Yes, there has been lots going on in the Countdown to Mexico neighborhood, lately – here’s a bit of an update:

I’ve been getting together with various women friends pretty frequently – for coffee, for a walk or a bike ride, to share knitting, to discuss books, and probably much more.  One of the things that I love about life here is having so many women friends. Some are here year round and some just come for the winter but their friendship truly makes my life rich.

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I’ve been long overdue to get back on the healthy eating bandwagon.  Well, I actually have always been a healthy eater but I have been eating too much and not getting enough strenuous exercise.  A month ago I hosted a health talk here at the house for about 40 women given by a friend who is an expert in natural foods and therapies.  It was a great morning, surrounded by other women who care about eating well and are skeptical about conventional medicine.  It was the kick start I needed and I have been working out on the Nordic Track or spinning bike every day and every other day with weights.  So far I’ve lost 5 1/2 pounds, and love the way I feel.  A funny thing is that when I was working full time and jamming my days full I could get up a bit early and exercise before work – be all done and showered and off to work by 7:30 am.  But now… by the time we get up, have breakfast, feed the birds, walk the dogs, etc. I am lucky if I am exercising by 10 am!  That’s ok, though… I just noticed the contrast.

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The other morning Paul got the car out of the garage thinking we would need it (we only use it once in a while) and it was a lucky thing because a few minutes later we heard pounding and jackhammers and the underground utility people started digging right in front of our garage!  Two days later it was all fixed up but we were glad we didn’t have the car trapped inside.  There is lots more work to be done on the street (side street, actually) including chipping up the wall for the new wires to the electric meter, etc.  It will be great when all those wires are GONE!

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We have connected with a group of friends who like to bike ride a couple times a month on Sunday mornings – usually around Centro and then on the malecon with the lure – of course – of breakfast at the end.  Last time we went down to the base of the lighthouse and then over Cerro del Vigía (Lookout Hill) which was a pretty steep one for me since I had even forgotten how to shift my bike into low gear!  It is a fun way to spend a Sunday morning and we take our time over a nice breakfast somewhere and have fun catching up on each others’ lives.

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There has been drama in town thanks to the drug cartels.  A few days ago two men in a car were being chased and pulled in to a hotel parking area trying to evade their pursuers and both were shot dead.  The killers zoomed off, leaving a bunch of stunned people looking on – many of whom were from the three cruise ships that were in port that day.  The following day one scheduled cruise ship cancelled and they are considering pulling out of Mazatlán altogether.  I just read in the paper a moment ago that the cruise line has decided to come back to Mazatlán after all – which is important news for the city.

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Friday was a big day, too.  The new governor, Mario López Valdez (a man the people call familiarily, Malova) and the new alcalde (Mayor) of Mazatlán Alejandro Higuera Osuna, along with the Friends of Mexico and Sinaloa Tourism Bureau invited all extranjeros (expats) to a meeting, and gave us online access to submit our concerns.  It was mostly a feel-good meeting where we were assured that  the government heard our concerns (with security being the top one) and where the biggest surprise for me was that the Malova gave the audience his office phone number, cell phone number, and email address and said his door is open to us. A desk even will be made available in the tourism office and an expat will be on an advisory board. The picture below is from the room at the convention center and shows more than 2,000 of us gringos in attendance!

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At that meeting also, Malova – this really shocked me – gave one month of his own salary to a homeless man who runs a shoeshine stand in the Plazuela Republica as a reward for his good deed a few weeks ago.  He saw a purse sitting unattended on a bench, put it safely away and then when he had a moment he inspected it and found it contained passports and papers that showed it belonged to a cruise ship passenger.  He closed up his shoeshine stand and took the purse to the cruise ship and turned it in.  His picture with Malova is below, when Malova went down into the audience to shake his hand.

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Photo courtesy Noroeste.com

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Yesterday I also lucked out when a friend had an extra ticket to the Sinaloa Symphony and I had a wonderful night listening to the symphony and two fantastic opera singers, Elizabeth Blanke-Biggs and Stuart Neill.  They performed works by Saint-Saens, Verdi, Puccini, and more.  There were several ovations and the full house at the beautiful restored Angela Peralta Theater was reminded that we are lucky to live in paradise – not just because we are on a tropical beach but also because we have a lovely historic center and a strong cultural life, too.

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Elizabeth Blanke-Biggs and Stuart Neill

The ticket booths are up and the city is getting ready for Carnaval, which is March 3 – 8 this year.  I am expecting a great event this year and will keep you posted.  See you later!

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I get a fair bit of mail at from people who write me directly via the Contact Us page.  I thought I’d give you a sampling of what an average couple of weeks is like in the Countdown to Mexico mailbag.

Question:  I would appreciate it if you could include my new Mazatlan Mexico Business Directory in your site. I am a SEO professional and Web Developer moving to Maz in a few months. (website link not shown here)

Answer:  I’m sorry, the @Maz page (in the menu bar at the top) is for sites I think will be useful for people visiting or living in Mazatlán.  Countdown to Mexico has a lot of information about Mazatlán, but vacation planning services aren’t among them. I also don’t plan on putting advertising on the blog anytime in the future.

Question:  Recently we have been concerned about safety as we have begun to see the uptick in violence (even reaching Chapala and Guad.) Is it overblown? What is your experience with safety?

I am about 2 years from retirement. It is time to begin planning more in earnest like you did. We will probably plan some vacations and a test extended period to see if we will feel safe and if we could live in Mexico.

