This and …..that.

I’ve been collecting pictures of little things going on.

I have been drying my “ropa” on a clothesline now that I’m tucked in at the back of the park where it isn’t all that visible.  We aren’t supposed to dry clothes on a line but….this is Mexico!    I walk a basket to the front to wash, walk back to pick the basket up and then hang the clothes out to dry.  It is quite a hike to the front of the park.

Looking to the back of the park on the south side and if you keep going past the end of this row and turn right and keep going you will find us in the back corner.

The north side of the park looking to the rear.  Lots of stored boats and not as many rigs as the last year we were here.  Some people do wait to come until after Christmas so more may show up.

Another tasty dinner at our house with fresh shrimp and mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter.  Yum!

Tuesday afternoons we play a card game called Hand and Foot.  This day there were twelve of us.

Valerie and Millie.  Millie is from Oregon and she rents in Portofino for the winter and she joins us every Tuesday afternoon to play cards. 

We are sitting under the palapa at the front of the park next to the pool. 

This is “Papa John” and he and Lupita’s little girl, Blanca. 

When I last saw her she wasn’t even a year old.  Would you just look at those curls! 

When I returned home from lunch on Wednesday Raphael (park worker) Roger (Papa John’s twin brother) and       were digging up this waterline.  The water had started bubbling out of the ground so it was obvious we had a problem.  Since there is only “one!!!” shutoff in the park everyone was out of water until it was fixed. 

The one inch pipe had a lengthwise crack in it for some unknown reason. 

At this point Raphael is gluing in a new section.  Eric and I were hopeful that we would get water as we both needed a shower after being at the beach.   

By 5:30 pm the water was back on but the hole was left open for a  day to make sure there were no more leaks.

When I came back from my walk this morning this big yellow truck was hauling out a boat across the way from us.  It’s Christmas and many Mexicans have come from other areas to visit and go out on the ocean.

The tires looked a little flat even after they had aired them up. 

I wonder if it will make it to the ocean?

So how has the weather been?  Well hot and …..humid.  Very unseasonable for this time of year and going up to 28 or 29C in the daytime and only going down to about 15C at night.  The humidity makes it uncomfortable.  

Today I will hopefully get a swim.  It has been way too rough for me lately. 

Ladies Lunch at Angelina’s Kitchen

 

Last week’s lunch was supposed to be at….Angelina’s Kitchen but it all fell apart.  Many people (including me) didn’t go due to other commitments and our fearless leader Ruth had been away for a couple of weeks and we were now in disarray.  Today she was back in charge, had everything organized and we were ready to go.  As this restaurant is not right on the bus route to get there Ruth had ordered a Red Truck. 

Sandi and Marilyn hurry forward to the truck.  He was on time and a bit early.

Arriba, arriba! Ándale!

Up, Up….come on!

There were 11 of us and the cost was 200 pesos to deliver us to the door of the restaurant….so 20 pesos each. 

We are now travelling along the Malecon but we did arrive there by a circuitous route.  In the end we thought the driver was probably avoiding the Golden Zone.  It is getting more and more busy through that area as Christmas approaches and of course there is always construction to deal with. 

Angelina’s Latin Kitchen which is only about a block off the Malecon on ….

Venustiano Carranza, No 18, Centro Historico
Behind the Freeman Hotel
Phone: 910 15 96

Everyone out of the truck!

Marion pointed out the very interesting chandelier contructed out of silverware.

The waiter “Daniel” takes Valeries’ order.

A diverse menu with specials posted on the chalk board.   That’s Ruth looking very pensive.

This deocr is a very bohemian, ecclectic style with lots of interesting touches here and there.  This young waitress must be out of school for Christmas and helping out. 

Valerie the other waitress with her nice dress and ….running shoes!  Very cute.

Ruth ordered a mojito which has fresh mint leaves, lime and of course ….white rum.  Delicious and it made her face go all pink!

