Closed road, shrimp dinner and serious shopping

Wednesday p.m.
Hoorey!! I finally feel good again. Fixed dinner last night BBQ chicken – had some leftover for lunch today. We even ventured out to Sorianas to buy groceries. It is so good to feel good. And we’re eating at home again tonight too. It's funny how you don't enjoy feeling good when you do - Well I'm going to enjoy it now!
I may have touched on it – the cruise ships have stopped stopping in Mazatlan – they feel it is unsafe. In the last year two tourists got robbed (not hurt) while wandering around town. [Have they ever been to NYC, Indy, Miami, Vegas] So now the city is talking about putting video cameras all over the tourist areas. Never once day or night have we been threatened or made to feel unsafe. We heard though from person who knows the city well – born and raised here – that the real problem might just be the US$30,000 docking fees. Cruise lines are hurting just like everyone else and they want the fees lowered. Sure hope things settle soon as the tourist business is VERY big in Mazatlan. Last year on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday three big, major cruise lines, cruise ships a day came in to dock. That’s a lot of people 5/6,000 per day spending money and taking tours to the towns inland.

Our friend called us – he finally got back to So Central Indiana but hasn’t been up to the house. Most of the area is without power. He is going to call our neighbor to go over and check the house and will call us in a day or two. Roads are open but everything else is at a stand still. Power crews from as far away as the Carolinas are helping our power companies. One person said it looked like a bomb had gone off there were so many trees down and scattered around. Now it is just very cold and snowing. Good thing we didn’t stay home this year. (Later in the day - I guess the power is back on. Off less than 24 hours.)
Anyway back to last week (he wishes he were still here I can tell you.)

Thursday we drove back up to El Quelite as we were meeting another friend there at the restaurant. She works there.

Noni, Tom and Bill I take em I don't pose for em

While eating lunch at El Mesón de los Lureanos we were talking to the doctor who owns it. (For more info on the doctor and the restaurant visit this link or paste and copy this http://www.movingon1.com/littletowns.php ) He motioned for Noni to bring over a dark wood silverware chest. He opened it and showed us the beautiful serving for eight of silverware it contained. He said they were raffling off tickets for it. 50 Pesos per ticket. Of course we bought some – something like that that I don’t need we’d probably win! Any way – he is using the money from the raffle to buy bougainvilleas to plant along the road from the arch into town. If you read the above article you’ll see he has been instrumental in sprucing up the little town and bringing in the tourist trade.
As we were driving down the main street headed out of town The Driver was extolling the virtues of the place – clean, tranquil, colorful, wonderful people etc. when we saw a yellow tape stretched across the road in front of us. What? Stopped the car. Rolled down the window and asked a guy leaning on a shovel what was going on. “No se puede pasar” (you can’t pass) he replied as he waved towards the tape. Um yep we can see that. But never to be deterred The Driver pulled forward right up to the yellow tape.

Closed road

Now we could see the big yellow ditch digger with its stabilizers out sitting right in the middle of the road. More yellow tape behind it blocking the way in to town. Suddenly it went from “cut little town” to – and I’m cleaning this up some – “Freaking piece of crap.” As The Driver threw the jeep into park, jumped out of the car, went under the tape to talk to the workers.

Guess we'll go a different way

We watched as there were several hand gestures from him and the workers pointing out of town and into town. Much shaking “No” of the heads. Back came Bill.
Started the car and backed a couple of blocks up. Seems like there is an alternate way out of town – a small dirt road up the hill a ways.
It took a couple of tries up side roads to find the right place to turn. Finally asked directions of a group of young boys walking down the street. One of the boys was carrying his chicken in his arms. To give us directions he grabbed its legs to hang on to it. He was using that arm to point with which set the chicken off flapping and cackling. “Izquierda – derecho derecho.” he told us. [Turn left then go straight straight.] Off we went – it was the road we had taken a few days ago to El Mirador – the lookout hill. Passed that turnoff and continued down the hill. All the time the dirt road becoming ruttier and ruttier and muddier.

As we passed the little houses the people in them look at us like we were nuts. This guy was probably thinking “Get a horse.”

Look at that "gringo."

We eventually ended up back on the main road just the other side of blockage. I wonder what the tourists in the tourist vans will think as they take the detour. I also wonder if the vans can make the turns – we barely did and Willie (the Jeep) is pretty short.
So that was our adventure for Thursday morning. Still more to come that afternoon. right
That afternoon we took Tom past the Shrimp Ladies – stopped so we could take pictures but didn’t get out of the car to walk around. I was starting to not feel good and the smell was rolling in my stomach. But not everyone feels that way. He is buying a bunch of shrimp probably for dinner.

Two Kilos to go

And she is having lunch – but it doesn’t look like it is shrimp.

Take out for lunch

I did take another picture of what ever that building is that had the mural of the tiger – their other door had a mural of a deer. Both beautiful works of art.

Not the girl the painting behind her!

From there we drove into Centro to go to the Mercado Piña Suarez – central market.
We had to show Tom the chicken feet for sale – sorry no pictures. He wondered what people do with them. Soup would be my guess.
Then he did some serious shopping. – I mean not a lot of shopping but being serious when he did it.

Serious Shoppers

After leaving there on the way back to the car we walked back to the Willie. He was getting as much needed wash. We passed the church and Tom noticed a workman up on a ladder painting the trim around the big cupula. Look closely and you’ll see him

See the workman

Do you provide life insurance?

A closer look at him.
Picked up a clean car and took Tom over to see the Sanctuary of Fatima. The Padre wasn’t there but the church was open. T. was duly impressed.
By then I was feeling pretty crappy so we stopped at the market and got a couple roasted chickens and premade green salads to go. Back to Jennie – ate and T went on line for a bit then Bill took him back to the hotel – no going out at night for me. End of another day and begining of me being really sick.