Mazatlan #10 We go to a real Mexican Circus.
There were no tigers, but there were lots of animals including lions and a great
big bear! More about them later. We breakfasted in our room. I happily ate an
apple and had some fresh shrimp that had come straight from the shrimp trawler
this morning. There aren't any fresher than that! Some whole grain bread dipped in olive oil and a glass of peach nectar completed a simple and delicious meal
.
A man comes by here every second day at 7 am and makes a peculiar hooting sound
as he stands on the sand at the base of the terrace near our corner, and Chinese
family's fourplexes next door. He carries a bucket of fresh medium or large shrimp, a hand scale and some plastic bags. He will de-vein your shrimp for you as he drops them into your bag. We always treat ourselves to such shiningly fresh shrimp each time we are here. The large ones are so huge that they don't look
appetizing, but the medium ones are about three inches, and just right. They are cooked gently in a pot and chilled in our kitchenette's little refrigerator for snacks and meals. They don't need any sauce or anything added to be simply wonderful.
Ben has been making meals and washing dishes and treating me like a princess! When I protest or try to help he doesn't want any help and won't let me. It is still extremely windy and cloudy. So far Ben has been swimming in the ocean every
day. The ocean is warm in comparison to the air, especially with the "wind chill
." The two swimming pools are much colder, but he likes a few minutes in their
adjacent hot tub before he finishes. There's a huge arctic cold front causing
all kinds of ice trouble to the north and extending well into Mexico.
It was Monday, Jan. 15 and we decided to go to the circus Ben saw yesterday from
the bus. Actually, there were two in town, and if we had known that we would have gone to both! Mexican circuses are fun. Sometimes one comes to Kelown and
we always tryed to see it. We became a little friendly with the owner but it seems he isn't well and they didn't come last year.
We set out about 5 pm and took a bus to Sariana and walked to the circus. The walk was over much broken pavement and along the inches wide, no railings tops of
a couple of little bridges which crossed inlets from the Pacific Ocean. All the land Mazatlan is built on was once a lagoon and there a many places where there are inlets from the ocean which can fill with sea-water when the tide is high.
We arrived and Ben bought tickets while I looked at a lot of animals in very large cages outside. There were five giraffes, some llamas, quite a few donkeys, some monkeys of various sizes, a tall horse and most notably, a lion in a traditional barred circus car. The lion kept roaring its coughing roar. It was a good
invitation to come to the circus!
We had ringside seats. Circus seats are not very expensive here, but nevertheless, most of the people were up in the bleachers. There were a lot of parents with their children and quite a few teens. It was a two-ring circus in a large tent. I think it was a family circus, and everyone was employed there one way or
another. The person I liked best was the animal handler. He was a powerful man with extremely muscled thighs, I imagine from pulling back on animals that were straining against him. It was evident that he cared a lot about his animals and I imagine he owns them by the way he treats them The big black bear was clearly dearly loved by his master. We were a little concerned twice: when the bear
sauntered in all by himself from behind a curtain with no master present and with no chain. There we were, right beside the ring. His coat was black and glossy and I expect he wasn't hungry, but he did later, after a few tricks, greatly
enjoy a bottle of Coca Cola as he stood up on his hind legs with the bottle between his front paws. He drank it blissfully, from the corner of his mouth. At the end of his performance I saw the master touch his forehead to the bear's forehead in a gesture of appreciation for its behaviour. I think it may be
a communication that bears use among themselves. In Canada no animals are allowed in circuses, so it was a real treat to see these healthy and well-handled creatures.
There were male and female spangled high wire artists, a clown that the children
responded to with glee, and parades of animals. Some of the animals did tricks
on request. One of the monkey ladies had a little one in her arms or clinging
to her back. The father monkey had a big square beard and all the five members of the monkey family of various sizes had bright red buttocks. I remember reading that bright red in this variety signifies a healthy animal. Some of you probably remember the name of these creatures from my description but I don't just now. Could they have been Orangutans? The baby monkey was tenderly cared for by
both parents, which was a pleasure to see.
The lion also entered the empty ring by himself, with no tether and no sign of his master. He was a big male with a ruff. He sauntered around with no chain or
rope, just as the bear had done, and they both passed within about four feet of
us where we sat. There was just a little metal barrier about four feet high between us and the bear and the lion, and that was scary at first! It was soon evident that the lion wasn't interested either, in trying to get a bite out of us,
and we relaxed. There were also two female lions, but they seemed more fierce,
although not tethered, and were kept in the other ring about twenty-five feet away from us, so I suspect they weren't as trustworthy.
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