Mazatlan

The ferry for Mazatlan leaves at 8:00 PM, but passengers are told to be there 3 hours ahead of time.  I get there early, 1:00 PM, having seen all there is to see in La Paz (or all I wanted to see).  La Paz Centro was a little nicer than the outer parts, but it is still a long way from being as attractive as the other towns I have passed through.

I get checked in at the ferry, leave the bike in the care of a line of tractor trailers also waiting for 'Chihuahua Star' and look for the waiting room I have assumed would be somewhere.  All there is are some metal chairs under an open roof.  Oh well, it wasn't like it was very cold.  Here I meet Robin a retired Air Canada Pilot from Tisdale SK.  We hang out waiting for the ferry and swap life stories.  We finally discover that there are at least a half a dozen food vendors outside the 'controlled zone' where we are waiting for the ferry.  It turns out is OK to leave the terminal so we feast on some excellent tortillas.


We kept each other company through the 12 hour ferry ride to Mazatlan.  We arrived at about 10:30, Robin was going on to Vera Cruz, and I was off to find a hotel in Mazatlan.

Villa Del Mar is a charming old basic hotel right in the centro historia.  I am a few blocks from the cathedral and the downtown playa where Caranaval will be celebrated later today.
 
Carnaval starts friday and ends on tuesday (Shrove Tuesday) aka 'fat tuesday' (in French, that would be Mardi Gras, never knew that...).  Mazatlan is just great, what I was hoping to find on this trip.  Farther down is a strip with modern hotels catering to tourists, Zona Dorada (golden zone), but I stay away, I prefer the old part, which has unique character that can't be found at a modern resort .  I could come back here.

More Pictures! https://photos.app.goo.gl/MfVpe8ntBkfEgr8M8
Video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYhlJGO0gv8
More Video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDtcuYCQDSA

I stay in Mazatlan an extra day, and reluctantly I leave on Sunday for Guadalajara and Mexico City (Ciudad Mexico).

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