Mazatlan

A two night, and rather idyllic passage from near La Paz took us across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan. About 40 miles from Mazatlan, we knew things were going to be different than what we’d become accustomed to in the Sea of Cortez, because we looked down on the sole (floor down below) and it was covered with moisture from the humidity in the air being attracted to the salt all over. In just a few miles, the moisture of the air worked wonders on all of our stiff and unwieldy lines, all of a sudden we could coil them neatly, and best of all, we could easily clip the gate closed on our lifelines. The line that makes our lifelines had stiffened and apparently shrunk so much that it took all of Tor’s strength to muscle them closed.  Of course, humidity has it’s downsides too, towels don’t dry within 30 minutes of being strung on the line, and the dishes now need to be dried with a towel before being put away. Can’t win everything.

Mazatlan has been an absolute delight. Tor and I were very tired after 2 nights of broken sleep on our passage, so we happily tied up at the El Cid resort marina and signed up for a week. What luxury we landed in! The swimming pool has a cave, waterfalls and water slides. As marina guests we get to use all of the resort amenities without the high price of the rooms, and since we are staying at the resort in our own “house” we can cook our own food, so don’t have to pay to eat at the restaurants. Quite comfortable indeed. With all the time we’ve spent in the pool, Odin is all of a sudden swimming on his own, even underwater with his goggles on. What fun to watch!

A 10 peso bus ride, or flagging down a pulmonia (a special open air taxi based on a VW beetle chassis only found in Mazatlan) gets you out of the Golden Zone where all the hotels are, and into Old Town to the heart of Mazatlan. The Mercado and shrimp market are terrific places to provision, and get tasty eats. Shrimp is everywhere in this town, and Lars has been a happy kid!

Best part of Mazatlan for us had to be spending time with Auntie Arlene. Interestingly enough we got next to no pictures of our time together, but we have had a blast. She showed us all around her adopted city, and shared many of her favorites; it added so much to our visit here. We are leaving tomorrow, but we look forward to coming back. You hear that Arlene?!

Before we left La Paz for the last time, we met another kid boat Asunto. Asunto also spent the last week in the El Cid marina here in Mazatlan. Asunto has a 2.5 year old crew member and another baby on the way. They live in Vancouver BC and with the exception of a trip back home for the new crew member to be born; we are on the same schedule as them. Both boats will be leaving Mexico from Banderas Bay to sail to Hawaii, spending six or so weeks in Hawaii, then sailing to Alaska for the trip home, all in the same approximate time frame. It’s a good thing we all get along so well. We spent hours with them this past week, swimming, playing, working on boat projects and just hanging out. They are wonderful people to spend time with and it has been terrific to connect with another sailing family.

Speaking of connections, we also met the crew of Calliope, another Canadian boat and they generously invited us to breakfast in a town about 40 minutes away from Mazatlan, El Quelite. It was a wonderful outing to a terrific restaurant, and the company was best of all. Ron of Calliope took one look at Lars and Odin and decided that the restaurant was just the place for them, fun décor (one of the urinals in one of the Men’s rooms was the shape of a pig), chickens to feed, goats and turkeys to watch, and local boys who saddle up their horses and burros to take kids for a walk around the block. Fun times all around!

Tomorrow we head off again for another overnight passage. We will head toward Isla Isabel, a National Park and bird rookery. After Isla Isabel, we will head on to Banderas Bay, near Puerto Vallarta, where we plan to connect again with our friends on Riki Tiki Tavi. We are all excited about that!

The off watch crew on the passage to Mazatlan

The on watch crew

Buying shrimp by the kilo with Auntie Arlene. We then
took it to a bar/ restaurant for them to cook it, delicious!

The pool at El Cid Marina. Swanky!

Feeding chickens after breakfast in El Quelite

Two happy boys taking a spin around the block