The  meals were ordered and served up in short order.  This is Anita’s bruschetta.

Avocado salad.

There were two younger chefs in the kitchen working at top speed.

Some of us eating and …..some of us waiting.

 

Looks interesting and I think that has the raw (marinated in lime juice) or ceviche style tuna underneath which Ruth ordered. 

This is Marion’s portobello mushroom burger. The mushroom is the bun and there is a burger inside.   She said it was delicious. 

Chicken salad.

Valerie is going to eat these delicious looking pork ribs. 

This is the most elaborately presented salad that I have ever seen and it is served with a toasted bread with what appears to be a drizzled balsamic sauce.  

This is my French Dip which was a lunch special.  I often hesitate to order beef in Mexico but as this is a restaurant that caters to Gringos I decided to give it a try.  The Au Jus for dipping was super flavorful and the beef was thin and tasty.  It did have a bit of gristle in it but the flavor more than made up for it.  A good choice for me!

Marilyn was the last to eat as she had been served the wrong chicken dish and they had to redo her lunch.  No big deal!

So….the food was excellent and delicious, service very good, presentation of food beautifully done and altogether a 10 out of 10 lunch experience.  A really nice place to have lunch. 

Sandi and Marilyn relax on the “ hot pink “ couch while everyone makes there way outside. 

Look at this beautiful old building.  Imagine what it looked like in it’s heyday. 

We walked a short distance down to the Malecon to catch the green bus home.  It returns this way but….does not drop off this way. 

This is the Sinaloa coat of arms.

The Sinaloa CoA is represented by an oval shield which is divided into four quarters...with the upper left depicting hands holding (squeezing?) a snake and some other strange creature. The upper right depicts a castle or fort. The lower left depicts bloody chains links and a Christian cross. The lower right depicts a deer (Mazatlan's symbol), two islands and an anchor. Footprints are depicited around the circumference of the shield with the word "SINALOA" at thetop and the date "1831" at the bottom. The Mexican eagle is depicted above the shield and below we see the names of several Sinaloa towns...including Mazatlan

This is at the southern end of Paseo Olas Altas and was erected in 1959.

So …. everyone boarded the bus and off we went home after another very pleasant lunch.

Gala Navidena at the Angela Peralta Theatre

Marion and I were off to the Christmas Gala this evening.  We stopped out front at 6:30pm and caught a green bus downtown.  I always enjoy the bus ride as you can see everything that is happening along the way and the cost is about 67 cents Canadian….how cheap is that!   The performance was to start at 8pm and we hoped to sit outside and have a cocktail in the square if we arrived early enough.   Below is a description of the evening from the net……

Passing through the lobby of the harbor's highest artistic scene, the audience was greeted by a giant Christmas tree full of ornaments, gifts and lights for family photos along with the grumpy "Grinch" and the always smiling "Santa Claus" and his wife The Mrs. Claus. " After saying goodbye to these endearing characters, the public entered the theater to watch him covered with foquitos and Christmas wreaths on their balconies.

As in other editions, the "Christmas Gala" Was supported by the collaboration of the Camerata Mazatlán, directed by Percival Álvarez; The Children's Choir of Culture, directed by Mariela Angulo, and the Angela Peralta Choir, by Antonio González, who for almost two hours accompanied the talented singers Andrés Carrillo, Celia Gómez, Radha Murillo and Sarah Holcombe who shone next to the international star Scott Coulter, from the United States.

Besides having a large number of voices and instruments, the "Gala Christmas" boasted an emotional repertoire of ballet centered on songs like "Sing a Christmas Carol" and "Merry Merry Christmas" by the dancers basic level and technical level Of the Municipal School of Classic Ballet of the Institute of Culture of Mazatlán, directed by the teacher Zoila Fernández.

