Gus Gus was our first thumbs down of the season for ladies lunch

 I'm a little slow with Tuesday's blog partly because I was busy and partly because it wasn't a great lunch.  Our first real failure and a surprise as Gus Gus is a long time established restaurant with two locations.  One in the Golden Zone and one in the Marina.  Last week when we went to El Naugragio we passed Gus Gus and thought it's be a good choice.  Not so much! 

Tuesday we were 13 for lunch and it was a bit windy and cool, unlike the previous week.  Pretty as it sits on the walkway next to the Marina. Two tables of six and then one had seven.  

From the left Ruth's neighbor Yolan, Marion, Sandi, Mar standing, Pat and Mary. 

Our table Mar, Susie, Cathy. Diane standing, me, Linda and Liz kindly taking the photo. 

Sandi chatting to Mar, Susie Diane and Cathy.  We'd been teasing Diane as she was seated between the tables with the two legs between her legs.  She said she was used to it and that started us laughing and teasing her about not being concerned with legs between her legs.   

Ruth joins in on the chat. 

Yolan and Marion. 

Pat in the middle.  We haven't seen much of her this winter as she and Reg got here late and then she had lots of company.  Some of us see her every week at bingo though.  She and Reg were trying to sell their RV and had a deal going that fell through.  If that means they are coming back next year then...I'm not sad the deal fell through!  We'd miss them. 

Chatting and perusing the menu.  At this point we'd all ordered drinks and it took forever for them to show up.  I always reserve so the restaurant knows we have a large group coming but the waitress said some employees hadn't showed up for work.  I don't know if that was true or not.  Nice staff, just not very efficient.  

So...the meals.  Linda and I ordered fish tacos and fish and chips to share.  The fish tacos were a bit sparse on fixings and the tacos were very heavily breaded with very little fish.  A disappointment. 

Diane had, had a long conversation with waitress as she was uncertain as to what she'd order and the waitress assured her that the pasta Alfredo was very good.  Not so.  Bland without much taste at all.  A disappointment. 

Liz ordered Shrimp Roca and once again way too much breading that she had to pick off.  The shrimp underneath were fine when she found them. 😁

Liz smiled anyway. 

My fish and chips for almost 200 pesos.  No coleslaw or tartar sauce and I had to ask for ketchup.  Again, heavy breading and not much fish.  Not good. 

Susie had coconut shrimp and it was nicely presented and good 

Cathy's tacos GoberGus which means shrimp tacos with cheese.  She said they were mediocre.  

Mar ordered hot wings which she loves.  She said they wouldn't make them hot enough but...they did and she enjoyed her lunch. 

              Thumbs on the wings!  Smoking 🔥 

More mediocre fish and chips for Marion.  Last week at El Naufragio the fish and chips were excellent.

This picture shows the afternoon entertainment.  There was a very drunk homeless guy sitting on the ledge overlooking the marina and water.  He could barely sit up and he kept jerking backwards as if he would fall.  And then, he disappeared.  Sandi got up to look and he was lying on the rocks below not moving.  We though he might be dead at first and if the tide had been in he'd either have woken up or drowned.  The wait staff went to look and then called someone.  It took awhile as I'm guessing it had to be someone who would help for free.  Eventually the Red Cross ambulance showed up, took pictures and them hauled him up.  He was quite unco-operative when he came to but they took his vitals and in the end they got him to his feet and walked him out as he appeared to be unhurt.  Backback on and away they went.  Always something!

Yolan's seafood tower of some sort and as it wasn't breaded so probably good.

Ruth is our slowest eater and she was served last.  The meals took forever to come out and we waited about an hour so it must have been kitchen staff who did't show up that day.  

Pat had order fish and chips, eaten them and then the onion rings showed up.  Again lots of breading.  

So... a beautiful setting, nice enough wait staff and horribly slow drinks and food.  As well most of it wasn't up to standard and the prices were medium to high for this type of restaurant.  A restaurant we won't recommend or return to.  A disappointment all round.  However, it is our first bad lunch. Other ones have had something small wrong but this whole experience wasn't good.  The good news is we all enjoy each other's company and had a good time anyway. 😊😊  Once again a few of us walked home from the Marina.  

 

El Naufragio and a lovely ladies lunch!

 

El Naufragio or " the Shipwreck" is a newer restaurant located in the Marina Mazatlan.  It's located at the very south end of the marina walkway so it's easier to come in on the south end.  However, most of us didn't and enjoyed a nice walk along the water.  

A beautiful day and the wind was actually warm!  It's been a cool winter and the wind has been icy for most of the time. 

Marilyn and Cathy up ahead of me.  We'd come together on the bus while everyone else made their own way. 

