Mazatlan

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Dinner With Friends

I got a last minute invitation to have dinner with Janet and Grant tonight, which was very much appreciated! They live at Stone Island Gardens, the hotel attached to Carmelita’s restaurant in a two-bedroom apartment. The space is lovely with a great view, but well out of my price range (which I feel comfortable saying because the prices are right on the website).

It’s quite a walk to the top floor! I’d get my exercise living there. We had dinner on one of their balconies looking over the water at all the lights. Just gorgeous! I can’t believe they are that far up and have no railings on the balconies, though! Oh, Mexico with its lack of building codes… 😀 I think this has been my biggest culture shock!

Janet and Grant are vegan, which means they eat absolutely no animal products. Dinner was hearty, healthy, and yummy, with three dishes, one of potatoes, one of quinoa, and one of rice featuring tons of veggies. I haven’t had quinoa in a while, so that was a nice treat.

I’m always amused when I get invited to dinner by vegetarians and vegans who then apologize for not having meat. 1) You’re vegan or vegetarian, I’m not expecting meat; 2) I was a vegetarian for 15 years; 3) I still make all my old favourite vegetarian recipes and don’t eat meat every day. 😀

I was introduced to jicama, a starchy turnip-like veggie with a raw potatoey flavour that you can just cut up and eat raw, perhaps with a little lime juice and chili powder. It’s a little sweet and very moist, a nice pick me up in a warm climate. I will look for it on the veggie truck next time it passes by!

We gabbed a bit after eating, then Grant, being the gentleman that he is, walked all the way down those steps to walk me home… after walking to the golf course and back today, about 24KM/15miles!!!

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Goat Island (Isla de Chivas), Mazatlán

Goat Island (Isla de Chivas) is now attached to Stone Island (Isla de la Piedra), but used to be separate. Dale and I decided to hike out there today to accomplish four goals: 1) explore, 2) find Benji’s restaurant, 3) see the wild goats, 4) climb Goat Mountain to see if we’re in good enough shape to hike up to the Mazatlán lighthouse (hell yeah!).

We met on the beach and walked all the way out the absolute southernmost part you can walk on Isla, which involved a little clambering. We got a good view of the harbour and marveled that giant cruise ships can get through the narrow channel!

I kept teasing Dale that she had promised me goats and I wasn’t seeing any goats, so she took me a bit around the base of Goat Mountain until she spotted one. They’re big! Once we saw one, we saw a lot!

We then started up the path to the top of the mountain, avoiding as much goat poop as we could. There’s a pretty good path partway up, but then you have to scramble up rocks. It wasn’t particularly challenging and we weren’t even winded by the time we got to the top.

We headed home around 9:45 (yes, we climbed a mountain by 9:30 today!) and I asked a lady cleaning her yard if she knew the location of Benji’s restaurant. She explained to me how to find it. Benji’s is known for its pizza, so I’m curious about going there one day to see if the pizza is any good.

As we headed back to the beach, I asked Dale if she was interested in going for brunch at Carmelita’s, the only restaurant I know has other stuff besides eggs for breakfast. Oh, yeah!

When we got there, I really splurged and ordered a giant glass of fresh squeezed OJ (35 pesos, eep!), but I was really craving some good sugar after all that exercise. Dale had a veggie omelette that really made me wish I could do eggs. It came with refried beans and toast or tortillas. We both do tortillas at home, so toast is a treat!

I actually ordered pancakes! I added a side of ham (65 pesos, not bad!). The pancakes were just the right amount for me, two medium sized ones, and they came with a little plate that had butter, jam, and syrup on it. I like a schmear of strawberry jam on pancakes, so this was perfect for me and I really enjoyed them! The ham was pretty good, too, slice thin but seared to really bring out the flavour. I also finished Dale’s toast, loading it up with pico de gallo!

Dale lets me handle the money when we eat out. The bill was 180 pesos, with my portion being 100 pesos. I had her pay with a 200 peso note and added an additional 20 pesos of my own, then gave her a 100 peso note back.

The exercise this morning was great! I have some work to do this afternoon and think I’ll be able to concentrate now that I got the ants out of my legs. 🙂

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Our destination was the top of that mountain!

Our destination was the top of that mountain!

This guy was just chilling in the sand. We thought he was injured, but he didn't seem to be in pain and was moving around.

This guy was just chilling in the sand. We thought he was injured, but he didn’t seem to be in pain and was moving around.

I like the path up to this hut.

I like the path up to this hut.

Maz in the distance.

Maz in the distance.

Maz lighthouse.

Maz lighthouse.

Big boat, with a little tug boat beside and behind it.

Big boat, with a little tug boat beside and behind it.

Looking up at Goat Mountain.

Looking up at Goat Mountain.

Heading out into the causeway.

