Bob and I begin the day with our usual walk around the premises. We spend the morning around the pool, have a burger for lunch, and prepare for the arrival of our amigo Phillipe.
After lunch I go in the water and swim a few laps before stopping at the infinity edge, where I take in the view of the beach. Bob is off painting pottery again. All of Bob’s friends should expect a lovely handmade gift upon his return to the states.
After leaving the water, I settle down under an umbrella and read for another hour or so. Bob is socializing, alternating between the painting table and whichever part of the pool suits his fancy. You should have figured out by now that Bob is somewhat gregarious! I suspect he has made contact with 50% of the inhabitants at EB in three short days. By the time he leaves this Friday, I’m sure the percentage will be close to 100.
About an hour before Phil is scheduled to arrive, Bob goes up to the room to shower and “mentally” prepare himself for the late afternoon and evening activities. I read a while longer, and then head up to shower and to change, also. At 3:15 we are in the lobby. No Phil. So, Bob heads into Kelly’s Bar which is adjacent to the lobby. Very convenient! Kelly’s Bar has beautiful furnishings and is “upscale” in appearance. The walls are decorated with mounts of African animals, as well as many photos of those animals, taken long ago by the Irish patriarch of the Kelly family. Senor Kelly settled in Mazatlan prior to the Revolution. He married one of the local gals, and the rest is history. You can purchase a nice hardcover book at Emerald Bay that documents the entire story. I have not purchased, or read the book, so my knowledge of the family is limited. It’s my understanding that abuelo Kelly owned the property that Emerald Bay now sits on.
I wait in the lobby for a few minutes, then follow Bob into Kelly’s. I find him at the bar sampling the house cabernet. It goes for about $10 a bottle and is a “best buy”. The cabernet is L.A. Cetto. It is derived from California seed stock. The bartender tells us that happy hour is from 7:30-8:30. Bob quickly calculates that two for one “gigante” glasses of wine may be a good deal, and commits to the bartender that he will return later.
We leave Kelly’s and go back to the lobby. No Phil. Bob wanders off. I seat myself. A few minutes later Phil’s shuttle arrives. He disembarks the bus, gathers his bag, and makes for the door. A bellman takes his bag and places it with those belonging to other arriving guests. I notice this, and simultaneously greet Phil and grab his bag (much to the dissatisfaction of the bell staff), and propel Phil, myself, and his luggage through the front door and out of the chaos. Bob is nowhere to be seen. Too bad! We leave the lobby and head off to the room, so Phil can get into shorts and a t-shirt. Bob is … somewhere.
About 20 minutes later we return to the lobby area and gather our friend. It is now happy hour, so we walk down to the grill to “double up”. Phil and I order margaritas on the rocks, Bob orders the house cabernet. Carlos Luis, our server, who has the same tenure at this establishment as me, however, on a year round basis, takes the time to come over to the table to give us the “wine history” of the cabernet, as well as the same about the house chard. This is just another example of the wonderful staff at EB and how you will be treated here, regardless of the company you are keeping!
While imbibing, we make the decision to go into town for dinner. I’m not too sure that this plan is a wise one after putting down dos drinks in less than an hour. The grill drinks are somewhat deceptive, hiding their true strength, until “sneaking up” on you well after you are done guzzling. At some point, Bob decides he needs to take his paperback up to the room. We agree to meet him at the shuttle. Bob leaves. Phil and I continue to drink and talk. Time passes. I look down at my watch and realize that we only have 5 minutes to make the shuttle. We bolt out of our seats and quickly weave, and I do mean weave, our way past the pool, up several flights of stairs, and through the lobby, where the shuttle is waiting. We scan for Roberto. He’s present. We dump ourselves into the last two seats. Ernesto, the driver, puts her in gear, and off we go.
Arriving at PB Mazatlan, Phil changes a few dollars into pesos and we all hit the bano. Still feeling the effects of happy hora, we walk past a line of pulmonias. The drivers ask us if we need a ride. We answer “No”, and pick up the pace. One of the drivers hops in his “open air” motor cart and pursues us down the street, yelling out, “You guys want girls? I can get you some.” I wave him off, explaining that the two gentlemen with me are “not interested in women”…and that I am just their “tour guide”. The driver exclaims, “Really!”, and drives off. This tact generally works.
We walk down the street a ways. I point out many of the same sights as last evening, and I fail to notice that we have walked past our intended destination on the other side of the street. We eventually make a u-turn and return to Juanita’s, a little 4 or 5 table hole in the wall that serves inexpensive, local food. After we seat ourselves, the waiter, Jose Luis, greets us and takes our order. I order tortilla soup and a corn tamale. The total cost is 38 pesos. Phil and Bob follow suit. Jose Luis asks if we want drinks. I say “No”, and point to Bob’s store boughten Tacate that he is working on. This is a bit tacky, but the locals bring their own beer to Juanita’s, so it’s “marginally acceptable” that we do. I would expect nothing less of Bob!
The tortilla soup is as good as I remember from past years, and the tamale is wonderful. We’re all happy with the meal, but Bob is simply ecstatic, because he soon realizes that he can take the shuttle from Emerald Bay a couple times a day, walk over to Juanita’s, and save a bundle on lunch and dinner! So goes my life with Bob.
We eventually make our way back to Emerald Bay via the shuttle. We hit the rack fairly early again ... no spa, no cigarro. We’re all tired. Now that we have three, one of us will sleep on el patio. The patio lounges have beefy cushions and make for a nice bed. Bob gives up his bed to our new guest, and the day is complete.
Bob has tentatively scheduled a city tour for Tuesday, and a Mexican Fiesta at Emerald Bay Wednesday night. The tour is purported to be “free” and will be guided by a “doctor” that Barb and Kathy met last evening. Those “who are interested” will meet the good doctor downtown at 9:00 am. So, the “free” tour will cost about $30-$40 US in cab fare, before it is even started. Of course, Bob doesn’t have a clue that “free” isn’t necessarily so, at this juncture. It’ll be fun to see how this turns out. The Mexican Fiesta is about $45. I am undecided as to my participation in either event, as I’ve previously experienced both. Tours and fiestas are worthwhile and fun activities, for first time visitors. There are many to choose from. So have fun, and don’t worry too much about the cost, or the “mandatory” tips. Neither will break the bank, and you will leave with fond memories.
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