A la playa

Sunday, January 4, 2009

It’s so much warmer here, subtropic I would say. The only cover I needed last night was the bedsheet. As I wake up, I hear the rain softly ticking on the roof. But it does not last long. The first thing I do when I get up is taste that fresh grapefruit Ramiro picked for me of the tree last night. I did soak it in water with the purification drops first though. It’s is so juicy.

I am still able to get a brisk walk in before we leave. I walk ahead of Ramiro as he drives the RV very slowly over the very bumpy dirt road, and maneuvres it to avoid the the low hanging branches of the trees which adorn the path.

We continue on the Free road to Mazatlan for the first half hour. But decide to take the very first opportunity to turn west to meet up with the Autopista. This toll road as we read is the most expensive in all of Mexico. Even though our guide claims the Free road to be a good safe road. There are too many idiots, passing on a non passing zone. It’s a two lane road, and no shoulder, so figure it out yourself. The toll roads are usually four lanes and are used by buses, trucks and those who can afford it.
Well, I suppose this is not an issue of money, but safety. Our turning off the free road however, does mean that we have to work our way through the small town of Quila, with speed bumps every 100 meter. We are the attraction of the day as we drive very slowly through town._We ask directions, because there seem to be too many possibilities to turn._We just want to be sure we are heading in the right direction.
The map on the GPS must be from ages ago. It is of nu use to us. Garmin (our GPS) keeps telling us to turn around and take the Free road. Sorry Garmin, but we’ll have to ignore you and follow our map, the guidebooks and our instinct. You may however indicate whether we are heading south, or west, how far we are from Mazatlan and the approximate location of the RV park for which we have the coordinates.

We have been in Mazatlan twice before. It must have been at least 25 years ago. That was our first tropical vacation ever. Then we returned again with Marco and Marcela 16 years ago.
Mazatlan is one of the places in Mexico where we could run into our friends from Alberta. Everyone goes to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta or Cancun, to get sunburned, buy tacky souvenirs, drink lots of Marguerita or Cerveza and hang around the beach, in the restaurants or souvenir shops.
Neither one of us are real “laying in the sun” kind of people. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sun, but rather take in those rays during a walk or at least doing something productive. Ramiro prefers the shade, but then he does not need the sun. He’s dark enough.

We are getting closer to the coast again. We both cheer as we see the Pacific Ocean again on our right.

One more toll booth and we enter Mazatlan beach area. The first thing we see is one of the huge Hotels, of which there are hundreds lining the beach.

The boulevard we drive on is relatively quiet and it is safe to turn as we spot an RV park that looks like it can handle our rig.
Before we turn in I inquire and we get to pick our own spot. We see license plates from all over Canada and the US.
After a quick lunch we put on our walking shoes and start walking towards town.
It’s too far to walk all the way, so we hop on a bus and get off closer to the commercial part.
We need to exchange some Canadian dollars. The repairs and toll booths have eaten up all our cash.
We enjoy the walk. It is rather overcast and humid, but it feels nice.

Once we have our Pesos and Ramiro his icecream we walk back along the beach until we come to the harbour. From there we take the bus back again. We have walked a good two hours._Perfect; Those chocolates I have been eating over the last few days for comfort, are hopefully burned off again.

Back at the RV park we see all the North Americans having their own Happy hour.
Some stay here for as long as three months and get to know each other and like to hang out together. As much as we would like to hang around a bit longer, what on earth would we do for three months at the same spot?

I soak my feet in soda water and realize I am in desperate need of a pedicure. Annemieke would you mind coming to Mexico please?

The Internet connection is terrible and we go to the office for a netter connection. I am not able to download the pictures however. Next time.

I do manage to check my e-mails. We enjoy reading the mails from our friends and family. Thank you all for write us and comment on the blog. We miss you all.