexican flag, some with their school flag, and some with banners. There...

Project update

We’ve had workers in the backyard for a week and a half now, and they have made a lot of progress!  The plan is for a long roofed patio to be constructed next to the house, and grass in the rest.  Sounds simple, but it’s not.  We need to maintain the slope towards the drain, reroute drainage from our other courtyard, and various other tasks. We are using salvaged column bases, columns, and vigas.  New tile will sit on top...

Ordinary Life

It’s just ordinary life here in Mexico these days. The humidity hasn’t been too bad this summer so far, until yesterday. It just felt wet most of the day. I didn’t eat or drink enough and had kind of a bad moment in the late afternoon but after a bunch of water, a smoothie, and a shower I was back to normal. You really need to pay attention to your body in the heat. I won’t make that mistake again....

Grab Bag

A little of this and a little of that, today.   Do you like to read news about Mexico? The News is an excellent daily paper in English. Most of the paper is on line, and if you wait until after 3 pm Mexico City time you can download a pdf of the entire edition.   I said I’d give an update on the peace walk in Mazatlan….well, it’s kind of a funny story. People were supposed to gather at...

A little of this, a little of that.

  • August 9, 2008
  • /
  • Dogs

Here’s a picture of my new friend. I believe it is a Cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilla rutila). He has decided that he owns our feeder, us, and our patio. If another bird comes while he is here, he chases them off and then immediately returns, making a little beeping sound that I have decided means “I’m back.” I don’t understand why my wrists are the first place on my body to perspire when I start getting hot. Seems strange to me....

Tourism in the City

Confetti at night   One of the things I am discovering that I love about Mazatlán is the way it changes throughout the year. As the visitors change, so does the feel of the city. Here’s a snapshot: November is when the snowbirds arrive from the US and Canada. US and Canadian tourists, too. The malecon is loaded with white skinned people wearing funny hats and fanny packs worn backwards. The cruise ships start arriving more regularly, usually three on...

Life of Luxury

Dictionary.com defines luxury as: A material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity. Given that definition, retirement and our way of life is the life of luxury to me. I worked hard all my life in a career that chose me, not of my own choosing. I mean who would choose to be a property manager? I had some good times, but for the most part managing staff...

Say Cheese

I’m probably not the only blogger who keeps a pad on my desk where I jot down blog ideas. Sometimes the idea is complete in my mind and I just need to take a few pictures and sometimes I need to chew on it for a bit to decide how I want to present my ideas. One idea that I’ve been chewing on for quite a while has to do with taking pictures. Whenever I see a picture of a...

Judge not…..

I’m not a kid anymore. And sometimes it is never more obvious than when I see little gaffes that I can just imagine my mother sighing over. And then I need to slap myself and remember that pretty much anything that someone decides to wear should be fine with me if it’s fine with them. I most recently heard my mother sigh (in my head) when I saw the woman in the photo at the top of the page. and...

Sunset

Sunsets in Mazatlán are almost always spectacular. I don’t know how that can be, but it is true. We love to walk over to the malecon in the evening to watch…it is a communal experience with lots and lots of people doing the same thing. Right now in Washington State (where we came from) the sun rises at 5:19 am and sets at 9 pm…and in Mazatlán the sun rises at 6:19 and sets at 7:48. Being this far south...

Household chores

When you live in a warm climate like Mazatlán, sandals are the order of the day. I think I have worn shoes maybe five times in the last seven months! The streets are dusty and the dust and dirt gets everywhere, including your sandals! So, when I get into the shower in the morning, most days I have a sandal scrubbing session before I actually shower myself! I have a scrub brush waiting for that purpose, and shampoo does a...

Dos Bolsas

Our laundry room is adjacent to the garage. And the garage has been construction central for the past two months. With the garage full of sand and gravel as well as roof tiles and other tools, the laundry room became the lunchroom for the guys working here. They are now gone but the painter is using the garage for his ladders, paint, and tarps. We spent a couple of hours and cleaned it up but it really needs more than...