Wednesday July 21
We got up earlier today, Tepic calls. I was still stupifyingly tired when I got up but I wanted to beat the heat. We walked lots (about 7.9 miles for the entire day) downtown going to all three Mercados. Nothing particularily outstanding, the new camera is working out well.
 |
| bug |
Ken was feeling ill, he thought he was going to be sick all day. We found a really funky, exclusive kitchen shop - cupboards, stoves, fridges, etc.. One new feature was a fold down glass top for a gas range. Ken thinks it is for putting down to expand the size of your counter space. By the way, the main drag here in Tepic, Mexico Street South is still under construction. What a mess. Mostly there are no guard rails and holes with no warning. At night some people just walk down on the road, even with the construction.
We found a smart looking cafe, packed with mid to upper class clientel. I suggested lunch there (at about 11:15 am). People were very friendly, calling us in. The staff got up from their table to let us sit down. Someone even asked if we wanted to come sit with them at their table, Ken thanked them and we sat at the staff table. Great food, nice service!
After lunch we came back to the hotel. Ken down loaded pictures and I painted more on my portrait.
When we got ready and went out, I took pictures of the little pups in cages at the vets. Most dogs here are pets not just wondering around. We walked to the library and found big cages of birds on the way.
Supper was at a spot we found during the afternoon walk.
 |
| From Mazatlan to Tepic |
| lunch | Café Diligencias | 70 pesos | good |
| supper | Rest. Cenadurias Aceves | 203 pesos | good |
| Today's eating | where | cost | rating |
| Tonight's sleep | Hotel Valeria - Tepic | 378 pesos | very good |
Tuesday July 20
We slept in and by the time we got out (noonish) and about it was HOT!
 |
| View from Valerie Hotel bedroom |
We checked out a few restaurants for lunch, air conditioning being high on our priority list. Lots didn't make the grade for different reasons. I remembered there was a vegetarian restaurant on the city map which Ken had in his fanny pack. We walked there and ate.
We went to three different parks. At one park something hit me on the upper, right arm.
An nice elderly man let us know it was an avocado. He told us about the parks - to bad we do not know enough Spanish to understand more then he was really proud of his city and its parks. Ken thinks it might be good luck to be hit by a avocado, like being spashed by a whale.
There was a bunch of kids playing soccer in a fenced area, when the ball went over the fence Ken threw it back to them. They thanked him and when Ken responded they guessed he spoke English and asked, "wanna play?" Ken declined, saying the air was too thin and he was too old to play soccer with a bunch of teenagers.
The parks had ficus trees with huge roots. We even saw a ficus elastica that was huge. Cool sidewalk.
I saw one unusual looking long bodied dog with short legs.
When we are back at the room I painted. I am painting long, red hair on a person. This is the first person I have painted since university days (first degree). I am really enjoying the process but I have to say it was really difficult to get started.
Supper at La Glorias.
| lunch | Girasol Vegetarian | 90 pesos | good |
| supper | La Gloria | 168 pesos | very good |
| Today's eating | where | cost | rating |
| Tonight's sleep | Hotel Valeria - Tepic | 378 pesos | very good |
Monday July 19
We woke-up very refreshed and relaxed in a snuggly anniversary mood. Great room, the birds (the trees were full of birds) started chirping their happy sounds early.
It was a week day so we walked over the half block to the Canadian Consolate to say "Buenos Dias, eh!" - like true Canadians. We were surprised that the consulate person was Mexican and had incorrect passport information We were disappointed that she gave us no reaction to the "eh" part of our greeting.
We left Mazatlan going passed the airport. It is pretty rundown, we were thinking that this city needs to take more pride in their city , especially the areas where tourists are. Oh, I forgot to mention that we went to their Mega store which is a BIG grocery store with electric ramps like escalators to take you and your cart down to underground parking.
We ate lunch at a hot roadside stop and saw an iguana sitting up on top of a cement fence. Kinds from California were throwing rocks at it --- not nice.
 |
| From Mazatlan to Tepic |
We drove passed many orchards of mango trees. The fruit hangs off the trees on vice like things. Even the little, young trees are loaded with fruit.
Fruit stands a plenty.
Once we arrived in Tepic we found a parking spot to check out hotels. We had one room, paid for it and then cancelled it once we found the Valeria which was more Mexican funky, cleaner and the front desk person spoke a little English.
We had our anniversary supper at the Don Juan Hotel.
Big statues of Angels, etc. adorned the restaurant. We started the evening on a little balcony with open windows but we switched to a warmer spot in a corner under the Arc Angel Gabriel.
| groceries | Mega - bebidas, fruit | 135 pesos | good |
| supper | Hotel Real Don Vasco | 198 pesos | very good |
| Today's eating | where | cost | rating |
| Tonight's sleep | Hotel Valeria - Tepic | 378 pesos | very good |
No comments:
Post a Comment