Update on the parasailer

The accident was reported in the Mazatlan newspaper the next day and she survived! She has lot of broken bones in her body and will have a long road to recovery but she's alive. The report states she was a tourist visiting here from the northern part of Mexico. She was 20 yrs old (not 15). I don't know why but for some reason I'm glad she was a little older. It was a horrible ordeal no matter what age. But hopefully she had some libations in her system...

Parasailing Nightmare!

Thinking about parasailing? Please don't! Today we sat at a restaurant one block off the beach. We had noticed that the dark clouds were around and that the wind had picked up. Debris was flying around and we notice people standing out in the street looking up. Curiosity got the best of us...we too walked out to the street to see what everyone was looking at. We were shocked to see a parasail whirling in the wind w/a person holding on. Apparently the wind grew too strong for the boat to pull in the individual back in and was left hanging there. Within minutes the rope broke and the individual went soaring in the wind. Everyone in the street gasped in disbelief. Can you imagine? I was sick. This person was no longer attached and soaring thru the air out of control. The person disappeared out of our view. We had no idea where this person would end up...dead or alive. How horrible! About 20 mins later we heard sirens and cars speeding down the street. Our minds wondering what happened to that person? I was in tears and upset. From what we saw, the person was falling fast and totally helpless. What we learned...The person on that parasail was a young girl. They are saying she approximately 14 or 15 years old. She did slam into a building before hitting the ground. The extent of the damage is unknown but she was in critical condition. She was rushed to Balboa Hospital here in Mazatlan. I don't know if we will find out any more details about this incident but she and her family need some prayers.

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

Our little Casita

Hey everyone. How's it going? I just wanted to share pics of our lil place here in Mazatlan. It's small but we like it. Plus the location is fabulous. I think I mentioned it before how centrally located we are. We are 4 blocks from the beach, 1 block from Plaza Mechado, 2 blocks from the Mercado (the market) and we are on the bus route to the Golden Zone.

How many of you remember Melrose Place? That's what this place, Villa Serena reminds me of. There are 14 apartments here w/a small courtyard and pool. Hope you enjoy!

View from the street.

Our gate remains closed & locked

so we have lots of privacy and security.

Our small courtyard & dipping pool.

On the other side of the pool are stairs that lead up to a deck. We have a gas grill, bar area, sink & bathroom on the upper deck.

This is the hall back to our apartment. Like I mentioned

there are 14 apartments.

Every apartment is named.

Ours is Tia Gloria. Tia means Aunt in Spanish

Yes, this is a full kitchen...LOL!

Not my dream kitchen but it works.

The kitchen overlooks the living room.

Our living room area.

And the bedroom. We do have

a large room w/King size bed.

We've only had 2 neighbors since we've moved in. The 1st week we met Judy & Terry. They were from Canada and visit here every year. Unfortunately, they didn't stay long on this trip. They say they will be back for Christmas.

After they moved out, Cheryl moved in. She's from California. I don't have a picture of her at this time but, I'll get one. Currently, she's here by herself. Her husband, Pete will be joining her in a couple of weeks.

So, we have this place to ourselves. It's been awesome.

A visit from our friend, Cindy Sawyer

Woohoo, we had our 1st guest here in Mazatlan. Cindy flew in on Sunday (Oct 5th) and left us Thursday (Oct 9th). We had such a great time with her here. We tried to keep it relaxing and at the same time tried to see/do some things around town.

We took a catamaran out to Deer Island. This island is suppose to be a huge tourist attraction for snorkeling, beach volleyball, drinking Coco Loco's and hanging out on the beach. Knowing this we chose to go out on our own and on a day that cruise ships were not in port. We found these local guys on the beach and inquired about their catamaran and cost. We had our cooler with us and a packed lunch...we were ready to set sail.

The catamaran was tiny. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it. Anyway, when we got to the island...there were very few people there. The water was too murky to snorkel but we had a fun hanging in the water. Within 30 mins of being there we had the whole island to ourselves. Kind of odd but cool. It was a very relaxing day. I do have to tell on myself though...(sorry Cindy)

On our way back we sailed for awhile before our day trip ended. The water felt great. Waves were lightly crashing over our Catamaran and the sun felt awesome. I didn't even think twice about peeing out over the ocean. It was a net for Christ sakes. Anyway, after the ride I told on myself that I was peeing and Cindy was saying "No Way"! She was sitting right behind me and told me see felt the warm water under her and thought to herself..."there's no way Bonnie is peeing"..."Surely she wouldn't be peeing on me?" Ut-oh!

This was our view from Deer Island looking at the Hotel Zone

We took her out Deep Sea Fishing.

Ok it was a slow start and the ride was smooth. Cindy caught some ZZZZ's before catching her fish. Afterall, it was an early start for us. But we had a successful day. We caught 3 Tuna's, a Bonita, a Skip Jack and a Sailfish. We kept the tuna's and gave the other fish to the Captain.

Why Does Bob always get the largest catch of the day? He had the largest

tuna too.

We took the cleaned fish home, grilled a fabulous meal of Grilled Shrimp wrapped w/Jalapeno and bacon, Teriyaki marinated Tuna, and potatoes. And enjoyed our meal by the pool.

Bob did a great job grilling our tuna.

