Beaches

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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. 🙂

map

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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Wednesday Night in Mazatlán’s Centro Histórico

Tonight, Dale made reservations for us to listen to her friend Rob Lamonica play at Héctor’s Bistro. This is the same friend we listened to at Macaws.

That didn’t work out quite as we planned as we didn’t realise that we needed to reserve an exterior table and instead ate inside, wondering when the heck the music was going to start!

We arrived at six and were promptly impressed by the upscale ambiance at Héctor’s and glad that we were a tad more dressed up than we normally are!

Unfortunately, they don’t have a liquor license, so we couldn’t have beer. Dale had thought that she’d been given permission over the phone for us to bring some, so I had a few in my purse, but we were told that they’d be shut down if an inspector came in and saw a beer on the table. Bummer. She opted for ice water and I had a limonada with mineral water. Funny how I am not a mineral water fan, but I love it in a limonada. Limonada is always more expensive than beer, but here the difference was only 5 pesos, versus 10 at Carmelita’s.

The menu was a little pricy, but still had plenty of options below 150 pesos. Dale had eaten not too long before and is a vegetarian, so I suggested that she get the roasted veggie platter for us to share. This proved to be absolutely delicious, lots of different roasted veggies drizzled with a balsamic reduction and served with whole grain sour dough toast. Dale and I were both excited by the basil. 😀

I decided to have a laugh and order their pastrami sandwich, not expecting to receive anything even remotely resembling a pastrami sandwich. I was right. 🙂 It was a fancy roast beef sandwich on whole grain bread with cheese, Dijon mustard, and a crunchy sour gherkin in the middle, served with a side of bitter greens. It was delicious, with a wonderful mixture of textures (the bread was divine) and flavours. Not something I’d want again, but worth the 130 pesos just for being different from anything else I’ve eaten since I got here.

With the tip, our total bill was 305 pesos; very reasonable for such high quality fare! I do the same thing here that I do in Canada and the US when I pay with cash, tell the server exactly how much to bring back so I don’t have to worry about coming up with the right change for the tip. I must be using the right words because I’ve never had a problem being understood (eg. doscientos por el cambio) and am usually told ‘muy bien, gracias’ (very well, thank you).

We finally figured out that we needed to go outside to listen to Rob and we did so for almost an hour. It was just him on his keyboard doing easy listening stuff. Having barely slept last night, I have to confess he almost put me to sleep. 🙂

Near eight, Dale suggested with walk down to Olas Altas to sit on the sea wall and have a beer from my purse while listening to the waves. That sounded good, so we said goodbye to Rob and walked the few blocks down.

On the way, we pondered the name Olas Altas. I knew that Altas is high and Dale’s best guess for Olas was waves. She was right!

We debated for a bit if we’d get in trouble for having a beer on the seawall, laughing that the courthouse was right behind us, then remembered that we’ve seen people walking around with open drinks during the day. So we discretely cracked open a can of Tecate each, a six-pack of which I recently received as a thank you. It was delicious and a nice change from the Pacifico, with a bit of a spicier finish. I’d brought the beer in my insulated Walmart bag with a bottle of frozen water, so it was still very cold!

We both marveled at the wonder of our life, to be sitting on a seawall in Mexico in absolutely perfect temperatures in early December to be comfortable in short sleeves (and NO BUGS), listening to the waves and feeling safe and secure walking around the neighbourhood so late.

When we were done with our beers, I suggested we go back to Plaza Machado for the leg stretch (just a couple of blocks) and then get a pulmonía back, not quite ready to call it an evening. Dale agreed.

The plaza was not the happening place it was on a Friday night, with almost no merchants and no restaurant tables on the street. I bought ice cream from a cart (coffee, mmmm) and Dale decided to try their tequila flavour (mmm). She still has trouble with the coins and the ice cream gals and I had such a laugh as we did our best to sort her out.

It’s so hard to hang onto small change here and the best she could do was 100 pesos, for which they did not have change. I managed to convince her to part with her 10 peso coin to go with the 1 and 2 pesos coins she had to get to the 20 peso cost of the ice cream. She was holding onto the 10 peso coin for the panga, dreading making them give her 92 pesos in change.