Along the way this waiter jumped out of Gus Gus to say hi to Cathy.  He used to wait at another restaurant that she, Doug, Carol and Richard used to stop at on their Sunday bicycle rides.  A friendly guy and he gave her a hug as well.  There is another Gus Gus farther into the Golden Zone so this is a new venture.  Lots of condos in the area as well as boats so there is a fair bit of business here.  

Ruth brought Mary, Sandi and Liz in her car.  She could have parked at the south end of the marina but...who knew so they had a Marina walk as well. Such a lovely day for a walk.

Mary, Ruth, Marion, Susie, Liz and Cathy chatting and perusing the menu.  A varied menu with very good prices.  As always, mixed drinks are pricey.

I ordered a Nojito or a non alcoholic Mojito ...very good and I almost ordered a real one😁 

Sandi had a mango margarita. 

Liz and Susie had the chicken ciabatta and it was huge. Very good and some went home for each of them.  

Liz and her lunch.  She and Susie could probably have shared.  That's our very capable, friendly, efficient waiter behind her. 

Sandi ordered tortilla soup and the bowl is full of fixings with a pitcher of broth on the side.  It said there were chicharrons or deep fried pork rinds in it.  Sandi made this awful face and said could they take them out.  I asked him to put them on the side so we could taste them.  Sandi admitted they weren't bad and quite tasty  I used to buy pork rinds in a bag as a kid as a snack!

That's a lot of fixings!

On with the broth and you can see the chicharrons in the bowl.  Sandi said the soup was very good but a bit spicy for her but probably not for Frank. 

She made it through about half and took some home with her for Frank to taste. 

Most of the rest of us ordered fish and chips and they were excellent. A real bargain at 135 pesos or about $9.50 Canadian.  

No Dorado today instead Corvinna which is tasty as well.  Fresh fish here as the restaurant is in the Marina.

Fish and chips for me as well.  There were many interesting well priced meals to choose from and the choice was hard!

Everyone happily eating.  It was a lovely warm afternoon and everyone had a really nice, relaxing lunch.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

What a lovely setting to have lunch.  

There's our waiter / manager behind the bar.  He was interested to know how we enjoyed our lunch and also how we found out about them.  I said I saw a write up about them on the Facebook site "Foodies" so we thought we'd come and have lunch.  Another winner and a great place to eat any day of the week.  We were the only lunch time customers so they were happy to see us.  I always make a reservation so they know a large group, today nine, is coming. He said " just call me and make a reservation anytime!"

El Naufragio!

Lots of iguanas in the Marina sunning themselves and Liz got a picture of this one.  

Some ladies took the bus, some went home with Ruth and Marilyn, Cathy, Susie and I walked home.  

What a nice day! 

Teacapan with Frank and Sandi!

 

Yesterday Eric and I were off to Teacapan with Frank and Sandi.  It's been about 5 years since Frank and Sandi have been there but we went last year.  About 90 miles south and inland it's our longest ride of the season.  We left at about 9:30 to head south.  The weather on the beach where we are was cool but as soon as we got inland it warmed up quickly. 

You can see that the salt water lagoon in Teacapan travels very far inland.

There's the Jeep behind us with the Riu Hotel behind.  Just as we got to the railroad tracks there was a National Guard the "Mexican national police" stop.  They were checking cars but they let us just pass through.  There has been huge police presence here this winter due to all the cartel issues.  As well, carnival will start next Thursday so everyone is on high alert due the influx of people.

On the Mazatlan bypass and it was a bit smoky. 

We left the bypass at Villa Union to get on Mex 15 or the free road south.  It's 2 lanes but 15D or the toll road becomes two lanes farther south as well. 

All the trucks are parked checking their loads or washing up and eating before they carry on either north or south. 

Turn right for Villa Union or left to head south...we head south and next stop El Rosario where we'll have a bum break and some liquid. 

Straight as an arrow and not much traffic.  Anywhere they aren't watering the vegetation is dry and drab. 

The Jeep's right behind us. Frank knows they way but he prefers to let Eric lead.  Fine with us. 

Getting close to El Rosario and the these are the stinky chicken barns.  I try to hold my breath as we pass by.  That's one thing about a motorcycle you smell everything...good or bad!

Up ahead El Rosario.  Here we could head west and we'd end up at El Tigre where we go for a ride and lunch every season. 

The huge church in El Rosario. 

Nice tree lined streets. 

We've stopped for a break at a fuel station, had a drink and picked up drinks for lunch.  Here we're crossing the Bulaurte River.  This is a huge river so it doesn't dry up....so far!

Next up Esquinapa and we head west to go through town and on to Teacapan on the coast. 

There's Frank and Sandi!

Left for Tepic and straight for Teacapan. 

The sign's kind of mangled but ....right for Teacapan.  I might mention that it has been hot since El Rosario and we both removed some jackets at our last stop.  Usually about 10 degrees warmer inland.  

