Life’s a Beach

Our twelve week break from Vancouver’s wet winter has come to an end as we leave behind the sun, sand and new friends we’ve made in Mexico.

We didn’t really know what to expect when we set out on this journey, with only the few hours we spent in Mazatlan last February as a sample of what was to come. In the end, we’ve become quite enamoured not only with the city, but also with the warmth of the Mazatlecos, who patiently endured my attempts to express myself in their language. But, because there is also a very active expat community, about seventy percent of which is from our home and native land, I didn’t always have to call on my Duolingo skills to communicate.

Once we settled into our Airbnb rental we went about exploring the historic Centro district and quickly fell into a routine that involved long walks along the malecón, daily visits to the Mercado Central and, in Brenda’s case, yoga five morning every week. Every other day we’d stop at the ...... market for a 40 peso fruit smoothie before walking the three kilometres back to our base. We caught two baseball games, one of them a divisional playoff final, attended two Lucha Libre events, watched three 39 peso movies at Gran Plaza’s cinema and searched out eateries that would accommodate our vegan lifestyle. If there was one disappointment, it was the distinct lack of vegetarian options available in the restaurants. However, we learned toward the end of our stay that with a little coaching, many eateries were willing to whip something up to put on our plates. On the other hand, pretty much every day of the week, you can go somewhere and enjoy some great live music thanks to a very vibrant and diverse music scene.

Brenda and I have pretty much decided that we will definitely return to Mazatlan for future winters, but we still have a very big soft spot for Thailand, where we plan to go next time winter rolls around. On the other hand, because Mazatlan is so accessible from Vancouver, we’re considering a short visit in May to experience fruit season at its peak, just before the scorching summer weather arrives.

And so, as we head back to Vancouver, we trade in one Pacific beach for another. Yeah, life is pretty sweet.Read more