November 17th.

Friday, after walking, we got back to the boat and decided it was time for us to set out for town on the bus.  There are four main buses that service the area and the marina has a schedule that lists the routes by stops.  One bus is air conditioned and it costs 8 pesos each, while the other buses are 5 pesos.  We got on the Sabalo Centro and headed into town trying to pay attention to what we saw on our first trip so we knew where we were and when to get off.  We finally got off and started looking for a Telcel store where we could purchase a chip for our phone.  If we had a Mexican area chip, we would have a Mexican phone number and be able to call Jennifer who also has a Mexican number.  We went to the store that we had seen but it didn’t appear to be open.  Hank asked a policeman if he knew of another store and he sent us with Spanish directions down two blocks.  That store was also closed so we wondered around until I spotted a small store that had phone booths and equipment.  The salespersons name was Cherie and she spoke very little English. I had been practicing my Spanish so we were able to complete the purchase with the help of our dictionary and her dictionary. We purchased the chip for 120 pesos and went out of the store with a sense of accomplishment.  Next we got back on the bus and headed down to the central market.  This is a large building with many small shops and rows of fruits and vegetables.  The main attraction of this market is the open meat counters with pig or cow heads right there at the counter.  It appears very clean and the cuts of meat look good, but not something you want to explore right after eating.  We walked the aisles and then headed for the clothing area for Hank wanted a straw hat for shade.  We found a stall and the young gal said it would be ochenta pesos but when the older woman came to help she said it would be ciento peso.  I told her that the young woman had just said 80 so she said she would have to give it to us for 80 pesos. 

November 18th.

Saturday was the margarita party that was to be a welcome party for the newly arrived cruisers from the Ha-Ha.  Anyone in the two marinas could attend, you just had to sign up.  Well, there was probably about 100 people and that is where we learned that if you wanted any food, you best be there before or right on time.  The line was long, but we did each get a plate of appetizers and margaritas.  Raffle tickets were sold for $2. with half the money going to the orphanage and the other half going to the winner.  When it was time to draw the ticket, the first two tickets drawn are given congratulations but it is always the third person who is the winner.  This was a fun party and people went out of their way to meet other cruisers. 

November 19th

Sunday I ran a couple of miles and spent most of the day studying Spanish.  In the late afternoon we took the dinghy and went around the inland waterways.  These water ways go back to the El Cid hotel property and to the golf course.  While zipping along we passed so many gorgeous new homes being completed along the waterway.  Many had pools and they were usually an expanse of windows and white walls.  In the middle of the waterway was a small man made island with native vegetation and lights.  As we slowly went past, I noticed an iguana sunning itself on a rock.  It was orange, yellow and black with a large spiny comb on its back.  I was sure that it was artificial until I saw it move, I guess I had been on the jungle ride in Disneyland one two many times.  

We continued our ride looking more closely at the bushes and seeing more iguanas hidden in them.  I must say that I had never seen one before and was pretty impressed with the prehistoric looking animal

            Another thing that we finally figured out how to do was to set up a Skype account and to be able to call people on the phone from our computer.  The big advantage of this is the price, which is two cents a minute.  We have since found out that most of the cruisers down here use this method of communication. 

            The next interesting activity we did was go to a beach party with a group of cruisers.  No one swims in the marina and it is hard sitting on a boat in the heat and not being able to go in the water.  When the idea of a beach party came up, we were all for it.  Debbie and Jeff from Sailors Run organized the party.  They had met a couple who were camping a little bit north of here.  The couple had been cruising for years, which is how Debbie knew them, and they had come to Mexico with a trailer.  Their boat was left at home in Canada.  Now this camp ground was very small and situated right on the beach.  Wolf came to pick up 10 of us in his truck and we all piled in with food, chairs and beach gear.  The beach was gorgeous and there was only one other couple there. The water was warm and shallow for a long ways out.  We talked, ate dinner, and enjoyed the tropical setting.  After watching the sun go down and hoping to see the green flash, we continued to sit and enjoy the early darkness.  It was then that a large group of people appeared to our left and started to form a big circle.  I thought at first it might be some type of marriage encounter group, but when they moved to the water’s edge we thought it might be a baptismal experience except they were not wearing white.  At that point, Debbie and I decided to walk down the beach and see what was up, since she is fluent in Spanish, she asked what was happening.  We were told that they were a conservation group and that they were releasing baby turtles back into the sea.  They asked us if we would like to help, so we were each given a small baby turtle.  We were to name it and encourage it to crawl towards the water.  I named mine Columbus and it started to crawl right away toward the coming waves.  It took a while but finally all turtles were swimming in the water.  One in about 100 will make it back here in 15 years to complete the cycle.  This group was doing the release at various places for three nights.  We were just thrilled to be part of this experience. 

November 23rd.