Heading out into the causeway.

Dale compared these cement things to jacks (as in the game pieces).

Dale compared these cement things to jacks (as in the game pieces).

As far out on the causeway as we could go.

As far out on the causeway as we could go.

Looking at Goat Mountain from the causeway.

Looking at Goat Mountain from the causeway.

This lush rocky greenery with a stone croft made me think of hiking in Scotland!

This lush rocky greenery with a stone croft made me think of hiking in Scotland!

This igloo-type thing caught my eye.

This igloo-type thing caught my eye.

Goat!

Goat!

There were lots of these trees with exposed roots.

There were lots of these trees with exposed roots.

I'd come across tons of stone crofts like these when I was hiking in the Scottish Highlands.

I’d come across tons of stone crofts like these when I was hiking in the Scottish Highlands.

Lots of iron in the soil here.

Lots of iron in the soil here.

Looking towards Isla. You can clearly see Stone Island Gardens, the hotel attached to Carmelita's.

Looking towards Isla. You can clearly see Stone Island Gardens, the hotel attached to Carmelita’s.

The first part up had a path.

The first part up had a path.

Dale is a good role model for how I want to age.

Dale is a good role model for how I want to age.

Looking down at the causeway and the lighthouse.

Looking down at the causeway and the lighthouse.

This view reminded me so much of Point Bonita near San Francisco.

This view reminded me so much of Point Bonita near San Francisco.

Roots just clinging to rock faces.

Roots just clinging to rock faces.

Climbing higher!

Climbing higher!

I could see lots of familiar Isla landmarks.

I could see lots of familiar Isla landmarks.

This is where the hike turned into clambering.

This is where the hike turned into clambering.

Looking down again to the causeway and the lighthouse.

Looking down again to the causeway and the lighthouse.

Here we are at the top of Goat Mountain!

Here we are at the top of Goat Mountain!

What a view!

What a view!

If it wasn't for that tree, I could have mistaken that view for Scotland.

If it wasn’t for that tree, I could have mistaken that view for Scotland.

See the goats in the background?

See the goats in the background?

After all the sand on Isla, this red dirt was a welcome change.

After all the sand on Isla, this red dirt was a welcome change.

Love the colour of this house.

Love the colour of this house.

Sitting at Carmelita's, remembering that I earned my brunch!

Sitting at Carmelita’s, remembering that I earned my brunch!

That's a BIG glass of juice and I'd already had quite a bit!

That’s a BIG glass of juice and I’d already had quite a bit!

The pelicans were out in full force today.

The pelicans were out in full force today.

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Hot Dogs

Yes, I know hot dogs are terrible, bla bla bla. I don’t care. Lots of things are terrible. A hot dog every once in a while isn’t going to kill me.

When I lived in the City of Kawartha Lakes at the turn of the century, one of my biggest treats on my occasional visits to nearby Toronto was getting a hot dog from a street vendor. When I was in Quebec in 2012, I fell back in love with a steamé all dressed, just about the epitome of the perfect hot dog in my book — cheap, savoury, and with a lovely mushy bun.

Tonight, I decided to walk into the village past 6:30 to get supper from a cart. I didn’t have to go far. There was a hot dog vendor set up next to where the chicken lady has her barbecue.

I decided to try one and was offered condiments and agreed to tomato, onion, and mustard. A spot of relish instead of tomato would have made this  the best hot dog I have ever had!!! The problem with a Quebec steamé is that the whole thing is steamed. I like the steamed bun. I’m not so crazy about the steamed dog. I prefer hot dogs seared in a little fat to give them extra flavour. This hot dog had a steamed bun and a seared wiener!

The cost was 13 pesos for a hot dog! Holy smokes! That brings me back to my dad reminiscing about the days he could buy a hot dog for a quarter and get change!

I’m going to get two next week. 🙂

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Exploring Isla

I’m rather ashamed to admit that I haven’t done much exploration since I got to Isla a little over a month ago. I’ve pretty much walked to the same places and haven’t gone out of my way to follow roads to their end. Isla is quite large and I’ve only been to a small fraction of it. Well, until today.

Tired of all the noise and not being able to get any work done, I took off mid-afternoon to explore a larger swath of Isla, especially the part that is, for lack of a more PC term, slums. I didn’t find that nearly as shocking as Dale did. There are farm yards in southern SK that look worse… The area had a bit of garbage and was obviously poor, but I could see pride of ownership. There were lots of little shops (abbarotes) and the few people I saw were very friendly and did not object to my camera.

First, here’s a non-detailed map of Isla to give you a bit of an idea of where things are. I’ve included Goat Island on that because exploration of that part of Isla is happening on Saturday with Dale! As you can see, Isla is actually a peninsula.

The area north of the grocery store is the 'slum' part of Isla.

