Mazatlan 2007

Monday, January 29 (Ron)

We had to get up and go to a breakfast presentation. When we checked into the Playa Maria they asked us if we’d like to attend a presentation and we’d get a bottle of Kahlua. We said sure, thinking it would be about Playa Maria, the activities at the resort, etc. Which we usually do anyway, just to get a little more acquainted with the resort and the people there.

It turned out to be a sales presentation for a nearby development. Very nice, but not for us. Most of the time-share people will give you $100-$300US to attend a sales presentation, all we got was a bottle of Kahlua. Oh well. No problemo.

We came back to the resort and relaxed while we planned our afternoon in the Golden Zone. While we were in the room, a couple of guys brought a TV up to swap out for ours that wasn’t working. Good, this one works. It is much better to not watch a TV that works, rather than not watch one that doesn’t work. Shortly after they left, the electricity went out for the whole resort. So now we are not watching a TV that works, except it doesn’t work ‘cause there’s no power. No problemo.

After a while a lady with the resort came up to get us reservations for the jungle tour that we had expressed an interest in. Olivia is her name. She asked about the sales presentation and about what they had given us. We told her a bottle of Kahlua and she was surprised. She said she’d get us dinner as well.

So Pat and I are kinda hanging out, getting ready to go down to the Golden Zone and Olivia came back with a certificate for $500 pesos good at the other resort’s restaurant. That was very nice of her, going out of her way to do that for us.

We took a pulmonia to the Golden Zone to do some looking around, maybe a little shopping. We got a few things, stopped at a cyber café to check some things online, got some ice cream. By now I really need to find a bathroom. There’s a place across the street called ‘The Saloon’. It’s kind of a gringo place, not a real Mexican saloon. Most real Mexican bars are not the kind of place to take a lady. But this place is cool, so we go in, order a couple of Pacificos, and I hit the bathroom. Then we eat peanuts and finish our beers. I asked the bartender about the Tequila up on the shelf, they had several varieties, which one was the best. He said the Jose Cuervo Tradicional so I tried a shot of it. It was fairly smooth, not bad at all. We leave the bar, do a little more shopping, and head back to the resort to drop stuff off before finding a place for supper.

Back at the condo we find that they’ve brought up a coffee maker and a microwave that we were missing and power is back on. We read a little more until we start getting hungry. ‘El Patio’ sounds good for supper. It’s one of our regular places in the GZ, they always have good food.

We take a bus to ‘El Patio’. Bus fare is 16 pesos for the two of us. Pulmonia would be 50 pesos, so for just getting back and forth, the bus can be a lot better option. We had a coupon for a free Margarita each, so we ordered Margaritas. Pat ordered shrimp enchiladas, I ordered chicken quesadilla. Both were excellent. The bill came to 130 pesos – about $12.50US. I left a 200 peso note for the bill and tip and knew that we would be back again.

After leaving El Patio we did a little window shopping as we walked towards our resort. I wanted to stop at a particular shop up by Pueblo Bonito, just a few blocks away. The shop is owned by Gilberto and we have stopped into his shop every time we’ve come to Mazatlan. He’s a nice guy, friendly (like everyone here), so we like to buy from him when possible.

Gilberto was there with his wife and their 3 little boys, who we had never met. We talked to them as we looked around. Ended up with 2 liter bottles of vanilla, a blanket to hang on our wall at home, and a bracelet and matching barrette for Sarah. We took a bus back to the resort and got ready for bed.

The people here are so friendly. Last Sunday we didn’t have a coffee maker in our room so I went down to the resort’s restaurant to get a cup. One of the waiters there brought out my coffee and we talked a little bit. He said his name was Jesus. Later we took a bus into town and were talking with a guy named Fernando who got on the bus when we did. He said he and his buddy Jesus, who works mornings as a waiter at Playa Maria, get together for beers at ‘Joe’s Bar’. I said ‘I know Jesus, met him this morning.’ Fernando told us about a mall that was a good place to shop. He said that today was his day off and he would show us the mall. The bus we were on happened to be going past the mall, so we got off at the mall bus stop. We talked as he showed us around. We did a little shopping and he helped us carry our stuff back to the bus stop. He said he had to go, so we shook hands, Pat and I thanked him for his help, and he walked off.

Yesterday afternoon while in the GZ, I had to get online for a bit and Pat wanted to look at jewelry so we agreed to meet in front of the cyber café in 15 minutes. I finished up on the internet and when I left, a guy asked me about my shoes. They are kind of different looking, but very comfortable for walking. We talked about the shoes and other stuff and he asked where we were staying. He was signing people up for timeshare sales presentations at Playa Maria, but since we already owned there, he couldn’t sign us up. We continued talking about other stuff until Pat showed up. We said adios and Pat and I continued on to get some stamps for postcards.

On the way back from getting stamps I saw my new amigo in front of the cyber café, so we shook hands and chatted for a while, then went on to do some more shopping. We were finally all shopped out so we took a bus back to the resort. As we got off the bus and crossed the street to the resort I saw my new amigo standing out front talking to one of the employees. We shook hands again and wished each other well. Mazatlan has about 300,000 people, plus all the tourists, but you run into people you know all the time. It’s a very friendly city, sort of a small town feel to it.