February 11, 2008

Copper Canyon - Creel, Mexico

We were on the road again February 9th, heading north toward the good old U S of A. With mixed feelings we left Teacapan and drove for the day, settling in at El Fuerte for a few days while we discovered the Copper Canyon.

The taxi picked us up at the RV Parkthe next morning at 9:00 am to catch the 9:30 am train to the Copper Canyon, but typically Mexican, the train was one hour late. We boarded around 10:30 and made our way up through the Canyon, winding our way to the top through many small villages, stopping at each one as we ascended.

We stopped at a place called Divisidero, about an hour from our final destination, where everyone got out to shop at eat at the marketplace. There were vendors everywhere! We arrived in Creel, Mexico at 6:00 pm. The end of the line for us.

We stayed at a ‘boarding house’ type of hotel called Casa de Margarita’s about one block from the train station. The cost was $350 (pesos) a night ($35.00) and

included dinner the 1st evening and breakfast the next morning.

This morning we took a tour bus to a few different look out spots along the Copper Canyon.

The Copper Canyon is said to be the largest canyon in North America. That it would take three Grand Canyons to fill it. That’s pretty awesome! And it was……. However, it’s not as deep as the Grand Canyon and nowhere near as breathtaking.

February 3, 2008

Mardi Gras - Mazatlan, Mexico

Here we are all decked out for Mardi Gras. Photo taken on the day of the big parade.

We bought seats at this disco place. We sat up on the platform so we had a great view of the parade as it came up the street. You can see the people gathering below.

It was dark by the time the parade began and because my digital takes lousy night pictures, I didn’t get any good shots. But this one turned out pretty good and it is just a sample of the kinds of floats that were rolling along. They were spectacular.

It was predicted that there would be a million people on the Melacon the day of the parade. We couldn’t see it, but the Melacon is 6 miles long, the longest in Mexico, and we were sitting at the end, so who knows, maybe???

Here is a picture of us with new friends we met at the parade. Cliff and Denise are from Edmonton. We shared a few cervezas and a few laughs.

February 1, 2008

Mazatlan, Mexico
The faces of Mardi Gras. These were the greeters at Coronation, jumping and dancing around each person as they came into the building. There are three nights of Coronation where they crown the ‘Little Princess’, the ‘Princess’ and the Ugly Princess.

We chose to attend the crowning of the Princess. You can see the Princess and her six assistants on the upper stage quite clearly in the third and last photos. The performances were fantastic, costumes were awesome. Pictures just don’t do them justice.

This picture is the grand finale - confetti everywhere.

January 29, 2008

Mazatlan, Mexico

This week we have a time-share - Thank You Lise!!

We have a great room on the second floor, with a balcony over-looking the pool and the ocean.

Today we drove up into the hills and visited an old mining town called Copala, established in the 1500's. We walked on the cobblestone streets around the square, visited the old church, and the artisans, and ate pie and

drank beer at the only restaurant. They are famous for their banana pie, bananas grown locally and coconuts picked from the nearby trees.

There is a man up there who makes molded masks from leather - skins from snake, cow, fish - - all too fantastic to imagine. He wouldn't allow pictures, says he's superstitious, so you'll have to see the originals when we meet next.

Taxi ???

January 27, 2008

A large group of us went out for dinner to a restaurant on the estuary. There were 12 of us and it was a good bye dinner for RV friends from Lumby, BC - Darren and Peggy. A good time was had by all. Even got into the tequilla - shots if you can imagine!!! We danced and partied.

Fish is on the menu here - shrimp and fish - that's about all you can get, but it was great.

This is a picture of the young man cleaning then cooking our fish.

This is our meal.