Mazatlan 2007

Tuesday, January 30 (Pat)

Tuesday morning and no timeshare presentations! We had decided to not show up to get picked up to go to Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay so we hung out reading and writing in the journal for the first part of the morning. It is a beautiful sunny blue sky so we have breakfast – Raisin Bran and juice. Around 9:30-10am I get into my new swim suit and head for the pool area looking out on the ocean. Unfortunately the towering cement structure next door is blocking the sun so it takes until 11am to have the sun come around. The pool is an infinity type pool where the water level is even with the edge by the ocean and then gets pumped back in. Makes for a neat effect. It is noisy with the construction but I am into my new Lillian Braun’s – “The Cat Who…” book so tune it out most of the time. At 11:00 I go check on Ron – he is still typing the journal entries into the computer. I stay out enjoying the nice warm sun until just before noon then come in to shower and change and head into town (GZ) for my massage. We catch a bus and arrive early. I hang out and look at books (the massage therapist is in the book store, she was recommended by the gringos in MazInfo). Ron is off to find ‘When Pigs Fly’, a restaurant/bar that was hosting a fashion show. He thought it would be fun to take some pictures. (He had an adventure trying to find the place and helping out a lady with her car that he can write about later.)

Sonja the massage therapist delivered a nice, invigorating, vigorous full body massage, working a bit more on my neck. It felt great!! Done with that I went next door to the cyber café to check on e-mails and then sat outside and waited for Ron. I spotted him pass by in a pulmonia and after he got out we headed over to Costa de Oro for a pit stop and he shared his adventure. We continued walking north up the Gold Zone until we came to Chili’s Pepper – one of our favorite places to eat. A brightly colored restaurant overlooking the beach and with an open front (back?). When we got there, there was a group of people gathered around the tables watching a black gentleman lift 3 stones on a long handled broom that was taped up to hold the rocks. The deal was to pick up the broom with one hand, touch the top of a water bottle, and put it back down. If you couldn’t do it then you paid the guy 50 pesos. The black guy could do it in about 10 – 15 seconds. He also could lift it and touch the top of someone’s head. (He was about 72 years old and had been doing it for a long time!) The guys in the group, Ron and some others gave it a try and couldn’t do it, some even with one stone. The group included the girl that Ron sat next to on the plane down here and her boyfriend. They shared their raw oysters, fresh out of the bay, with Ron – I didn’t like them – and then they left.

We grabbed the outside table, the sun felt good and we were hopeful for a nice sunset over the island. I had the coconut shrimp – yum! – and Ron had a garlic fish filet. We had a large Margarita each. They were strong and I was feeling it after a few sips!! The sunset was so-so. We enjoyed talking with Victor, the waiter, then headed for the ATM and Gilberto’s to share some toy for his boys. They were happy to get them. Back to the resort by bus where we met our neighbors in the lock-off returning at the same time. They are from Minnesota. More reading and off to bed.

(Ron)

Pat is scheduled for a massage so I decided to go watch a fashion show. Maybe get a little culture, take some pictures, kill some time. The fashion show is at a restaurant/bar called ‘When Pigs Fly’. I don’t really know where it is, just somewhere along the malecon. I asked a girl at the bookstore where it was and she said it was down on Paseo Clausen near ‘Roco Mar’ restaurant.

I got on a bus that went that way and the driver indicated that he knew where ‘Roco Mar’ was and yes he did go near it. So we’re going and going, I’m starting to get a little concerned. Pretty soon the driver indicated that we were at the end of the line and I would need to get off. I said what about ‘Roco Mar’? He said it was four blocks down and one block over. Actually he didn’t speak English and my Spanish isn’t that good, so that’s my interpretation of what he said.

So I walk four blocks towards the malecon and one block over, but I’m still several blocks away from the beach. I stop several people to ask directions and they all knew where it was – it was always this many blocks down and this many blocks over. Never did find it. Finally decided to go to the malecon and start walking back to try to find ‘When Pigs Fly’. Started walking up the malecon and thought ‘It’s almost 1:30, the show started at 1pm, I might as well just go over to El Centro for a while’.

Walked a block towards downtown and saw a couple of little girls maybe five and seven pushing a van out of a parking space. I ran over to help. The mom explains that she wants to get along the curb because the battery is dead and someone would be able to give her a jump that way.

We got the van along the curb and the lady asked several people, but no one would stop. Finally an old guy did. His pickup was almost as old and beat up as he was. We got out the jumper cables and the guy popped the hood. The battery terminals had corrosion built up all over them but we put the cables on and wiggled them to cut through the corrosion and get a good connection.

The van still wouldn’t start, it didn’t even turn over. The old guy decided to take her battery out and put his in the van. Her battery was easily disconnected but his was a real challenge. We finally got it out and he hooked it up to the lady’s van and it started right up. Disconnected the battery, swapped them back, and everything is good. The old guy told the lady that there was a place nearby that did electrical repairs, gave her directions, and left with our thanks.

I told the lady that I’d ride along with her to the shop in case of more problems. I don’t know what kind of directions she got, but they must have been like the ones I got for ‘When Pigs Fly’. So we are driving around all over the place, going the wrong way on one way streets, just having a good ol’ time. Eventually we find a place that does electrical work.

A mechanic came out and checked the battery – everything was OK. The lady and the mechanic had quite a conversation, entirely in Spanish of course – so I don’t know what was said, but I looked over and they had the two rear tires up on blocks and another mechanic was under the rear end.

Finally the conversation slowed down and I asked the lady if everything was under control. She said it was, so I said adios and went to catch a taxi. Got back to meet Pat just after our agreed-upon 3pm rendezvous time.