Ladies lunch at Fish….and then off to the beach.

Today’s venue was Fish which is supposed to have the best clam chowder in Mazatlan as well as 55 peso margaritas any day and time of the week and will be a new addition to our list of places we have eaten.   The restaurant opens at noon and is located behind Mary’s in the Golden Zone across from the Costa de Oro. 

A smaller crowd today just 9 or 10 of us. 

Without me…Cathy, Robyn, Leslie, Edna, Sandi, Pat, Eddie, and Ruth. 

Same picture….with me.

In the end there was ten of us.  We were seated outside and the music was playing and there was considerable street noise as well as our chatter.  You can eat inside if you wish. 

Not sure what kind of story Edna is telling but Sandi and Cathy were intently listening.

Ruth had the ladies behind us draw for next weeks lunch venue.  Angelina’s Kitchen which is a favorite but not a new restaurant to us. 

So…the clam chowder.  This is a cup which some people ordered so they could then share an entree.

I decided to order the mahi (dorado) sandwich and skip the chowder which I will try at another time.  The sandwich was very good as were the fries but I did discard over half of the ciabatta bun as it was just too much bread. 

Ruth had the medium bowl.  Not sure what the expression was about.

Deep fried fish and yam fries which were shared after the small bowl of clam chowder.

Looks very good.

Well what did we think.  Clam chowder was a big hit as was the fish and chips.  There were a few tacos which I missed taking pictures of that were good as well.  Our waiter was very pleasant but new and I found the service very slow.  To be fair he was the only one serving outside except for the owner who was helping out and we were a big group.  Cost was reasonable and food very good.  Worth another trip back at any time and it also has very good reviews.  Leslie was smart as she ordered a medium bowl of chowder to go for her husband’s dinner.  We are always full after a big lunch but…the men still have to eat!

Home by 2:30 and off to the beach for some quiet time.  Too rough for me to swim but always lovely to sit and read. 

Looking south.

The little shore birds were all in a row waiting for something to show up that they could eat. 

Eric decided to take his walk south instead of north.  He walks every afternoon while I usually sit and read.  I walk in the morning and by this time of day I am tired. 

Looking north.  Not a huge amount of people on the beach which suits us just fine.  It is incredibly noisy in the park with all the construction and the beach is a welcome break. 

These pictures were taken with my older Canon with the scratched lens.  I will take this camera to the beach and on motorcycle rides and save the new Panasonic for everything else.  To be truthful I still like the Canon better as it is a little smaller and quicker to start but….I’ll reassess later after I’ve used the Panasonic more. 

Haircut & Pedi at Gaby’s, rain on cards day and John & Jeri head south.

I have been very lax with the blog.  Small things have been going on and I just haven’t felt the urge to keep up with my posts.  Not sure why but…here goes.  This is Tuesday and Wednesday of this week…sort of!

I bought some large frozen shrimp that were caught in Guaymas when I was in San Carlos and some times the larger ones can be tough.  Not these!  I did poach them first (salted water to a boil, take it off the heat, drop in the shrimp and leave them 3 minutes) and then I put them on top of a spicy pepper stir fry over rice…delicious. 

Eric has his bicycle all torn apart here and is truing the back wheel.  He’s also been have problems with flat tires and some of that is due to modifications that the previous owner made when he drilled the rims for Schraeder valve stems.  The tubes have been getting a hole at the base of the valve stem.  These are super heavy tubes so that really shouldn’t happen.  

Always something to work on.

Next up a haircut and pedicure at Gaby’s Beauty shop.  I like to have this done on a Tuesday morning because I play cards in the afternoon and I can’t go to the beach when the polish on my toes isn’t completely dry so it all works out. 

It’s Tuesday morning just before 9am and I’m heading in towards the shop. 

The shop is usually busy, busy and today is no exception.

That’s Rosie the owner in the middle overseeing some appointment making.

Anyone can get a haircut and pedicure here…even the men.  That’s Lupita working on my feet.

The place is packed at this point and I tried to get a picture of the little girl sitting next to her mother on the right.  She was about 5 and looked totally overwhelmed. 

So…my hair was cut by Rosie first and then Lupita cleaned up my feet.  I have two hairdressers….Terri at home and Rosie here in Mazatlan.  The cost for my haircut and pedicure was 290 pesos…plus a 50 peso tip for each service so ….about $27 Canadian.  At home this would cost me at least $90.  Bueno!

It’s now Tuesday afternoon and we are playing cards up front.  The weather forcast was for rain to start around 3pm. 

By 2 it had started to spit and then we got a really good downpour. 

Everyone has gotten up to move the tables back away from the edge so they wouldn’t get drenched.  Here you can see Ruth, Robyn, Wendy and Jeri who all played at one table.

Leslie to the left, who partnered with Sandi, who has her back to us and Wendy standing who was my partner.  Leslie and Sandi whopped us and on the last hand we didn’t even count.  Better luck next week.  We play hand and foot which is some form of canasta. 