I made her head spin when I reminded her that I owed her for the half of Rob’s tip so I would pay for the pulmonía with a 100 peso note, get 50 pesos back, and pay for both our panga tickets with the 50 peso note, which would require only an easy 34 pesos in change and if she insisted, she could later pay me back the 8 peso advance. Have I lost any of you yet?! 😀

We had our ice cream and then went to negotiate a pulmonía ride. The driver was adamant that it be 50 pesos and I said that I paid 45 pesos last time and I wasn’t paying a centavo more this time. The thing is, I only had a 100 peso note, so I knew that giving me 55 pesos in change was going to be a challenge and I’d end up paying 50 anyway, but I wanted to play the hard nosed residente. We pretended to walk away and the guy called us back. When we arrived at the embarcadero and I told him 50 in change was fine, he was happy.

So that was a Wednesday night in Mazatlán’s centro histórico. Very quiet, balmy, unhurried, and unpopulated, a nice break from the unrelenting noise of Isla, incredibly enough. I’m actually starting to think about looking for a rental in Maz for next year instead of coming back to Isla. I can get used to the street noise. It’s the dogs and roosters that are ruining my nights…

Unfortunately, my iPhone camera sucks and most of my pictures came out blurry. Last time I go out and rely on it for photos. 🙁 It’s nice to have as a backup, but nothing beats my beat up old Pentax Optio W90.

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Camarones Al Coco En La Playa

I felt like having lunch out today. No reason and not for lack of food at home! I emailed Dale to see if she wanted to join me. Yes, for a beer only since she had just had a big breakfast. We went to El Velero, where I had the tacos my first morning here.

We ordered two Pacificos and they they didn’t have any of the 355mL bottles (!) so they brought us a 900ishmL ‘Ballena’ bottle to share. Total cost for that was 30 pesos. Two of the smaller bottles would have cost us 50 pesos for less beer! Dale and I had a good laugh about that. We “dressed” our beers with salt and lime!

I decided to order the coconut shrimp! I have no idea what is getting into me these days. 🙂 The shrimp came with buttered toast (Dale laughed at my, “Oh, it’s BREAD!”), delicately seasoned rice, frozen veggies (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower), and an incredible mango dipping sauce, for 120 pesos. The shrimp were huge and the coconut crunchy. Yum!

The only downside to the meal was that we were hounded and hounded and hounded by vendors. The only vendor who scored was the one selling honey. I got a residente price of 70 pesos for a big jar, way more than I could hope to eat anytime soon, but honey doesn’t spoil. Sugar is sugar and I have no illusion about honey being any healthier than other sweet options, but I love the taste and sometimes a schmear of something sweet on a tortilla is a nice treat.

Tonight, Dale and I are going to the historical centre to hear live music! It will be my first time experiencing Maz after dark. We are walking both ways from the panga on Isla, but will walk to the venue as it will still be early and then take a pulmonía back to the panga.

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Walking Mazatlán’s Malecón

I didn’t have anything pressing to do today, so I decided to hop over to Maz and walk a little of its famous malecón (oceanside boardwalk). I headed out around 10:00 after a Skype call with my mother.

The plan was to walk until I was ready to drop and then take a pulmonía back to the panga. This map roughly illustrates the route that I took, a total of about 10KM (6.21 miles).

walk

I’m really glad that I did this route and then traced it because it’s really helping me get orientated. Maz’s roads run diagonally to the compass points. I am definitely getting to know my way around to a point, but not the most direct routes.

From the panga, I headed to Olas Altas Boulevard the way that I knew to go, through the Mercado and by the cathedral. I, of course, stopped for ice cream! 🙂

The vendor offered me strawberry and vanilla. I said that strawberry was fine and did he have prune? Yup. For my third flavour, I said I wanted more fruit, not vanilla, and he proposed mandarin. Great! I asked for the prune on the bottom and after some reflection and nearly going for the strawberry next, he decided that the mandarin should be in the middle. Gosh I love that stuff, more like sorbet than ice cream, and not too sweet. At 20 pesos, it’s an affordable treat!

I did have another reason to go this way, wanting to stop into a bookstore on Constitución between Plaza Machado and Olas Altas, hoping to find a verb conjugation book. The clerk said they didn’t have any and wasn’t keen on telling me where else in the city I might find one.

From there, it was a few blocks to the Malecón. I walked till I was ready to drop, taking photos of interesting things. There were a few vendors near Olas Altas, but there soon really wasn’t much, to my surprise, just endless miles of beachfront walking with some beachside seafood restaurants.

