The birthday of Benito Juarez is celebrated here in Mexico as a public holiday on the third Monday in March. Schools, banks and government offices are closed. But everything else is open. As a matter of fact, today is also a cruise ship day here in Mazatlan when throngs of people will descend on this city crowding the streets, shops and restaurants. I will be headed into the Gold Zone later on as I have some errands and shopping to do. And a movie at El Recreo is in the plans for tonight.

But let’s return to the start of the weekend. On Friday night I attended a marvellous performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Angela Peralta Theater. The dancers were from the Ballet de Jalisco.

On Saturday morning I went to the Organic Market at Zaragoza Park. It is winding down for the season as the snowbirds are leaving now because Easter is so early this year. Then it was off to Playa Brujas for coffee at Looney Bean and a stroll along the boardwalk with various hawkers trying to entice us into buying their wares. Then it was off to Sabalo Country to Casa del Camarones for some green tequila. After all it was St. Patrick’s Day.

A delicious lunch at Fat Fish was next. Despite the name of the restaurant, they are renowned for their ribs. Then it was off to a friend’s home in Playa Sur.

The highlight Saturday was the display of fireworks for the Festival of Lights. We sat on the beach and watched this colorful display over the ocean. Very different from watching fireworks back on the flat prairies of Manitoba.

Yesterday I spent the day with my friends from Leavenworth. They were staying out at Torres in the marina area where we enjoyed a lovely brunch and then a relaxing afternoon by the pool. This is the view from their condo balcony.

Long weekends here pass by all too quickly. As an added bonus the sunny skies and warm temperatures are back. This will be my last long weekend in Mexico for a while as I am headed up north next month. I wonder what I’ll be doing and where I will be when the next long weekend rolls around.