March 4, 2014  Mazatlan

 

 

Well, we have gone from small villages in remote bays to the BIG city with a long snakelike Malecon running the entire length of the waterfront!  We’ve been in Mazatlan almost a week now and getting to know our way around quite well.  With a population of 354,000 it is similar in size to Victoria though it seems quite a bit larger to me, perhaps because it’s more spread out geographically.

At the end of the last post we had left Topolabampa and were anchored out waiting for our weather window.  Well, we left before dawn last Tuesday morning and were soon under sail in a beautiful 8 knot breeze.  I can’t say the miles flew by but we did make great progress under sunny skies with no one else in sight.  The sun set in a blaze of pink and then darkness descended.    As we were once again on an exposed coastline, we had to deal with ocean swells again.  Falcon rode them in style as we made our way southeast towards civilization.

By early afternoon we were only 15 miles from the marina breakwater when Jim hollered “FISH!”  I quickly jumped up the companionway and grabbed the net to land the fish.  A couple of minutes later it broke the surface; a beautiful bright turquoise shiny dorado weighing around 30 lbs!

Jim and the 30 lb dorado

Mahi mahi is another name for dorado.  It is a delicious, highly sought after type of fish found in more tropical climates.  Sadly, the brilliant colour faded as soon as I had it netted and on deck.  But the look of delight on Jim’s face was still pretty brilliant.  The fish provided enough meat for five meals for two people so I’m sure not complaining.

Miles before arriving at the marina, we spotted white sandy beaches, palm trees and the massive high rise condo/hotel towers mile after mile along the waterfront.  We entered the breakwater in the Marina District and pulled into our slip at El Cid Marina and Resort.  After docking we walked to the Harbour Master’s office at the far end of the resort.  En route we dealt with a bit of culture shock as we were surrounded by gringos and luxury living, especially compared to Topolabampo.

The beach in front of our marina/resort

The docks where Falcon stayed for a week

The El Cid Marina and Resort features two swimming pools, one with a swim up bar and the other with a huge Jacuzzi.  There are two activity coordinators for ping pong tournaments, water volleyball, mini golf, bingo and exercises.

The lobby at El Cid Marina and Resort

Main swimming pool with swim up bar

Some afternoons there’s local entertainment and we even had a Michael Jackson tribute dance troupe perform last Thursday evening.  A bit cheesy but they were trying!

Michael Jackson dance troupe

Buses downtown and to the other end of the Marina District run every few minutes so getting around is easy.  There are also little white open cabs, called pulmonias, that sound like old VW beetles.  They’re pretty fun and comfortable too.

The view from our pulmonia

We bused to a mall last week and were lost within minutes as it seemed to be set up in loops.  We did see another first…a security and personal protection store featuring bullet proof vests, balaclavas, video cameras and the latest gadgets for personal security.  Pretty wild!

The marina area is a separate harbour area about 7 miles north of downtown Mazatlan and the Malecon.  The Malecon was the site of lots of the Carnival activities such as the fireworks displays, parades and bands playing simultaneously along the entire length.  Carnival, almost as large as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, runs for five days at the end of February and early March.  We planned to enjoy Mazatlan and Carnival with our friends Sue and Suzanne but they were forced to fly home to Mulege early due to illness.  However, Jim and I did our best to take in Carnival on their behalf and share it through pictures.  Hope Sue is now feeling better.  We did connect with our friend, Cameron, and took in some of the festivities together.  On Saturday Cameron and his friend, Monica, took us to town for the ‘Bad Mood Burning’. 

Crowd at Bad Mood Burning

Thousands of people crowded around the huge female paper mache figure which was
hanging above the crowd from the back of a tow truck.  After more Spanish than I could make out they lit the whole thing on fire with additional fireworks exploding. 
Everyone cheered then walked to the Malacon for the huge fireworks show set to music.  

Getting away from the crush of the audience after the fireworks ended proved impossible.  Dock neighbours warned us to expect the crush so I was pre-warned but it was still a bit scary for me, especially when people were shoving and shoving from behind us.  We were caught in a human river and unable to move independtly.  Eventually Jim hollered for us to turn around and let the crush take us back to the waterfront.  We squeezed out of the crowd, breathing a sigh of relief, and perched on the seawall for a half hour waiting for the crowds to thin out.  Once we exited the area successfully we then had to walk about 15 blocks until we found roads where traffic was flowing. What a nutsy experience.  We didn’t make it back to Falcon until 1:00 a.m.

After a bit of sleep we were on the buses again.  Sunday afternoon saw us heading for the Malecon where we purchased great seats to watch the Inauguaral Parade.  They cost us $100 pesos each (about $8 CDN) and were certainly worth it as we had a couple of hours to wait.  In the meantime we enjoyed the tremendous family gatherings taking place all around us. 

Clearly many extended families were enjoying the parade together.  Many arrived early and brought tables, chairs, food, games and a great attitude with them.  Everywhere we looked we saw happy people enjoying Carnival.  We were actually very pleasantly surprised to see that, despite the copious amounts of beer being consumed, there was not a single incidence of aggression or negativity that we saw in a crowd measured in the tens of thousands.  Such a testament to the easy going, positive, happy persona of the average Mexican.  The parade itself was spectacular with dozens of unbelievable brightly lit floats, dancing troupes, performers, musicians and sponsors going from one end of the Malecon to the other over many hours.  Super time for sure! 

Over the next few days we rode the buses to and from the Malecon and into Old Town with its public market and cathedral identified as local landmarks. 

We have gone from the quiet of Topolabampo where we wandered along dusty roads to find Friday’s outdoor market to the loud, noisy, congested and overwhelming sights, sounds and smells of the huge public market that took in the entire block.  You could buy everything from plastic flower pens to pig’s feet and Mexican blankets to exotic spices and fresh fruit. The second floor was split up into individual narrow outdoor restaurants where Jim ate a whole pan fried fish delivered complete with head and tail.

The city centre square was beautiful, as was the ornate cathedral that has been recently restored to its former glory.   All in all, we’ve enjoyed our first few days here.

Tomorrow we move Falcon VII to another less expensive marina where she’ll stay moored while we bus 200 miles back north to Los Mochis.  From Los Mochis we’ll embark on a six hour train trip to the Copper Canyon for four days.  An adventure within our adventure….Until then….

Tricia and Jim