            The next day was Thanksgiving and we had made reservations to go to the  dinner at the Cruiser’s lounge at 3:00PM.  Now, it is hard to think of Thanksgiving when there is not an acorn, oak leaf, or chill in the air.  Those are part of the signs of fall in Auburn, but the sun was again nice and blue and the temperature in the 80s. We called the family with our Skype connection and then got to the party early. A local priest came around the marina via boat and blessed the fleet and any animals that were aboard.   

 At the party,  we had placed several small tables together to form a group and just happened to be in a position where we were served first.  Thanksgiving dinner came from Panama restaurant and consisted of sliced fresh turkey, mashed potatoes, pea and carrots and cranberry sauce.  The restaurant is famous for their pie and we were not disappointed.  It was pumpkin pie with a marshmallow topping. I love taking pictures of food so I did it then too.  During dinner we were entertained by live musician.  They were great!

Debbie and Jeff had also been practicing singing and they did a song by Sunny and Cher.  It was fun to listen to and great to see part of the group getting into the act.  The party lasted until the early evening and our little group was probably the last to leave.  The band, which I forgot to say was a family, had many party favors to keep the people dancing.  They passed out shakers, pom-poms and balloons during the dances.  They ended with a bull fight dance where a person was given a cape and then a band member would walk a small bicycle with horns on the handlebars toward the cape.  It was not quite the real thing but a great crowd pleaser. The party ended with fireworks in the parking lot below.

November 24th.

We went to the Historical district on Friday.  Of course we jumped on the bus and we were off toward town.  This part or town is passed the central market and close to the ocean.  A beautiful church is a great landmark for the area.  We got off at the church and just started to walk around.  The feeling of this part of town is much like New Orleans with balconies, iron grills and brightly painted building on narrow streets.  We visited the Peralta Theater, Plaza Machado and an art museum.  We stopped to have a shrimp taco at a small place along the plaza.  They advertise the best tacos and they were good and simple.  A cooked shrimp, cabbage and carrot salad and salsa were placed in front of you, to put in your taco.  Of course you can’t have just one so I had two and Hank ordered one more. After getting back, we had so much energy that we kayaked over to the next Marina.

November 25th

 Sunday is the day for the Juarez Market.  This is 12 blocks of authentic Mexican food and great shopping.  It was way out of town for us, but like a regular farmer’s market for the locals.  There were piles of fruits and vegetables and venders of all sorts.  In the plaza a swap meet sort of arrangement was set up with people just putting down a blanket and spreading out their garage sale items.  The thing is that this was for real and that many people were shopping.  I am not up to this method of shopping yet, so we did a lot of looking but no purchasing.  Getting the right bus back was a challenge for they all seemed to say Juarez Special.  We stopped back in the downtown area for a late lunch and decided to try a restaurant right on the beach.  I had a delicious avocado stuffed with tuna and flan for dessert.  When you do all that walking you really work up an appetite. 

Now we have done many things this week but I am not sure they are all news worthy.  On Monday night we got a ride with friends to a place that plays music and has an open mike night.  No I wasn’t going to go to sing, but to watch two other cruisers play and dance Flamenco. They were great and danced and played three songs.  The couple we rode with, are from Canada and have their car down here.  They live here 6 months and home 6 months.  He plays the drums so he really enjoys going to Canucks and participating with the band. Many cruisers from the Marina had turned out to support the talented few.  CANUCKS

    Another thing that you must do when in Mazatlan is visit the light house.  El Faro is the highest manned lighthouse in the world, being 447 feet above the water.  Now that doesn’t mean that the light house is that tall, it means that it is situated on top of a tall hill.  We were glad that it was rather overcast the morning we set out to see El Faro.  We got on the bus at 9:30 and were there by 10:15.  It is a steep winding walk to the top with the last part being concrete stairs.  Luckily the view was so spectacular that you were able to rest as you enjoyed the beauty.  When you finally reach the top you see a 360 view that is well worth the trip.  After slowly coming down, we caught a bus to Olas Altos, or the big wave area.  This is right on the end of the malacon which is a beach front walk.  There are beautiful monuments along this seawall.  My favorites are the Women Mazatleca monument and the fisherman monument. There was a sock hop in the cruisers’ lounge on Friday night.  The profits were to go to the local orphanage so quite a few people turned out.  Unfortunately the music was not loud enough for people to hear so there wasn’t much dancing.  This week end was the Mazatlan Marathon which is world wide.  It begins with the 5 and 10 K runs on Saturday and then the half and full marathon on Sunday.  We watched the runners go by the marina and then we walked into town to see the finish line.  Two Mexican runners were leading the pack but when it came to the finish line the Kenyans were one and two.  The town was very alive for this event and they were trimming bushes and planting flowers for days.  Soon it will be time for us to head on down the coast toward Puerto Vallarta.  We have reservations there at Nuevo Vallarta, Paradise Village for December 13.  Until that time we are looking forward to anchoring out and being able to swim in the warm clear water.