This is Wednesday morning and it rained pretty good over night. I took the opportunity to wash the truck since it was cloudy and besides my runners were under the RV and they got wet so I couldn’t do my morning walk.   That’s John packing up the last of their stuff in preparation for their trip south.

Still looks pretty stormy. 

John and Jeri hit the road.  They are taking the RV south to Bucerious (just north of Puerto Vallarta) where it will stay.  It has been sold and on Friday John and Jeri will head home.  They will spend the night in Mazatlan before heading on to Phoenix.  They may come down next year and stay for a few weeks in a condo but no more RVing. 

Things that happened that I didn’t blog.  Last Thursday was American Thanksgiving and I and a few others went up to the Last Drop to play bingo.  It was cancelled after we got there as the bingo caller cancelled at the last minute.  Friday I was off downtown to get bread and ballet tickets for the Nutcracker.  Saturday I played cards again and Sunday was laundry day.  I wash the clothes up front and then hang them on the line at the back of the park.  Sunday is my day of choice because the construction workers have the day off and there is no dust.  Monday was a good beach day as Eric and I both got a swim.  The waves weren’t too rough and the water was warm. 

So….it was a busy week and as my tummy has been off I guess that’s why I’m so tired.  People ask what on earth we do all winter when we are south ….well lots! 

First Ladies Lunch of the season at Pancho’s on the beach

We played cards on Tuesday and as our lunch leader Ruth is here now we decided to get busy with the Wednesday ladies lunch. 

11:30 am we gathered up front to catch the bus. 

Attractive bunch don’t you think!

Out on the street waiting for the bus…that’s Ruth and I.

Into the Golden Zone and off the bus at Panama’s.  We turned right and walked down to Pancho’s restaurant.

Not a great shot with the sun in the background but I couldn’t get down there to shoot in.

Thirteen of us all together lining the wall at the back.  Lots of chat since most people haven’t been here long and are catching up. 

I went outside to see if I could get a shot of everyone from the beach but all I got was Ruth!

Sue joined us but she had to leave right at 1pm so she got her Chef’s salad to go.  Looks delicious. 

Pretty pottery all over the walls.

I had an avocado shrimp salad as did a few others and it was delicious.  Pancho’s starts you off with chips and salsa, then brings deep fried jalepenos stuffed with either marlin or cheese and finishes up with Kahlua over ice.  All gratis but it would of course be factered into their prices.  Still nice though and not hugely expensive.  The salad was 130 pesos or about $9 Canadian. 

Pam had the Mexican plate and she’s saying she has her mouth full….no problem.

Tortilla soup for Robyn. 

Leslie has some sort of sandwich.

Looks good….I don’t know what it is…fish maybe.

Sandi’s shrimp cocktail.

Deep fried shrimp plate.

Chef’s salad.

Everyone always enjoys their meals at Pancho’s so it’s a good place to start the season off.  Good food, good service and a nice view of the beach.  We all put names of restaurants we want to visit on little pieces of paper, put them in the grab bag and each week we’ll draw out a name for the next week’s venue….  Stay tuned!

Leaving the restaurant and walking back down the shopping alley towards the street.  At this point the ladies headed off in different directions with all sorts of errands or….shopping to do.   I headed home with Leslie and Sandi so I could get my suit on and head for the beach.  

A fun lunch.

Clearing around the park

We arrived in the park on Thursday, November 15th and in the last week lots has been happening with the construction around the park.  The machines have been starting around 6:30 am and quitting around 5:30 pm and then there is a chainsaw running until it’s dark.  Needless to say it has been noisy and incredibly dusty when the wind is blowing from the north….which it always does. So far they have been working intensively in the north section of the development but they’ll end up behind us again sooner or later.  

It was a holiday weekend….Revolution Day and the machines quit on Saturday afternoon and weren’t to start work again until Tuesday morning …..bueno!  However on Sunday morning bright and early a dozer started clearing right beside us on the south side.  A separate lot being cleared.  Great. 

You can see him in the corner pushing all the trees down. 

This is now (Wednesday afternoon) and he’s still out there pushing things around creating lots of dust for the condos south of us.  In the end there is still a small patch of trees and brush next to the park straight ahead of us on the southwest corner of the park towards the street.  This is another small lot that is privately owned and it isn’t being cleared at this point. 

So….here is Eric’s new view looking towards the beach and the towers that line it.

Still a bit dusty out there.   Eric likes the view and if they’d just plant it all to bermuda grass and leave it this way it’d be lovely but that’s not going to happen.  The rumour is that they are just clearing so the lot will be more salable…who knows. 

Northeast corner of the RV park and you can see the machines running back and forth.  There 5 graders, 1 compacter, water trucks, backhoes and who knows how many dump trucks. 

If they keep water on it and the wind isn’t blowing too much it’s not too bad. 

Out behind us where they haven’t started working.

To be continued…..