I made it all the way to the touristy ‘Golden Zone.’ I was hungry by this point, but the only open restaurants I found were Gringo-oriented ones that were very pricey. Anything that would appeal more to locals opened later since Mexicans eat a late lunch. I wasn’t that keen on eating out, so I flagged down a pulmonía to take me back to the panga.

There were tons of pulmonías on that boulevard and many had stopped for me, so I figured that now that I wanted one, they’d be elusive. Nope! I got one in under a minute (so much easier than hailing a cab on Broadway in Manhattan!).

I’d done my research and knew two things. 1) Get the price before getting in. 2) The ride shouldn’t cost more than 60 pesos and I should expect, as a tourist, to be quoted 70 or more and then have to bargain.

So I asked how much to get to the panga, specifying the north one off of Emilio Barragán, and was told 50 pesos! Perfect, no bargaining required! We had a brief chat before it got too noisy and then the driver played loud music. He had a much more direct route back to the panga, but it was still quite a drive. That was a lot of walking!

Back on the Isla side, I picked up some tortillas and had three before I even got home. 🙂

The whole trip cost me less than 7CAD and I got some exercise and to see new things. It was really nice to go to Maz just to go, with no plans to shop or eat out or spend much money.

First steps on the Malecón. :)

First steps on the Malecón. 🙂

I love the bright colours of the buildings here.

I love the bright colours of the buildings here.

And the tilework!

And the tilework!

More gorgeous tiles!

More gorgeous tiles!

Homes literally carved into the cliffs.

Homes literally carved into the cliffs.

And a bridge.

And a bridge.

The devil's cave.

The devil’s cave.

This part of the walk is dedicated to Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual leader. This is the first time I've heard of him outside of Ottawa.

This part of the walk is dedicated to Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual leader. This is the first time I’ve heard of him outside of Ottawa.

Dolphin statues.

Dolphin statues.

The fancy resorts off in the distance.

The fancy resorts off in the distance.

A poem is born in your smile.

A poem is born in your smile.

Birds of pray of some kind.

Birds of pray of some kind.

This one's apparently a hermit.

This one’s apparently a hermit.

The world needs people who love what they do.

The world needs people who love what they do.

This ad made me laugh. This dog is wondering how he can teach humans to keep Maz clean!

This ad made me laugh. This dog is wondering how he can teach humans to keep Maz clean!

The marine science faculty of the Sinaloa Autonomous University.

The marine science faculty of the Sinaloa Autonomous University.

IMGP0329

The resorts are getting closer!

The resorts are getting closer!

Lots of fishing boats (and a really unpleasant smell).

Lots of fishing boats (and a really unpleasant smell).

No Jack Sparrow in sight.

No Jack Sparrow in sight.

The verb molestar means to disturb, not to molest!

The verb molestar means to disturb, not to molest!

Antonio Haas theatre.

Antonio Haas theatre.

First sign I've seen for the Golden Zone.

First sign I’ve seen for the Golden Zone.

The famous fisherman's monument.

The famous fisherman’s monument.

It features the lighthouse, which is on my must visit list.

It features the lighthouse, which is on my must visit list.

I thought Banjercitos are only at the border!

I thought Banjercitos are only at the border!

I was really hoping to find the famous pulmonía monument!

I was really hoping to find the famous pulmonía monument!

They're not golf karts, but sure look like them!

They’re not golf karts, but sure look like them!

The resorts are getting REALLY close.

The resorts are getting REALLY close.

Maz has a casino.

Maz has a casino.

Funny translation

Funny translation

Maz bus depot thataway. And then, in tiny letters, as an afterthought, please fasten your seatbelts.

Maz bus depot thataway. And then, in tiny letters, as an afterthought, please fasten your seatbelts.

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling.

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling.

Sitting in the pulmonía.

Sitting in the pulmonía.

View from the pulmonía.

View from the pulmonía.

Pelican on the Maz side.

Pelican on the Maz side.

More pelicans on the Maz side.

More pelicans on the Maz side.

