La Marea for ladies lunch with Erika and Abby

Thursday was our almost end of the season ladies lunch and we were off to La Marea which is at the south end of the city and up on a high observation point.  Everyone, well almost everyone brought a sweater as it can be windy and cool at the top.  Our daughter Erika and granddaughter Abby arrived on Wednesday afternoon so this was our first outing.  Ruth ordered an auriga or red truck to transport us all.  

Six of us loaded up out in Cerritos and we picked up Connie and Diane along the way.  A gorgeous warm day. In the distance, Valentino's the landmark building at the north end of the malecon or walking and biking walkway along the ocean.

Erika and I.  This auriga driver is the same one that we had last time and he has a cooler full of beer and water for our convenience.  How nice is that. 😊

As we get farther south you can see one of the remaining carnival statues.  

We think the driver missed the turn and we ended up on the round about through town route which was fine with us as we weren't in a hurry. 

We're here.  400 pesos with a healthy tip.  We were taking the bus back so we didn't need him to return.  The steps up the restaurant. 

Looking southeast to the cruise ship dock.  That is one huge cruise ship!

I have a tall family.  Everyone in this family is taller than me, even our other daughter Krista's family.  Here in Mexico I am never usually short!

Abby and Erika looking at the ocean.

We were seated in a bit sunnier and less windy spot.  That's Diane with her dark beer. 

Diane and Marilyn.  Marilyn has been growing out her bangs and today she was so fed up with it she clipped it all back. 😉

Liz, Abby, Erika, Connie, Ruth, Diane and just a bit of Marilyn. 

Now that's a bloody Ceasar !

The whole bunch courtesy of Liz. 

Connie loves fancy salads so she had that and a shrimp taco.  

Abby had a shrimp gordita. 

Marilyn had two shrimp tacos and....they all looked the same to me.  Very good, by the way. 

I almost ordered the grilled tuna salad and by the looks of that I should have.  Delicious. 

Erika and Abby like sushi, Mexican food and much more.  Erika ordered some ceviche and it was yummy. 

They shared the ceviche and an El Faro roll. 

Liz had a sushi roll. 

Ruth and I each ordered a different one and shared.  There was enough sushi a ND a few rolls left for to have for dinner.  Unfortunately most of the ceviche juice leaked out and ended up on the floor of the bus😁

Ruth's rolls!

That's the El Faro roll and I had a bite...very delicious and next time I'll order that or...maybe the tuna salad!!🤣

Everyone is happy.  Lots of chat and good food in a beautiful setting.  Excellent service as well. 

Back outside and getting ready to head down the huge flight of stairs. 

Hello Mazatlan!

It is a very long way down. Ahead to the right is the causway to El Faro, the lighthouse where everyone climbs to the top. 

Ruth heading down.  She's had knee replacement and she's being extra careful. 

The slow trek down as the rise and run of the stairs is uneven and hard to go down quickly.  And...who wants to fall....not me. 

Me with Ruth right behind.  I stayed close in case she needed something soft to fall on!

Everyone is waiting for us. 

It is a long way up.  We met a guy with his old unenthusiastic dog on a leash and his dauchsund in a back pack going up.  No thanks!

We walked around the corner to where the green buses stopped and all hopped on the for the ride home.  A nice start to Erika and Abby's vacation.  

Don Giovanni opera with Ruth and Marion.

 

Saturday night was a special outing for Ruth, Marion and I.  We all went on the bus ....but separately.  I arrived first at the Plaza Machado, Ruth waited for awhile for a bus and she was next but....no Marion.  Her bus was pokey and there must have been an accident or something as it took a round about route.  We were going to dinner first at the Nao Kitchen Bar which is highly rated on Foodies and, somewhere we'd wanted to go.  Marion met us there so Ruth and I were already on our first drink.  I tried a LaLa Land which is a deviation from my usual beer and it was yummy!

Ruth and Marion and Ruth has her favorite Negroni. 

Me with my shawl which Ruth just loves.  It is something that I bought in San Carlos, Sonora in Saggitario and it was made by the Yaki Indians.  

The bottom edge is unraveled fabric that is all intricately woven. 

The center is embroidered with a hummingbird motif.  

Ruth and I decided to split Pad Thai and some special dumplings.

Looks yummy but we were disappointed.  The noodles in the Pad Thai were really under cooked, not al dente but under cooked.  It also had very little sauce.  The dumplings were okay.  After all the reviews, we expected more.  

Unfortunately Marion had Pad Thai too.  However the service was good and the atmosphere was pleasant.  It wasn't anywhere as busy as I'd thought it would be either.  

The opera started at 8pm and we walked back to the Plaza Machado and it was a beautiful at night.  

A lovely warm evening with no wind and everyone was enjoying dinner outside.  

The vendors booths are so colorful and all lit up. 

One of the carnival statues has been left in place.  Isn't it something!

The music was playing and Ruth was dancing along, a lady coming towards her was dancing and smiling and these two ladies were holding arms and dancing...how fun is that!

People everywhere and it would continue long into the evening past midnight. 

Don Giovanni.  I am not an opera person but this was a great opportunity to see a live performance. 

The cast is assembling and you can see conductor Gordon Campbell in the orchestra pit getting ready.  Up above the score was in Spanish but translated into English so we knew what was being said.  Very helpful. 

The cast was large although there were only four or five main characters.  

Marion and I.  We were sitting on the first balcony so it was easy to see. 

Don Giovanni is a womanizing scoundrel!   In the end he got his just due and died 😁

The opera was a long three hours which went much past my bedtime but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 When we came out the Plaza was still hopping.  We found a pulmonia to take us home so off we went.  It's hard to get photos in the dark as we were moving but there were people out and about all the way home.  All along the malecon and the Golden Zone where the night clubs were in full swing.  It was a delightful evening with good friends even if I didn't get to bed until midnight.😉