We Are In Mexico!

We are in Mexico!

As I sit in the shade and type this, it is around 38 degrees and the sea breeze does little to take the heat away, although I am not complaining as I look up from where I am sitting on the balcony and watch people walk along the boardwalk and can see the ocean as far as my eye can see.

It is still surreal to think we are finally in Mexico after the journey it has taken us to get here.

We had a great flight to LA, watching lots of movies and eating loads of plane food, and arrived at around lunchtime at our hotel which gave us plenty of time to explore before our flight to Mazatlan the next day. We all changed out of our jeans and sweatshirts and put on shorts and singlets and caught a taxi to Manhattan Beach. Wow, what an absolutely gorgeous place. The boardwalk was buzzing with people surfing, playing volleyball, and hanging out in the Californian sun!

We decided to be like the locals, so we hired bikes and biked along the boardwalk. It was a great way to see the sights and look at all the incredible houses along the boardwalk. As the sun was pounding down, we decided that a trip to the local creamery was in order. Gracie had a frozen chocolate yogurt and the rest of us had the biggest cookie ice cream sandwiches you have ever seen in your life! After having a wander around, we caught a cab back to our hotel where the kids went for a swim in the pool. After a bit of a rest, we walked down to IHOP and had burgers and soda’s for dinner…..oh how the memories came flooding back of our trip in 2009!

We were all pretty tired so were in bed asleep by 8 pm!
The next morning we were up early, enjoyed our free continental breakfast at the hotel and headed back to LAX.

Our flight to Mazatlan was 2 and a half hours so we were landed after we had barely finished our coke and pretzels!

Man, if we thought LA was hot, we were in for a rude shock…Mazatlan was WAY hotter! The heat greeted us as we hopped off the plane and the sweat started to pour off us the minute we landed and I don’t think it has stopped! We were met by some of the staff from YWAM who took us to the house where the rest of the team were waiting for us.

The house is amazing and has plenty of room for all 22 of us.

After unpacking and having an ice-cold drink, we all walked into the town center where they were having night markets, local street dancers, rock divers, and was buzzing with families who had come out for the night.

We found a local taco bar where all 22 of us had dinner and were introduced to the local cuisine, which I can tell you is absolutely delicious! On our way home we stopped at the “Looney Bean” cafe for coffees and frappes and continued the walk back to our house where at 9 pm the locals were all still out in full force!

We went straight to bed as jet lag was now taking over our bodies, so between that and the heat, we were all pretty knackered.

The next day we headed to the YWAM base to start the day with Praise and Worship and then had an orientation to help prepare us for our house builds. Again we were introduced to more local cuisine which I am absolutely loving!