Answer:  The most frequently asked questions in our mailbag always relate to violence and safety.  The people who wrote the question above are sincerely trying to evaluate their comfort level with Mexico, a very good thing to do as you research places to live.  I also get lots of inquiries from people planning or who have already booked their vacations – wanting to know if they’ll be safe getting from the airport to their hotel, etc.

I sometimes feel a bit testy with these questions, for a couple of reasons.  The first is that there is no way that I can know what they will experience.  Just as shoppers in Tuscon, Arizona never expected to be caught in the crossfire, none of us can know the future.  There is certainly crime here and I know a few people who have been victims of street crime, but overall it feels well removed from normal life.

Paul and I live conservatively – we don’t go to discos, pick fights in bars, drive around unfamiliar places or stay out way late at night.  I seldom carry a purse at night but we walk a couple of dozen blocks home in the evening without worrying about our safety.  We seem to think and talk about security more nowadays just because Mexico gets such bad press NOB and it has caused a real decline in tourism… and when tourism is down, the financial pressure filters down and petty crime goes up.

The drug cartels do have a presence here – there have been targeted killings – one in which a Canadian man was unfortunately in the area and was hit in the knee not that long ago.  A government building was shot at one night recently (while no one was working) in an apparent message to the administration.  But there is a large presence of police – federal and city – and a large contingent of tourist police, too.

Sinaloa has a new Governor and Mazatlán a new Mayor as of the first of the year and from what I can see they are working very hard to control the violence and increase public safety.  We walk practically everywhere and the thing we always notice more than anything is how friendly, welcoming, and smiling people are here.

Question:  We are looking at coming down soon for a medical vacation as they call it , for some dental work. Do you have any pro/con advice on a good dental surgeon in Mazatlan?. I must have my wisdom teeth extracted & someone familiar might give us a good reference. Keep up the fine living in Mexico as we are living vicariously thru ya!!

Answer:  I think the best advice I can give for anyone with a specific question like this is to join some of the local forums and ask your question there.  You’ll get advice from a lot of different people with pertinent and current experience that I couldn’t possibly provide.  Check out the @Maz page for links to several of the forums.

Question:  I am a graduate student at the University of _______. I’m writing a paper on the growth, decay, and gentrification of the Historic Center of Mazatlan due to the effects of tourism. I was hoping that I could use some of your photos from your rehabilitation updates for my project. I’m not able to take a trip down there before the semester finishes, but your photos are exactly what I’d like to exhibit in my paper. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Answer:  Of course you can use them, no problem!  And will you send me a copy of your paper when it’s done?

Question:  My husband and I are moving to Sayulita, just north of Puerto Vallarta. We are heading down next _________. I see you guys live in a place we will be passing through. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the drive. We are entering through Nogales and just taking the west coast all the way down. Do you have any warnings, advice or tips for us! Any help would be greatly appreciated as this will be our first time to actually drive down instead of flying! Thank you so very much for anything!

Answer:  Congratulations on your move!  Like one of my answers above, I would join some of the Mazatlán forums and also any forums in Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta.  People who have actually made the drive in recent history would be much more helpful than I would!  We have never driven from here to Puerto Vallarta and the only time we drove from Nogales to Mazatlán was when we moved here three and a half years ago!

Question:  I have been reading your blog for the last few weeks. My husband and I had planned a trip to Mazatlan for our 5th year wedding anniversary. He was here 10 years ago and fell in love with the city and has been trying to convince me to come here since we met. I have to say I have fallen in love with this city as well. I started researching Mazatlan before taking our vacation and came across your blog. Thank you so much for all of the valuable info you have given over the years of moving here. You two are truly living the dream. I keep asking my husband how we can move here since we arrived. Unfortunately, we won’t be retiring for many years, but I hope we can come back soon for another visit. I just wanted to let you know how much I have been enjoying your blog. Keep it up!

Answer:  You are so welcome, have a wonderful anniversary trip!

Question:  Hello, I have been going through your blog and have enjoyed the day to day aspect you have given. My girlfriend and her parents have bought a house on the beach, and they are moving down in __________. They  are “working” on me to come as well. I am not opposed to the idea, and have been to Mazatlan before. What I was hoping you could help me with is what sort of social and extra-curricular activities can I expect? I have a background in coaching swimming, as well as like physical activities. Are you aware of anything in Mazatlan that might keep me busy? ie: self defence schools, competitive swimming organizations?

Answer:  I would love to be able to supply this kind of information, but sometimes I just don’t know.  There is a swimming club of people who swim in the ocean each morning, but again I think participating in the forums might be your best bet.

I hope some of these questions and answers will help more than just those who wrote to us.  Thanks, everyone!

Please be careful!

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I accumulate photos that I want to share with all of you… do you like the one at the top of this post?  I know it is a bit hard to see but it is a worker using a jackhammer to remove the cement from a balcony that he is standing on.  I don’t know about you, but I found it hard to even look at him while he was working!

Below is a picture you’ve seen before, of one of the Trees of Heaven around town – growing right out of a wall.

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Then, below is another picture you’ve seen before, too – the same tree last June after the painting teams trimmed and painted the Tree of Heaven so they could paint. I thought it had been killed for sure.

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So imagine my surprise when I noticed what it looks like now, below!  The joke about sticking a pencil in the ground here and it will grow surely holds true for this tree!

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On another topic, I thought you might like to see our old chair with its broken cane seat.

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Not to worry, we saw the chair repair guy working a block over the other day and asked him to come by and do our chair.He usually sets up on the sidewalk but we opened the garage door and he worked there all day.  Yes, almost all day. And now look at the chair – with its new seat and back. Nice!

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