Carnaval Parade

The "Fat Tuesday" parade down the malecon was a ramped down version of the previous Saturday's evening parade - lighter crowds and a touch less craziness. The participants looked a little worn out, but when our camera was aimed in their direction, we usually got a smile and a wave. There were beauties of all ages; costumes and dancing; horses and floats sponsored by local businesses and pulled by tractors.
I've been able to upoad the picture of one Sinaloa beauty. More to follow!

The candy vendors were out in force - wheelbarrows loaded to the brim with nuts and candies. Some sweets looked tempting but were unfamiliar. We didn't bother to ask what they were since our Spanish is not yet good enough to understand the response.
Most of our recently added Spanish vocabulary is more in line with cleaning products and tile and plumbing and hardware!
We're making progress! The main room furniture MAY arrive this week, if we're lucky - couch, chairs, dining table. Next project - interior painting.

Carnaval fireworks

We bussed down to the malecon, the large boulevard that parallels the ocean front, where Carnaval activities occur. Friends Rick and Cranda, our Mazatlan social directors, arranged for dinner on the beach below the malecon, where we enjoyed good food and the nightly fireworks display. The malecon was closed off to vehicular traffic, so the evening walk to the restaurant in the sand was nice! Though this was not the BIG "land-sea battle" extravaganza of two nights ago, the crowds were a little lighter and not so rowdy.

An Adventure in Fine Dining

The "Sixth Floor Social Club" heads for "Old Town", where the Changeras (Shrimp Ladies) line the street. Big tubs of shrimp on ice are offered by maybe twenty-five vendors, each one urging us to buy from THEM! The price runs from 80 to 120 pesos (about $8 to $12 US) for a kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of shrimp, depending of the size......
We make one vendor VERY happy with our purchase of enough shrimp and scallops to feed seven very hungry people (with eyes WAY bigger than their tummies, it turns out). Then we walk around the corner to a restaurant where we entrust our seafood to the staff for cooking. Meanwhile, a bucket of cerveza (beer) arrives at our table. Marian buys a leather wallet, Bonnie buys a DVD, Eddie gets his shoes shined - all without leaving the table!
The tuba, trombone and trumpet blare out some Mexican tunes and Moy sings along!
The food arrives, along with another bucket of beer . . . and we dive in!