Giselle

My body was not really in the mood to go to the mainland after working at the Old Bull all day, especially this late, but the ballet Giselle is on at the Angela Peralta Theatre at 8 pm and I have a ticket and made a commitment to meet some friends there. Will I even be able to stay up that late? Then I remember my favorite little coffee place right in front of the theater and I think a vanilla cappuccino will be a must.

I shower and change my clothes real quick, my shower has been cold for a few days now but since it is so blazin hot that is almost welcome most days...almost, I should find an electrician before it gets cold. I am sure my Tio across from me could fix it but  I have seen how his house is wired and I am not sure I| want him touching my electrical stuff.

I walk to the dock in the dark, I love the Island in the dark, all the lights seem to sparkle and dance, everything looks shiny and it's so quiet and peaceful. The boat ride across is like a dream, the lights of the big city getting closer and closer, lights from the Island getting smaller and smaller.

I take a pulmonia to central and for once I don't get ripped off, I've come a long way, negotiating a taxi fare was always such a nightmare for me.

I got this photo off the internet, now sure who to give credit. It is the Mazatlan pulmonia 

The plaza machado is stunning at night and is hoppin tonight, the place is full of people, I see a police truck and a fire truck parked to the side....getting coffee or buying ballet tickets I am guessing. I made my way to the coffee place and buy a vanilla cappuccino, a city luxury for me. I come out of the shop with my coffee and almost trip on a big hose, I notice there is water everywhere, then I see firemen coming out of a restaurant...of course, there is a fire...hence the fire truck. The plaza is packed and they just string their hoses out and work around the people, never a dull moment. I find a bench and watch the firemen gather up their hoses and take off, every one else carries on with normal Saturday night business, I am guessing the restaurant will spray febreeze tonight and reopen tomorrow night with new decor.

I sip my coffee and eat a whole brick of coconut while I watch an impromptu fireworks show, I brought a shawl in case it got cold...it does not, I carry my shawl, might need it for the  boat ride home.

photo scooped off the net

photo scooped off the net

The ballet is awesome, once again I feel like I am in a movie and I should be wearing a long red dress and my nails should be painted red to match, I was going to paint my nails (not red) but just didn't have time.  Being that I live waaaay up north I don't get the opportunity for this kind of entertainment, another luxury for me. I am a bit of an introvert and don't like events where there are a lot of people and you are expected to mingle, which is why even though this is a big theatre and there are lots of people, I am ok, because no one talks to you, except for applauding the place is silent....my kind of entertainment. Of course the minute the show is over before the exodus begins, I am outa there....first one out the door, I have a boat to catch and it is way past my bedtime, you'd think I was wearing glass slippers and in a hurry to catch my pumpkin carriage.

I walk 3 blocks to catch a taxi, the taxis outside the theater are always too pricey for me. In the past years I have walked at this time of night (it's 10:30 pm ) but  the times have changed a  little, even my Island friends confirmed with me before I left that I was going to take a taxi, I still feel I would be fine but I know I sure would feel stupid if something did happen, after being told not to walk. I think buses to the docks stop running at 9 pm, but even if they were still out,  if walking is dangerous standing on a street corner alone waiting for a bus is just as dangerous. There are not many places left in the world where a women can walk alone at night anymore. I get a taxi for 40 pesos, not bad at all.

There is a young couple making out at the docks, waiting for a boat, she is still in her school uniform, they don't notice me. I find a nail file in my purse and file my nails. Soon a big cowboy joins us, wonder where he has been all dressed up, shiny boots, white hat and freshly pressed shirt (must have a wife). A pretty young lady in a Panama uniform joins us, she is very busy texting on her iphone.

Then the entertainment arrives, he steps over the railroad track as if it is a foot high, his depth perception is gone....he is loaded drunk, at the ticket booth he can't get his money out of his pocket, his pocket is deep, his hands can't focus, the ground he is standing on is moving, he sways...but stays on his feet, now his hand is stuck in his pocket, there is a struggle..man against body, he gets his hand out....man, his money didn't come with it, he dives in again fishing deep this time, Lord don't let this man's pants fall down. Amazingly through all this he does not make a sound, not a foul word...nothing, as if he knows he is not capable of making sense anyway. He rocks back and forth with his hand in his pocket, like you rock your truck when you are a bit stuck, and then he gets it...yeah, I want to cheer for him, but  I don't. He pays and stands off to the side, doesn't join the rest of us. By now a man in a business suit arrives, he is chatting on his cell phone continuously, I try to eavesdrop but I am still terrible at that, who does business at 11 pm, he's probably cooing to his secretary, aside from him there is complete silence, a fish jumps in the water beside me, it startles Panama girl and I.

Then our boat arrives, but the captain wants to wait for more people, he has his wife with him, they stay on the boat and chat, we wait for about 10 minutes and no one else comes, we board, except young girl's boyfriend he stays behind, their good bye kiss was almost like a scene from the Titanic, no one notices or reacts. Drunk guy boards last, I worry for him and wonder if a drunk guy has ever fallen overboard or (eww) gotten sea sick, he makes it and sits at the bow all alone, still hasn't made a sound. If all drunks were quiet like this we would all like them a little bit better, great entertainment. Panama girls is still texting, I get a wiff of cowboy's cologne in the breeze, that dude smells good, business man is still whispering in his phone, I keep my eye out for plankton*, nothing tonight, I watch the Island lights get closer. I am still holding my shawl, unreal, last year at this time we would have all been shivering with our teeth chattering....it's beautiful, like being in a dream. Surreal.

On the other side someone on a motorbike picks Panama girl up, business man has a motorbike parked there as well. Young school girl walks onto the colonia on the other side of the Island, drunk guy fades into the darkness and is just gone. Cowboy has his tractor parked in the parking lot and fires it up, seriously, this guy got all washed up, dressed up and drove to the docks with his tractor, he roars past me, unreal. He pulls into his driveway as I am walking past, he's the watermelon guy!....wow, he cleans up good.

I love this place, I love that I  can walk alone in the dark at night and not be afraid, I love it. The best part of going into the mainland is coming home, I thank God for this place and pray that it stays like this, I've seen Mazatlan change so much in 13 years. Will this place be so different in 13 years from now, I hope not. I hope I didn't get here at the tail end of its best years.

*Bioluminescence Plankton is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light emission. Fireflies, anglerfish, and other creatures produce the chemicals luciferin (a pigment) and luciferase (an enzyme).^[1] The luciferin reacts with oxygen to create light. The luciferase acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction, which is sometimes mediated by cofactors such ascalcium ions or ATP. The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell. In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by an operon called the Lux operon.^[2]

Bioluminescence occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as fungi, microorganisms and terrestrial animals. Symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms are also known to bioluminesce.

Plankton

Plankton on the side of the boat

Like I say....like living in a dream

I got these pictures off the internet, whenever I see Plankton of course I don'tr have my camera with me.