We arrived in Mazatlan very early in the morning. It was a beautiful sunrise at sea. We swung by the Stone Island anchorage. There were two boats we recognized from the (JA JA) mexican for (Baja Ha Ha). Stepping Stone and Tynamara were anchored. Zach from Tynamara was up on deck so we chatted with him briefly about the anchorage. They were leaving to head for Isle Isabella so we would not get to visit, too bad. Hopefully we can catch them in another anchorage.
Passing the old harbor entrance and dodging the Baja ferry and two cruise ships we headed over to the Marina Mazatlan area. The entrance is very, very small. Wow, I kept looking at the chart. No room for error here. You have to enter only if there are no waves crashing and make a quick turn. Once inside it is pretty calm and the water way opens up. There is NO anchoring anywhere in this area so you have to know you have a slip before you go into the Marina Mazatlan. There are several marina's here and most have openings as long as you have money to pay for one or two nights. We were scheduled for a haul out on Thursday at 3:00 pm, it was only Wednesday but we wanted to be close by.
There was one open slip at the Singular marina so we grabbed it for the night.
An open slip only means that the boat that usually pays rent on it is "out", you might have to move your boat at a moments notice if that boat comes back to port.
We checked in with the marina and the boat yard. We needed to "recharge" our TelCel card for internet access so we had to go into town. The only way to get there is to walk, bike or taxi a very long way or take one of four (colored) buses. Neither Doug or I have ever been to Mazatlan so we had really no idea which bus to catch so we took the "Green" bus or was it the "Blue" bus to a stop near the TelCel store. It was daylight when we got on the bus. Turns out there is also the New bus and the Old bus. They cost different amounts of money. Also, if the bus is full they will just pass you by. It's nothing personal.
After finding the TelCel store we decided to venture to the "Old Historic" part of town. Mind you neither one of us had had much sleep the night before as we did an over night boat ride from San Blas.
We got on the "Brown" or was it the "Green" bus. It took us all around the streets of downtown, it was pretty hard to see because there were so many people on the bus. I had Tucker and my backpack on so every time a seat close to the front of the bus opened up I went closer so I could see better. Doug finally caught on and joined me. After a while we had a great view of the downtown and decided not to get off the bus. Hoping I guess that the bus would just loop around and drop us off where we got on. Wrong...
We ended up almost to the lighthouse, as far away from where we got on as you can get in the City. The driver said something to us when he stopped and we both looked behind us and there was no one else left on the bus. Oh, I guess we have to get off. Did I mention I was pretty tired?
Well what now. Break out our little tourist map we had picked up. Looked like if we walked up the really, really big hill we could get back to the historic zone and catch another bus. It was actually a pretty nice walk and we got to the top of the hill just as the sun set so it was very pretty.
After the sun set I again mentioned I was really tired and now hungry and thirsty. We continued walking. We came upon a bar and grill in the historic district with a BUNCH of gringos sitting out front drinking. We went inside and ordered a light meal and a drink. There was also a bus stop right in front of the bar and grill. So far so good. We enjoyed our meal and I downed several glasses of water just to hydrate.
When we were done we paid and were just heading out to leave and head back to the boat when the gringos invited us over to their table. Apparently we had stumbled into "The Gringo" evening meeting place. So with introductions all around we decided to have an adult beverage. The group of gringos are mostly locals living in Mazatlan in town, not boat people. Or as with the loudest gringo at the table "Greg" just out for a ride in his T-bird. Nobody really seemed to know Greg and everybody thought that somebody at the table must know Greg but with a quick poll it turns out he just sat down at the table and starting drinking. His voice was SO loud you literally had to sit pretty far from him or you could get hearing damage. There was a guy who ran a local B&B, a contractor type and several others I did not really catch, just retirees I guess. There was a lady named Doris I think that was about 86 years old. And for those of you who watch showtime there was a NANCY BOTWIN at the table. She was the most interesting to me. She had a lot of history of the area and what went on locally. She lived in a small place that was 500 years old. I think she was the head of "Gringo's helping Gringo's". Very nice lady. After she gave us her life history she took us on a short tour of her neighborhood that had a lot of history. Some of which I'm not comfortable writing about. CSI Mazatlan - could be a new series on T.V.
After our tour of her neighborhood we went back to the bus stop just outside the restaurant. Guess what? Greg said we should come over and have just one more drink. I'm dyeing on the vine but Doug says 'Sure'. O.K. now I'm getting a little worried about getting back to the boat. We both have our backpacks on and the dog. Doug is carrying his laptop in his. I guess we could just call a cab but the bus ride is really cheap. It is now very dark outside and we are in an unknown city. I'm drinking water and keep watching the buses going by. I found out the last bus is 9:30, from where? here? no somewhere else. what does that mean? What time is it now? Which bus am I looking for? God I'm tired. The B&B guy offered to give us a ride, hmm I don't think so. I'd rather catch a cab and arrive alive. I managed to pay the bar tab, not sure how and at about that time the B&B guy jumped up and said "that's it" the last bus. Doug literally jumped from the table to the bus. The bus barely stopped. I tried to follow tossing the dog on board when I realized that Doug had left his backpack at the table. I dove back for the table and the bus started to take off. I think Doug got the guy to stop but now he was pissed. Ah, nothing like a shot of adrenaline to put you back in the game.
I never did figure out why the bus driver stopped. It may have had something to do with the fact I just tossed the dog on board and bolted away. In any event we were on the last bus. Have you ever rode a horse who is heading back to the barn after a long ride. Well this driver was on a mission to get back to the bus barn. It was by far the craziest ride I have been on. I think it was a fairly new bus because the fare was 9 pesos and the old bus is 6 pesos. But the bus needed new shocks, probably a while ago. The driver was flooring it in between stops not even slowing down. Doug and I were up front so we had a birds eye view. Whew what a e-ticket ride it was. He did not slow down for bikes, cars, pedestrian's. He barely slowed down when a fare wanted off. The bus routes in Mazatlan are in a loop so if you've never gotten off at the stop you would really not know when it is approaching. Make since? And now it was dark so we were really on the look out for our stop. Just when I thought the driver was out of control we heard an ambulance siren right behind us. Now, most people pull over and let the emergency vehicle pass by. Well this driver decided it was his ticket to drive even faster and I think he disengaged the governor on the bus. He jumped in front of the ambulance! The streets were now going by a warp speed. I just looked at Doug in kind of a panic. Doug said to the driver "Marina Mazatlan", then as we were passing the spot that looked like where we needed to get off Doug again told the driver "Marina Mazatlan" even louder. The driver finally came to a screeching stop and said a few nasty words and we were off the bus.
He left us in a cloud on the curb of four corners. Hmm, inny meany miney moe? Which way? Doug said this way see that building over there. He was right. I had been totally turned around and would have walked in a different direction. We made it back to the boat safe and sound.
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