Replacing the Ugly Foot

I realized that my main page is still showing my ugly foot, so thought I better change that.

Last night's sunset

 

We usually spend most of our time south in El Centro, but yesterday we walked up into the Golden Zone for beers at Lucky B's and then dinner at El Muchacho Alegre, both with live music.  Lucky B's is a gringo bar that had two bands and an average customer age around 70. 

El Muchacho Alegre is a restaurant with traditional banda music, where locals celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.   The grilled fish dinner (with rice, sauteed vegetables, and fresh tortillas) was very good  We were the only white faces there on our third visit and were welcomed by the staff who recognized us and went out of their way to make sure service was outstanding.

Our daughter Allie is arriving today.  She'll work one week remotely and then take a week of vacation, while she's here.

I need to pick her up at the airport, but it will be after dark on a Saturday night.  Most expats advise against driving in the dark here for a variety of reasons, including increased crime, animals on the road, unseen topes (speed bumps) and potholes.  I will probably take a Didi (Mexican Uber) or cab or combination thereof to get there and back. 

Mexican Chicken

After about a month in Mazatlan, we're getting a little tired of seafood.  I never thought I would say this. But having fish, shrimp, octopus, and oysters every week makes me yearn for....chicken.

Fortunately, a couple of blocks from us, a family raises chickens and has a small stand on the side of the road.  Here, whole chickens are grilled over charcoal.  One chicken is more than enough for both of us for two meals.  

Simmering Beans

The chicken comes with rice, salad, tortillas and fresh salsa--for less than $10. Upon ordering a chicken, the woman in charge chops it up into easy to handle pieces and bags everything up to go.

All of the Chicken here is free range, which produces both delicious meat and beautiful yolks. Eggs are about $2.50/dozen at either the mercado or grocery store.

One thing that I'll never forget about Mazatlan are the sunsets and sunrises.  This week, shortly after sunset, we saw both Jupiter and Venus easily visible in the dusky sky.

 

 

This morning, the full moon was breathtaking just before dawn at 5:40 a.m. on my morning walk with Callie.

Looking north towards the Golden Zone

Twenty minutes later, and I could see the sun coming up on the other end of the beach.

Looking south towards Centro

Settling In

Ate the buffet breakfast at Ibis Hotel Mazatlan. Checked out of the hotel at 11 a.m. and then killed a couple of  hours walking to the pickleball courts on the north side of town. Nice group of Americans and Canadians there, but it’s probably too far from where our condo is in Centro.  There are pickleball courts closer; we will visit soon to get more info.

On the way back, we got our first glimpse of the beach.

Our host messaged us on whatsapp to let us know we could come a little early, so we drove south about thirty minutes through heavy traffic to Centro.  Very nice lady who spoke minimal English.  We were able to communicate with my rudimentary Spanish and an ocasional assist from Google Translate. 

After getting settled in, I crated Callie and we went for supper at a beachfront restaurant. 

Shrimp and Octopus Burrito

I had two firsts in this meal. Octopus in a burrito and fries on the side of a burrito.

On the way home we stopped at the supermarket for drinking water and breakfast supplies. Then we took Callie up to our rooftop for sunset.

The statute commemorates the start of Mardi Gras. The celebration in Mazatlan starts in a couple of weeks and is the third largest in the world.