Chayito's for lunch and as usual it was great!

 Yesterday we were off to Chayitos in the north end of the Golden Zone.  We'd planned to go to another restaurant but it turned out to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  So...Chayitos.  It was on our list and also a top favorite.  Plus...it was happy hour at lunch time so the ladies were happy to get two for one drinks.  

This photo was kindly taken by our waitress at the end of our meal.  Ruth decided we needed a picture in front of Chayitos Christmas tree.  Good idea Ruth. 

Peaking through you can see the Chayitos sign.

Mar and Sandi.

We had a wonderful waitress yesterday.  And...her name was Kathy!  She spoke excellent English as well.  

Ruth, Mar, Cathy are laughing at something our waitress was telling us.  We suggested she could just number us instead of names but she had a tablet and said names were just fine. 

Perusing the extensive menu and in the back you can see happy Mar with her margarita...she does love margaritas and knows where the good ones are. 

Happy Mar!

I started out with a Raspada as I didn't see the Mosquito on the menu and I had to send it back.  I rarely send anything back but it was loaded with brown sugar and I couldn't drink it.  No problem...she brought me a Mosquito!

Taking our order.  She has the menu on the tablet and just picks it off.  I wish more places would catch on to this as it's really easy for the wait staff and is sent right to the cashier. 

Hamburgers were the main choice of the day. 

There were many different kinds and they were all delicious. 

Marion's was a sweet one because of the sauteed onions. 

I had enchiladas suiza which had a really tasty sauce and...I ate the whole thing. 

That's my Mosqito which is a non alcoholic Mojito, they make the best one here.

Susie's chicken salad.  

Ruth ordered a green salad and Cathy ordered a hamburger and they had half of each.  Good idea!

Sandi's green salad had lot's of interesting things on it like kiwi. 

In my photo Marion was hidden.  Luckily her's had her in it. 

A good time was had by all.  Good food, great company and a superb staff, what more could you ask for.  A first choice for breakfast, lunch or dinner any day of the week.  

I wandered off after lunch to make an appointment at Gaby's for a haircut and pedicure and then to Henderson's which sells very good frozen meat at a good price.  I picked up four small beef tenderloins for about 350 pesos or about $25. Canadian.  

When I returned home Eric was still there as TelMex had shown up again to put in fiber optic for us.  We'd had it when we bought the house 5 years ago but had cancelled it over the summer and when we returned our connection was gone and we ended up on copper.  This year it wasn't working when we arrived and after some help from Mauricio who is the complex manager they finally decided to run fiber through the duct to our house from the other side of the complex.  They finally finished just before 5 pm yesterday and....we finally have high speed internet.  We never cancelled it after the first summer and we won't now!!  Still really cheap at under $20 Canadian a month.  We may need a higher speed but that will only be another $10 per month.  Yahoo!!

We've been in Mazatlan almost two weeks.

 

Things are starting to settle into some semblance of normal over the past few days.  Eric's back riding his bicycle and walking every morning and on Monday he gt out on the Triumph for a ride.  He checked out El Quelite, the road to Marmol and to the beginning of the road into La Noria.  All was quiet and normal.  

I've got the house pretty much in order and I'll slowly wash windows and whatever else needs it over the next while.  The weather remains warm except for last Monday when we had a bitterly cold wind.

We have finally got internet hooked up again after two visits and an ongoing fiasco about putting in a line for fiber.  TelMex guys showed up again yesterday with all the stuff for the job, disappeared into the complex, stayed for a few hours somewhere and left without a word.  Are they coming back..who knows!

Yesterday I headed down to the mercado (Pino Suarez) for shrimp and fish.  It was the actual Revolution Day although the holiday was on Monday.  Part way down the malecon that runs along the ocean all traffic was diverted east a few blocks as it turns out there was a parade.  It took an hour to get to the market and an hour back. 15 minutes to get a kilo of shrimp, a kilo of sea bass and a kilo of red snapper.  It was quiet in centro and a mess of gridlock traffic in between. Home to clean the shrimp, cut up the fish and vacuum seal it all.

Last night we had sea bass and it was so delicious.  Just sautéed in butter with mashed potatoes, home canned green beans, fresh salsa and avocado with fresh pineapple. Yum, yum our kind of dinner. 

Life is good!

Ladies Lunch begins at Panchos on the beach.

 There were seven of us yesterday to start the season.  Traditionally we start at Pancho's.  Five of us gathered in front of Paraiso to catch the bus and three met us there.  Gone are the days of all of us in the RV park when we'd all gather there...times change.

