Happy Holidays-December 26, 2008

While we have been missing family and friends during this holiday season, we have had a holiday rich in new experiences. We began the week by attending a Christmas Program by the Salvation Army Children's Home. The program consisted of about 40 children singing Christmas songs and dancing their local folklore. This is the time of year that the Salvation Army makes all their money for the year. The Salvation Army is not supported by the government. Of note these children are from poor families. Many of these children do not have birth certificates, and if they do not have birth certificates they can not go to school. The Salvation Army helps them to get birth certificates, medical care and other needed services.

Christmas Eve we spent on the dock. We had a party with all our friends on the dock. We all made appetizers to share. We had a variety of great foods along with home made egg nog and Christmas songs blaring from the boats.

Christmas Day was a quite day for us. We spent the day cooking a turkey and playing games. We participated in the Cruisers Pot Luck Dinner. We had about 40 people in attendance. Again we had wonderful food from all. We have some new games to recommend to any of you who like games. One is Mexican Train and the other is Sequence. Both of them are fun with a group of people.

Wally is continuing to recover. He goes to physical therapy everyday. I know he's getting better as he wants to work on the boat all the time.

Angel has become the dock mascot and guard dog. Many of the cruisers visit her on a daily basis. She's receives dog treats from everyone. She keeps us busy and entertained.

El Quelite - December 18, 2008

Today we took a "Vacation from our Vacation". We were feeling water bound and wanted to explore inland. So with our friends, John and Debbie, we hired a taxi for the day to explore some local colonial and historical spots in Sinaloa.

Our first stop on our tour was Vinata Los Osuna. We had a tour on how blue agave (Tequilla) is distilled. The distillery was in operation. We saw the plants from start to finish. One would not want to be there if they were allergic to bees as they were everywhere. The grounds were beautiful with flowers.

Our next stop was Hacienda Las Moras, a restored authentic Tequila Plantation about 150 years old. Currently it is a secluded resort. The decor was in true Mexican flavor. Again, the grounds were beautiful and peaceful. Many peacocks roamed freely through the grounds. Definitely would be a nice place to stay.

Our last stop was El Quelite, a colonial town, with cobbled streets, and colorful tile roofed homes.
It is about 20 miles north of Mazatlan across the Tropic of Cancer. It was a very quaint town. Most of the little stores were in the porches of homes. We ate at a local resturant with homemade tortillas and the local meats. We also visited the local church, cemetary, Cock Fighting Ranch and local bakery. One definietly felt like "Old Mexico".

The countryside was rolling hills, with some agriculture areas of corn, and some papaya tree groves. It was similar to driving up to Ojai, CA.

Wednesday night we had the opportunity to join Friends of Mazatlan, a local charity organization which supports 5 local schools in the area. We toured the city Christmas lights on a trolly. We went through the old historical town and also El Cid which has acreas of beautiful HUGE homes. The lights and decorations were everywhere on the homes. A beautiful display. We had Chrsitmas songs going as we toured. It made us feel a little like Christmas.

Mazatlan-December 15, 2008

Wally continues to improve daily from his surgery. The MD removed the final stitches today. Wally is scheduled to start physical therapy next week. His endurance level is improving and his walking distance is increasing. The great news is no pain! The picture with Wally is with both of his physicians. The MD said we could leave Mazatlan in January. Our departure date will be January 10.

We continue to be busy everyday. We wonder where the day has gone as we watch the sun set. While we haven't been able to leave the marina area since Wally's surgery we continue to be very active socially. For those of you who are not cruisers, we have come to find out that cruisers are a very close group and are always helping each other out. One of the ways that we all stay connected and in communication is we always have our VHF radio on. Monday through Saturday we listen to the Net on channel 22 at 8:00a.m. (I think that is a little early!) The first item asked for is there any emergency traffic, secondly we all check in with our name on the radio. The next items for discussion is any new arrivals(cruisers)to the Mazatlan or any departures leaving Mazatlan, weather, the tides, special announcements (this includes all the social activities that may be going on), assistance needed, treasures of the bilge (any items that many be for sale) and then any other information needed. It usually ends about 8:20 a.m. If cruisers need another cruiser during the day we call each other via the VHF. Every cruising area has their own Nets for information.

Winter has arrived in Mazatlan. The temperature is in the low 80's during the day and cooling down to the high 60's in the evening. We continue to wear shorts and T-shirts.

Mazatlan-December 7, 2008

We continue to have new adventures. Our latest adventure is experiencing the health care in Mexico. As most of you know Wally has had 2 back surgeries in the past 2 years. Unfortunately they did not fix the problem. By the time we arrived in Mazatlan Wally was experiencing increased pain. So we decided to see if something outside the country could help Wally's pain. We made an appointment with a neurosurgeon and within 1 week we had all kinds of tests and were scheduled for surgery. Wally had surgery on December 3 with excellent results. He came home today and he has none of the previous pain he was experiencing. The doctors are all wonderful here. The cost of medical care is so much less than we experience in the states. The neurosurgeon will be coming to the boat everyday to check Wally's incision site and the progress he is making. Can you imagine that happening in the states! Our cruising plans will be delayed by 4-6 weeks, however, this is not a bad place to have to stay!

I have continued to enjoy the cultural activities of the area. This month is the Mazatlan Cultural Festival. The shows are at the Angela Peralta Theater, which is a beautiful renovated theater. I have attended "Viva Mexico", Sinaloa Folklore Ballet which was about the three events of social impact on Mexico's history: the fall of the great Tenochtitian, the independence from Spain and the Mexican revolution. The dancing was great and the costumes were so colorful. I also saw the Nutcracker which was done by the Municipal School of Ballet. The stage setting was magical, the children were adorable. The admission to these events is about 150-200 pesos (equivalent to $11.53-$15.38American). One can see many shows as compared to the cultural activies in the states. The programs are in Spanish. Hopefully one day I will understand more of the language.

We have learned how to go to the movies. They have some American movies here. Sometimes they are dubbed in Spanish and sometimes they are subtitled in Spanish. The admission to the movies is 25pesos/person. So for under $8.00(American) 2 people can go to the movies with popcorn and drinks.

I have wanted to experience a jungle cruise so before Wally went into the hospital he took me through all the canals in the harbor. We were amazed to see all the beautiful homes on the waterways. In addition we saw many iguanas on our ride. I think he thinks he won't have to do a real jungle cruise.

Dock side cruising continues to be very busy. I have exercise class or yoga three times a week, line dancing 3 times a week, music jams on Wednesday, Sunday brunch, kayaking 2 times per week, and dinners out with friends at least 2 times per week. With all of this and more people continue to work on their boats. Many cruisers coming in to Mazatlan and many heading south.

The city and the marina are decorating for the holidays. It is all similar to the states. The stores are decorated, homes are decorated and the boats are being decorated for the holidays. There will not be a white Christmas here, current temperature in the 80's We all still wear shorts and tank tops.