Other days we walked around town. We went to the Mercado, walked on the beach, and lounged by the pool. Her last night we hopped on the bus and ate at Gus Gus. A mexican restuarant that Bob had read about on the internet. It was good and the live music was great.

We loved having you, Cindy! Thanks for coming to see us. Until next time. Lots of Love - Bonnie & Bob

Go Texans!

WooHoo! My team finally wins a game. Last week we were able to watch them on TV and the commentors were speaking Spanish. They were so animated and fun to listen too; but what a disappointing loss. I almost cried! This week we had to listen to them via Laptop. And watched some highlights on Fox News. They are showing the CacaGirls right now. (Cowboys). I can't stand them. Go Arizona! Anyway, even though we are here in Mazatlan...Sunday is all about football for us. They have a Sports Race Book here called Caliente. That could be trouble. They show all sporting events all over the world on their TV's and bets can be made on all events. In another large room, it's nothing but slot machines. Thank God, I'm not a slots player. We haven't spent much time in here...We just walked in one night to check it out. It appears they offer a buffet too. Not sure if drinks are included. I'm thinking we'll bring Mom & Sandy when they come to visit. Mom loves slots. Wishing everyone the best!

Chepe Train

Well Hello!

I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. Let's start with the train ride.

Bob & I started our Mexico venture back on September 21st. We flew from Houston to El Paso TX. From El Paso we caught a bus to Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico. Chihuahua is the starting point for the Chepe Train ride that runs daily to Los Mochis, Chihuahua. The entire train ride would take 12 - 14 hours if you remained on the train to Los Mochis.

There are 2 trains that run daily starting at 6:00 a.m. from Chihuahua. (1st class and Economical class) What's the difference you ask? Price, the number of stops each train makes, tourist vs. locals and the dining car. However, both trains are very comfortable, each have A/C and large reclining seats.

In the relm of things price shouldn't be a factor on how to travel the Copper Canyon. As far as transportation goes...traveling by train is very reasonable. The cost for the 1st class is $170 pp while Economical cost $70 pp. And this covers the entire trip from Chihuahua to Los Mochis.

Bob & I chose to travel the Economical route. Most of you know we like to interact with the local people. The ride was very comfortable and beautiful. Even though we were on the train for 5 - 6 hours...sleeping wasn't an option. There are some amazing scenary between stops. We saw waterfalls, swimming holes that can only be seen by train, caves, canyons and small villages. We took pictures but it was impossible to anticipate the beauty around the corners, the upcoming bridges and tunnels.

The views were spectacular!

As I mentioned before the train makes several stops along its route. We stopped at the following cities and stayed at least 2 nights. Chihuahua, Creel, Divisadero, and El Fuerte. Ever heard of these cities/towns? Me neither! From El Fuerte we decided to take the bus to Los Mochis and then on to Mazatlan. We were told Los Mochis was not a city of site or things to do.

Family taking in the sites. Dogs hanging out by the tracks

Mexico Update

Hello! I'm really sorry I haven't had a chance to blog since we've been traveling. Our main objective since we've been here in Mazatlan has been to find an apartment. The process took us a few days but we have found one. A very cute place in the heart of everything. We move in this coming Saturday (10/04) and we cannot wait. Once we get settled, I'll catch you guys up on everything. It's been an amazing experience so far and I can't wait to share pictures. Our friend Cindy will be joining for a visit next week and my Mom & Sandy will be joining us for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see them. Anyone else wanting to join us is more than welcome. We do miss everyone and hope all is going well for our family & friends back home. Take Care - Bonnie (&Bob)

We are alive and well

Hi to everyone, We just wanted to let you know we are having a great time. We are currently in a small town of Creel but we´re not able to use our laptop...wireless is not available. We have however, found an internet cafe but we´ve been too pooped to blog or post pictures. We´re on our way to another tour and just wanted to say to everyone. We´ll be in touch very soon I promise. Take care and much love. B&B

Our next journey

Hi everyone, How is everyone doing? To my family & friends in Houston, hope you guys are recovering from Hurricane Ike. Most of you know we've start travelling again. We flew to El Paso TX on Sunday, Sept 21st and caught a bus to Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico. No, there were no chickens on the ride with us. The journey was a lot longer than we were told. Our travel time increased from 3 1/2 hours to 5 hours...thank God we had A/C, movies (in Spanish) and plenty of leg room. When we finally made it to Chihuahua we had a 20 min cab ride to our Hostel. Normally, I'm not a big fan of Hostels but I agreed to stay in one since we were only staying 2 nights and it's literally across the street from the train station. I've got to say this place is very cool. It's extremely clean, plenty of room, and in the heart of the Historical District. If you are ever in Chihuahua I would definitely recommend "Casa Chihuahua". It is run by a Frenchman called Phillipe and his Mexican wife, Lori who previously lived in Switzerland. From Chihuahua we will board The Chepe train and make our way down to Mazatlan. I say make our way because the train makes 5 -6 stops and we plan to explore each city. The train runs daily one way so we'll spend at least one night at each stop. If we find that we like the city we'll stay a little longer. Once we make our way down to Mazatlan we'll try to find an apartment or condo and hang there for a few months. If anyone wants to join us; we'd love to have you. I am traveling with a laptop this go but I can already tell Bob & I will be fighting over it. Missing everyone very much - Bonnie