The area north of the grocery store is the ‘slum’ part of Isla.

I can't believe I've never noticed this hardware store right across from the tortilla place!

I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this hardware store right across from the tortilla place!

I'm not convinced I would have bought sushi from this cart... :)

I’m not convinced I would have bought sushi from this cart… 🙂

Another basketball court! This one's by the school. And I found the school.

Another basketball court! This one’s by the school. And I found the school.

I don't know if this beauty parlour is still in business...

I don’t know if this beauty parlour is still in business…

School zone, 5KPH speed limit. I can walk faster than that!

School zone, 5KPH speed limit. I can walk faster than that!

AH HA! The medical clinic!

AH HA! The medical clinic!

So cute!

So cute!

This is another beauty parlour that Dale pointed out to me. It's the Miranda. :) I'm going to ask how much for a manicure.

This is another beauty parlour that Dale pointed out to me. It’s the Miranda. 🙂 I’m going to ask how much for a manicure.

This store doesn't look like much, huh? It's pretty much Ali Baba's cave, carrying quite a few things the City Deli doesn't.

This store doesn’t look like much, huh? It’s pretty much Ali Baba’s cave, carrying quite a few things the City Deli doesn’t.

There's a TelCel store (of sorts) on Isla! The sign says that they sell equipment, parts, and SIM cards; do repairs; sell refills, and more!

There’s a TelCel store (of sorts) on Isla! The sign says that they sell equipment, parts, and SIM cards; do repairs; sell refills, and more!

Yet another basketball court, firmly in the 'slum.'

Yet another basketball court, firmly in the ‘slum.’

This must have been a lovely house once upon a time!

This must have been a lovely house once upon a time!

There were four main types of buildings in the 'slum'. The worst, to me, were the ruins of cement construction. Next, the corrugated metal construction. Then cement houses in poor condition. Finally, beautiful houses that would have been into 'my part' of Isla.

There were four main types of buildings in the ‘slum’. The worst, to me, were the ruins of cement construction. Next, the corrugated metal construction. Then cement houses in poor condition. Finally, beautiful houses that would have fit into ‘my part’ of Isla.

Why is this gorgeous place sitting here without a roof?

Why is this gorgeous place sitting here without a roof?

Lovely murals inside.

Lovely murals inside.

This sign says that there is a university campus way at the end of the slum. Really? I didn't get that far to confirm.

This sign says that there is a university campus way at the end of the slum. Really? I didn’t get that far to confirm.

Lots of houses and land for sale in this part of Isla. It seems to be undergoing a bit of a gentrification in the first bit closer to the other half of Isla.

Lots of houses and land for sale in this part of Isla. It seems to be undergoing a bit of a gentrification in the first bit closer to the other half of Isla.

I love the colour of this house!

I love the colour of this house!

I saw a lot of political campaign stuff painted onto walls.

I saw a lot of political campaign stuff painted onto walls.

There are a few buildings on Isla marked as churches, but this is the only one I've seen that looks like a 'proper' church.

There are a few buildings on Isla marked as churches, but this is the only one I’ve seen that looks like a ‘proper’ church.

This is a big open area by the City Deli where community events are held.

This is a big open area by the City Deli where community events are held.

I walked around the big open area and thought I came to a dead end, but found this narrow alley to squeeze through. I landed right in the dining area of a restaurant and was thankfully ignored!

I walked around the big open area and thought I came to a dead end, but found this narrow alley to squeeze through. I landed right in the dining area of a restaurant and was thankfully ignored!

The butcher shop.

The butcher shop.

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Verdict On the Pork Chops

I bought some meat at the little Isla butcher eight days ago. The chicken was delicious, so I was eager to try the pork, which had come frozen. So I had decided to save it for a bit. This morning, I tossed it in a soy sauce/honey/garlic/lime juice marinade and let it thaw in the fridge. If you think that sounds suspiciously similar to the chicken marinade, you are correct. You just can’t go wrong with the combination of soy sauce, sweetener, an acid, and either garlic or onion!

To my surprise when I came to make dinner, I didn’t have one big super thick pork chop, but rather three big super thin chops! I much prefer thin chops to thick, so I was happy about this.

They were still a little frozen, so I tossed them into a hot pan with a lid until they separated, then I cooked them one at a time in three stages. Meanwhile, I made green beans and garlic mashed potatoes.

The pork chops were amazing! They were so moist and flavourful! I cooked them absolutely perfectly so they were tender and juicy. I will confess to gnawing on the bone a little. 🙂

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It looks like a lot of meat, but there was quite a bit of bone, so one chop was the perfect size for a meal.

I usually prefer pork over chicken, especially when it comes to leftovers, so I’m quite happy to have the other two chops sitting in the fridge for the next couple of days. The marinade will continue to infuse them and they will just get tastier!