Cathy and Marilyn were behind Sandy and I. 

We got off the bus in the Golden Zone and walked down to Pancho's...that's  Sandy leading the parade😃

Pretty quiet yesterday on the street.  All the cartel fighting in Culiacan with a little spill over here has some people worried and staying home.

Someone's always trying to sell you something as this is the Tourist zone.

Up the stairs to the walkway to Pancho's.  Both sides are filled with vendors selling souvenirs and jewelry.

Here we are...seated on the outside patio and it was a lovely day.  Monday was horribly windy and cold so we got lucky!

Sort of a selfie! 

Pancho's starts with chips and salsa and then a stuffed jalapeño..spicy but good.

I had a Pinada..Pina Colada without the good stuff😉

Food was ordered and came out promptly.  Excellent wait staff here. Above is Susie's coconut shrimp.  Very large portions.  Susie eats like a bird and always takes some home.

Marion ordered the Mexican plate which I like but..too much to finish and I was going shopping after.

Cathy's shrimp ceasar looks good. 

Mar had queso fondido with chorizo or..cheese with spicy sausage.

Marilyn had the coconut shrimp too and at the end Susie added her leftovers to Marilyn's as her husband isn't a coconut shrimp fan.  Neither am I..too sweet. Marilyn was happy!

I wasn't very hungry so I ordered tortilla soup and a shrimp tacos.   I didn't like the cheese in the soup and the taco was just okay.  

Marilyn kindly included me in a photo.

Mar's photo of her lunch.

Lovely beach.

Where's  a lounger for a nap😑

Mar got a good photo of Sandy!

Lots of chat and catching up and at the end a complimentary kahlua and milk for dessert.  At this point everyone wandered off in different directions.  I headed back to the Tres Isla mall and the Fresh market grocery store.  An easy 20 minute walk.

That's the El Cid complex entrance with the Villa Italiano restaurant beside.  Connie and Manny stayed in El Cid for many years but they aren't here this season.  We miss them.

As I wandered to the back of the high end Tres Isla mall I noted that about half of the rentable space is empty and hardly anyone was around. Rents too high, not enough business...who knows!  Fresh had people shopping but not a lot. I picked up what I needed and headed home on the bus.  Next week for lunch..stay tuned😊

First bingo night of the season for me!

 Over the years our group of ladies has played bingo at the Last Drop restaurant on Thursday nights.  Last spring the restaurant was sold to Friends restaurant and is now Friend's Diner 2. Same venue, different waiters and Ishmael or Izzy seems to be in charge.  He called bingo last night as he used to do almost 15 years ago back at the beginning when a dozen of us from the Las Jaibas RV park used to go as a group and he was a really young man.

 The waiter's were quick but the food was miserably slow coming out.  We ordered before 4:30 and an hour later still nothing. Same as the last Drop...sure hope it improves. I took a picture of the menu so we can figure out what we want ahead of time.  Ruth and I split a patty melt which had to go back as they forgot the cheese😁 

Sitting at the bus stop an there is a bride and groom having photos taken on the meridian.  There is always someone having wedding, Quinceanera celebrations (age 15 for girls like sweet 16 ), family photos or graduation photos.

This is our waiter Sergio who spoke perfect English and was telling the ladies stories about ID in Mexico.

The waiters did a good job of keeping track of everyone now if only the kitchen sharpens up!

We had a couple of small wins at our table but a guy behind us won multiple times and one big one on his first time playing bingo.  One win was 1700 pesos or about $120. Canadian😮

Day three..groceries and a real dinner!

 Yesterday I took the Milenio bus to Walmart and it let me off a block from Walmart..  The Pradera bus stops right in front but...it blew right by me😡  I usually drive, but early on a quieter day like Saturday or Sunday.  The traffic actually wasn't bad at 9am.  So much new building everywhere.  Everyone thinks it's overkill but who knows.  

I started at Sam's Club next to Walmart and renewed my membership for 450 pesos about $31.00 Canadian on their usual promotion 😁 

Walmart was busy, busy and I got most of what I needed except eggs which were only in flats of 24 and our beer wasn't cheap so I didn't buy any.  We'll get that at the Kiosko corner store where it's always much cheaper anyway. 

I got to cook a real dinner last night so things are looking up😊

Soon I'll be posting ladies lunch pictures !

Day two in Mazatlan.

