Sailing Adventures of s/v Talos IV: Mazatlan

The fuel dock at El Cid Marina allowed me the opportunity to meet with most of the first mates and some skippers moored here while Paul was taking care of business with the marina office. One after another the local yachtistas stopped by to hand out tidbits of information which would prove useful during our stay at El Cid. By the time Paul returned to the boat I knew which bus to take to get into town, where to go to get groceries and what was going on socially during the next 3-4 days. It was a really nice way to start our visit.

The marina is part of a huge resort which is north of town. There are two wonderful swimming pools, a water taxi, full resort amenities and activities which are available to the boats within the marina. There is a deep pool with cool water, waterfalls and slides. It has a warm shower to rinse after your swim. There is poolside food service and a great view of the entrance to the harbor. The pool closest to our dock is the warm pool with a cold shower. This is the pool we use most often as it is convenient to dip into after doing projects or returning from downtown adventures. The pool has a full day schedule of activities including water aerobics, water volleyball, poolside bingo (in Spanish), darts, yoga, poker games, poolside bistro service and nighttime movies shown on a sheet suspended between two trees. We tried the pool volleyball and found it to be without rules, harder than it looked and dominated by cruisers over the age of 55. I also tried water aerobics and if I had more time I would have probably made it a daily ritual.

We are getting the boat cleaned up with more varnish, some buffing and a cleaning of the bottom. It has been too easy to find services as most of the cruisers here have been here for a while and know the best resources. We were able to order new shade cloth which was custom made here in Mazatlan. The service and quality was great.

Each day we’ve tried to have what we call a grand adventure (adventura grande). This usually means taking a bus to a neighborhood in town to explore the sites, eating with the locals and finding hidden treasures. So far we have enjoyed the monthly art walk which takes place on the first Friday of each month in the art/historic district around Plaza Machado. It is very colonial and wonderfully restored. There are numerous sidewalk bistros, galleries and specialty services. The night of the art walk we went into town with Barbara and David from sv Zoe. We explored several galleries, had lots of appetizers at various sites, enjoyed beers, basil ice cream (ultra rich creamery) and dinner on the malecon. We rode home in a golf cart taxi called a Pulmonia. The driver gave us several suggestions on places to eat as he took us back to the marina. We’ve enjoyed live jazz at Isla Marina on a Sunday afternoon. Our neighbor at the dock told us about this event and gave us a ride over in his car.

Mazatlan has the second highest “manned” lighthouse in the world. It’s not a tall structure but is located at the top of a hill, so it still counts. We went out by bus and proceeded to hike up the hill to El Faro. It was a good climb and well worth the effort.

Our neighbor Ron also told us about the organic market on Saturdays. This is a certified market and we were told there was a pie lady that made killer pies. It sounded too good, so this was another adventure. By the time we got to the market the pies were sold out. We were told she was going to be at another event mid week, so we marked our calendar and ordered two chicken pot pies!

Meanwhile we met some expats from the NW that had started a coffee roasting business here in town. We bought some coffee and decided this would be another adventure to visit their shop in Cerritos.

Well I’m sure you can see how all this works. One thing leads to another and pretty soon you are completely busy going to all these places, trying new things and meeting people again and again. The midweek event that featured our chicken pot pies was very successful. Paul took Barbara and me to the bar and we had some beers while we waited for the holiday boutique to open. We scored a couple of wonderful chicken pies, a fruit pie, homemade cinnamon rolls, breakfast sausage (specialty sausage which is so common in Seattle is not available here), and spices. Barbara and I came back to the docks very happy with our loot.

There is a man that pulls up to the employee entrance at the resort every Saturday morning around 9:30. He sells homemade tamales which his wife prepares. Last week we bought two. This week we bought four and I brought Barbara with me so she could stock her freezer. They are stuffed with beef, carrots, potatoes and chiles and are totally delicious.

There is a carneceria across the street from El Cid. I went over a few days ago and picked up 3 beautiful new york boneless steaks, 4 large bone in pork chops cut to order and a 4# whole chicken. The cost was about $16.00 US. The quality so far has been great. I’m finding that a whole chicken can be cooked in the pressure cooker. I get 3-4 meals from the meat by making enchiladas and tacos with some of the meat and tortilla soup with the rest. The chicken stock from these birds seems much richer than what I have been used to in the states.

There is a street in the centro area which we call the shrimp lady street. The city block is lined with ladies and tubs of ice housing shrimp arranged by size. We have bought shrimp for the BBQ and been really happy with the outcome. There is also an employee here at the resort that has shelled/cleaned camerones on a weekly basis. Barbara and I split a kilo of his shrimp a week or so ago and found them absolutely delicious.

The grocery shopping has been pretty easy with the bus system and 3 major super market chains close by. My favorite so far is the MEGA store which is very big and sells just about everything I could need. They have a nice selection of produce and prices are reasonable. We explored the Mercado Centro which is the historic old style market in the town center. It is a great place to go for the experience of traditional market style, but I prefer the sanitary standards in the modern super markets when buying our food.

One of our latest adventures was going to the movies. Super exciting to find “007 Skyfall” the new James Bond movie in English with Spanish subtitles. Barbara and David joined us on this adventure. The Cineplex housed 14 screens, all stadium seating. The tickets are sold with reserve seating. You choose your seat at the time of your ticket purchase. The concession service presents your drinks and snacks on a special tray which attaches to your assigned seat when you enter the theatre. The space between rows is wide enough to allow someone to move thru the aisle without bumping or upsetting your food tray. It is all very nice and very clean. The best part is the cost….$3.28 US for the movie ticket. The popcorn and two drinks was maybe another $3.00.

Some of the cruisers have said Mazatlan is a “suck hole” or a “vortex”. I can understand this now that we have been here almost 2 weeks. It is too easy. The weather is good, the community has a lot to offer and people are friendly. That said, however, we are planning our departure for Thursday. We only have two more days to enjoy it all, but plan to return in the spring on our way north when we head back to the Sea of Cortez. Our first destination will be Isla Isabella, the Galapagos Island of Mexico and then on to Banderas Bay.