The road is pretty beat up here but later on there is new pavement. You can see the huge power line on the right that was supposed to service huge new tourist development "playa Espiritu" on the coast.  That never happened and it has never been hooked up.  Another project that became a "white elephant!"

Look at the size of those concrete poles!

I tried to get a picture of the sea salt piles at the edge but I missed them.  This is all salt water from the coast here and it is harvested and hauled away.

White as snow. 

A water tower I would think. If they have any water to put in it. 

Palms with vegetables underneath.  If it's green...they have water available.  Huge agriculture here.

No water here but the mango trees survive anyway.   They are all in flower right now. 

I wonder who lives there?  Nice place!

A great big gate to another small farming town. 

You can smell them before you see them...it's chili drying time and it smell really sweet. These one's are being roasted. 

These are drying in the sun and being flipped and raked by hand.

That's a lot of chilies!

Entering Teacapan.  We used to love coming to have lunch at Otto's Japanese restaurant which was just on the left as you enter Teacapan but....during Covid it closed and he and his family aren't there anymore.  I wonder where they went.  

Downtown Teacapan. 

Straight ahead the ocean, the malecon and somewhere for lunch. 

This restaurant is right on the corner and we thought we might eat there but first...

....a drive along the malecon.  Isn't it beautiful?  And....ever so peaceful.  It was a really beautiful warm day yesterday. 

There's never much traffic just motorcycles buzzing back and forth. 

I think Sandi is telling Frank to move in closer!!

Eric's fiddling with his cell phone GPS app on the phone.  The cord he was using wasn't charging the phone properly. 

We only need the GPS if we're trying one way streets to find our way through small towns. 

The frigate birds were in a huge flock overhead but...no one pooped on us!

The fisherman in the boat was pulling up oysters and shucking them so I think the birds were looking for a hand out.

After much deliberation and discussion this is where we decided to eat.  New to us.  We ate at Pelicano's last season and it wasn't very good so we needed somewhere different.  

Aloha Del Mar

Cold menu on the left and hot on the right. 

This restaurant had an upper floor which was lovely to view the ocean, especially on a warm day. 

Eric, Frank and I looking back. 

There's our view of the ocean.  

Eric had camarones or shrimp rancheros and it came with french fries, rice and some sort of salad. 

Camarones emanizado or breaded for Sandi. 

I thought I'd ordered a seafood mixture on a tostada but it turned out to be ceviche with tostadas and a basket of freshly deep fried tortilla chips.   Frank's meal came a bit later and I forgot to take a picture.  He ordered tacos goberandor or shrimp tacos with cheese.  The meals took quite a while to come and the young man delivering them was quite apologetic.  The restaurants on the malecon were pretty much empty and I would guess four "gringos" showing up surprised them a bit.  There used to be a lot more north americans in this area in the past but the RV parks have pretty much disappeared.  There are probably some people from Canada and the USA living here in the winter or retired here but we didn't see any.  Sandi chatted to the young man and woman running the restaurant and they said it was their's which is nice to see.  They were very happy we came and so were we.  We'll come back again.  The food was good and the view was great!

Quiet right now after the school kids have gone home on their motorcycles. 

Otto's is no more....boohoo!

Bye bye Teacapan...we'll be back. 

Pretty dry and the cattle are pretty thin.

All sorts of crops and I could see yellow and red as we traveled along.  Peppers, tomatoes....?

Eric said those green sacks were full of potatoes so they must grow here as well. We love the potatoes...thin skinned and delicious. 

Rows and rows of mango trees.  Mangoes ripen too late here for us to enjoy but we do get them from other parts of Mexico. 

Back over the inland ocean.  

Coming into Esquinapa and we wound our way through. 

Right about here we had a siren wailing and a big fire truck made it's way past everyone. 

Left and back to Mazatlan. 

A little farther and we were back out on Mex 15 heading north.  

I caught a photo of one of the huge irrigation channels that are being put in to bring water to the coast from the Santa Maria Dam project inland.  All of the coastal areas need water for their crops. 

Back to El Rosario where we stopped for fuel, water and a bum break for all of us. 

Quite often the traffic on the free road from Esquinapa to Villa Union is really heavy but yesterday we scooted right along.  This truck ahead of us had something in the back. 

Watermelons!

Coming into Villa Union and we turn right so we can get on the Mazatlan bypass. 

Dried camarones or shrimp that are used in broths etc.  I had some in my ceviche but they have shells on them so they were pretty tough and I set them to the side. 

That's the wood we see everywhere that they burn to dry the chilies.  Eric says it's trimmings from the mango trees. 

On the bypass and up ahead you can see the ocean and all the towers.  This time we came in by Walmart and not the road farther north.  We were home by 4:30 and we were pretty tired.  Not a bad ride for a couple of old geezers!  A fun day with friends!!