We have returned from Sinaloa, reasonably relaxed and sufficiently sun-kissed. It wasn't a luxurious gourmet and rum-soaked tropical vacation, but for once we had perfect weather, and there was no family drama! We stayed in a house on the El Cid golf course, which is surrounded by the wealthier locals, and retired Canadians who decided(perhaps due to their love of tomatoes, which are the pride of every single local?) that their personal paradise is on the edge of the tropic of Cancer. Aside from the fact that every Catholic in Mexico was on vacation to celebrate Holy Week(third largest Carnivale world-wide...) and that every time you turned around somebody
was trying to hawk a kitchy souvenir or something carved out of a bit of tree bark, it was a very nice vacation. The historical center of Mazatlan is beautiful, and has lots of inspiring bakeries and cafes. The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception is supposedly the only catholic church in the world that uses the star of David in its stained glass motifs.
We spent a couple of days at the pool, took a very commercial tour of Mazatlan, and spent a long day out in the foothills of the Sierra Madres. We visited a pit where adobe bricks are made and fired manually, a man making beautiful marble tiles by hand, the town of Copala built around a silver mine, and Concordia. Concordia was founded in 1565 and is scattered with cobblestones and hand-made rustic furniture. We wandered
through the city hall and learned a lot about the history of the region from murals all along the courtyard.
The rest of the week was spent lounging on the screened in porch reading and eating authentic chips with homemade guac, or wandering the beach and gazing at the Pacific. I made it through most of the Stieg Larsson series, and Brian got hooked on my
Sudoku Joy app. Mom brought her French workbooks and we reviewed some grammar and vocab, which humorously resulted in her responding "oui, oui!" or "non!" whenever anybody spoke Spanish at her. We had a fairly uneventful trip back,
although it was definitely one of the bumpiest descents into Denver I have ever experienced! We landed on a Friday night, and had the entire weekend to relax and unpack, and settle back in. The Fri to Fri trip was a great idea and I will have to remember it when booking future trips!
Overall, I have to say that the most amazing part of the journey was that after a week of togetherness, we still went out for dinner together before going to our respective homes and crashing. I am definitely lucky to have such a positive relationship with my parents, as well as a husband who supports that.
