December 31, 2012

Left by 8:00 am from Los Mochis after breakfast at the hotel.  Yogurt with papaya, melon, apple, pears – yum.  That was my breakfast.  Scott had huevos gustos….

Crop duster plane, somewhere between Los Mochis and Mazatlan…

Drove through miles of agricultural area today… very lush and green.  Saw herds of cattle and goats right along the toll road.  So many toll stops today, I think we had to stop at least 10 booths where we had to pay from 10 pesos to 32 pesos.

fields and fields of corn, cucumbers and tomatoes

Sunset in Mazatlan….

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!!! We are in Mazatlan safe and sound.

January 1, 2013

I ran about 4 miles this morning along the beachfront walkway – and felt completely safe (I say this because Mazatlan is supposed to be one of the most dangerous cities….).  There were several other people running and biking.

We took off south toward San Blas – still on the toll road.  Great ride – I think we average about 80-90 mph, with not much traffic.  We got off on a wrong exit, and while going through the process of getting off and back on (which means paying a toll both ways!) we met up with a guy from Spain on a Triumph 800 motorcycle.  He was riding from Florida, to California and down Baja to Mexico City where the bike was going to be shipped.  He spoke English very well.  First rider we have seen.  We are riding through more agricultural land and it is getting to be more tropical.  Rain started at noon and continued all day.  We pulled into San Blas after noon.  Scott found us a great hotel – Hotel Marina San Blas – right on the water.

Banana trees!

Had lunch at another hotel next door – Hotel Garza at the restaurant El Delfin- which has a renowned chef, Betty Vasquez.  The food was very good – I had shrimp and bacon stuffed chicken breast, Scott had flank steak with pasta.

The town is great – not too touristy (yet!).  I guess they have plans for bringing cruise ships in soon…. The town was devastated 10 years ago by a hurricane, so you can see some remains of the damage.

Our room has a great view of palm trees and the ocean inlet.  We are staying 2 nights – $75 a night – and all the amenities we like (toilet paper, hot water, in room coffee and quiet!).

We relaxed all afternoon, then decided to go out for a local dinner.  We had seen several restaurants grilling lobster and fish.  Our mistake was not dealing with the price before we ate – I guess that restaurant owner was very happy with what he charged us gringos!!!! The lobster was delicious none the less!

San Blas sunset

January 2, 2013

The best night’s rest so far!!!!! Ah, peace and quiet – the only noise was the wind blowing through the palm trees.  We had breakfast (yes, a real breakfast!!) at El Delfin and then Scott worked  for a while online/phone.  We don’t have wifi in our room, so we have to hang out in the hotel reception area to connect the phone or computer.  Not a problem, except for the bugs – we are using our repellent!

We went kayaking across the inlet and hiked through the mangroves to a beautiful beach. I ran a mile or so along the beach and then we went swimming.  Still overcast, but around 80 degrees – can’t complain!

Took a nap, then decided to go for lunch.  As we were leaving the hotel, we hit some soft sand and dumped the bike.  A few more bruises for both of us….

We went to McDonalds for lunch.  Beautiful restaurant and reasonably priced – I had caesar salad with shrimp, and Scott had chicken enchiladas.

I guess you  might be able to tell what we like to do…. eat and sleep!  Ha!  We sat in the town square for a while watching people, so entertaining!

The trees are full of birds – reminds me of the tiki garden at Disneyland – seriously!!!! We checked out the San Blas Social Club this evening – owned by two guys from Manhattan.  One partner, Charles, lives in San Blas 6 months out of the year, the other partner comes down for a few weeks each year.  Nice to talk to some gringos and business people.  Charles prepared us some Diablo Shrimp for dinner – very good with some unexpected presentation!