In early December we said good-bye to our daughters, son-in-laws and grandkids in Utah to make our third visit to Mazatlán, Mexico. Because of COVID we wore masks anytime we were in close proximity to others.
Our flight was delayed out of SLC so we missed our connecting flight in Phoenix. The airline put us up overnight which gave us the opportunity to see Merritt's brother, Dean, at a restaurant near the airport. It's always nice to be able to make lemonade out of lemons.
The next day we made it to the condo we would rent for the next 3 months. It was located about 5 blocks from the beach but also (almost as convenient) it was just across the street form a large grocery store and several good restaurants. The five minute walk to the beach was nice but even nicer was being able to walk across the street and pick up bananas or other groceries we needed or just choose to have someone else cook dinner tonight.
The day after arrival we found the local clinic (which happened to be right around the corner) and got tested for COVID, after we got our negative results we felt comfortable going out to outdoor restaurants etc.
One of the first things we did afterwards was meet up with our friends Karla and Monica on the roof top of Totem (one of our favorite places) for lunch. Monica was nice enough to keep some things for us from last year and also arranged for Merritt to borrow a bike during our stay. They both speak English well and both had COVID previously so we could take our masks off while we ate lunch. Later during our stay we had Christmas dinner with Monica and her family.
Nearly everyday we found something new during our walk along the Malecon. Sometimes it was a colorful fishing boat with Merritt's mom and our grand daughters name on it.
Sometimes it was a beautiful sunset.
Sometimes it was an open air aerobics class. (these ladies are there every morning doing there exercises).
Sometimes it was lifeguards gathering to get ready for their regular certification swim. Right after this photo was taken someone said "Go!" (or at least the Spanish version of that) and they all ran into the ocean for a timed swim out to a buoy and back.
And if you happen to spend enough time taking photos of the art, the artist invites you in to see the rest of his home. You can tell he's an artist by the color of his pants. He was such a nice guy, we really wish our Spanish would have been good enough to have a real conversation.
Sometimes was some parasailers. We spent many afternoons watching people having fun doing this but never got around to doing it ourselves, even though the owner, Cha Cha offered us a special price. Maybe next year, Cha Cha!
And sometimes it was a Helium blimp, which happened to be in town due to the Caribbean World Series that was being played in Mazatlán during our stay. They built a brand new baseball stadium 2 years ago and we understand it's quite a party to attend a game there. Another thing to put on the list for next year.
We also like the statue of Pedro Infante (Mexico's version of John Wayne) on a Harley.
And the Fernado Valades Lejarza statue (famous singer, pianist and composer) who performed regularly in Mazatlán in the 60's.
Something about Mazatlán makes you carefree enough to not even feel silly posing for these fun photos. Maybe it's the food. My favorite hamburger place is El Punto, which was just a block from where we stayed. You can see why in the photos below. This thing tasted so good!
Since we were there during Christmas we got to enjoy the decorations that the city put up around Plaza Machado (the main plaza in the Central Historic District).
And take advantage of the decorative booth that was set up for selfie photos.
Another thing we always enjoy in Mazatlán is the children at the breach, sometimes they are there to play with their families, like this cute kid at the end of a long day of fun.
And sometimes they are working to help support their families, like this girl who we bought several bracelets from. I like to think she is going to be successful in her life because she definitely knows how to work.
Of course Merritt did bring his tennis gear and made some more tennis buddies at the local club where he bought a month to month membership. He hopes to meet up with them again next year.
One unusual thing we did was see the doctor. Merritt had his 10 year colonoscope checkup which came out all clear.
And Heather after suffering some strange intermittent stomach cramps, had her gallbladder removed. It looks like Heather enjoyed her hospital visit more than Merritt did.
Her surgery was done at the private Sharps Hospital which as been serving the people of Mazatlán for 20 years. Since it is a private hospital, Heather got the VIP treatment at a fraction of the cost of this type of surgery in the States. We hope our insurance company appreciates that. (They did reimburse us for the entire bill).
Heather's doctors must have done an amazing job because just a couple weeks later she was out ready to do some exercises at the public gym.
She got here just in time for Mango Season, so of course we had to get them several times from my favorite mango seller near Zaragoza Plaza. You can't beat the price, about 50 cents per pound and you definitely can't beat the taste of fresh tree ripened Mangos.
And of course Merritt had to introduce her to the tennis club where they played a couple of hours nearly everyday.
And we both got to introduce her to the beach.
Mazatlán has been growing quite a bit since we first came down in 2017. Here is one of the new 20 story condo's that was recently finished just across the street from the Malecon and looks out on the Pacific. Merritt counted 23 new projects either finished since 2017, currently under construction or announced to soon start construction. We have thought and talked quite a bit about getting a condo in Mazatlán so we did spend quite a bit of time researching them and yes, Merritt did make a spreadsheet!
We talked to some local friends who recommended an excellent realtor, Fabian Taylor who speaks excellent English and is very familiar with the beach front condo properties. During our first meeting he took us through every Condo from Valentino's on the North to Olas Altas on the South and because Merritt was already familiar with most of them from his spreadsheet we were able to narrow it down to 3 developments pretty quickly.
Condo's that were finished or nearly finished had very few openings and none that were above the 10th floor (below the 10th floor you are prone to hear a lot of the road noise and have less of a view). Condo's that were just announced wouldn't be finished for 2 to 3 years and we didn't want to wait that long. Merritt also wanted to get a condo that had a pool, gym and garden space on the roof top (again to get away from road noise and have access to 360 degree views. We talked to the construction companies of two of these and soon settled on Catania, a 20 story tower that had a 19th floor Condo available and will have a roof top pool, gym and garden space. Our new home should be ready about January 2022.
On Merritt's visit they actually let him and Fabian go up to the 19th floor to check out the view, after that we were sold. Definitely not OSHA safe, you can see the Malecon and blue bike lane between the main road and the beach. At this height you can barely hear the traffic.
Here we are signing the purchase offer which was accepted after some back and forth on some special features we wanted to have added and after we had it reviewed by an attorney.
We have been getting monthly video updates on the building progress. Here is the link if you would like to view the most recent one.
Things look to be on track for us to be able to move in when we visit Mazatlán next winter so we can get more of this. (Chocolate Mint Milkshake at Totem)
More of this (Merritt definitely wants to learn to surf).
More of this (one of our favorite places to come for a lemonade and to play cards)
More of this (Fantastic French Toast and Yogurt Drink)
More of this (one of our other favorite places to play cards)
More of this (walking on the Malecon).
And more of this (watching the sunset together).
Just trying to make each day, the best possible day!
We hope you also are having your best possible day today.
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