Mazatlan for the Holidays
December 2007
Sea of Cortez
We left La Paz the week after Thanksgiving and made our way north into the Sea of Cortez by way of the Islas Espiritu Santo and Partida. The weather was still just not great, so we went to Punta Evaristo and tucked in out of the blow and rain. Friends on Jammin were there and we finally had an opportunity to have drinks and a nice long visit after chasing each other from Alaska. With more predicted bad weather, we made the decision to go to Loreto and into the new marina at Puerto Escondido. Good decision. With the Sea not an option for “sightseeing”, and the town of Loreto many miles away, we decided to rent a car and make a road trip. The Sierra de la Giganta Mountains dominate the landscape and they are beautiful. We wanted a closer look. We learned that the 308th anniversary festival of the San Francisco Javier Mission was on, and so we drove the rugged dirt roads back 30+ km to participate. The mission was jammed, but we made it inside to look around and watched the faithful (some had walked there as part of the pilgrimage) at prayer.
We were the only gringo’s in town and outside the church there was a very large and jolly crowd. There were palapas selling food, everyone was selling (and drinking) beer and rows and rows of “stuff” for sale. Bands were playing; horses were riding up and down the narrow paths, quite a carnival atmosphere. With the visible drinking and the narrow dirt roads, we decided it would not be an evening event for us, so we found sodas and yummy tacos to munch, and took off before dark.
The trip down was beautiful, the mountains are jagged and colorful, and while very dry and desert like, there is an oasis of palm trees and abundant vegetation and streams in the narrow valley. Cave paintings are just an easy walk off the road. We also passed about 100 more cars heading up to the festival with several people in each, and yes, everyone was drinking and driving their way up the hill. We’re real happy that we were going the other way; it would have been quite a ride coming down with the crowds after dark.
While we like the town of Loreto, we much prefer the village of Mulege on the delta of the Rio Santa Rosalina, located above Bahia Conception. It’s very attractive, green and lush with another charming mission and lots of little restaurants. We walked all over, talked to RV’ers and fishermen and hope to return someday, but don’t know when as while we think Bahia Conception is beautiful, there are not many anchorages up here, so we have decided to keep WS south.
We left Escondido and spent a beautiful night at Honeymoon cove, the only boat in the bay. We circumnavigated Isla Danzante and went down to Bahia Agua Verde, but again, it was just too cool to dive in, so we just explored a bit of the bay with friends from Jammin and their cruising buddies from HaHa07. We decided to go to Topolobampo on the Mainland rather than go directly to Mazatlan. Few boaters go here as it is just not set up for cruising sailors. It’s quite shallow, a poor anchorage and no real facilities for visiting boats. We lucked out however and got a guest spot at a local club. They were most gracious and we had a great time walking around the small fishing village within this port city.
Mazatlan
With an eye on the weather, we made the decision to go to Mazatlan straight away. It was a good overnight passage and felt like old home week when we arrived - D & K were still there (yippee) as well as some of our very favorite people onboard Voyager, Paloma, and Alanui. Everyone was geared up for the holidays and the parties and festivities began! Patrick was home in San Francisco, but Susan & Jonathan were there, enjoying time with other cruising families with children. There was a marina sponsored Christmas party at the hotel and we met lots of other boaters, and then ended up back on WS for a pot luck dinner. Every night it was something different, and despite the “bug’ that at one time or another got us all, we had a blast.
Les & Rose are really old hands at Mazatlan, anything we needed to know or find, they knew about - which is fantastic the week before family is coming in for the holidays. Les’ parents, the delightful Katie and Gerry have spent many years down here in their motor home, and they just took possession of a spectacular condo in a new high rise on the beach, so they were busy getting everything installed and moved in, but not too busy to find time to go out on the town with us frequently to fun places to eat and dance. D&K stayed and partied with us until the 18th, but had to move onto La Cruz to keep on track to get south soon. That night we were fortunate enough to have picked up tickets for the Nutcracker at the newly restored Angela Peralta Theatre in Plaza Machado. It was great, and afterwards we went to the gaily lit plaza and found Lola & Pedro’s, a popular restaurant with live jazz! Another magic night in paradise. Kei arrived on the 20th and we were thrilled to see him. He had another great semester at Chapman with near perfect grades and lots of new experiences. Heather & Ted came in on the 24th and so we were all together for Christmas. The Dobbe’s had us over for Christmas afternoon, but unfortunately it was Les’ turn with the bug. Kei left on the 27th, so then we had H & T to spend quality time with. They are filled with enthusiasm for the new year and their many exciting projects.
