Mazatlan 2007

Thursday, February 1 (Pat)

The alarm went off at 5am waking us from a deep sleep and we got up, showered, and got ready for our jungle tour. Out front of the resort at 6am we met another couple going on the jungle tour. It was dark and cool out. After a few minutes a nice, new mini tour bus drove up and we headed into the Gold Zone to pick up a few others at Pueblo Bonito. Twelve passengers total, Arturo the tour guide (he was our tequila tour guide last visit!), and David the driver. We stopped at the Vista Tours office for a continental breakfast and by 6:30am we were back in the bus, heading south for Tepic and San Blas. It was about a three and a half to four hour ride on Hiway 15 and the new toll road. Arturo pointed out the highlights along the way - Sierra Madre mountains to the east, agriculture fields, mango groves, and cattle (Brahma) pastures by the hectares. Occasional small towns, a cluster of cement blocks or brick buildings with thatched roofs or galvanized steel - often patched. We had a pit stop at a Pemex with clean bathrooms about mid-way which was appreciated by all. The tour also provided water, coke, or beer in a cooler. We passed a large estuary from one of the rivers that was neat to see from the high road. It spread out for miles. Apparently a big gathering area for migrating birds. It is supposed to be the third largest estuary in the world. We had crossed into the neighboring state, Nagarit, of which Tepic is the capital. Lots of crops, tobacco, sorghum, milo, beans, cucumber. Also saw various horses, donkeys, and dogs around the 'shelters'. Our first tour stop was in a small village that had been a key Spanish fortress for King Carlos in the 1500's. Just down the hill from it was an old stone church. The fort had thick stone walls and a large gathering room which was being used for some big 'political' event according to Arturo. Lots of cannons were along the wall and below was a good sized town (Tepic?). We took pictures and headed to the old church for more pictures. The large, high stone arches were still intact and made for an artful scene against the blue sky. There was an etched inscription, something about 'Those who pass through these doors will have their sins removed'. Back into the van. By now we are getting hungry. It is a short drive and we pull into a parque parking lot along the river and mangrove forest. We place our order for either shrimp rancheros or fish fillet for lunch, but boat ride first. I eat my banana and Ron buys a coconut crisp from a vendor before we load up. The boats are long, flat boats with five rows of seats and an outboard engine. Three people per row. Ron is in front of me in the second row and we take off. The river is narrow at the beginning with thick mangrove, cypress, and other trees lining the sides. The roots are dry and bare, creating a network of sticks projection down into the water. It is a maze of wood and greenery on both sides. Some tall trees jut out above the rest and make for interesting silhouettes against the blue sky. As we cruise up-river sharp eyed people start picking out the wildlife and the boat pulls closer with the engine off. It was a good day and we saw a lot, various birds, storks, fly-catchers of different types. Turtles of various sizes, a couple quite big - about eighteen inches across. Then we saw several alligators/crocodiles. One small one was eating a crab, some mid-sized ones sunning on a log, and two huge ones. One had its mouth wide open facing us - no dipping in the water there! Another was sunning behind some branches and was as big as some we've seen in Florida! After a while the mangrove gave way to swamp grass about six to eight feet tall with occasional trees and the river widened out. There were various branches, twists and turns, three huts on stilts used in a movie once - and eventually the river tour ended at a large home(?) or restaurant(?). We turned around and headed back at a faster pace. We saw a group of wood storks trying to land in a tall palm tree. Hard to get a picture but neat to see.

Back to the boat ramp and across the street for lunch. A patio with a long table set up for us. The food was simple but good. The bathroom was a cement block building with a seatless toilet, no toilet paper, and a shower curtain for a door. They did have running water but the water ran out the sink onto the walkway! It is always an experience to see how others live. The family was nice and we bought some banana muffins from another little girl as well.

We got back onto the bus for the long drive home. Most of us snoozed. The road was rough and being a two lane road, would get congested behind slow-moving trucks. David would watch for breaks on traffic coming the other way and roar around the slower vehicles. It would be interesting to know what the incidence of car wrecks is. There was a nice sunset as we got closer to Mazatlan. After dark we were winding our way through the back streets of Mazatlan and dropped off the passengers starting at the north end. It was close to seven when we got home to Play Maria.

We were getting hungry and wanted to walk after a long day sitting, so we went to the Gold Zone and ate at 'El Paraje'. I had chicken enchiladas and Ron had the combo and two Pacificos. Two hundred pesos including tip. We had live entertainment - a mixture of soft rock, oldies, and country. The singer wasn't as good as Brenster but was OK. The temperature was nice except the stiff breeze cooled you off so we decide to limit a walk to gathering some groceries and walking north until we could catch the bus. Back in the room we added some layers and went for a nice moon-lit walk on the beach down to the marina entrance and back. A little reading and it was time for bed!