Feliz Navidad and a good time was had by all!

The weather has been a bit unpredictable lately and Christmas eve was one of those days with rain, thunder and lightening and clouds. 

Christmas day dawned bright and sunny and it turned out to be a beautiful day. 

I had prepared my Moroccan salad and Angel bars the day before and that left me free to enjoy the day.  I will admit I am always a little blue on Christmas as I miss our family but everyone here is in the same boat so it is good to be with friends. 

Early in the day tables were being set up.   A jiggle to fit everyone in.

Food table ready to be loaded.

Everything is ready.

At this point Eric and I went to the beach for a swim.  Betty reminded Eric not to be late for dinner!  The water was warm and the swim was great.  We headed back to the park at 2pm for a shower and happy hour.

It’s 3pm and people are starting to gather for happy hour.

A little chat,  a little wine and everyone is happy.

Felipe (the park owner) buys the turkeys for dinner and he and his family join us.

Gord and Jesus (the park worker) have a chat.  Jesus will join us for dinner and Genaro will come later when he arrives for work at 4pm.

John and his family enjoy a little pool time.

John’s new wife Lupita has two children Natalie and Jonny(spelling?).  John and Lupita were married this past summer and are now expecting a Niño of their own.  They will enjoy a small family dinner on their own. 

The food is starting to arrive.

Lori and Al enjoy a drink before dinner.

Felipe and his wife and family are gathered for dinner.

 

Alex and Valerie.

Hi Frank!

Marion and Fred having an appetizer.

 

Sandi says Grace.  

Felipe has his daughter Elizabeth express their happiness with all the people who come to stay in their park. 

They hope we will continue to come back!

The food is ready….let’s eat!

There was a huge assortment of food and it was all delicious.  Eric and I had skipped lunch and I was prepared to overeat….and I did!  

There was nothing missing on this table.

Regina tosses her salad.  That’s Karen to the right.

…and adds the dressing.

John and Jeri were nice enough to ask us to join their table for dinner.  Eric and John enjoyed conversation about our mutual early farming days and 4H with kids as well as their interest in motorcycles. 

C’mon John get that wine open!

How delicious does my plate of food look?   Yes, I went back for seconds and I ate desert too!  Jeri made a key lime pie for our table and it was super tasty.  

Sam and Rita enjoy dinner.

The evening is winding down and it is getting dark.  You can’t see her but Anita is doing a card trick that has Bill, Sandi and Jeannette enthralled. 

Thank-you to Betty and Marilyn and her crew for all their organization of the dinner.  Thank-you to the turkey cookers…Sandi, Jeri, Val and Jeannette.  They also supplied the gravy. 

The rest of the park supplied all the salads, hot dishes and deserts and we all did a great job as well.  It was a delicious dinner eaten with great company and everyone was full and happy at the end. 

The weather has been warm and we’ve been swimming!

Today was a beautiful warm day, the swell was down, the ocean was warm and a swim was in order. 

Today was the second time I’ve been swimming since we arrived and that is unusual.  I haven’t been in the water since we first started coming to Mazatlan five years ago as it is usually too cold.  Eric will swim even if it is cold but not me.

The road to the beach.

Looking north.

Looking south.

Looks inviting!

Here comes Eric….he has to ride his bike to the beach as his foot is too sore to walk. 

Tanning the belly before a swim.

A beautiful warm day on the beach and then a little swim. 

No complaints!

Feliz Navidad Genaro and Jesus.

At this time of year we should try to remember those who are less fortunate and here in Mexico that is an easy thing to do.

About a week ago Betty came to the rig as she did last year asking for a 200 peso donation for the park workers who look after us while we are here in Las Jaibas for the winter.  Last year it was  and Martine and this year it is Genaro and Jesus.  Jesus cleans the washrooms, rakes, chops and keeps all the sites neat and tidy as well as fixing anything that is broken.  Genaro comes in later in the day (4pm) and picks up all the garbage and then minds the gate throughout the night.  The gate is kept locked at night and if you need to get in or out he unlocks it.  He is on duty from 4pm until 8am in the morning (a 16 hour shift.)

People here in the park know that the workers are not paid well and are not treated very well by the owner.  We appreciate their hard work, treat them  with respect and by giving them a Christmas bonus we tell them that we value their services. 

Betty collected the money in a card with the names of the people who had contributed.  Marilyn was her back up and between them they did a stellar job.  Thanks ladies!

Betty gives Jesus his Christmas gift.

Betty wanted him to get close for a picture and he said “ Your husband is going to kick my ass!”  Hilarious!

Genaro and Betty.

Genaro was in the middle of garbage collection but Betty doesn’t care….a hug is in order!   Genaro is trying hard to learn some English and he said “I am berry, berry grateful!” 

Pat yourselves on the back ….you did a good thing. 

Today was busy!

Now I should have had my camera with me today but I didn’t.  Next time. 

