What kind of trouble can we get into.......

Hmmmm.... how about more tattoos? Even our next door buddy thought it was a swell idea, so off we went to see the artist, Sergio (best of Mazatlan 2009!) and we had a fun afternoon hanging out in a tattoo parlor, wincing, breathing, anticipating, oooooing and ahhhing. We are already looking forward to the next time.

Taking such good care of ourselves.....

Our life here is so balanced....we play, we rest, we spend time alone and we spend time with our friends. We stay close to home, we explore.

An example of a week in the life...

-We made it to round #2 of the -Bocce Ball Tournament
-Played cards with our friends
-Happy Hour and sunset
-Steam Sauna and hot tub - just the two of us
-A visit to Teacapan with 5 other couples (a couple of harley's, a jeep, more..) where we had lunch on the beach with the most beautiful view. And to get there, we went by coconut groves, rivers, mountains, tomato fields full of pickers, mango groves (we're guessing on this one). And the village (a fishing village) itself is so sweet and prosperous and friendly. We can't wait to go back.
-Ended our week with the men's Olympic hockey game. Happy Americans, sad Canadians.

Party in Mazatlan

Because of the hectic party schedule, our last three entries (including this one) are in reverse order than they actually occurred....

Carnaval: the big party before the big not-party called LENT. Whoop it up as much as you can, then nothing for 40 days, then Easter. Mazatlan has the world's third largest Carnaval after Rio de Janero and New Orleans. We lived through a solid week of huge crowds, lots of music (ears are still ringing in the bus), the best fireworks, the biggest parades, the best outfits!

We ran out of steam after 5 days and blew off the last fireworks and the last parade, but we had a fun time and are already planning our strategy for next year.

Carnaval parade

Lots of people, vendors, kids playing, dancing, music, excitement, and great floats traveling down the miles-long malecon. Here's a sampling of what we saw.

Polar Opposites

After all the craziness of Carnaval - the crowds, the noise, the fireworks, the city - we took a day of peace and gentle beaches and quiet on Stone Island. We went with our friends Sam and Rita - took the water taxi over and spent the best day just hanging out. We walked on the beaches, played in the water, ate at the restaurant - mmmm....... can't wait to go back.

Catching our breath!

Carnaval, Day 5...

More later.

Home Improvements

Hal worked his magic in our lil kitchen to help improve storage and seating.... When our buddy Joy was visiting, she gave us an idea that we took to the next level. Next project will be doing the exact same procedure to the pick up truck so we can have bed space in there for the ride back to NM.... Stay tuned!