Thawing out

Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Yes, the worst of the cold weather seems to be over.  Daytime highs are around 25C, with the nights still cool but quite comfortable for sleeping.  The marina remains quiet - since we have been here there have probably been less than 5 boats arriving or departing.  Lots of room!

In case you were wondering, we did end up joining two other cruising couples at one of the local restaurants to watch the Superbowl on Sunday (in Spanish).  Beer and football - does it get any better than that?  I think it says something about both the age of the average cruisers and their interest in organized sports that we all left after the 3rd quarter.  To be fair, it was getting a little chilly and there was no heat in the restaurant.

The marina is located in the Estero del Sabalo (Sabalo Estuary).  This was pretty much a swamp until developers dredged it into canals and islands for luxury homes and condos and the marina area.  Yesterday we took the dinghy out to explore the canals.  North of the marina the development is still under way and looks to be stalled, most likely the result of the downturn in the economy.  The south however (towards the main city of Mazatlan) appears to have been largely completed a few years ago.  There are some very nice homes along the canals, many with their own docks, and intertwined with the inevitable golf course.

A few nice power yachts to be seen but no sailboats because they have to go under a relatively low bridge to get access to the ocean - poor planning as far as I am concerned!

Today, we took the opportunity to take a bus downtown again to see what it is like when the weather is nice.  We walked from the main market all the way to the cruise ship docks and back across the busiest part of town, joining the Malecon (the paved walk along the beach) just north of downtown and walked for almost its entire length.  On the ocean side of the busy street is a seawall on which the Malecon resides, replete with an eclectic collection of statues commemorating local history (maybe) - my particular favorite is the tribute to the Pacifico Brewery in the form of a huge copper beer vat.  Below the seawall is a fairly narrow sandy beach with red flags flying to indicate that conditions are not safe for swimming today.  On the other side of the street is a string of small, older hotels and eateries, none of it looking too prosperous at the moment.

We stopped for lunch at a sidewalk cafe at the Piazuela Machado, in the heart of old "historic" Mazatlan.  We did this on our last trip into town as well but this time it was very pleasant to sit outside in the shade of the big trees; not huddled inside trying to get warm.

At the north end of the Malecon is the start of the Golden Zone, a very touristy area of hotels and restaurants.  We made a brief stop here to visit the Mega store (think Superstore) to check out the merchandise and pick up some milk and juice before catching a bus back to the marina.  All in all, this was more walking than we have done in weeks and we were totally fagged by the time we got back to the boat - we really have to learn to do these things in moderation.  While I am writing this, Sue has retired to the bedroom where she is brushing up on her language skills by watching CSI New York in Spanish.  We can actually pick up 5 local TV stations on our little rabbit ears, all of them in Spanish of course.

{GMST}23|15.1167|N|106|27.35|W|Golden Zone|Golden Zone{GEND}