I usually walk early in the morning but today I had to be at Gabby’s for an early pedicure (9:00 am) and then a haircut so I was out on the street and onto the bus by 8:30 am.  It is always fun to go to Rosie’s shop as she and the ladies who work for her are fun and genuinely happy to see you.  I hadn’t had a pedicure since we left Mazatlan last March partly because it is expensive at home and partly because my feet spend the summer in gumboots in the garden.  I did a couple of minor clean ups and polish myself but not the best of jobs.  There were four of us in the pedicure room having our feet done and the talk was of the annual “posada” that Rosie and her husband Rogelio host for the neighborhood children in their Colonia.  They provide presents, hot chocolate, a piñata and Rogelio makes doughnuts….this year about 200.  Some of the women having their feet done had attended.  Rosie is very generous and shares what she has and a good time is had by all.  Her prices in the shop are more than reasonable ( I paid 230 pesos for a one hour pedicure and a haircut) and even with a 50 peso tip to Rosie and also to Rosa who did my pedicure it is only just over $26.  While she was cutting my hair Rosie asked where I stayed in Mazatlan and when I said Las Jaibas she said she’d been there on Sunday to pick up donated items from John and Jeri.  They bring many, many bags of donated items for the orphanage we support and also for other people.  Rosie also remarked that my face was not so round this year and asked if I was feeling better.  Nice to be remembered. 

After I was all prettied up it was time to get head home for lunch because I play Hand and Foot at 1pm with the ladies.  It was a really good game and Anita and I played Jeri and Val.  Anita hadn’t played this year but she remembered quick and played well and we were lucky to beat Jeri and Val who are very good, well seasoned players.  Okay there is a bit of skill along with picking up good cards. 

Eric has been helping Manny with some sound wiring issues over the past few days and it seems they have straightened out his problems.  He was trying to get some speakers to work and it was a mystery of wiring.  They also have the same Samsung Smart TV that we have so Connie was explaining a bit about how to run it to Eric.  You can get on the internet with it and do many other things.  Another huge learning curve!

Last night was bingo at the Last Drop up at Cerritos and it was fun as usual.  We have a couple drinks, eat and play three games of bingo.  The waiters know all the ladies who come and are ready with hugs to greet us.  Alejandro and a new waiter Ishmael looked after us.  The Last Drop has taken over running the bingo and it was Ishmael’s first night calling bingo…..and he did a great job.  We told him so and he was very pleased.  Betty (from Van. Island) and Eddy (from Fort St. John, B.C.) both won twice and they were delighted.  I won 500 pesos on a black out so I was up 200 pesos for the night after paying for bingo (50 pesos a game) a couple of cervezas and a giant hambergesa that I couldn’t finish.  It’s fun but I really have to concentrate so I don’t miss any numbers.

Home by 9pm and into bed shortly after.  It is very humid right now and it is supposed to rain tomorrow.  We’ll see.  

A ride to El Quelite

The weather over the past few days has been nice.  The icy wind has died down and we have been to the beach the last couple of days.  I haven’t been feeling well since last Thursday but today I am almost back to normal….whatever that is!  There has been some sort of a flu/cold in the park but I was lucky enough not to get a bad dose.  I didn’t walk the last few days but today I was out early this morning and it felt good.

Today it was time to get out on Big Red and go for a ride.  We weren’t up for a marathon ride but decided a nice lunch at our favorite restaurant would be a nice start.  We left the park around 11:30 am and it was a beautiful ride.  It is much greener this year in Mazatlan and the countryside is very pretty.  The pink blooming trees ( I think from looking on the internet they are Amapa trees) are in full bloom.

Very pretty but hard to get a good picture whizzing along on the bike. 

Not much traffic today which was a treat as we are usually being passed on a regular basis.  Mexicans hate to be behind anyone on the highway. 

Ullama statue at the entrance to town.

Main street….pretty quiet today.

We like to eat at Los Arrieros a very relaxing restaurant at the far end of town. 

We sit outside and watch the local people as they pass by.

Looking inside.  A very elegant and restful place to eat. 

Chips, salsas, fresh cheese and a gordita each (complimentary.)

We had a breakfast lunch, chilaquilas, shrimp, omelet, beans and tortillas.  Delicious.

While we were sitting having lunch I spied a family with children walking by who were fascinated by Big Red.  They took turns posing by it and when I got up to take their picture they all started laughing.  Funny!

A future biker?

There was a Mexican man (very handsome!) sitting a few tables away and he asked if it was our bike.  “Very nice” he said.  Turns out he spoke English and had been to Vancouver and knew the geography of B.C. We said we were from just south of the Alaska panhandle and he shivered. We commented on how nice it was here and he said “Yes, but not in the summer….too hot and humid….not comfortable at all!”   We have the best of both worlds. 

A cactus field on our way out of town.  These are the edible cultivated Cactus.

That’s Las Jaibas from the other side of the street as we were passing by.

We decided to ride up to the new Wal Mart and see if we could find a TV connection that Eric was looking for.  They didn’t have it.  So we bought beer (Pacifico Light for me) and Corona for Eric as they didn’t have Pacifico Clara which is his beer of choice.  Odd how they have the Pacifico light at many places but not the regular Pacifico.  Maybe they make more money on the light….who knows!

So home for happy hour and a light supper.  A really nice day.