New Year’s
New Years Eve was such fun! We’d made reservations with the group from Marina Mazatlan at Chili’s Pepper on the beach, and it was a good decision. H & T were with us, and Les & Rose had friends from Wisconsin, and Gerry and Katie came for dinner and part of the night, as well as Mary & Gary who were on the FUBAR with us. It was an Open Bar, dinner, music, dancing, fireworks, bonfire - you name it, kind of night. We danced like fools and even stayed up waaaay past midnight - always a big deal for we boomers (at this stage of the game)…the kids had to drag us out. We thought last year with Laura & John in our new house in LV was as good as it gets, but this was fun too.
The kids left New Years Day and we began in earnest to prepare for the next stage of our voyage. Many of the others have already left for points south. The couple on our neighbor boat, Chelsea Skye finally returned, they are fellow Southern Californians here for the winter, but also working their way south to Zihuatanejo. Voyager remains and will wait for Mystic Moon in February before continuing. We will leave here and work our way towards Banderas Bay and Puerto Vallarta, where sister Audrey and Don will join us to celebrate their 25th! Will need rest for that!
A few of our favorite places in Mazatlan
There are so many good places to go, things to see and do in Mazatlan; here are a few from the top of our list:
Markets
Sam’s is here, as is Wal-Mart, very good for meats and bulk supplies, but I found their veggies not as fresh as I like. For fresh veggies I liked Gigante and Mega - if one doesn’t have it, the other usually did. All these are easy to get to by bus, and if you are doing a major reprovisioning grab a cab back to the marina. There is a high end butcher shop, Henderson’s very near El Cid Marina in a strip mall. At Marina Mazatlan a truck comes a few times a week with veggies and shrimp.
Getting around town, and Car Rentals
The bus system is brilliant, easy to understand, inexpensive and frequent - don’t hesitate to use it. The Pulmonia’s (sp?) are little white open air converted VW bugs that are everywhere and reasonable (and fun) and the red trucks are ideal for groups of more than four, also reasonable. Always negotiate before you get in, and Les usually pays up front so there is no disagreement at the end. With our family of five we decided to rent a car. We shopped all over and found that National had good rates, good cars and were very pleasant.
Restaurants and Night life
Almost anything at Plaza Machado, just for the atmosphere. For a real local Mexican treat, El Tunel across from Angela Peralta, Lola & Pedro’s for the art, music, patrons and even some of the food (!) We also tried others in the square and were never disappointed. On the beach we liked the big Yellow Marisco’s behind “This is the Place” as it is an easy walk from El Cid Marina, and has huge fresh seafood platters. For pure Gringo flavor and some dancing, the Purple Onion. For rock n’ roll fun, Canuks way down by the lighthouse. Not my favorite Senor Frogs as it’s not laid out very well for dancing and people watching and is soooo loud. Fine dining, Angelo’s at Pueblo Bonita and we also had a great meal at Villa Italia across from the El Cid hotel. There are dozens and dozens of good restaurants - the throwaway guides will list them all. Juanita’s is small and has great Tortilla Soup and seems to be a local’s (gringo locals) favorite. The Golden Zone has lots of good places, but avoid it on cruise ship days.
Beauty shop
Without a doubt, Gaby’s near Caravelle - ask for Rosa, she is a gem and very talented, she not only did my hair, but also Ade’s and Kei’s.
Medical and Dental
Thankfully we did not need these services, but many of our friends did and were thrilled with the professionalism, kindness and price. Check with others, or in the marina offices for suggestions.
