Jaime, a friendly employee who works at the restaurant Palapa at La Marina Isla, drove my brother Douglas and I to the pueblo of El Quelite. The village owes its name to a shrub that grows every where in Mexico. It is located in the coastal hills, some 60 kilometers North of Mazatlan. We took highway 15 and drove for some 45 minutes. The highway was very good with little traffic.

The village is built on the Rio El Quelite, which flows right thru the town. It is a farm area and everything is green and luxuriant. The land is fertile and due to the weather, everything grows extremely well.

Because it is so picturesque, El Quelite is a tourist mecca and people come by the bus load to spend a day enjoying to local hospitality.

There are two very good restaurants and a small hotel. We choose El Meson De Los Laureanos Restaurante located in the center of town and we did not regret it. The venue was fabulous, the food typically Mexican and the prices most reasonable. All the employees were most gracious and helpful. As a bonus we had the company of a very smart Cotorro (parrot) who kept wanting to go to the kitchen for food. The staff kept bringing it back to the public area to do his talking in Spanish.

After lunch, we walked to a small hotel on a hill side with a spendid view. From there, we walked to the local bakery (panaderia) which you find in every village. I could not resist buying a fresh bread which I ate on the spot. Very hummy!

We visited the old church following which we drove 3/4 of the way to the top of a hill and walked the rest to the top so as to enjoy the view of the village and its surroundings. We have a few pictures of our visit in our Photo Gallery under the title of El Quelite.

My brother Douglas (Doug) arrived in Mazatlan on July 13th and we have been very busy visiting and experiencing first hand the Mexican hospitality. He has taken to our friends Nacho and Maria Teresa's music and we try hard to be where they play twice per week. He is really enjoying his vacation and I am delighted to be able to spend quality time with him. We had not seen each other since we left Canada for Mexico in the summer of 2010.

We have every intention to see each other annually, from here on in.