MAGICAL MAZATLAN

After an uneventful 26 hour crossing of the Sea of Cortez from Cabo San Lucas, we arrived at high tide (very important, as the entrance can be quite shallow at low tide) into the harbor that houses Marina Mazatlan. We unloaded Wally and Linda's luggage on the dock and left them to get reacquainted with their sailboat, Andanzas after being away for 6 months. The day was spent as usual when we arrive at a port--we cleaned the inside of the boat and took it easy for the rest of the day. We were on Muelle (Dock) 6 and were invited to meet with other cruisers for happy hour on the dock. Great folks and it's always fun to hear their stories and future cruising plans.

While John and I were in San Diego, we observed

4 people on a stand up paddle board paddling off our stern. We talked to them and two of the guys were the owners of the company that sold them. They had just sold two paddle boards to a couple and were giving them lessons. John had been interested in buying one but since we were on foot it was a little difficult to buy one. We took the opportunity to buy one from them. John finally had a chance to test it out in Mazatlan. Being an ex windsurfer, he effortlessly stepped on it and paddled off......no problema.....

Wally and Linda picked us up in their dinghy right before sunset and we cruised around the estuaries. Beautiful homes dot the landscape and we saw several iguanas. There was an island full of white birds and many interesting species.

THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET, etc..............

Wally and Linda have explored Mazatlan extensively and proved to be gracious hosts. We took the "green" bus (9 pesos each) down to Old Town and our first stop was the Pino Suarez Market.

We wandered through the market and it offers most anything you might need, from pork to beef, to fish and spices. (I found cinnamon and rosemary, which I had been searching for) There are crafts galore, booths to eat from and homemade ice cream cones.

From the market, we visited the beautiful main

Cathedral about a block away and went inside
and observed a service taking place.

We continued our walk and came upon the famous Angela Peralta Theater and the Plazuela Machado. These beautiful senoras came out of the theater and were happy to have us take their picture. Then the crowd followed the senoras to the Plazuela, where there were fancy and colorful tables set up for whatever festivity they were having. (we were unable to find out what was going on)

Art Gallery

We continued our walk of the historical district which were characterised by narrow streets and colonial architecture from the XIX century.

After our walking tour and a couple of cool cervesas, we took what's called a "pulmonia" instead of a bus or taxi back to the marina. A fun way to get around town......

This is the view of the beach along the malecon on our way back to the marina.

Our visit to Mazatlan was way too short, but we had to say good-bye and head for La Cruz (about 190 miles south) to unload our storage unit (stuff we had taken off of Eager Dreamer). We will be here in the La Cruz arae until mid December, when we will fly back to Washington to visit our family.