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Pensive

I had a really brutal work day yesterday (Monday) and am running on way too little sleep for way too many days in a row. So today is ending up to be pretty much a write-off. I have tons of work for the rest of the week, due late Friday, but the amount will still be manageable if I skip today. I’m looking at my hammock and wondering if I might actually be able to fall asleep if I crawl into it…

When I started to seriously think about Mexico for this winter, I was still very much in the working extremely hard for little money stage of my life. I envisioned my Mexico winter to be pretty much what November has been and what last winter was like, being housebound, typing madly, and occasionally emerging for the odd meal out and a bit of sunshine. I was okay with that and I am okay with how my first few weeks in Mexico have been. I mean, I am in Mexico.

One of my good friends is at a resort at an exotic location right now. When the pictures starting showing up in my feed, I felt a momentary pang of jealousy that I can’t afford to take vacations like that. And then, I remember where the heck I am! I can’t afford to take vacations like that, but I can afford to port my life to amazing destinations!

I didn’t get to eat much yesterday, what with the schedule being as crazy as it was, and December money is going to be coming in very quickly. So I decided this morning that I had earned a splurge and went to Carmelita’s for lunch. I didn’t bring a book or device, choosing to instead sit outside and watch the ocean and the beach crowds and let my thoughts go any way they wanted.

My life is so simple and yet it affords me the luxury of being at a beach resort location on a gloriously warm and sunny day when it is grey and absolutely freezing back home. I might not be able to afford to vacation here, but I can live here and have an authentic experience of what it means to live in a country that is quite different from my own. I have no regrets.

I ordered a mineral water limonada (it was sweet this time, but not so much so as to be undrinkable), and one of the most expensive things on the menu, the shrimp quesadillas. They turned out be more like my idea of a shrimp taco, but in flour tortillas, with the shrimp so sweet and chewy and non-fishy that I was momentarily overwhelmed by their succulent flavour. I actually wondered if I had ever in my life tasted something so incredibly delicious. Seriously. I must be really bored with my cooking!

I took my time savouring each delightful bite, worked my way through most of the bowl of pico de gallo as well as sides of rice and beans, and sipped my drink slowly enough that the ice had time to melt.

The server has seen me a few times and we talked a little today about where I’m staying here and where I’m from. He tries to serve me in English, but I’m adamant about responding in Spanish.

My meal came to a hefty 160 pesos and left a 25 peso tip. I could feed myself for a week on that, so I won’t be eating out again at a Gringo place for a while, but, really, it was just $15.25 and I pay exactly that for lunch at 121 in Assiniboia without batting an eyelash because it’s such good value.

December will be quite different from November if work keeps up the way it has. I’ll be able to get back into a more normal routine with evenings and days off. I’m planning to take the village panga to Maz on Saturday to find the Ley grocery store and I’d like to get into the habit of going to Maz at least once, if not twice, a week. It’s an inexpensive trip (just 16 pesos for residents on the village panga), so there’s no reason not to expand the boundaries of my Mexican home.

Six months sounds like such a long time, but I’m already about to start the first of only four complete months here on Isla. Time is going to go really, really fast. I know how easy it is to settle into a groove somewhere, thinking that there is plenty of time to see everything, and then it’s suddenly time to leave.

Speaking of Saturday, I will be going to the airport in the afternoon to pick up my new neighbour in the little suite. She is flying in from… Saskatchewan! I’ve had a good laugh about that! She has negotiated the use of the palapa and the washer, so my not-so-quiet existence here is about to come to an end and I may end up having to change my office setup since I look right out onto the palapa. But my new neighbour sounds great (we’ve been emailing) and she was here in my suite last year, so it’ll be nice to have someone who knows the ropes and her way around my landlady. 🙂

I feel so grateful to be here, to be bone tired while looking at coconut palms and iguanas running across the top of the garden wall instead of staring at my neighbour’s garage. I doubt I will ever stop being amused at having to dodge lizards in the hallway while en route to another part of the house, unlike having to chase mice hell bent on killing me (hantvirus!). I miss the quiet of my home back north, but otherwise am quite content here and not really missing anything.

My RVing years taught me to be at home everywhere. They have reduced a lot of the awe at being in a new exotic location because being somewhere new has become my new normal. I worry sometimes that I’m becoming a little jaded, but then I find myself spotting my first wild iguana or nearly getting clocked by a coconut falling out of a palm tree and I am so giddy and happy about the event that I know that I have not lost the ability to look at the world with a child’s eye.

I love my life.