April 2 – 11, 2012: Living eight days on the hard is beyond the call of duty …thank goodness for the cruiser lounge next to the yard. The bottom paint was in good shape but we wanted a couple more coats before heading back north. It is cheaper labor and materials but most of all we have been very pleased with the work. Another hull polish and wax job along with an adjustment to the prop were added to chore list. But what really excited me was having the crew buff and polish the cockpit area and sides of the cabin top. I needed sunglasses to look at the boat due to the shine!

While the crew was doing all the hard work, Bob & I journeyed to the Golden Zone (tourist area) to snoop about. We needed to pay for one more month on the Banda Ancha (internet access), get cash and trade-in large bills for smaller ones and search for an eye doctor’s office that was recommended. Only in Mexico can you walk into a doc’s office and get an immediate appointment. For $300 pesos each or $22.50 USD we got an eye exam. For $275 pesos, Bob got new lenses in his existing frames. Seeing the dentist while we are here is one more “to do” thing although I am dragging my feet on this appointment.

Semano Santos or Holy Week was in full swing. Mexicans treat Easter as a full fledge party time, flocking to beach for sun, beer and eye candy. Nowhere did we see any religious celebrations or solemn observances. On Good Friday, we hopped the air conditioned bus with Ed & Connie from Serena and rode it the entire way along the malecon. What a phenomenal sight of a sea of humanity lining the beachfront, colorful umbrellas, skimpy bikinis, coolers overflowing with beer and traffic jams. Our bus took us down to El Centro or old town where the place was vacant. It was really enjoyable to walk along the historic area and not be bugged to buy something. Then we strolled down to the southern tip of the beach area admiring the huge statues and lovely views from the sea wall. We stopped at one beachfront restaurant for dinner where one of the waiters would stop and sing to the crowd. Gosh, he had a great voice and it was fun to watch everyone while he was singing.

Our biggest decisions this past week were where to eat. I am now ready to go back to cooking thanks to a nasty bout of stomach cramps and diarrhea. You would think that after a 1 ½ years here that our intestines could handle this food but no such luck. Thanks to drugs and yogurt I am back on the mend.
We are staying in Mazatlan another week to finish up a few more boat chores before crossing to the Baja side. The never ending chore list continues …