I interviewed the guy in the photo below for crew to sail to Mazatlan but in the end I decided it was best to have Rich Orr from San Francisco as crew since Rich and I knew each other back home. Popeye, who goes by the name of Doug, insisted that we stock six barrels of spinach on the boat if he was to crew. I just didn't have the room for the rum that I wanted to stock if the boat was full of spinach.
So off we set for our next adventure. We sailed the first day for about 8 hours before anchoring in the "Bay of the Dead". I was familiar with the anchorage since I had stopped there on my way to La Paz back back in May. The bay has been renamed by the state governor to "Bay of Dreams". The developers that are building million dollars condos and homes thought the old name might scare people away from buying a place. You think?
Mazatlan is much larger than La Paz and many of the things that La Paz did not offer can be found here. The people here, as they were in La Paz, are very friendly and helpful. The prices here are cheaper than in La Paz given that most goods can be moved by land rather than my boat across the sea. Transportation here is also much easier to understand and use than it was in La Paz. Cab fares run between 50 and 70 Pesos for most of the places you need to go. In dollars that is about 50 cents after the exchange rate.
There are many modes of transportation around town as the photos below show. One of the public transportation modes not shown is a Police car. Yes it is true. One of the modes of public transportation are pickups. It is Mazatlan's version of the San Francisco's Cable Cars.
The women in Mazatlan are beautiful. Several people will tell you that the most beautiful women in Mexico are here. It is as if I died and went to heaven. However, just like anywhere, a few not so attractive women make it into town unnoticed.
Since I am on the subject of the market, let me give you a few photos of the typical large market you find in larger cities. You can find anything you need here to feed your family and it is all fresh.
Near the market there is a large cathedral and a park or square across the street. A few block away is another square which is surrounded by restaurants and shops. This is a very popular place for tourists and locals alike. The square, or Machado Place, is empty for the most part during the day and livens up after 9 in the evening with people and small bands that play for those that are visiting.
This weekend is a religious holiday for the Catholics. Virgin of Guadalupe Day is celebrated all over town and is very festive. Go to the following link if you want to read the history of this day which is marked every December 12th. http://vivasancarlos.com/virgin.html
What is most enjoyable walking around the Cathedral is watching the small children dressed in the period cloths and having photos taken of them by their parents as they sit on a small donkey or in front of an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Here are some photos I took.
I went for a three mile kick along the Malacon which is the street and sidewalk along the beach. As in La Paz, there are several sculptures along the walk and also a fleet of fishing boats. I didn't realize that AAA has sponsored one of the fishing boats that you see in one of the photos. You may recognize a pattern of the photos I captured. It is not my fault. These are the sculptures.
I went on a dingy raft-up with friends up a small estuary near the marina we are in. Every Friday boats that want to participate meet at a time and place and ride out to a location that the organizer has chosen. Everyone bring an appetizer along to share with the other boaters and of course beer or wine for yourself. On this Friday, we rafted up near a small island where hundreds of birds come to each late afternoon to sleep for the evening. They all start arriving around sunset.
That is all for now. You may not see any new blogs from me for a while. I am having some repairs done on the boat and will likely go sailing for a couple of days after everything is back to normal. Friends on Gypsys Palace, a boat next to me, have invited me over for Christmas dinner. I will attempt to bake an apple pie to bring along. Wish me luck. We have also signed up for a New Years Eve party in town. Food, music, dancing and drinks are provided for the total cost for the evening of $30. Try that back in California!
Until next time, be safe out there and good luck to friends, Jim and Juanita, back in San Francisco on their planned departure for the start of their cruise to Mexico.
