So What Do We Do?

So what do we do all day? I think that may be a question on ya'lls mind.

I admit it's hard getting into a routine when you have nowhere to report to. It's very odd.

I'm now enrolled in yoga classes which I attend 3 days a week. Mon, Thurs & Fridays @ 8:00 a.m. And it has been wonderful. I've found this amazing instructor from Colorado. I've taken lots of yoga classes over the years and Maureen hands down has been the best so far. Our workout is in a courtyard at Casa de Leyendes Bed & Breakfast. They have a fantastic place for us to relax and stretch. It's very hot here and our workouts are outdoors so I'm sweating my butt off in yoga. I'm not complaining...I've dropped some pounds being down here and have lots more to go. I'm trying to get Bob to join me but that hasn't happened yet.

We are working on being a little structured. On days I'm not in yoga we're out of bed by 8:30 every morning and always eat a good breakfast. It is has been very hot here so we stay by the pool most early afternoons or we are indoors watching movies on cable. The sun sets here @6:30 so we'll walk to El Malecon or "Boardwalk" (4 blks away) to watch the sun disappear and then we walk for exercise. People here are into working out and El Malecon is the place to be. It is considered to be the longest in the world measuring 21 km. There's great people watching on the boardwalk and there's always something going on. There are cliff divers, vendors selling their goods/foods, lots of skaters (board and inline), and live music. It's never boring from early morning to late night.

We've found that most of the expats here are older and have been here for 20 years or more. Everyone has been very nice, its just a totally different atmosphere than the island. We did find the expats play Texas Holdem every Tuesday @ 3:00. There are lots of Canadians here and the bar we play at is called Canuck's. Go figure! We've played the last 2 weeks but no luck in winning. Hopefully that will change soon.

We have learned to play the "Time Share" game. I don't know if you've ever been approached by the sales reps but they don't take no for an answer. In fact they keep offering more and more money. We've sat in on 2 timeshares to walk away with $450 and tour packages. We have no shame in donating 90 mins of our time to look at beautiful resorts and listen to their spill. Show me the money... We'll plan to negotiate golfing, deep sea fishing and various other tours Maz has to offer. I have to admit we've been off the circuit since our friend's visit but we'll start making appearance again. What else do we have to do?

One of my favorite things to do is hit the Mercado. What a great experience. I go every other day for fresh fruits and vegetables. The Mercado has everything from fresh poultry and I'm talking the whole pig to beef (some cuts I have no idea what they are) to fresh fish and seafood and so many other items. I love shrimp...the fact that I can buy jumbo headless shrimp for $8.00 per Kilo (which is 2.2 lbs) is awesome. I've discovered Chihuahua cheese which makes awesome nachos. I'm always making fresh guacamole and salsas. Now there are "grocery stores" but I only go when I need paper goods or something out of the norm.

Mazatlan has a fantastic baseball team called Los Venados (which means deer in Spanish) The city goes crazy for them and it's a huge party every game they play. They have won 7 Championships and the 1st Mexican team to be the champion of a Caribbean Series.

There's bullfighting which I refuse to go to. I saw it on TV just to see what happens and there's no way I can see it live. Do you know they stab the bull several times in the shoulder blades before the Matador steps into the ring? That's crap! The bullfight I saw on TV was horrible. The poor bull was pouring out blood and was dazed before the fight even started. Where's the sport in that?

Who enjoys a good massage???? I Do! While Cindy was visiting we discovered a spa just around the corner from my apartment. Turns out this place rocks (however, not as good as my masseuse AnnMarie back home) but I can get use to it. Every Tuesday and Friday they offer $10/hr massages...woohoo. I've already had the 2 1/2 hour treatment thanks to Cindy...that included 1 hour of a body scrub followed by an 1 1/2 hour of massage. Thank God this place is literally around the corner. I can see this fitting into my "routine".

There are 3 golf courses here, a casino/race & sports book, extreme bowling, a mall and tons of restaurants. I don't think we'll be bored.

Wish everyone back home the best. We miss you guys.

Lots of love - Bonnie & Bob