Among the 18 Christmas songs that created an atmosphere of love and family reunion, they highlighted "A Wondrous Christmas" which gathered on stage seven guest vocalists, "Candy Man", in which Scott Coulter astonished all present appearing in the stage on a hot air balloon, and "Dance of the flutes" a suite quintessential Christmas classic, "the Nutcracker" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The stage showed different faces as interpretations passed: the audience was received by a scenery that showed a snowy forest; Then it was changed by hanging light spheres; Later there were lit candles in front of the choirs and a starry sky in the background, and the last scene was composed of a giant Christmas tree adorned with foquitos and ornaments that was complemented by a set of Christmas candies.

Almost half of the "Gala Christmas" video "Sleigh ride" was screened for the tramoyeros set the stage for the second part of the show, which began with a small block of Christmas songs in Spanish: "Campana sobre campana" "the child drum" and "Fish in Rio".

In the interpretation of "Silent Night" by Celia Gómez and José Miguel Valenzuela, the artists of the Cultural Institute of Mazatlan recreated the scene of Jesus ' birth and the visit he received from the three kings Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar .

Meanwhile, in the interpretation of "Jingle Bells", a group of elves rappel down to the balconies and made their own throughout the theater.

In the final stretch of the show Scott Coulter gave a rendition of "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and the ballet company of Sinaloa pride, directed by Zoila Fernandez and Guillermo Carrillo, closed with a flourish night with "Christmas Medley "performed by Sarah Holcombe, Radha Murillo and Andres Carrillo.

At the end of this piece the Teatro Ángela Peralta was struck by a long applause that did not cease until the directors Zoila Fernández, Guillermo Carrillo, Percival Álvarez, Antonio González and Mariela Angulo met on stage and received with their groups and soloists the Recognition for having given life to another edition of the "Gala Navideña", the most anticipated event of the year that in its function of this Friday, at 20:00 hours, will close the Festival Cultural Mazatlán 2016.

On leaving TAP, the public celebrated their own inn by enjoying delicious sneakers, pineapple tamales, fruit punch, fritters and churros, then hit the piñata and return home with a small bag of sweets.

It is about 7pm when we arrive at the Plazuela Machado which is lit up beautifully for Christmas.

There are white cloths on the many tables in the restaurants that surroud the Plazuela.  The evening is soft and warm with no wind and we sit down to have a Pina Colada.  A lovely start to the evening.

When we enter the theatre Santa and Mrs. Claus are waiting.  Marion sends me to have my picture taken. 

The theatre is lit for Christmas and the crowd is being seated.  We are on the right hand side of the theatre on the first balcony.  By the time the performance starts the theatre is full.

My camera will have a hard time from this distance and I have to use the zoom but….no flash as it’s not allowed. 

The Angela Peralta choir sings as do the full host of musical stars of the evening.

Ballet dances were performed while the cast sang musical numbers.

The voices were superb and most of the songs were in English.   I would have preferred a little more Spanish but….that’s just me.

The colours and sets were lovely as was the lighting.

The one major glitch…..this was a projection movie of Santa and his workshop but….the top was on the bottom and the bottom on the top.  No one seemed to notice or fix it!  Odd!

Mary and Joseph arrive with baby Jesus.

The real baby was a perfect touch.

The wise men arrive with gifts for the baby Jesus.

Scott Coulter performing one of his solos….” It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

Right in front of us the elves arrived.

Accomplished rappelers who then joined the audience and entertained. 

 

I couldn’t figure out from the program who this singer was but…she was my favorite.

The cast gathered for the finale.

A standing ovation and then a final song. 

The choir.

In the lobby we were treated to hot drinks, churros and other treats.  Outside the theatre the children were beating the pinata.  Some of the little boys were really vicious!   Santa gave each participant a bag of treats. 

There wasn’t much left of the pinata by the time they were finished.

A final look at the lovely lights of the square and then we head up Benito Juarez St. to the west side of the mercado to catch a bus home. 

We were home by about 10:30 and Genaro was waiting to open the gate and let us into the park.  A lovely evening with a friend.