Mazatlan

We had a near perfect passage from los Frailes on Baja to Mazatlan on the Mexican mainland. The boat ran perfectly, finding it's sweet spot cruising at 1575 rpm and 6.5 knots. The seas were a little rolly on the Baja side but once we were 30 km offshore the swells smoothed out to a gentle roll that slowly calmed down as we approached the mainland. The marina we arrived at is in a new area of Mazatlan that looks to be a slice of San Diego with modern wide streets lined with new shops. Two days after arriving we took the bus, a nice air conditioned bus, downtown to the public market. The city was packed with people as this was 2 days before Christmas and everyone was out shopping and the resorts were full of gringos here for the holidays. The market is a crazy scene and we'll return next week with a camera and post some pictures. Mazatlan is a large city that varies in nature from the fancy resorts on the beaches to working class neighborhoods with a Wal-Mart stuck somewhere in between and we're having fun riding the buses all over and exploring the town.



After having Thanksgiving dinner with over 200 people in La Paz we decided to forego the group holiday dinners in Mazatlan and spend Christmas and New Years with just the 4 of us (don't forget the kitties!). We didn't buy presents for each other but we did get a present for the boat, a waxing. We hired a local worker in the marina to wax the boat for us, the first time we have ever paid someone to wax or clean the boat, preferring normally to do the work ourselves.

We are considering spending the next hurricane season, July 1st to Nov 1st, in Mazatlan. The city has a lot to offer and the marina is very nice and has excellent summer rates. Best of all there is an outstanding coffee shop, Rico's, just a block away. What more in life could you ask for?