12-26-2011 to 01-04-2012, Stone Island to Mazatlan Marina

12-26, Monday – We are on a mission today to get the Banda Ancha device so we can access the internet from our boat anywhere, including at anchorage or at sea, that we have cell phone coverage! We also want to go to Marina Mazatlan and make a reservation to move there Wed. this week.

Dave & Leianne are going to go up north as well, so we met them on the Old Mazatlan side to catch a bus up that way. It turned out that one of the small golf cart-type taxis (pulmonias) would drive us up to old town square for 30 pesos, so we did that instead. The drivers name is Jorge Gonzales, aka “Speedy Gonzales”. A really nice fellow that speaks super good English and gave us his cell phone number for future use.

We ate at a Panaderia (Bakery) called “Panama Bakery” that Dave & Leianne had found on their previous exploration of old town. (Delicious and cheap – D) We walked over to the Olas Altas (High Waves) part of town, which is situated on the coast, to catch a bus up to the Dorado Zone. We ended up taking another little taxi. The views were spectacular and the promenade (Malacon) was fantastic. We are looking forward to exploring it when we move up to the marinas.

We parted ways with Dave & Leianne at the Mega Mercado. They were getting provisioned to leave tomorrow for Isla Isabel. We walked up to the Telcel store where we spent the next 2 and a half hours getting our Banda Ancha. Yay! What I forgot to mention is that we had to haul the computer with us to the store so they could activate it and we could make sure it worked properly and knew how to use it. We were fortunate and got a lovely English speaking gal who was wonderfully helpful.

Next we got ourselves another little taxi up to the Marina Mazatlan so we could make a reservation for Wed. and see the facilities. It looks great and we are looking forward to spending a week there exploring new Mazatlan.

We caught a bus outside the Marina that took us all the way back down to the water taxi, down the Malacon and through old town. This will come in handy when we are in the Marina.

We got in our dinghy, back at Beji’s, to head to the boat. It was already dark and we got stuck in the fishermen’s gill net, for the 3rd time. They are not marked very well and drop them in odd places. It took a while before Dick was able to cut us free. Yikes! We won’t miss that part of being at this anchorage.

12-27, Tues – We are just going to relax and enjoy the anchorage today. Hang out at the palapa’s, have pancakes at Carmelita’s and say good bye to our friends at Benji’s.
I am finally going to cook that Christmas dinner I had planned tonight . We are leaving tomorrow for the Marina.

12-28, Wed – We pulled anchor and headed to the Marinas. The trip was uneventful. It only took about 2 ½ hours. It was a little dicey getting in the entrance though, as it was very narrow and shallow with the waves pushing us in, but we made it. The channel was very narrow and there was a dredge parked on the side of the channel. Fortunately it was not operating or it would have been in the middle and we would have had to try to get around it. As it was, we registered 7’ depth at one point. Our draft is 6 ½ feet, so that was close!

We were met by the security folks at the dock we had reserved, who helped us with lines, dock 5 slip 7. It was well marked and there was plenty of room for us to get into the slip. We got settled in and explored around the many restaurants and facilities available to us.

12-29-2011 to 1-1-2012 – We spent this time getting the boat ready in anticipation of some buggy anchorages in our future travels to the south of us. Edress had made screens for the hatches years ago and Dick started the process of affixing them with Velcro to the frames of the hatches. We need to get netting to cover the cockpit areas around the dodger. There is a fabric store in the old town we can go to for bridal veil material that will work perfectly.
We met more folks that we had done the “Ha Ha” with and some new folks too. We got to spend time at the resort pool and hot tub in the adjacent marina (really nice).

Dick is getting more comfortable with the SSB radio and all the different “cruiser nets” we can check in with. (I now have four – five different nets to pay attention to – D) We are getting back in contact with folks we haven’t seen in a while and staying in contact with those we have recently met.

Lots of good food here too!! We had a super inexpensive meal at a place called “The Fat Fish”. No…. we didn’t have fish….. we had ribs, of all things. 2 plates for 1. The ribs didn’t fit on the plate, the slab was so big!! How much did it cost???? $160 pesos ($12.00 American) good grief! With baked potato, salad and bread. (Lots of good beef here – D)

NEW YEARS EVE! We got together with Nick & Nancy from “Jessie Marie” and went to a Cuban-Mexican restaurant on the Malacon. Had another fabulous meal for not much $, then walked up the Malacon to a party on the beach at a restaurant called “Chili Peppers” not far from where we had dinner. They had a band, bon fire and you could see the fireworks that all the resort hotels put on. There weren’t a lot, but it was pretty. We saw our Canadian friends from “Tanoo”, Bill & Brenda, and from “August Moon”, Russ & Doreen there. They are staying at the El Cid Marina. We took a taxi home from there at about 1:00 am, 2012.

We spent the 1st relaxing (recovering – D) on the boat, playing WOW and then went to the sports bar near the marina to watch the 49ers win yet again! Yay!

01-02 to 01-04 – We continued the screen project, did some provisioning, visiting with friends, hanging by the pool/hot tub, enjoying local restaurants/music, riding the local buses around, getting the boat ready to leave. We will be leaving day after tomorrow (Friday 1/6).

This will be the last blog until we get to cell phone coverage area again. Stay tuned to see the Blue Boobies, and many one-of-a-kind birds and other fabulous adventures in the anchorages on the way to Puerto Villarta! Miss you all! Kisses & Hugs Happy New Year!