MAZATLAN 2007

The crew from sin sv Blue
6 Nov 2007
After a very hectic summer in which we flew to Winnipeg three times and attended Dick’s mother’s funeral in October, we were ready to leave town. An offer on the condo collapsed and we just locked the doors and left it in the hands of our excellent concierge, Doug. As always, if you need a place in Victoria before April we can put you in touch with him.
Brendan drove us to the Seattle ferry and as we boarded the rain started and reminded us of our last year’s exit. Hoping that Victoria wouldn’t be hit with the same kind of unfriendly winds and weather this fall. The rain subsided and we had cleared customs and were comfortably settled into our downtown hotel, the Camlin by 7:30 p.m.
Next morning off to Seatac and Alaska Air where they gave us special treatment because we had a one way ticket. We really got the going over at security, but they cast nary a glance at the Corona box full of boat jewelry that we checked. Incidentally, if you fly with them they have a very strict limit of 50 pounds per bag, but the very considerate agent let us rearrange stuff to carry-ons so we did not have to pay the $50 overweight charge for each of our bags.
We had an uneventful trip to LAX and as we were boarding ran into a couple of cruisers friends, off Fidele (Andy and Cass) also bound for Mazatlan. We were greeted in the balmy climes of Mazatlan by our faithful and ever helpful friend Lorenzo of Viking Son (who it turned out was really interested in the box of boat jewelry). No red lights at customs and no time share salesmen . We have learned that the definitive response to their entreaties is "Vivo aqui, no gracias" (No thanks, I live here) and they desert you like rats off a sinking barrel.
12 Nov 2007
We are settling into the condo very nicely. A bachelor who has gone sailing for 6 months owns it and its state made his marital status extremely obvious. Maureen has affectionately called it the Man Cave. The kitchen is fantastic with all-new (as in never used) stainless appliances, new cabinets (mostly empty) and counters and lots and lots of space. Even a dishwasher and the fridge has a magic opening where ice cubes appear at the press of a button. Brian had had the place thoroughly cleaned so it only took Maureen and her newly acquired and very industrious putzfrau (cleaning lady) 4 days to get it to her liking. We have a fantastic view from the fifth floor. Watching the sun come up over the estuary and a golf course with mountains in the distance from the living room deck and the bedroom deck and we watch the sun go down over the Sea of Cortez in the evening from the patio off the loft. The complex has a pool and hot tub, and lots and lots of beachfront to walk on and dash from the surf. Brian, also left us the use of his car, which is a great help especially with groceries although we still use the bus quite a bit as Maureen isn’t very excited about driving after the sun sets (around 5:15 p.m.) or downtown.
Dick got a new bicycle. A Canadian made Kona, though this model is not available back in Canada. This mountain bike is really high tech. Pneumatic shocks and disk brakes and really smooth 27 speed shifters. Periwinkle blue, almost match the colour of Dick’s eyes but is a definite match to one of Maureen’s swimsuits. It has been a real treat to have it here and it already has a lot of miles on it and has already succumbed to its first misadventure. The front tire (tube = camara o tubo de llanterra 20 pesos) replaced due to some extended off road biking activity.
Though the kitchen is gorgeous, there wasn’t a decent pot or pan, no mixing, serving or baking dishes and if you can imagine not even a wineglass. Maureen was at a loss so we have now acquired a number of small appliances as well as some kitchen utensils. We are well equipped now and can even make toast.

16 Nov 2007
It is Friday and that means 2 for one at the Purple Onion and Karaoke. We have met up with a number of old cruising friends, and met quite a few new folks as well. Come to think of it they are all sort of old but it is amazing to see so many like minded people all enjoying the same life style in so many different versions and with so many different demands from their lives. We keep reminding ourselves how fortunate we are to live the life we do and have the choices we have so open to us. We live vicariously through their various adventures and share what we can with them.
24 – 27 Nov 2007
We took a car trip to Puerto Vallarta, which is a 5 to 6 hour drive about 275 miles or 435 km. About half of it is a new toll highway which is a very wide and smooth two lane road. The roads are much better in general than we expected and the 10 year old Monte Carlo was well behaved. Maureen was a little trepidatious about driving in Mexico. Now, an old pro and has no problems navigating and translating signage while under power. However, there are the exceptions like when you have to go to the extreme right hand lane to make a left hand turn, which happens in some small towns but not all the time making it all the more interesting as we approach another new community. On the highways through the smaller towns there is another road hazard known as "policia ensueno" or topes. Some of these speed bumps could launch you into orbit, and are not even marked. Somehow we escaped with suspension intact.
We spent one night in La Penita visiting our old friend George (formerly Hotel California) and catching up on his news that Hotel California is now condos. The following morning we went on to visit John of Masquerade in Nuevo Vallarta. He is holding up well getting Masquerade ready and waiting impatiently for Sandy who has been up in Seattle recovering from surgery and biding her time in physical therapy for the past two months. They’ll be heading out for their next adventure in the New Year. Hopefully, we’ll get to see them one more time before they head south.
Sunday afternoon we joined up with Jim and Sandy on Full Circle. They had graciously offered to put us up for a couple nights in the luxury of their 53' trawler. They are great hosts and we had a wonderful time with them at Paradise Village. We had also brought a couple #2 Robertsons with us as they have a Canadian built boat and Jim was having some problems dealing with those square head screws.
Monday we got to our real purpose of the trip, to have a look at a Cal 246 which was listed by a broker who had described it to us as "industrial". This turned out to be a generous compliment. She turned out to be more like a blind date that had been rode hard and put up wet. Try as we might we could not come up with a price tag at which we would have been able to restore this classic. Pass, but what a disappointment.





28 Nov 2007
We are now back in Maz and in the luxurious comfort of Condominios del Rey. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of guests. Those of you who are intending to come, now is the time to make your reservation. Life here is really good and far from expensive. We would love to have you stay so getting the dates to us is really important.
Hasta verlos pronto,
Dick and Maureen
Sin svblue