 Yesterday was a bit of a blur but..we did get the important stuff from the truck put away. Tables, bicycle outside and storage bin moved. I'd picked up some bagels and bread in Ajo,AZ on our way through so we had breakfast and lunch with the canned tuna left in the house.  For dinner I ordered sushi by phone from Xitapa which is right close.  I used the Cerritos phone number which is where we are but when I walked over to pick it up he had no idea what I was talking about😬  After a few phonecalls by him and Google translate I finally asked if he could just make me sushi.  No problem and it only took him 15 minutes.  Man was he quick.  Too bad about my phone order but what could I do. Dinner and a shower, beer and bed.

Today all our bins in the truck were unloaded and put away.  A little sweeping and washing and it's starting to look like home.  Our internet isn't working so Eric went up to see Mauricio our new complex manager and he was on it quickly.  Eric got data on our Mexican phone and now we can communicate with the gate to let people in.

We've been here 48 hours and with leftover sushi, steamed brocolli and rice we were fed. Tomorrow is another day.  Groceries tomorrow or the next day.

Obregon Sonora to Mazatlan, Sinaloa

 A couple of things I forgot.  Lunch at the pemex yesterday and the bathrooms were closed so I had to pee behind a bush.  Then we opened the windows while  we ate lunch and 100 flies flew in!! It took another 100 kms to get rid of them.😆

Okay night but lots of people and traffic noise.  Good complimentary hot breakfast and then to get out we had cars in front of the truck and we had to wiggle our way out.  Too tight for a trailer to park but the parking guy brought us in! Below you can see where Eric had to turn around and both sides were filled with cars. We came in the long alley turned around with much difficulty and parked on the corner coming out.

 0p

Up at 6:30, breakfast at 7 and on the road by 7:30.  Still really dusty.

Heading out of town.

Where we usually stay.  Tour buses everywhere so somethings going on here.

Where we usually stay at the Fiesta...full!

Baby agave.

Today the highway is quiet yesterday it was packed.

Topes in the middle of nowhere...good thing the regular drivers know where they are and we see brakelights.

Between Navojoa  and Los Mochis we hit a federal police check and we got shaken down.  Wanted our papers but didn't check them.  Checked my purse and money, Eric's pockets, our bags and looked in the trailer and asked where you from.  Never said what they were looking for.  Didn't check the stuff in the canopy.  Nothing to hide but a huge  amount of stuff if they decided to tear it all apart.

How to carry hay😁

Welcome to Sinaloa where the roads are sort of paved. 

Just after the Los Mochis toll booth the police pulled us over.  Jabbered a bit and said keep going! 

Which lane shall we drive in?

Up ahead Los Mochis.

Between Los Mochis and Guasave the lanes are really narrow and the bad pavement moves from left to right.

Huge agriculture through here

Multitudes of topes😡

Need any crap?

Another impromptu check point after lunch at they pulled us over and checked us again for weapons and paperwork. How much money do we have..enough for fuel and tolls. Then a female miltary did a quick body search on me. I should have bent over and spreadum with my pants down..would have served her right🤣   A bit overkill for old Canadian tourists.  Maybe work on the cartel. Sigh!

Lots of crops grown around Culiacan.

Very fertile soil.

The road looks flat but it's like being on a boat...side to side and up and down.

Culiacan bypass.

North American winter vegetables.

I think it would take a while to put in all those stakes.  We're  on the Culiacan to Mazatlan leg.

See those smudges ...well now we were hit by a plague of locusts🤣 The windshield is covered!

Coming down towards Mazatlan.

The ocean!

The last toll booth.

The army trucks are heading north...Saturday night in Culiacan 😁

That's our turn up ahead.

Up ahead the Riu on the beach.

First unload the bike out on the road. 

Eric took the bike into the house, walked  back and then we dropped the trailer down the road. When we were dropping the trailer a nice young man came to talk to us.  The property manager for the complex across from the parking lot in the center of the road.  We are on city land but he wanted to know who we were and our phone number so he could call us if there was any problem with the trailer. How nice was that? They have a night watchman who keeps an eye on things plus...the people in the complex were nosey about who we were😁  Very quiet on a dead end road. Then we headed to the house to partially unload. Got here around 4:30 and it's 28c and slightly humid.  It's been a long couple of days and we're both tenderized from the road. Not bad time with two shake downs, one police stop, fuel and lunch.  Never a dull moment!

 Beer, AC on and soup for dinner.