Mazatlan

Had a really nice trip mid January this year to see 2 sets of aunts and uncles who spend a nice portion of their winters down in Mazatlan, Mexico. I was fortunate enough to be offered the position of adopted son for the week to autie Judy and my uncle Dan, of which I graciously accepted, which saved me some $$$ and made for a relatively inexpensive trip with the gratias accomodations!

The weather was the standard norm of mid to high 20's average daytime, and mid to high teens at night. Another consitent norm there was the volume of cold cervezas that seemed to be present as I endlessly reached into the back of the refrigerator. Be damned if I never did find the back of that mid sized fridge, but it was a mystery that I wasn't trying to hard to solve! 

I met lots of great people, both friends of auntie Glenda and uncle Rick, and folks from the resort who would endlessly drop by to enjoy one of the many stories from uncle Dan's cranial library, and converse with the warm, smiling face of auntie Judy. Auntie Glenda spoiled us with some her talented Mexican cuisine, and uncle Rick's talent behind the bar kept us all nicely touched (topped) up. There was always an entertaining story being told by someone, or some little adventure being planned, so never a dull moment was at hand. Along with my daily routine of Skype with my sweetheart in Estonia, the days seemed to blend together and of course went by far too quickly, but left me with excitement of returning again next year for more fun. I will let the pictures and captions tell the rest  :)

Headed for 'tourist alley' in front of the Riu Hotel

Horse ride anyone?

Rock lobster

Looking back towards the City of Mazatlan

Rock crabs

Turkey vultures

The grand Riu Hotel

Local boogie boarder

This guy was good!

Resident lizard. He would only come out of his culvert if the sun's intensity was hot enough that day.

Siesta time

Street within Cerretos Resort

Cerretos Resort restaurant, bar, and pool.

Hand made!

Concrete mixed by hand and all supplies pulled up via the pulley system set up on the roof top

One of the finished products! Amazing.

Our hot tub

Front gate at the Cerretos Resort

Victor and his security counter part manning the front gate. These guys make 80 Pesos/day ($6.25 CDN) and always have a smile on their face. Nice to see.

More Cerretos...

Reception area pool at the resort

Auntie and uncle's digs

Our flat

Stir fry that night. DEEEEELISCIOUS!

Safety first..........NOT!  The boys were giving the flaked paint a little touch-up, trying to keep the resort front looking spiffy.



Local bus transportation. Fare each way was roughly 7 pesos (55 cents CDN)



Uncle Rick and Auntie Glenda with their fabulous tans

Another means of transportation, a little more expensive but not a lot

Ferry coming in from Cabo San Lucas across the Sea of Cortez

Perigrine Falcon I believe

Downtown Mazatlan from the lighthouse hill

Communications hill

Ferry port

Kimmer with the lighthouse hill in the background

Rick and Merv

Head cheese anyone!



Pretty rare to not see a smile in Mazatlan :)



Kite day

Auntie looking spiffy in her summer dress

The kite dragged me pretty good through the sand when it was powered up! Fun!!

A very unsuccessful surf session for me with a strong cross current making some nice, surfable waves if you could get to them!

Another sun tan day





Jorge checking up on me

Had a really unique vantage point here to watch some surfers and snap a few pics

Kimmer having a go at the surfing. Man, I forgot how much work it is! (especially for an out of shape, old guy!)

My surfing days are washed up!

Hangin' in the line up so to speak

Club Campestre Golf and Country Club. A mediocre 9 hole, but still fun.



Our caddy Julio



Paco

Paco and Don

The decal says it all :)      (No bad days)

Estrella del Mar. A beautiful 18 hole course on the Sea of Cortez. Amazing!

Warming up at the driving range

Dan and Jerry

Arturo

Can you spot the Mexican?

Banos

One of my favourite shots with the palm tree reflection in the photo

Yes, that ball DID just about hit me!

A lot of sand traps on this course

The gang, post round.

Our amphibious charter. This unit comes from the US Marine Corp

It turned a lot of heads as we rolled down the beach

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Captain Morgan

Deer Island. We really did enjoy this island....... honest! Snorkling was the poops but we enjoyed our day regardless.

Uncle Dan at the helm

Auntie Judy thinks she's seem it all now!

Pulling up onto the main beach