Mazatlan

We arrived in Mazatlan after experiencing some great head winds that were actually coming from a direction that allowed us swift sailing up the coastline. We also got in some good fishing, unfortunately, a dorado, a yellow tail or yellow fin remain as elusive as ever. On a good note, our streak for Jacks remains unbroken. (sarcasm) 

Why does the picture bring to mind the refrain from the theme song of "Team America"? For the record, yours truly reeled in that Crevalle Jack. :) We were wooping when it came up to the surface, thinking we had a yellow fin... nope.

The last time I had been in Mazatlan, was our Senior Spring Fling in the mid-80's. (By the way, what the hell were our parents thinking by sending a bunch of unchaperoned 17-year-olds to a beach resort south of the border? Crazy.) From that time, I only recall the three hotels (offered by the degree to which your parents wanted to shovel out money for the package) and the beach. I am glad I can say that I know Mazatlan much better today. Back then we took the overnight train from Nogales to Mazatlan. It was sad to learn that the train stopped running years ago, but that does not seem to have impacted the tourist industry by any means. Mazatlan is sprawling from its northern most coastal properties to its southern with seemingly countless hotel properties. But, behind this beach facade, lies an old city with a colorful culture and rich history. 

The beautiful Mazatlan Catedral

A pretty street makes for an enjoyable stroll in Old Town Mazatlan

One of many amazing sculptures along the Malecon. 

Unfortunately, Mazatlan has another history... up until his capture in February of this year, Mazatlan was a favorite hangout of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and his Sinaloa Cartel. As a result, there had been a rise in some petty crimes with sporadic violent breakouts over the past several years. The resulting bad press in the US led to a steep decline in tourism for the city and the impact of this decline is very evident. Many of the resorts appear to be in neglect of needed updates and maintenance. Many plots of land are half developed with some utilities, perhaps a pad for a new condo laid here or there and then not touched for several years and now overgrown with weeds and mud. But, things are definitely changing for the better. There is a very strong police presence on the malecon and the resort strips. The taxi drivers all told us that the tourists are back and dead projects are being resurrected and new development and investment has begun again. We see a great deal of tourists in Mazatlan and feel very safe walking anywhere on the malecon or in the old town area of the city. There are a few expansive, dark and empty lots outside the marina that we traverse quite often to get to the supermercado or escape the heat by visiting the awesome theater in the galeria. (Those that know us well, know that we are complete movie hags. So, believe me when I say, this is quite possibly the nicest movie theater we have ever attended. Sorry Landmark (Denver) and Esplanade (Biltmore area)! And for $4 per person - Yes, please!)

Dining with cruiser friends on the Malecon

Cruising kids make fast friends

Taking the truck taxi home, we all pile into the pickup bed for a fast ride back to the Marina

We have spent entirely too much time here, as beautiful as it is, waiting for parts and getting maintenance work executed on Mangas. We want so much to be back on the open water and we look forward to mid-July when we will be returning to the north of the Sea of Cortez for the following 5 months. One of our to-dos was getting our visas renewed, which required a trip to the border. The interstate bus transportation in Mexico is wonderful. Clean and modern, they are pennies compared to airfares. When we looked to get the family from Mazatlan to Arizona, we could not find roundtrip airfares under $800 dollars. Unbelievable. In comparison, our roundtrip bus fares on a premier bus line were around $170 per person. 

The Tufesa bus took us all to the border in Nogales where we crossed by foot and grabbed a taxi to a rental. We had an appointment the following day with the US passport office in Tucson and hoped that they would expedite, even though we did not have the requisite flight itinerary showing a departure to Mexico within 2 weeks.  In Nogales, we saw our first sprinkles of rain since January. 

The following morning, we went to the passport office, hoping the agent would allow for a 5 day expedite on the passport renewal. Imagine our delight and surprise when she told us to come back at 2 PM that day to pick up the new passport. Yay!

We then went on to ship out parts for repair and travel north to visit family in Phoenix who had received other parts and items that we had ordered for Mangas online. A few days later, the girls and I got back on a bus and took the 14 hour overnight bus ride from Nogales back to Mazatlan. Mike and Reid remained behind in Arizona to wait on the return of our rebuilt Navtec boom vang. (Thank you Rigworks, Inc. for the great job and the speedy return of the vang!)

The girls and I had a week of girls-only time on the boat and we took the opportunity to visit the Mazatlan Aquarium. The aquarium, like many of the zoological and marine life institutions we have visited in Mexico, is inexpensive, but not anything to write home about. The staff is very nice and knowledgeable, there are some exhibits that are cool and many where you are feeling pretty bad about the poor animal they have cooped up in a much too small environment. Tovara comes to mind. The three of us traveled throughout the city without any incident. There are certainly some great deals to be had in Mazatlan if you are thinking of going. As a place to live and hangout, this city has been very good to us. As a place to be on the beach or relax under a palapa and enjoy fine food and beautiful views, Mazatlan would not be on my top list. Zihuatanejo or Barre de Navidad would be my preference for a relaxing, do nothing indulgent seaside vacation. 

Our next stop... Guadalajara to see an old friend and then on to the state of Morelos where the family will take a Spanish immersion class before we depart for the Sea.